Not husband, ex-husband.
Tong Qiu said to Chu Yao, correcting her word choice.
He had always liked seeing Huo Zhixing in his police uniform – the man looked breathtakingly handsome and even though they had no chemistry between them, just seeing him dressed in his uniform was more than Tong Qiu could bear.
Tong Qiu stood there in the crowd, openly gaping at the distinguished Officer Huo when the man in question turned around.
Their eyes met and Tong Qiu, to his own surprise, felt strangely embarrassed, almost as if he had been caught having an affair red-handed.
A universe as vast as theirs was nonetheless filled with coincidences. Huo Zhixing hadn’t thought he would run into Tong Qiu at all, given that this particular neighbourhood was outside his usual district. However, an investigation had come up and a few extra hands were needed, so he and Zhao Heyu had been called over at the last minute to help out.
Huo Zhixing had been in the middle of interrogating customers along with his colleagues but froze when he caught sight of Tong Qiu. After exchanging a few words with Zhao Heyu, he made a beeline towards Tong Qiu.
“Hey.” Tong Qiu was the first to speak and purposely put on a composed, impassive air. “What a coincidence.”
Huo Zhixing gave him a nod, then sized up the person next to him. The man wore black-framed glasses and was standing extremely close to Tong Qiu.
Tong Qiu followed his gaze and shifted a little further away to widen the space between himself and Fang Baicheng. Feeling awkward, he scratched his nose and said, “He’s…a friend.”
Huo Zhixing flashed a smile. “Understood.”
Understood? Tong Qiu squawked internally. You don’t understand shit!
The air between them had grown awkward so Tong Qiu made a valiant attempt to dispel it. “You’re on the night shift today?”
Huo Zhixing replied candidly, “Someone reported the bar next door for drug use.”
“Were people slipping roofies?” Chu Yao said, alarmed. “God, they didn’t come over here, did they? My friend owns this bar.”
Huo Zhixing has met Chu Yao a few times and knew she was one of Tong Qiu’s closest friends. However, there were too many people around and he couldn’t elaborate. So he gave a simplified explanation while casting occasional glances at the man beside Tong Qiu.
Fang Baicheng, however, stared back at him unabashedly. Huo Zhixing flashed him a small smile, then turned towards Tong Qiu.
“You should head home once you’re done drinking,” Huo Zhixing said to him. “You still have to wake up early tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Tong Qiu answered softly, uncharacteristically obedient.
Unaware of the relationship between the two, Fang Bacheng was baffled as he watched their exchange. Huo Zhixing raised an eyebrow, then turned to leave.
“Oh, by the way,” Tong Qiu called out. “The…the thing. When should I return it to you?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Tong Qiu glared at her. “Stop imagining things; we’re not rabid dogs. Besides, it was a peaceful breakup.”
“Breakup?” Fang Baicheng, who had been watching off to the side, piped up. “That officer was your ex-boyfriend?”
“Ex-husband,” Chu Yao corrected. “He’s a looker, isn’t he? But good looks are no use since they got divorced anyway. But that means you still have a chance, shixiong.”
Fang Baicheng grinned. Tong Qiu prayed that he wouldn’t take Chu Yao’s words seriously but Fang Baicheng replied, “Then I’ll have to make the most of this opportunity.”
Tong Qiu gave him a look, but didn’t respond.
—
After Huo Zhixing finished chatting with Tong Qiu, Zhao Heyu came over to him and said, “Who knew we’d run into shimu here, of all places. What a small world! It’s amazing, truly amazing.”
“Stop blathering. Did you finish up with the interrogations?”
“All done. I’ve got it covered, trust me.” Zhao Heyu glanced over at Tong Qiu. “Look, there’s a man sitting beside shimu. The slick bastard’s looking at shimu like he wants to gobble him up. Shifu, you’ve got to do something.”
Huo Zhixing turned around and happened to catch sight of Tong Qiu’s little group joking around. The ‘slick bastard’ that Zhao Heyu had aptly named was leaning towards Tong Qiu and was whispering something into his ear.
Tong Qiu smiled.
Tong Qiu looked beautiful whenever he smiled and every time Huo Zhixing saw that smile, he felt the urge to lick the tiny ‘sesame seed’ mole at the corner of his mouth. However, Huo Zhixing had never given in to the impulse since they always acted all prim and proper when they were together. There were rarely any affectionate gestures between them – it was a shame, really.
“Let’s go.” There was another bar to inspect after this one and they were lucky if they could wrap things up before midnight.
Before leaving, Huo Zhixing turned back and took one last look, but Tong Qiu had already disappeared into the drunken crowd.
—
Once the police cleared out, the bar quickly reverted to its usual boisterous atmosphere. Those who drank, drank and those who danced, danced – all manner of fiends were finally unleashed and had all decided to come out to play.
Chu Yao’s group of friends drank until they were tipsy and then ran off to play some dice. Ever the good friend, Chu Yao stayed behind to keep young divorcee Tong Qiu company.
She raised her glass and bumped it against Tong Qiu’s. “What’s wrong? You’ve been distracted ever since your ex showed up. Are you still hung up on him?”
“What do you mean ‘hung up’? It’s not like there was anything to hang onto in the first place,” Tong Qiu said. “It just feels strange to randomly bump into him while he happened to be inspecting this place.”
“That’s called fate, darling,” Chu Yao replied. “But I gotta say, your ex-husband looks fantastic in uniform.”
“So what if he looks fantastic?” Tong Qiu shot back, his lips curling. He took a sip of his drink and said glumly. “Do you understand the meaning of the word ‘shriveled’?”
“You’re saying he…couldn’t get it up?”
“…Miss Chu! Please get a hold of yourself.” Tong Qiu glared at her before continuing. “I’m not saying ‘that’ was shriveled. I’m talking about our relationship. Over the past year together, I’ve finally come to realize that a marriage needs feelings to sustain it. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t like drinking bland water – I prefer something stronger, something more alcoholic.”
“And he’s allergic to alcohol, isn’t he? Look, I’m not trying to lecture you here but isn’t it a bit too late for you to have this little epiphany? When you were about to get married you told me that you’d happily stay married to him as long as he wore that uniform, at least until he retired.”
“Spare me, sister. I’m hitting myself right now, alright?”
Chu Yao shrugged her shoulders. “Uh huh. Hurts, doesn’t it?”
While they chattered on, Fang Baicheng was sipping on a drink nearby and overheard the full story behind Tong Qiu and that police officer.
“So why did you get married in the first place?” Fang Baicheng suddenly interjected. “Was it because you’re into policemen?”
Tong Qiu cast him a glance and thought, ‘what’s it got to do with you?’.
He kept those kinds of thoughts to himself though. After all, he wasn’t like the teenagers in his class at the peak of their adolescence who could blurt out anything on their minds. As an adult, he still had to act civil and maintain a friendly, unruffled demeanor.
Tong Qiu said, “It’s not because I like policemen.”
“It’s because he likes uniforms,” Chu Yao added helpfully. “Mr. Tong over here is extremely partial to uniforms. If you want to win him over, you should wear your lab coat next time – who knows, he might even give in right there and then.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tong Qiu muttered and nudged her with his elbow in silent warning.
Fang Baicheng flashed a smile, tilting his head to gaze at Tong Qiu. “Is that so? I can go out and borrow all kinds of different work uniforms – I’m happy to wear whichever one you like.”
The suggestive undertone of Fang Baicheng’s words were glaringly obvious. Tong Qiu wasn’t too fond of his type – it felt awkward and made him uncomfortable from head to toe, so he smiled faintly but didn’t respond.
Fang Baicheng wasn’t completely unaware and sensed that Tong Qiu wasn’t warming up to him so after a while, he left and went to find someone else to chat up.
Now that there was no one eavesdropping, Chu Yao turned to Tong Qiu and asked, “You don’t like him?”
“Please, I’m not that easy – I’m not going to throw myself at every man I meet.”
Tong Qiu continued to mull over his unexpected encounter with Huo Zhixing. What was Huo Zhixing’s impression of him now, after seeing him at a bar so soon after their divorce with another man hanging all over him?
They were already divorced, though, so did his image even matter? Even if he did manage to keep up the act, what was the point, really?
Tong Qiu continued to brood and completely zoned out while Chu Yao was talking.
“Hey buddy, did you even hear a word of what I just said?” Chu Yao raised her glass and knocked it against his emphatically. “What’s on your mind? Why do I get the feeling that your ex is still interested in you?”
“You’re over-analyzing.” Tong Qiu threw back the rest of the alcohol in his own glass and then crossed his legs. “If he was really interested in me, then he wouldn’t have agreed to a divorce so easily.”
Chu Yao couldn’t help but agree. If she were in Huo Zhixing’s place and was still in love with Tong Qiu, she would have wracked her brains for ways to get him to stay.
“Then what are you going to do?” Chu Yao asked. “Back when you said you were getting married I thought you had found a keeper. Who would have thought you two would break up within the year.”
“He’s definitely a keeper, but I’m not the right person to keep him.” Tong Qiu waved a bartender over and ordered another drink. “Huo Zhixing really is a great guy, but the two of us were dancing around each other with masks fixed to our faces. Do you know what I mean?”
Chu Yao didn’t know at all but had to pretend she understood so that her bestie wouldn’t get more annoyed. So she nodded her head and said firmly, “Yeah, I hear you!”
“You know what kind of person I am…” The bartender brought him his drink. Tong Qiu had ordered a new cocktail on the menu and he started off with a tiny sip. It tasted pretty good and he nodded in satisfaction. “As for me…”
“You’re passionate but repressed.” Chu Yao was very well-versed on this particular topic. “I totally get it. You were all subdued around your ex-husband and never revealed your sensual nature.”
“I mean, you’re not exactly wrong, but why does it sound so awful when you put it that way?” Tong Qiu said. “The main reason was because he was so straight-laced and all I could do was bow and greet him and say ‘thank you’. If you told me to throw on a thong and give him a lap dance, I don’t think I could have done it.”
“You have thongs?” Chu Yao asked. “And you know how to lap dance?”
“…I’m just giving an example. For illustrative purposes.”
Chu Yao didn’t believe him one bit.
Tong Qiu was still unsettled. Even though the divorce hadn’t caused him any heartache, he still felt as if he had suffered some sort of wound and that a part of his world had abruptly vanished. He initially thought that, after the divorce, his freedom would be returned to him and he would be like a caged bird finally set free – he could do whatever he wanted and fool around with whichever man that caught his eye.
However, he couldn’t seem to get back in the groove and it was all because he had run into Huo Zhixing again.
As the saying went, if your ex set the bar too high, it would impact any future attempts at finding love.
“Don’t worry about it. Even though you’re in your thirties, men can stay on the shelf until their forties, maybe even their fifties,” Chu Yao said consolingly, noting his grim expression. She patted him on the shoulder and added, “Even if you don’t like this particular Fang Baicheng, there are hundreds and thousands of Fang Baicheng’s out there just waiting for you to climb into bed with them. I’ll keep an eye out for high-quality candidates and send them your way.”
Tong Qiu forced a smile. “Thanks. Always so thoughtful.”
The two of them continued chatting and joking around and drank deep into the night. Tong Qiu had planned on heading home earlier because he still had work the next day – it wasn’t as if he was allowed to take a few days off because of something like a divorce.
However, just as Tong Qiu was about to stand up and leave, he caught sight of Huo Zhixing entering through the front doors. Tong Qiu immediately sat back down. Huo Zhixing had changed out of his uniform and was wearing casual clothes.
“Who caught your eye?” Chu Yao asked, then followed his gaze. “Oh my god, why is your husband back?”
“Watch it,” Tong Qiu said to Chu Yao, his eyes still glued to Huo Zhixing. “It’s not husband, it’s ex-husband.”
Anziv7ggifkfuffofifffoggsgosgisi Huo Zhixing is ready to start his mission!!! 😍😍😍
Thanks for the chapter ❤
Yes! Officer Huo is finally online! Thanks for reading!
It’s bad but I can’t help but laugh at how Tong Qiu wants to go wild but feels like he’s gotta repress himself due to Zhixing being all “straight laced” and Zhixing being “straight laced and polite” despite wanting to be wild because he wanted to show respect for Tong Qiu(‘s repression)… like it feels like a game of which came first – the egg or the chicken 😦😦😦
Thanks so much for the update!!
You’re so right, both of them are a little wild on the inside but probably felt they had to hold it in to maintain their policeman/teacher image…which is what led to all this back and forth. Tong Qiu’s inner monologuing makes me laugh a lot too and I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! Thanks for reading!
Chu Yao although there maybe hundreds of Fang baichengs waiting our Tong only wants the one and only Huo zhixing😊
Thank you so much for the chapter!(๑´>᎑<)~♥️♥️
Haha yes! All the Fan Baicheng’s out there can’t hold a candle to our Officer Huo 😉 Thank you for reading!
LMAO both are wild inside but don’t show it in consideration of the other! Yueliang said it perfectly! Anyway, can’t wait to see what HZX is going to do!
Thanks for the chapter! 🙂
Thanks so much for reading! 😀
Whoa!!! He came back to make Tong Qiu company!!!! He’s there to defend his man!
Thanks for the chapter!
Oooh is he gonna walk him home? (And find out where he moved to)
Hehehe 😂
Thanks for the chapter!!!
I feel like he’s going to do something intriguing.
Thank you for the chapter! Reading this novel makes me have some shivers, I don’t know why… But it’s good shivers!
In short, the two idiots are perfect for each other but never let loose lol
I’m interested to see how Huo Zhixing will get Tong Qiu to stop wearing his fake mask. 😋
So TQ’s real personality is actually quite a bad boy lmao drinking at bars everyday and knowing how to lap dance LMAOO and he wanted that side of his to be hidden and seem much more docile when he got married.
While on the other hand HZ is actually a beast as well but wanted to appear more gentlemanly in front of TQ..
wHAT a MeSs…thats why ppl say that u should get to know each other first…i cant belive im saying this BUT STOP RESPECTING EACH OTHER SOOOO MUCH!! (damn this is a first that ive ever said dis)
other stories trying to get the mains respect each other but this story is trying to get them not respect each other and just let loose
So funny 😂 lol. I love Chu Yao. She is so funny and always pointing out his “ husband “ , he always correct her “ex husband”
:O
Hou Zhixing’s radar has been set off by that baicheng person lmao
I think their true personalities fit each other more than they initially thought. Too bad both of them spent their short marriage hiding their true self from the other.
Phase 1 is commencing, I repeat, Phase 1 is commencing!!!
This is why people should think million times before getting married.. and marriage isn’t only about love I wonder where did teacher tong got that lol. No one had taken the initiative to make the marriage work.. TQ didn’t bother to do the effort.. he’s putting all his effort in the wrong place they’re just like f buddies that where roommates lol. I’m sure TQ was not aware that it’s an effort to have chemistry and maintain love
😭 the way I pictured them bowing to each other before initiating intimacy.
This the real thing!
No, but seriously, I’m very interested why are you married him, TQ!
Thank You for the chapter (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)