SDT 28

Chapter 28 Gambler

Yu Xiaowen walked out from behind the tree; the victim, dressed impeccably and standing tall, was at the building entrance, looking this way. Passersby at the building entrance would unconsciously glance at him several times or stare.

The victim saw Yu Xiaowen emerge from behind the tree and slightly tilted his head, signaling him to come over.

Yu Xiaowen looked at him and thought that he was really terminally ill. The figure of the teenager in casual pants and sneakers and the adult in a well-tailored suit overlapped, and under the grand lights of the building, a new emotional shape was formed.

He hesitated for a moment and walked over.

The reason Lu Kongyun went to S House was inseparable from his blackmail; now, in outsiders’ mouths, his reputation had turned so bad. Yu Xiaowen felt embarrassed for his blackmail crime. After hesitating, he planned to report what he had heard to the other.

Yu Xiaowen felt Chen Jian was not great, but this beautiful director, from their brief interaction last time, Yu Xiaowen felt was quite good; one could say she matched Lu Kongyun in all aspects.

Although Lu Kongyun’s emotional system had not yet been installed and activated, and he had said he and that director were just work relations. But if there was fate, who knew what would happen in the future? Had he not thought about marriage too?

Thinking of the words “in the future,” made Yu Xiaowen’s chest sink with nausea, which was certainly partly due to his hunger.

He stood in front of the victim, scratched his chin, and reported: “Chen Jian told his sister what he saw of you at S House. He described you as horrific, like a fish that slipped through the net of hell.”

The victim paused and said, “Oh.” 

What a jerk. Yu Xiaowen reminded him, “Don’t you need to explain yourself?

The victim remained unfazed, saying, “What explanation? If I explain, she’ll think I’m interested and ask me out again. It’ll waste so much work time. You don’t know how tangled it is with the people who handle project funding.” 

“…”

As expected.

Yu Xiaowen felt darkly that, having gone through so many twists and turns to find the final companionship of Lu Kongyun, a man destined for loneliness, and even spending a night with him physically entangled without facing any consequences, his terminal illness was like a superpower.

He felt a sly sense of relief, believing it wasn’t entirely bad.

“You’re enough for me to worry about,” the victim said again. 

“Why do you compare me like that?” Yu Xiaowen grinned. “Is dating such a good girl a waste of time?”

“If you think she is good, go chase her yourself. Anyway, Officer Yu, you have many ways to hook people,” the victim finished dumping dirty water and, without waiting for Yu Xiaowen to retort, changed the topic. “I am hungry. Do you still want to go upstairs?”

Yu Xiaowen shrugged: “We are already here. We have bumped into who we should. Go. Maybe no chance in the future.”

The two unconsciously separated some distance, each walking inside.

“Why did you hit Ding Qi?” Yu Xiaowen asked.

The victim: “Who is Ding Qi?”

The passage on the first floor of the building had luxury shops and counters on both sides; some tourists were browsing and chatting. The two’s distance opened a bit more.

Yu Xiaowen did not ask again. His gaze was attracted by a crystal craft on a counter. It was two swans, their necks facing each other into a heart shape; their postures elegant and serene, feathers carved meticulously, refracting dreamy rainbow colors under the light. Their base was engraved with “Happiness for a hundred years, hand in hand with one heart.”

The craft was particularly, particularly dreamy, particularly, particularly beautiful. But the price tag beside it made Yu Xiaowen want to vomit even more.

“Because of you,” the victim answered. He was also standing not far from Yu Xiaowen but at a certain distance, as if also appreciating the craft.

“I have to obey your orders, and that person hit you. Then what am I, the grandson in the middle of us three?”

Yu Xiaowen could not help laughing out loud, so he subconsciously turned his head to glance at the victim. The victim seemed to also think this craft was not bad; his good-looking face was not so cold for an instant. He reached his hand through the rainbow light, letting his palm imprint the crystal rainbow’s shadow.

Yu Xiaowen’s steps circled, inching half a step toward the other.

“I thought you acted out of a citizen’s sense of justice, seeing an officer on duty being hit and stepping in to teach the bastard a lesson,” he said lowly. “Did not expect such a sufficient reason.”

The other party didn’t respond, so Yu Xiaowen leaned in closer, drawing out his words: “‘You have to follow my orders.’ That means the blackmail is over. Will you miss me?”

The victim exhaled and lifted his leg toward the escalator, answering Yu Xiaowen’s question with his walking speed.

“…Why are you running? You have to wait for me to get in the elevator.” Yu Xiaowen raised his hand and touched the same rainbow light as the victim, letting it flow into his palm.

…

Lu Kongyun did not mention that during his rut, seeing his target touched by another Alpha made him want to turn mad dog and bite all the jeering Alphas in the private room to death.

Chen Jian must have said it very unpleasantly, but absolutely did not slander him at all.

Finally, it was all over.

“Do you think Chen Jian will find a way to drag you into this?” the blackmailer quickly followed. “Just because he doesn’t want his sister dating you doesn’t mean he doesn’t want you, a powerful client. The more he thinks you’re crazy, the happier he is; after all, he’s making money from it. Be careful not to be fooled by those things…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen everything. S House isn’t even as fun as my office,” Lu Kongyun said.

“…” The blackmailer was shocked, then relieved.

He slowed down his pace, as if thinking. Then he quickened his pace as he approached Lu Kongyun.

“I said I wouldn’t bother you again, and I’m sure I’ll keep my word. But can my colleague consult you later? The stuff in your reference books is too profound for us. But you’re a great expert.” His voice was unusually flattering.

Lu Kongyun paused and replied coldly, “Oh, your colleague. If he needs advice, just have the Municipal Bureau submit a request for assistance to the Institute of Life Sciences.”

He heard the blackmailer curse lowly.

They arrived at the floor above the sightseeing restaurant; the waiter, who seemed to have received advance notice, led them into the lobby. Outside the wide arc-shaped floor-to-ceiling windows was Manjing’s nightfall just descending. A strip of lights edged the coastline with gold; one side was the quiet silent sea at night, the other the brilliant bustling city.

The blackmailer stood beside the waiter who was politely hanging an awkward smile.

He exclaimed in admiration at the floor-to-ceiling windows and the nightscape, as if visiting Manjing for the first time, even rubbing his hands together like a fly.

Lu Kongyun felt he was doing it on purpose, just because he had said earlier that as long as he was with him, leaning on a stick and holding a bowl was fine.

Lu Kongyun observed his petty behavior in silence.

The waiter led them into a compartment on the spiral staircase. The environment was very serene and private, also spacious; the compartment was one-third the size of the lobby but could exclusively occupy a piece of night view without sharing with others.

The waiter brewed tea, then left and closed the door.

After a moment’s silence, the blackmailer said, “It seems like all the waiters here know you. Will there be any problems?” 

Lu Kongyun replied, “It’s a bit late to ask now.”

“Oh. Then pretend I did not ask,” the blackmailer sat by the table at the window, gazing at the night view. But he seemed not focused, still thinking about what happened earlier.

Lu Kongyun reached out and flipped open the menu: “You don’t want to look? Then I’ll order something random.”

“…I will,” the blackmailer came back to his senses, took the menu from Lu Kongyun’s hand, and browsed it. “I want to order dishes that will make you cover your wallet and cry regretting bringing me here.”

“Yes, I want a big crab.”

“Big mantis shrimp.”

“Big shellfish~…”

Lu Kongyun watched him flip the menu. The blackmailer’s light-colored eyes reflected the light spots from the menu, like small lighthouses, seeming to always patrol and circle around the prices.

“Are you looking for which dishes can make my wallet cry?” He asked.

He leaned close to the menu, used his fingertip to push open the blackmailer’s fingertip, flipped a few pages, and found a picture occupying a full page with vibrant juices: “This one is the most expensive.”

The light and shadow of the blackmailer’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He seemed about to do his habitual neck-pressing action again.

Lu Kongyun grabbed his wrist and passed his wristband to the other’s hand like crossing a bridge: “I’m well again, I don’t need this. Take off the low-quality inhibitor patch on your gland.”

The blackmailer looked at his action, then at the wristband.

Lu Kongyun felt a faint force pulling away from the other’s wrist and released his hand. He said: “Even for a constitution that easily goes into heat, there is no need to always wear the strong deep red version. Is being with Alphas really that hard for you? At the bureau too?”

The blackmailer: “…”

“I…” The blackmailer covered his eyes.

Then the blackmailer quickly placed his hand on his neck again, tore off the inhibitor patch, used his fingertip to ball up the inhibitor patch.

“Lu Kongyun.” The blackmailer called his name.

Lu Kongyun: “Yes.”

The blackmailer: “You said that because you wanted to end the blackmail relationship quickly, you went to S House to seek clues. I should reflect on this matter. It was I who brought work into our blackmail relationship, causing you to risk yourself. You are right; for this aspect, handling it officially by submitting an application is the correct way.”

Lu Kongyun paused in reaction and said: “No need to reflect.”

After a moment, he said again: “The relationship between us is inherently blackmail; talking about separating public and private and police professional ethics is very absurd.”

The blackmailer laughed very happily: “Sorry.”

“…” Lu Kongyun looked at him laughing. He did not understand why he was laughing. His tongue tip pressed against his canine tooth.

“I know,” the blackmailer said. “Because you do not even know the purpose of me blackmailing you; so where do the positions of public and private, and ethics come from?”

After a while, the blackmailer propped up his face with one palm and faced Lu Kongyun, his eyes sparkling, the corners of his mouth curled up, a look of deep meaning.

“You have always wanted to know the reason you unluckily got involved with a blackmailer. Then I will give you a chance, sweetheart.”

The blackmailer used his other hand to pick up his phone, pressed for a while, turned it toward Lu Kongyun for him to see; it was a set of cyber dice. Several faces were hidden and invisible; only shaking would reveal them. This was the kind of low-grade play prop commonly used in not very high-end entertainment venues.

Lu Kongyun: “…”

“From now on, you have three chances. Guess why I’m blackmailing you.” The blackmailer pushed his phone toward Lu Kongyun, the dice facing him.

“If you guess right, I won’t hide anything. Believe it or not, it’s up to you. But every time you guess wrong, you have to press the dice.”

The blackmailer tapped his cheek with his fingertip.

“First, a hint: this reason, although very important to me, actually has no meaning to you. Because it is not something you care about. So, you can consider whether to play. Because the commands on the die might be very excessive.”

Lu Kongyun stared into the man’s ambiguous eyes. 

Sometimes the blackmailer looked less like a police officer and more like a gambler. His reckless look matches the night scene behind him, which is as deep as a cliff