Chapter Text
The flashy car’s tires rushed through the street, eating up a distance worth 40 minutes in no more than 25. To the passerby, it appeared that its driver was a careless maniac —and the truth was, Fei Du’s state during this drive wasn’t any less manic. Those 25 minutes felt like the earth was spinning faster. Fei Du felt a slight dizziness after speeding through the roads, probably breaking the rules by running a red light —but he couldn’t care less
And it was all to be blamed on his reckless husband—Luo Wenzhou—who hadn’t picked up any of his calls for the past half hour. Fei Du was too helpless even to argue with Xiao Haiyang, who eventually helped him track Luo Dui’s phone without permission.
Earlier, when he had finished his two hours of work at the company, he’d written a list of things the house needed and sent it to Luo Wenzhou. Everything had seemed normal at that time. Lao Luo had replied to the message after about five minutes:
“Okay, wait for me. As soon as I buy the groceries I’ll come and pick you up.”
“Why not buy them together?”
"...."
But no reply came to that message, Fei Du frowned.
Fei Du had been under Shixiong’s strict supervision for nearly ten days since the incident with the fugitive criminal. He had to come to the police station and treat Captain Luo’s office like his second home. As long as he didn’t have to work at the company, Xiao Hiyang would pick him up. If Captain Luo was working late, Xiao Haiyang would also take him home, and the same applied for going to and from the company.
This might have seemed unbearable to anyone else. However, Fei Du didn’t really express any dissatisfaction. He chose to see it positively: he would be able to see the captain 24/7. It was a win-win situation!
The great Captain Luo Wenzhou was the one in real danger —the criminal had seen no one but him, not Fei Du— but he didn’t care.
The phone rang, and Fei Du pulled the car aside. Forced by Captain Luo’s partner, Xiao Hiyang had finally obtained Luo Wenzhou’s location—it was the mall he should have left 15 minutes ago.
Some clutter broke through on the other end of the phone before Tao Ran’s voice came through —unlike his usual calm nature, he was loud this time.
“Tao Ge, calm down.”
“That bastard Luo! He didn’t even show a sign of irregular behavior earlier! And now he just sent a message—”
“What message?”
“A car plate!”
Tao Ran turned on Xiao Hiyang’s speaker and tossed the phone harshly on the desk. Xiao Xiao didn’t dare argue with him. He nodded to Qiao’s wide eyes, who typed the numbers at lightning speed, scrolling through a variety of data before the car owner’s face finally appeared.
“Here he is!”
Xiao Hiyang was the first to react.
“He’s just like the sketch President Fei drew!”
President Fei, who was still on the line listening intently, instinctively pressed the gas pedal even harder. His car sped off into the dark night like a wild beast with red, glowing eyes.
“Fei Du, I sent you and that bastard a picture of the suspect —but you know we don’t know what his partner looks like yet! Don’t do anything stupid. Wait for me, we’re on our way to you.”
Acting foolishly wasn’t one of Fei Du’s traits, but at this moment, he was being reckless enough to rival Luo Wenzhou. If he waited for Tao Ran and his men, they wouldn’t arrive in time. He himself was already 15 minutes late —enough time for Wenzhou to...
Fei Du’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. He didn’t even know where Luo Wenzhou was now, but since he had enough time to write down the car’s license plate number, that meant he was alive.
And that was enough for him.
He tried his best to hold on to that thought, and quiet down.
“You’ll be too late,” were the last words Tao Ran heard from him, before Fei Du quickly hung up.
Tao Ran shoved the key into the ignition and started the engine, speeding off in the same direction as the monster. He paid little attention to Xiao Hiyang, who hadn’t yet fastened his seatbelt, and certainly ignored Xiao Qiao, who was shouting from behind:
“Should I bring more police officers to help?”
None of them knew how serious the situation really was —or if it was even dangerous at all— since their great captain hadn’t told any of them anything.
Worse still, he hadn’t even read the last message containing a clear picture of the suspect. Now, just like the first time, he was probably chasing a faceless ghost —not even knowing if he remembered the sketch Fei Du had drawn earlier.
Fei Du was almost certain that Luo Wenzhou wouldn’t remember any of those features —not after that blunt sentence:
“He is ugly.”
_
In the mall's parking lot, Luo Wenzhou’s distinguishable white car was still there, which worsened Fei Du’s headache upon seeing it. His foot pressed the brake pedal, and within seconds, he turned off the engine and ran toward the parked car.
It was locked — and, surprisingly, the groceries were still in the back seat.
“So he had time to buy them, but not enough time to put them in the rear trunk?”
Which meant that he saw something that was disrupting him and making him rush to leave immediately, and most likely that something was that car, but why didn't Luo Wenzhou chase that car by his car and chose to go on foot where no one knew where he went?
Fei Du’s thoughts ran wild for a moment before he dashed toward the emergency exit door—unbeknownst to him, he had passed right by the suspect’s car before shutting the door behind him with a chilling creak.
Behind the emergency exit Fei Du took, there was an extremely large and empty space. No one could hide in a place like this. Even if a pen had fallen here, you would have been able to see it immediately.
Now The garage was Behind Fei Du, and in front of it was a large empty yard. Fei Du narrowed his eyes and scanned the area carefully, he found a door behind one of the columns. He took his phone out of his pocket to try to call Luo Wenzhou again, but discovered that there was no signal. He realized that this might be why Wenzhou wasn't answering his calls, but that didn't make sense either.
Why would he stay in an empty place for half an hour?
When he put his phone back in his pocket and walked out the door in front of him, Tao Ran and Xiao Hiyang had been stuck in traffic for five minutes.
Tao Ran had already lost his patience, so he turned the car around and drove as fast as he could from the main road to the side streets. However, no matter how fast he drove, this route would still add an extra ten minutes to his journey.
“Xiao Hiyang, are you still tracking Luo Dui's phone?”
Xiao Hiyang quickly took his phone out of his pocket, but there was no new signal on the phone. The red dot stayed still.
“It's still in the same place”
“Damn, that's weird!”
There were many bad scenarios and frightening possibilities, but Tao Ran was not one to rush to the worst conclusion. He trusted that the captain was planning something and would most likely survive, as he always found a way out. But there was also the little fool who was rushing after him.
“Hey, little glasses,” Tao Ran patted Haiyang on the shoulder as his eyes focused on the road ahead. “Get Fei Du's location too. If you can't, ask Xiao Qiao quickly.”
“Do you think he...” Hiyang was about to utter one of his terrible thoughts in front of Tao Ran, who was certain he didn't want to hear it out loud, so he motioned for him to be quiet.
On the other hand, The last exit that Fei Du took led to several side exits and roads that led to residential buildings. Unlike the front of the glitzy mall, these streets were less well-lit, and the rain from earlier in the day still covered some of the potholes in the ground. Four streets and a narrow alleyway—Fei Du had to choose one of them and be careful. He tried again to call Captain Luo, but Luo Wenzhou's phone was off for the fifth time.
Fei Du took the road on the far right and walked cautiously, thinking that what he was doing was no less stupid than what Luo Wenzhou was doing—whatever he did. He had nothing to defend himself with except for a few moves he had learned from Luo Shixiong's training. The road was bright enough, so he turned off the flashlight and returned the phone to his pocket.
By that time Tao Ran finally reached the upper road again, Hiyang had managed to track Fei Du's phone with Xiao Qiao's help.
“Deputy Tao, he's far from the mall now in a neighboring area, but the captain's phone is still in the mall.”
Hiyang voiced out his thoughts again “Could he have taken the wrong road?”
“Fei Du wouldn't do that when he's in a hurry.”
“Then...” Hiyang thought for a moment about the possible scenarios but Tao Ran cut him short. “I'm afraid Luo Wenzhou has lost his phone.”
Xiao Hiyang said nothing else and immediately fell silent.
This thought popped into Tao Ran's head as he realized the truth of the matter. If Luo Wenzhou's phone had been turned off for the past quarter of an hour—that is, five minutes after he sent the license plate number—then Fei Du must have arrived ten minutes ago and left the scene five minutes ago at most.
“Fei Du must have figured that out,” added Xiao Haiyang, pointing out that he had already arrived before them.
Tao Ran's conclusion was indeed correct, but Fei Du realized this fact later, when he was halfway there, perhaps because he was now on high alert in such an unfamiliar place and worried about Luo Wenzhou, so his mind prioritized finding the right route over the right timing.
Earlier when Fei Du sent the shopping list to Luo Wenzhou, the latter had already left work early.
The clock showed 7:40 PM. His initial plan was to pick up Fei Du from the company and go shopping together, but at that moment, he realized that the car behind him was traveling at the same speed and on the same route as him.
At first, this was just a figment of his imagination, because he had been on high alert for anything since that night. But when he took the wrong exit onto the highway, he realized that he was indeed being watched, as the car behind him had taken the same route.
Luo Wenzhou had told Fei Du before that he would be leaving work early and that he should wait for him, so Fei Du obediently waited for him after sending him the first message. Lastly Luo Wenzhou began to feel a heaviness in his chest. It was good that he noticed that car before he arrived at President Fei's company.
When he received his message, he acted as if everything was fine. It was impossible for him to make Fei Du suspect that he was being followed, so he decided that the best solution was not to answer his calls.
Luo Wenzhou turned and looked to his right to find the mall. He took the first left and drove to the mall's parking lot. The car that had been following him had disappeared by then, and Luo Wenzhou felt somewhat relieved. He parked his car in the underground garage and went to buy his groceries. There, he noticed the back door of the garage. The door was wide enough for a car to exit and enter, but it was also far from the main door—and most likely from the main street—making it the perfect choice for a car in pursuit.
Luo Wenzhou rushed toward the door and began checking the nearest cars until his eyes fell on the same old silver car that had been following him. There was no one in the front seat or the back seat—or at least that's what Luo Wenzhou thought.
Where could that man be hiding?
He quickly wrote down the license plate number and sent it to Tao Ran Then headed upstairs to buy the items. It was something he hadn't expected, waiting for that stranger to chase him inside. But no one followed him, Luo Wenzhou thought this's not expected, thus he hurried back to the garage, opened his car, and was about to check his phone when he heard footsteps coming from the left corner.
“Who's there?”
But no one answered, so he quickly threw the items in the back seat and locked the car again before heading toward the sound. Luo Wenzhou felt for his gun and made sure it was there, along with the handcuffs.
He impatiently ran toward the car, the minute someone rushed toward the back door, and Luo Wenzhou instinctively rushed after him without hesitation, unaware that he had tossed his phone in the car with the rest of his belongings.
The person he was chasing was very fast and cautious, just like the previous times. He managed to cross the wide empty square in an instant before Captain Luo could see him—and from there, to the back road where the four exits and the narrow alley were located.
After taking the far right road and walking halfway down it, Fei Du found himself in a network of streets and roads, all leading to residential areas—half of which were informal settlements, and the other half somewhat civilized. This scene intron of him held a familiarity feeling, as if he had traveled back in time to a certain moment, but his mind failed him, and he couldn't recall the situation.
At that moment, every step posed a new danger to him, but he didn’t hesitate for a second to take different routes based on half-baked assumptions. They weren’t entirely random, but they weren’t entirely reliable either.
It struck him as suspicious that most of the streets he walked down were eerily quiet. No one passed by here; this area was definitely not the residential front of the neighborhood.
Suddenly, an uncomfortable feeling swept over him, as if the air had suddenly become warmer—perhaps heavier—despite the cold autumn weather. He cautiously reached into his pocket to take out his phone, afraid that if he turned on the flashlight, he would expose himself in the middle of the street. He hesitated for a moment and decided to stay still and pretend to be nothing but part of the wall.
Perhaps fifteen seconds passed before a shadow appeared from the opposite side of the street. The man was also walking cautiously, but his steps were confident. Fei Du made a quick decision and took two long strides to the left, turning behind the adjacent wall, but the man continued walking toward him with the same steady steps. Fei Du was certain he wasn’t just a passerby.
“Damn you, Luo Wenzhou, where are you?” Fei Du muttered through clenched teeth.
He tightened his grip, stretched his leg forward, bracing himself to face whoever was in front of him.
The man raised his arms, aiming at him. Fei Du didn’t hesitate—he drove a solid punch straight into his shoulder.
“Don’t!” The man dodged half-heartedly, clicking his tongue.
“...Shixiong?” Relief flooded through Fei Du. His shoulders loosened at last, as if a knot had been untied in his chest since Luo Wenzhou disappeared.
Luo Wenzhou stepped out of the shadows, breathing heavily, his face sharp in the dim light. “Fei Du.”
“How did you know it was me?”
Luo ignored the question. He didn’t need to strain his mind to recognize Fei Du’s footsteps. This young man always moved with that unnerving calm, like walking across a sheet of thin glass—Wenzhou could have picked him out even in chaos.
“Brat! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he rasped, seizing Fei Du’s wrist and yanking him back behind the wall.
Adrenaline buzzing through his veins, Fei Du blinked. “You weren’t answering your phone!”
Luo shot him a look—the kind that usually came before a scolding—but only let out a short, exasperated breath. Fei Du seized the opening, slipping right back into his habit of needling him. “I could’ve knocked you flat with that punch, you know.” He smirked in half proud tone.
“Really?”
Luo’s sluggish reaction made Fei Du frown. Suspicion prickled at him. He reached out, running his hands over Luo’s arms and shoulders until he squeezed the left one. Luo flinched.
“Shixiong, what happened?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing…” Luo brushed at his jacket, but his eyes narrowed suddenly. “Wait. Did you see anyone else?”
Fei Du shook his head, but unease crawled back up his spine.
Luo gave a clipped account: a dropped phone, a near shot at a suspect’s ankle, then the crushing blow of a metal pipe across his left shoulder.
From somewhere deeper in the alley, metal scraped against concrete.
Both men turned sharply.
Luo reached for his gun. “We’re not done here.” Fei Du glanced at his injured shoulder, then stepped close, pressing his own shoulder against Luo’s—shielding his left side with his right.
From the shadows at last, a figure emerged. The man’s face matched perfectly with the photo Tao Ran had sent earlier to Fei Du.
He smirked, satisfaction laced with mockery. “So, police officer… this kid is your backup?”
Fei Du’s smile spread wide, open and bright, as though he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world. Luo Wenzhou, however, gave no reaction at all.
That silence told Fei Du something was off. He followed Luo’s gaze—down to the man’s ankle. Untouched. Not even a scratch, not a thread out of place on the hem of his pants.
It clicked. Fei Du’s eyes widened. “Twins!” he blurted.
As if conjured by the word, another man stepped out from the opposite corner. This one limped, dragging his foot—precisely where Luo’s bullet had grazed him.
The two men moved together until they stood side by side, shoulder to shoulder, deliberately closing the space between them as though trying to fuse into a single body.
One shielded with a length of steel pipe, its end dark with rust. The other twirled a knife, the same blade that had left a signature in every robbery scene leading up to this night. The twins grinned in eerie unison.
-
Before the mall gates, Tao Ran slammed the brakes. The tires screeched against the pavement before the engine finally cut off.
“Hurry up, Little Glasses! Pull all the CCTV for the mall and the garage!”
“Yes, sir!”
Xiao Hiyang didn’t falter for even a second—he bolted ahead at full speed. Tao Ran veered toward the stairwell leading down to the garage, barking quick instructions to the startled security guards on duty.
Within moments, the untrained men scattered, fumbling but earnest, combing through the area alongside him. Their search was clumsy but determined, eyes darting between rows of cars, counting every vehicle—including the suspect’s… and Captain Luo’s.
Tao Ran broke ahead of the others, sprinting through the streets until the mall’s glow faded behind him. He plunged into the neighborhood beyond, heart pounding, chasing the faintest hope of picking up Fei Du’s trail. The boy was far—too far—from where Tao Ran stood now, but every step was the only chance to close the distance.
Meanwhile, in the narrow alley, Fei Du shot Luo Wenzhou a sidelong glance, his meaning clear. Why are we even countering them head-on? We have a gun. We could end this easily.
Luo barely looked at him, his voice low and gritted. “Not enough bullets.”
Fei Du sighed, refusing to move back, nor refusing to hide behind him.
The twins moved as if practiced—two halves of one whole. The left-handed one braced himself against his brother, supporting his limp, acting as the shield. The right-handed one stepped forward, blade flashing under the weak light, the predator’s role unmistakable.
The first strike came fast, the knife slicing downward in a vicious arc. Luo Wenzhou caught the motion, arm snapping up. With a sharp pivot, he drove a heavy punch into the left-handed man’s neck.
The blow landed with a thud. The man staggered back, choking, weight collapsing against his twin for balance.
The left-handed twin reeled but didn’t drop. His brother snarled, jerking him upright, the pipe flashing in a tight, vicious arc aimed for Luo Wenzhou’s ribs.
Fei Du moved before thought caught up. He grabbed the man’s wrist with both hands, twisting sharply. The metal pipe scraped sparks against the wall instead of flesh.
The limping twin bellowed and swung again, the steel pipe carving a brutal sweep toward Fei Du’s head. Wenzhou shoved him aside and took the blow square on his injured shoulder. The impact cracked like wood striking stone, agony ripping through him, but his free hand shot up and clamped onto the pipe’s end, wrenching it toward him.
“Shixiong—!” Fei Du’s voice sharpened.
“Stay the hell away!” Luo barked, his face set in pain but unyielding. He dragged the limping twin forward, off balance, sheer force keeping him in check.
The right-handed twin lunged again, knife flashing in a downward slash to cover his brother. Fei Du’s eyes flicked to Wenzhou’s gun—one bullet, maybe two. Not enough. His strength isn’t, either. His jaw tightened. If Luo Shixiong wanted him behind, then he would stand beside instead—and take the next hit if he had to.
He stepped in, shoulder pressed against Wenzhou’s.
He could feel it then—the falter, the danger in every movement. His hand brushed against Luo’s elbow, a silent plea: You’re not fighting alone. Trust me.
The knife came fast, aimed to sink deep into Wenzhou’s lower abdomen. Fei Du’s mind roared, instincts tearing past reason. His body moved on its own—he drove his knee into the knife-wielder’s gut. The man doubled over with a guttural grunt, legs swinging up, but his grip on the blade didn’t falter.
Steel met skin. The knife’s tip grazed across Fei Du’s knee. He let out a sharp “ah,” pain hot and immediate—yet with a desperate wrench, he knocked the blade clean, sending it spinning across the ground.
“Fei Du!” Luo’s breath came ragged, each movement stealing from his battered shoulder. The sight of blood running down Fei Du’s leg snapped his control. Enough.
He shoved Fei Du aside—not so gently—and drove his fist upward into the right-handed twin’s jaw. Teeth cracked, blood spat. With his good arm, Luo lifted the gun and fired point-blank into the other twin’s arm.
The shot thundered through the alley, echoing far into the night.
Tao Ran’s breath caught when he heard it. He sprinted, cutting through two side alleys before bursting onto the scene.
It was chaos—Luo Wenzhuo kneeling, pinning one twin’s arm to the ground while cuffing him with a grim steadiness, Fei Du leaning against the wall, blood soaking his leg, and the other twin still struggling, pipe raised.
"put your hands down!"
Tao Ran lunged, twisting the man’s arm down before the blow could land on Luo Wenzhou’s head. With a vicious yank, he wrenched the weapon free.
Only then did he take in the sight—Luo’s shoulder hanging awkwardly, Fei Du pale face, crimson staining his pants leg.
“Fei Du! Are you okay? What the hell are you two doing?!”
In the ambulance, Luo Wenzhou sat pale-faced. The nurse told him his arm had been dislocated, and without warning, she pushed it back into place. Luo Wenzhou—unconscious—pinched Fei Du’s thigh, Fei Du who have been setting beside him after his wound was treated first, blinked once or twice before bursting out laughing.
captain Luo's color began to return; the terror faded from his expression, though he still looked queasy.
Fortunately, the wound on Fei Du’s leg was superficial. The knife hadn’t pierced deeply. On the other side, Luo Wenzhou’s arm looked as limp as noodles after the blow he’d taken. Bruising spread in angry purples and reds across his arm, neck, and chest, while bandages covered the worst of it.
Fei Du and Tao Ran both stared at him until Tao Ran finally snapped at the two wounded men.
“Lao Luo, you’re even more reckless than Fei Du.”
The supposedly innocent Fei Du gave a cautious smile. “Tao Ge, I told him that…”
But Tao Ran’s glare snapped to him with equal fury. “Shut up! And I told you to wait for me.”
“That’s enough.” Luo Wenzhou, who’d been enduring Tao Ran’s scolding for the past twenty, pressed a hand to his temple. He knew it was his fault, but he wasn’t about to admit it. Rising stiffly, he clapped Tao Ran on the shoulder. “I promise it won’t happen again. Now stop nagging like an angry wife.”
“Who are you calling a wife?!” Tao Ran barked.
From the corner, Xiao Hiyang—who had wisely stayed silent under Tao Ran’s wrath—finally spoke with a small smile. “Luo Dui, we were really worried about you. I’ll drive you both home.”
Luo Wenzhou opened his mouth to object, but Xiao Hiyang was faster, playing his win card. “Deputy Tao, I’ll drive them home!”
“Thanks, Little Glasses.”
In a flash, Tao Ran fished the car keys out of Luo Wenzhou’s pocket and tossed them into Xiao Hiyang’s hands.
Luo Wenzhou: “…”
Under pressure from the “angry wife,” Tao Ran, Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du went quietly with Xiao Haiyang. Luo Wenzhou tossed the damn groceries back into the trunk before sinking into the back seat beside Fei Du.
Without ceremony, he let his head drop onto Fei Du’s shoulder, using it as a pillow. When they got home, he was going to scold this brat within an inch of his life, beating this habit of his, for daring to meet a blade with nothing but untrained legs.
Fei Du glanced down at the hand that had started wandering up and down his thigh, a sidelong smile tugging at his lips. “What are you looking for?”
“Checking on your wound,” Luo Wenzhuo said gruffly, his bold hand sliding higher, fingers pressing beneath Fei Du’s shirt.
“Wrong spot, Shixiong.”
Fei Du’s eyes flicked toward the front. For a fleeting second, his gaze locked with Xiao Hiyang’s in the rearview mirror. Then, with a wicked little smirk, he held it.
Poor Little Glasses panicked, snapping his eyes away and fixing them dumbly on the road as if his life depended on it.
Fei Du shifted slightly, careful not to stir Luo Wenzhou’s bruised shoulder, and murmured with a smile, “You know, my legs aren’t so bad. They’re fixable. In fact, I’d say they’re even better than my arms. as i told—these delicate hands of mine aren’t meant for such rough work.”
Luo Wenzhou’s voice came low, almost thoughtful, but edged with meaning. “Mmn... I can tell how flexible.”
Fei Du’s grin widened at the deliberate weight in his tone. He leaned the slightest bit closer, enough to brush his breath against Wenzhou’s ear.
It took Xiao Hiyang a few seconds too long to catch the implication. When he did, his whole face went scarlet, ears burning as he gripped the steering wheel tighter, as if it might anchor him from sinking and melting straight through the driver’s seat. He started regretting his decision for driving these brazen homosexual home back.
Luo Wenzhou cracked one eye open from where he rested against Fei Du’s shoulder. His glare shot forward like a bullet. “Xiao Hiyang. All your four eyes on the road!”
Poor Little Glasses nearly jumped, fumbling to nod, his gaze snapping forward with soldierly discipline.
Beside him, Fei Du’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.