“Because of you, I found the motivation to live well.”
Jiaren Wu’s words rang in Wei Shuyi’s ears.
He was shocked.
Feeling confused and troubled, he said, “There’s something I’m curious about.” He sounded puzzled.
Jiaren Wu replied, “Ask away.”
“Just…” Wei Shuyi finally asked the question in his heart. “Why do you like me?”
“You’re handsome,” Jiaren Wu replied without thinking.
Wei Shuyi frowned.
He pushed the woman in his arms away and sized her up with a dark expression.
Holding Jiaren Wu’s arms, he asked her in a tight voice, “You like me just because I’m good-looking? You like me because of that?” His tone was filled with anger and disappointment. “If you like me just because I’m good-looking, then there are many others who are more handsome than me. Why don’t you like them?”
Jiaren Wu glanced at him, no longer trying to fool him. However, she did not answer him directly. Instead, she asked Wei Shuyi, “Then why do you think I like you, Teacher Wei?”
The baton had been passed to Wei Shuyi. Wei Shuyi’s brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes filled with doubt.
“I don’t know,” he answered quite honestly.
However, he just felt that Jiaren Wu shouldn’t have fallen for him so carelessly.
Just because I’m handsome?
Forget it!
Wei Shuyi had been thinking about this problem recently. When Jiaren Wu was being pestered by Lin Zhi at the bar, she could have rejected him as she was a police officer. Yet, she had gone to find him, Wei Shuyi.
After seeing Fang Yusheng’s face, Wei Shuyi was not so confident that he could think he was the most handsome man in the world.
Jiaren Wu sighed and said, “You’ll know in the future.”
Wei Shuyi hated this feeling.
Jiaren Wu got up from his embrace and said, “I’ll sleep in the guest room. You can go and sleep in your room.” When she saw that Wei Shuyi’s gaze was still on her, her heart warmed slightly. She said, “I’ll adjust my mood. You don’t have to worry about me.”
As a police officer, her mental fortitude wouldn’t be too bad.
These few hours of chaos were enough. If she continued to be muddle-headed like this, she would not be qualified to be a police officer.
Then, Jiaren Wu opened the guest room.
When she saw that the guest room had only one bed and mattress and no blanket, she turned around and asked Wei Shuyi, “Are there any more sheets and blankets? I’ll stay here for the night.”
Wei Shuyi said, “Just sleep in my room.”
Jiaren Wu raised her eyebrows in surprise and meaningfully looked at him. She said, “Mr. Wei, I’m going to have to marry you after sleeping with you.” She leaned against the wall and asked lazily, “Are you sure you want me to sleep on your bed?”
Wei Shuyi muttered, “Are you going to sleep or not?” Then he strode into his room.
Jiaren Wu stood rooted to the ground for a moment before following him.
The two of them lay on the bed and listened to the sound of the drizzle on the windowsill.
After crying, one could easily get tired, so Jiaren Wu fell asleep soon.
***
When Wei Shuyi woke up in the morning, Jiaren Wu was already gone. He didn’t even know when she had crawled out of his embrace, nor how long she had been gone for.
He changed his clothes and got out of bed. After eating breakfast alone, he went to school.
In the afternoon, Wei Shuyi bought fresh flowers and went to the cemetery.
Chief Song was being buried today. His colleagues, old friends, subordinates, family members, and friends, as well as those who had once received his help, had all come to the cemetery. There were a lot of people in the cemetery today, but the scene was very quiet. Song Cheng’s wife, who was over 40 years old but still looked beautiful, had worn a black coat and stood between Jiaren Wu and Kang Hui.
She had obviously been crying. Her eyes were red, but she looked good.
Song Cheng’s daughter stood beside Jiaren Wu. She kept crying as well. Her cries made many people who came to pay their respects to Song Cheng shed tears too.
Wei Shuyi took the flowers and offered them to Song Cheng.
Jiaren Wu looked at him and nodded.
***
For one month after Song Cheng’s death, the narcotics team got very busy.
Jiaren Wu did not meet with Wei Shuyi again, and she did not even message him on WeChat.
The next time Wei Shuyi saw Jiaren Wu was a month later.
In the middle of March of the lunar calendar, the sea of flowers in Binjiang City bloomed. Wei Shuyi received a call from Jiaren Wu, who invited him to see the sea of flowers.
Wei Shuyi was a little surprised, but he was looking forward to it.
When Wei Shuyi saw her again, he realized that she had lost weight.
Jiaren Wu had worn a pure white cropped shirt and a pair of low-waisted jeans. Her hair was braided, and she wore a sun hat on her head. She carried a small black leather bag on her right shoulder. On the bag was still the small figurine charm.
Jiaren Wu didn’t drive her motorcycle today. She stood at the entrance of the district with a cup of yogurt in her hand. As she ate it, she waited for Wei Shuyi to pick her up.
Wei Shuyi parked his car in front of a small shop across the district and stared at her from afar. His gaze lingered on her sexy waist for a long time.
After driving the car to Jiaren Wu, he rolled down the window and said, “Get in.”
His passenger seat was clean, but Jiaren Wu took the initiative to sit at the back.
Turning around, Wei Shuyi looked at the yogurt in Jiaren Wu’s hand and asked, “You didn’t eat breakfast?”
“I ate.”
“Oh.”
Jiaren Wu stared at the mask on his face and asked, “Why are you wearing a mask?”
“There’s a lot of pollen.” Wei Shuyi didn’t say anything else, and Jiaren Wu didn’t probe further.
They passed by the store, bought some water and snacks, and set off for the village.
A few years ago, the village was just an ordinary small village. Later on, it was developed and planted with fresh flowers. It became a flower cultivation base. Every spring, countless tourists would visit the village and take pictures. When they arrived at the village, it was only 9: 30 am.
Before getting out of the car, Wei Shuyi asked Jiaren Wu, “Did you bring your camera?”
“I have a phone.”
Hearing this, Wei Shuyi took out a DSLR from the car and handed it to Jiaren Wu.
Jiaren Wu glanced at the camera and said, “It’s pretty expensive, right?”
After unscrewing the bottle of mineral water, Wei Shuyi replied, “Buy less cosmetics and save up for it.” After saying that, he took off his mask and drank the water.
Jiaren Wu turned on her camera and took a photo of Wei Shuyi drinking water. She looked down at the photo and replied, “Since you have it, why would I buy one?”
Wei Shuyi was speechless.
He stared at her for a few seconds but did not refute her.
They rented a two-seater electric scooter, and the two of them strolled around the flowery path. Wei Shuyi spent most of his time looking at the flowers, while Jiaren Wu was busy taking photos of Wei Shuyi. At noon, the two of them ate at a local farmhouse.
After sitting down, Jiaren Wu noticed that Wei Shuyi’s cheeks and neck were a little red. She thought that he was hot, so she opened the window.
There was tea on the table. Wei Shuyi poured two cups and passed one to Jiaren Wu.
He started to drink, but Jiaren Wu stopped him. “Don’t drink.”
Wei Shuyi was stunned. He looked at her in confusion.
Jiaren Wu took out a bottle of mineral water from her bag and handed it to him, saying, “Drink this. It’s clean.”
“This tea isn’t dirty either,” Wei Shuyi said.
Jiaren Wu did not deny his words and only said, “I’m afraid that it’s poisonous.”
After understanding what she meant, Wei Shuyi felt a sharp pain in his heart. “Did something bad happen recently?”
Jiaren Wu thought about it and decided to tell him. “It’s not a big deal. We caused too much of a ruckus this month and offended some people. The water in the bureau was poisoned. Someone drank it and was sent to the hospital to treat his stomach. He’s fine, but he had to suffer.”
Jiaren Wu’s tone was calm, but Wei Shuyi’s expression changed. “Isn’t your job too dangerous?”
“It can’t be helped. Someone has to do dangerous work.”
Wei Shuyi remained silent.
Before coming into contact with this professional group, Wei Shuyi couldn’t feel the urgency and danger in the world. After knowing Jiaren Wu, especially after Chief Song’s death, Wei Shuyi had realized for the first time that danger was always lurking around him.
He casually asked, “Have you considered switching careers?”
Jiaren Wu snorted. “I won’t do that! A police officer has many benefits. I have three insurance plans and a pension plan. I even have provident funds to buy a house!”
