Tong Qiu was already familiar with Huo Zhixing’s advice: Don’t go out; if someone knocks on the door, don’t open it. When he was a child, his parents were both busy with work and he was always left at home alone. These particular words were what his parents always told him before they would leave.
Hearing these from Huo Zhixing, it seemed like Tong Qiu had reverted back to when he was an elementary student waiting at home for an adult to return.
He was not worried at all. What would he be afraid of? With Huo Zhixing, there was nothing to fear.
Completely complacent, Tong Qiu laid on the sofa and played on his phone. The three knives were neatly displayed on the coffee table, waiting for Huo Zhixing to arrive and “inspect the goods.”
Tong Qiu had already fallen asleep on the sofa when someone finally knocked on the door. Mind still fogged over by sleep, he shouted a response in a muddle and slipped on his slippers before opening the door. When he saw Huo Zhixing standing in front of him, he gave the other a dazed smile.
“You, You,” Huo Zhixing entered the apartment, placed one hand on Tong Qiu’s waist, and the other hand closed the door. “Why did you open the door so casually? What if it was not me who knocked?”
Tong Qiu chuckled, “You worry too much.”
Huo Zhixing dared not to let his guard down. If something really happened – well, they said regret would only show itself in the end.
“How are you?” Huo Zhixing asked again, “Did anything happened?”
“I’m fine, just sleepy.” Tong Qiu took his hand and led him to the living room. “The knives are on the coffee table.”
Huo Zhixing sat on the sofa and carefully checked the knives and the packaging. Indeed, there was something wrong with the shipping label.
“Three days in a row?”
“Yes,” Tong Qiu replied, “It started on the day we came back from my hometown. What I received then was □□.”
Huo Zhixing stared at the three knives.
“The second is the switchblade, which was sent to my school.” Tong Qiu explained, “At first I thought it was Fang Baicheng, but when I called him it won’t go through. I asked Chu Yao and she said that Fang Baichen went abroad last month.”
Huo Zhixing frowned and nodded.
“In fact, even if he went abroad, it could still be him.” Tong Qiu continued, “Originally I didn’t want to tell you. I was afraid you would worry.”
“You should still tell me.” Huo Zhixing took out his phone and stood up, “Wait for me, I’ll have to make a call.”
He went to the balcony, and Tong Qiu remained seated on the sofa and waited for him.
He Hongtao took a long time to answer and asked him, “What’s the matter?”
“Any news on Zou Kai?”
“I was just about to tell you this,” He Hongtao said, “I checked, there really was something wrong with Zou Kai’s medical parole. After he got released, he stayed at a cousin’s house. Once I get my hands on some proof, he will be arrested again.”
“He just stayed inside his cousin’s house?”
“I have my men constantly watching over there, and reported they hardly went out.”
Huo Zhixing didn’t believe it, and felt that there was something fishy going.
“What about Zhou Xiaoyuan’s case?” Huo Zhixing asked, “The last time you showed me the picture, the victim was stabbed by a knife right? Did you find the weapon?”
“Not yet, though weapon should be a switchblade.”
Huo Zhixing frowned and looked back at the coffee table in the living room.
“Could you tell me more details?”
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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“You won’t stay?” Tong Qiu thought Huo Zhixing would sleep over tonight.
“Something happened.” Huo Zhixing hugged Tong Qiu and gave him a kiss, then teased, “Why? Can’t bear to part?”
“Not at all,” Tong Qiu replied, remaining stubborn and reluctant to admit defeat. “I merely asked to be polite.”
If Huo Zhixing didn’t understood what he meant, then he wouldn’t be called Huo Zhixing anymore. He pinched the other at the waist and took the opportunity to grope his ass: “Be especially careful during the next couple of days. If anything abnormal happens, call me immediately.”
Tong Qiu nodded obediently: “I’ll keep Officer Huo’s words to mind.”
“Good. Then I’ll leave now. You should go to bed early.” Huo Zhixing went out the door and walked towards where the elevators were.
Tong Qiu followed him until his doorsteps and pondered. After hesitating for a moment, he called Huo Zhixing and crooked a finger.
Huo Zhixing smiled and walked back towards him. Tong Qiu encircled his arms around the others neck and planted a kiss on the other’s lips. The kiss sounded rather loudly against the silent corridor, a soft refreshing “pop” echoing around in the middle of the night.
“Thank you Teacher Tong for the reward.” The elevator arrived, and Huo Zhixing had to leave. He smiled and took another kiss. “I feel more motivated to work tonight.”
Tong Qiu leaned on the door frame as he watched Huo Zhixing step into the elevator, feeling empty and lonely.
He sent Chu Yao a message: Sister, what do you think my ex-husband would think if I offered for us to live together again?”
Chu Yao replied quickly: Don’t think so much, but from now onwards the emperor will never be able to attend morning court sessions!
That night, Huo Zhixing carried the three knives to the criminal police office. When he entered, He Hongtao swore again.
“Come on, don’t curse.” Huo Zhixing placed the bag in front of him. “I’ll leave this to you.”
He Hongtao looked at him before opening the paper bag. The first thing that caught his attention was the switch blade.
He asked someone to take the knives for identification, then brought Huo Zhixing to his office.
“What happened?” He Hongtao asked.
“The day before yesterday, after we came back from a trip, he received a package with □□.” Huo Zhixing explained, “Yesterday it was a switchblade and was sent to his school. Today it was a kitchen knife.”
Huo Zhixing poured himself a glass of water: “My wife is an easy going teacher. Both parents and students like him, and he has never made enemies. The only fool who pestered him and pursued him has gone abroad during this time. With that mind, who else would give him such package?”
He Hongtao thought of the switchblade and muttered “fuck” under his breath.
“When can you get Zou Kai back?” Huo Zhixing asked, “It makes me uneasy for every day that passes by with him still at large.”
“Who isn’t?” He Hongtao replied, “But this matter is a bit tricky and involves many people.”
Concerning this, Huo Zhixing understood.
Prison inmates deemed in need for medical treatment are released under parole. When this happens, different agencies cooperate with the police to prevent fraud. In Zou Kai’s case, since his medical parole was clearly falsified, if investigated it would take time since obviously this wasn’t something a single person could do.
“How is the progress concerning Zhou Xiaoyuan’s case?”
“The murder weapon hasn’t been found yet.” He Hongtao aggrievedly sat on the chair behind his desk, “Otherwise why would I still be cursing?”
Hou Zhixing thought: Or maybe it was because it was on my Teacher’s hands.
Huo Zhixing figured that if Zhou Xiaoyuan was really killed by Zou Kai, and the packages Tong Qiu received were really sent by him, then he really was good. Killing two birds with one stone – he had scared Tong Qiu and managed to transfer the murder weapon.
However, this seemed to be his plan. Zou Kai knew that once Tong Qiu received the weapon he would definitely give it to Huo Zhixing, and Huo Zhixing in turn would send it to He Hongtao.
In other words, Zou Kai didn’t want to hide the murder weapon at all.
Huo Zhixing sat there, drinking water in silence.
He suddenly realized that the real purpose Zou Kai wanted to be released was to take care of the people who betrayed him and arrested him: Zhou Xiaoyuan and Huo Zhixing.
Zhou Xiaoyuan was dead. He had several knife stabs in his body. It was terrible.
Now, it should be Huo Zhixing’s turn, but it was obvious that Zou Kai was very smart and knew that targeting his family would be more effective at affecting Huo Zhixing rather than tormenting himself.
He Hongtao handed Huo Zhixing a cigarette: “Is your wife okay?”
Huo Zhixing nodded: “There’s nothing to worry about, I’m here.”
He Hongtao became anxious. He knew that whether it was against falsifications on his medical parole, or of him killing Zhou Xiaoyuan, as long as they get evidence of either they could arrest Zou Kai immediately.
Now it depended on whether the switchblade indeed was the murder weapon.
Tong Qiu hadn’t been able to get in touch with Huo Zhixing for a whole day. He became worried, especially when he thought about the three knives he carried when he left last night.
He thought about leaving his class early in the evening and drop by at the Sanhu Police station to take a look – just to make sure that nothing bad happened.
As a result, the school informed that all students in the third year of high school and their teachers must hold a strategic meeting starting on the third night before the start of the evening self-study examination. Attendance was a must for both parties.
Tong Qiu wasn’t able to leave. Before the start of the evening class, he called Huo Zhixing again. It was already 7:30 in the evening, and only then had the other party finally answered.
“What’s the matter?” Tong Qiu asked anxiously, “I haven’t heard from you all day.”
Huo Zhixing’s tone didn’t sound good: “Well, something happened. Where are you? Are you at home?”
“I haven’t finished working yet. Today, the school decided to hold a strategic meeting for the exams lasting for three nights. I can’t leave.” Tong Qiu felt nervous when he heard the grave tone of the other, “What’s the matter? Was there really something wrong with the knives?”
“The identification results came out. It’s speculated that the switch blade was the weapon that killed Zhou Xiaoyuan, and it was Zou Kai himself who delivered the packages to you.” Huo Zhixing said, “Strict monitoring on the community at your home has been ordered.”
This time, Tong Qiu could feel his heart beating hard on his chest like he was about to have a heart attack.
“Zou Kai?” Although he had yet to meet the person, Tong Qiu felt like he was already quite familiar with the man with how often he heard his name.
“What time do you get off work? I’ll pick you up.” Huo Zhixing was on his way to the station after he left the criminal police office. He was supposed to be on duty tonight, but he did not feel at ease. He found someone willing to change shifts with and decided to pick up Tong Qiu himself.
“I don’t know yet.” Tong Qiu replied, “But I definitely won’t be able to leave earlier than usual.”
“Okay, I see. I’ll have to drop by the station to clean up, so please don’t leave until I get to you.”
Originally, Tong Qiu didn’t think the situation was that serious. When Zou Kai had been arrested, he and Huo Zhixing hadn’t met yet. However, basing on Huo Zhixing’s attitude this evening, it seemed like this guy was really targeting him.
“Don’t worry,” Tong Qiu assured, “I promise not to cause you any trouble.”
“It’s not about you joining the circus,” Huo Zhixing assured, “I’m just worried about you.”
Tong Qiu laughed: “Understood.”
When the bell rang for class, Tong Qiu said, “Alright class is starting. You should also pay attention to safety on your way, I worry about you too.”
Even after ending the call, Tong Qiu still did not feel at ease.
The phone he held on his hands felt hot.
He always thought that he wouldn’t be able to experience something like this. Back when he was briefed by one of the higher ups after his marriage with Huo Zhixing about the possible dangers a family member of a police officer could encounter – although he had listened attentively, but a part of him remained skeptical if indeed such things happened in reality.
But now, the facts were in front of him.
Three knives had been sent and taken away from him.
Feng Kaiwen returned back from the toilet and asked him: “Brother Tong what are you doing? It’s time for class.”
Tong Qiu took a deep breath and tried to look calm.
He patted Feng Kaiwen on the back and urged him to enter the classroom.
The TV inside had been turned on and the school leaders began to speak.
Tong Qiu stood at the door of the classroom, staring at the TV in a daze.
Huo Zhixing was worried about him. He was also thinking about the other. No sound could enter in his ears, mind too busy thinking about the other.
The author has something to say:
After the release of this chapter and chapter 43, I saw your feedback and reflected on it. It was indeed my problem, so I revised it again.
Thank you for asking these questions. I’m very sorry that the unreasonable content affected your reading experience.
Nell’s Corner:
About the author’s note, I really don’t know what that means. I’m translating this novel as I read so for now I have no idea what happens at chapter 43. I guess its time for me to scour the Chinese comments on the chapters hahaha!
On another note, I apologize for disappearing for a long time. I had some personal stuff that I had to handle – it’s all been taken care of thought so if no complications arise from that I would be able to go back to posting regularly. Thank you so much for your patience! <3
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TRANSLATION!! 💞
Thanks for the chapter!!!
This slowly building suspence… it’s both great and terribly cliffy. I hope they’ll catch the bad guy.
Thank you for the chapter!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CHAPTER💜
If it wasn’t sent by the courier, can’t the security guard cooperate with the police? Plus, that weird part with the uniform makes me think he’s sus.
Thanks for the chapter € ^ *^)/// ~~ ♡♡♡♡♡
D suspense is…..not nice at all.
Thank you for scouring the comments section at the author’s original platform for context. So diligent.
It’s still weird for me that TQ didn’t get some policemen in civil as a bodyguards and the school isn’t under strict control as TQ got in ‘contact’ with ZK and the possibility of being targeted is super high… (눈‸눈)
Thank You for the chapter ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )