The rest of the May Day holiday was spent at their grandfather’s house. Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing went to bed late and also woke up late every day. After they woke up, they would just eat and chat or walk around together with Grandpa Tong to watch others play chess.
Every time Grandpa Tong took them out for a walk, as soon as they met an acquaintance, he would generously introduce them – saying this was his grandson and his grandson’s lover.
It was times like this that Tong Qiu thought about how lucky he was. Whether it was his friends or family, or even Huo Zhixing (who he became close with only after the divorce), they were all lovely and treated him kindly.
Naturally, when same-sex marriage was legalized, quite a few people were opposed but never voiced it.
Whether it was legal or not, to accept it or not was another matter.
Just like what his colleague Xuo-laoshi said, legalization can’t take off those people’s coloured glasses.
Especially for the older generation, it was not so easy for them to accept.
But his Grandpa never changed, remaining his usual happy and jubilant self. He even introduced the two children behind him like they were babies.
Grandpa’s birthday on the second day of May, his 80th birthday, was very grand.
Father Tong rented a huge room at a hotel, accommodating more than a dozen tables for guests who were relatives and close friends.
Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing sat at the front table, and watched Grandpa laughing so buoyantly his eyes narrowed. Tong Qiu commented: “When we reach the age of 80, we will have a party as grand as this too.”
Huo Zhixing replied, “Okay, we’ll have to make up for our wedding celebration.”
Tong Qiu smiled and glanced at him, “You’re so smug.”
In fact, when Huo Zhixing said that, Tong Qiu was moved.
When they got married, there was no ceremony, and they just went and shared a meal together. At that time they thought nothing of it, but now it was somewhat regrettable.
Tong Qiu thought, if such a day would come, if I remarry with this man surnamed Huo, then I would have a grand wedding.
Thinking of this, he glanced at the person sitting beside him.
Will it happen?
Will it?
The day after Grandpa’s birthday, the two of them boarded the return train after lunch.
En route back inside the train, they decided to have dinner together before they returned to their homes, but when they were nearing the train station, Zhao Heyu called and asked Huo Zhixing to go to the police station after he arrived.
“It’s not easy being a police man.” Tong Qiu commented.
Huo Zhixing smiled helplessly and said: “It’s not easy being family with a police officer.”
Tong Qiu glared at him but the corners of his eyes were curved to a smile: “Who is family with a police officer? Not me.”
“No?” Huo Zhixing leaned over to stick to the other, “Are you not?”
He shaped his hand into a pistol and pushed it on Tong Qiu’s waist: “Tong-laoshi should think about it carefully before answering, in case my gun goes off…”
“Is Officer Huo less likely to brush his gun and accidentally fire off?” Tong Qiu smiled and looked at him, “Should I calculate how often for 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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“It can’t be put out,” Huo Zhixing said after drinking water. “Didn’t you tell me to come back and compensate you last time? Give me two days and wait patiently at home.”
They two did it only once back at Grandpa Tong’s place. It wasn’t the best because they had to be restrained and mindful but it only made Tong Qiu wonder more about when they would be able to hold a “big test”. Since Officer Huo took the initiative, he would naturally not refuse.
Tong Qiu felt like they were slowly becoming naughtier.
“The exam is okay,” Tong Qiu said, “But there should be a pre-exam counselling before the next exam. Please prepare for it.”
It was just after five o’clock when the two got off the train. Huo Zhixing watched Tong Qiu get on a bus before he took a taxi and headed towards the station.
Sitting in the car, Huo Zhixing called He Hongtao to ask about Zou Kai but the other person didn’t answer the phone. He figured the other was busy.
During the three days they spent back at Tong Qiu’s hometown, he was able to properly relax. He was able to put aside his identity as a policeman and all his worries, and they passed time together simply and leisurely.
It was like living a retirement life ahead of time and enjoying a short-time paradise, but finally it was time to come back to reality.
And the reality they were facing right now was that Zou Kai may appear at any moment.
As soon as Huo Zhixing set foot back into the city, he became uneasy. He wished he had a magic door, one that he could open anywhere and would lead him to where Tong Qiu was.
When Tong Qiu arrived home at 6 o’clock, the sky hadn’t darken yet. He stood at the community gate and looked through his bag for the key.
“Tong-laoshi is back!”
Tong Qiu was about to walk in holding the key when he heard the voice, he turned around and saw that it was the little security guard he knew.
Although Tong Qiu hadn’t lived there for long, he was familiar with the security and the staff who maintained the property. Just like back where he and Huo Zhixing lived, he got along well with his neighbours.
“I’m back,” Tong Qiu greeted him with a smile.
“I was about to press your doorbell,” Said the little security guard. “A package arrived for you. I’ll bring it over now.”
Tong Qiu thought it was strange. He hadn’t purchased anything so how come where was a package delivered to him?
He stood waiting at the door, watching the little security guard take out a package from the security room.’
“Thank you.” Tong Qiu thanked him, and walked away with the package wearing a puzzled expression.
The package was rectangular in shape, and when he shook it, it seemed like it contained a solid thing.
He looked at the sender’s information. It was a name and number he didn’t recognize. The address was also from a province’s town he has no idea where.
When he entered his apartment, Tong Qiu didn’t rush to open the box, and instead called the sender first, but it was an empty number.
After that, he called all the people who might send him things, but there were only a few people who would – Chu Yao and Huo Zhixing.
Tong Qiu hadn’t told his parents about the divorce at all. Naturally, they wouldn’t have known he moved to his current address, so the package couldn’t have been sent by them.
Chu Yao and Huo Zhixing said they didn’t send anything to him.
Huo Zhixing asked, “What is it?”
“I haven’t opened it yet.” Tong Qiu said, “It’s okay, I’ll ask around. Maybe someone else sent it. Sorry for troubling you, you must be busy.”
Huo Zhixing was preparing for a mission at that moment so he wasn’t able to inquire more. He simply said he would be very busy tonight and would contact him tomorrow.
Tong Qiu asked him to take caution, and then hung up.
He looked for a pair of scissors, opened the top, and frowned when he came face with the item.
A switchblade was lying inside.
Tong Qiu sat on the sofa and stared at the switchblade, pondering. Several possibilities came to mind.
Teachers in other classes have also received such package before. Later, they found out it was sent by one of the students in their own class because they were dissatisfied with how that teacher teaches, so they threatened and retaliated.
However, Tong Qiu knew he had no such students. He had never said anything offensive to them. Even when his students made a mistake, he always adhered to the principle of “being reasonable and emotional” to educate them.
Not only do the students hold no grudge against him, they also had a good relationship.
If they wanted to send something to him, why send a switchblade?
Tong Qiu was the first to rule out this possibility.
Then he thought of Fang Baicheng.
Tong Qiu rolled his eyes, closed the box, and stuffed it inside the drawer under the coffee table.
He almost forgot about this man. Unexpectedly, Fang Baicheng was really persistent. The more he resented, the braver he became. Now it seemed like he wanted to play games.
Tong Qiu didn’t take it seriously. What else could the man do?
However, the next day, when he was on his way to school, one of the guards handed him another package. The sender was still the same as before. He opened it and saw that it was another knife.
This time it was a saber branded switchblade.
Tong Qiu felt annoyed and during a free time, called Fang Baicheng.
But the call did not go through. The other party’s mobile service was suspended.
Although he knew Fang Baicheng wouldn’t be able to cause any huge trouble, it doesn’t mean what he’s doing was tolerable. Tong Qiu felt a little anxious, but he could only curb his feelings accordingly. The college entrance exams were still a month away, so he didn’t have the time to deal with these things.
The evening self-study class ended at 9:30. Tong Qiu was the last one to leave the classroom, and by 9:45 he was finally able to walk out the school gates.
He headed for the subway station, got on a tube, and sent Huo Zhixing a message inquiring if he would visit him that night.
As a result, Huo Zhixing directly called and told him, “I’m in your building right now. Have been here for half an hour already, actually.”
Tong Qiu laughed: “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“If I told you, would you leave your students and run back home?”
Tong Qiu replied without hesitation: “Of course, how can I ask Officer Huo to wait for me?”
Huo Zhixing didn’t believe him. He knew how Tong Qiu was.
“Where are you?”
“Two more stops.”
Huo Zhixing told him he’ll pick him up at the subway station, Tong Qiu muttered: “Am I an underage girl? Afraid of walking at night? Don’t mess around, you can go to the security room and chat with the guards.”
Huo Zhixing didn’t want to talk to other people, he just wanted to talk to Tong-laoshi, and so they didn’t hang up. Tong Qiu walked out of the subway and on his way continued to talk with Huo Zhixing.
He lived in a newly developed urban area. Although the place has developed a lot in the past two years, compared to the huge urban cities, there were still fewer people and cars. In fact, it was only two months ago that the subway station was opened, and it wasn’t like there were a lot of people out this late at night.
Tong Qiu always went home late, and was already used to walking by himself. But today, while he talked on the phone with Huo Zhixing, it seemed like he had a companion.
But he felt that there was something wrong. Like someone was following him.
Halfway through at a corner, Tong Qiu abruptly turned his head but saw nothing, not even a ghost.
He frowned and felt like he must’ve just gone slightly paranoid. It seemed like the two knives Fang Baicheng sent him affected him more than he expected.
“Is the handsome man afraid of walking at night?” Huo Zhixing chuckled.
“That’s enough of you.” Tong Qiu ended the call, because when he turned back he saw Huo Zhixing walking towards him being illuminated by the street light. “Weren’t you going to wait for me inside the building?”
Huo Zhixing walked towards him quickly and the two finally met at the “magpie bridge”. As if it was natural, he took Tong Qiu’s hand into his own and side by side they walked towards Tong Qiu’s apartment building. Huo Zhixing said, “How could I patiently wait? In case you were abducted by some crooked melon tonight, who will sleep with me?”
Tong Qiu glared at him: “Huo Zhixing, are the police even allowed to say such vulgar words?”
“Not with others,” Huo Zhixing smiled and looked at him. “With you, such talk is just the first step tonight.”
The author has something to say:
Take a look at yesterday’s event. Life is hard. Take a look and cherish it.
Nell’s Corner:
You just gotta love Huo Zhixing’s eloquence hahaha! And I have a bad feeling about those knives and think it isn’t as simple as it seems hmmmm….
We hit our first Ko-fi goal! Expect an extra chapter this Wednesday or Thursday. A little reminder that I release extra chapters when we hit the $10 Ko-fi goal hehehe.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I’m afraid that the next time Tong-laoshi feel someone following him, his guard lowered eventhough its not Officer Hui who’s following him…
Since Tong-laoshi is a good teacher and wouldn’t receive a blade from one of his students, and I seriously doubt it’s that perverted stalker, then I think we have two probable options. One is the Zuo Kai, who somehow got to know who Tong Qiu is for Officer Huo and where he lives, or it may be the father of the girl who jumped from the roof (like the father lost in court and started blaming everyone around him including the homeroom teacher). Either way it’s creepy.
Thank you for the chapter!!!
Ooh I totally forgot about the father. I was thinking that its probably Zuo Kai and I still think that but that father is also an option.
Uh oh i got a bad feeling too…
Being followed is so insidious because the whole time you try to convince yourself that they’re just coincidentally going in the same direction as you. You try not to overreact but that’s the one situation where hands down it’s better to look a fool than be murdered
I would be so afraid if I were him !
It was the ML’s enemy who sent those packages, I’m sure of it. He should immediately inform the ML, and not dismiss it as just his previous stalker.
When you kicked blanket because you are not mentally prepared about shits might happened and realized you’d write something even worst
Now I’m super worried, omg
It’s bad… How it possible they both didn’t even thought about HZX’s enemy? ><
Thank You for the chapter ლ(´ ❥ `ლ)