Chapter 229

“Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded. “That’s true. The people from Nan Hongmen could come after us at any time, and they’ll likely kill us on the spot.”
“Well…” Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng exchanged a look and asked in unison, “Should we avoid them first?” Xie Wendong shook his head. “Avoid them? How? The whole of Yunnan is their territory. It doesn’t matter where we hide. Hiding in a remote place only increases the risk. It’s better to stay in the city; maybe they’ll be a bit more restrained there.”
Hearing Xie Wendong’s words, the two couldn’t think of a better solution. Ren Changfeng muttered, “I told you from the start that Brother Dong should bring more people…”
Jiang Sen rolled his eyes. “You didn’t say that back then, did you?!” Ren Changfeng’s face turned red as he mumbled, “At least that’s what I meant!” Xie Wendong chuckled. “As the old saying goes, more people mean different things. Too many people can even cause trouble. I actually hope the people from Nan Hongmen will come after us—just not right away.”
The three of them left the bar. Before getting into the car, Xie Wendong glanced longingly in the direction where Qiu Ningshui lived, adjusted his hair, said nothing, and got into the car. Jin Yan, the driver, turned around and asked, “Brother Dong, where to?” Xie Wendong pondered for a moment. “Home.” Throughout the journey, Xie Wendong remained silent with his eyes closed. The others saw his serious expression and knew he was deep in thought, so they didn’t dare disturb him. The car was quiet, with only the sound of the engine audible.
Jin Yan and the others lived in a rather remote area. It took an hour for the car to reach their destination. As soon as the car stopped, Xie Wendong opened his eyes, took out his phone, and dialed a number. He was contacting Zhang Fanyou, a ambitious major who held a high position in the Political Department. Surprised by Xie Wendong’s call, Zhang Fanyou was initially puzzled, but being as smart as he was, he quickly realized that Xie Wendong must have a reason for calling—otherwise, given Xie Wendong’s character, he wouldn’t have called just to say hello.
“Brother Xie, what brings you to call me today? You seem to have time,” Zhang Fanyou said lazily.

Xie Wendong chuckled lightly, unfazed, and said directly, “I need Brother Zhang’s help with something.” As expected, Zhang Fanyou sneered inwardly and deliberately made things difficult, saying, “Brother Xie, you’re being too polite. How can I possibly help with something that troubles you?!” Xie Wendong replied, “What are you saying, Brother Zhang? If it weren’t for your help in mobilizing the troops last time, it would have been very hard for me to transport weapons to the Golden Triangle!” Zhang Fanyou’s expression darkened slightly, and he said, “I don’t want anyone to bring this up again.” Xie Wendong laughed heartily, “Exactly. I also don’t want anyone to mention it. If it gets to higher-ups, your hard-earned position might be at risk. We’re friends—if you’re in trouble, I’m in trouble too. The same goes the other way around, right?!”

Zhang Fanyou clenched his fist tightly, smiled, and forced out a sentence through his teeth, “Yes, we’ve always been very ‘good’ friends.” Xie Wendong nodded and said, “That’s why I’ll definitely help you if you’re in trouble, giving it my all. If anything happens to me, I hope you can also lend me your full support.” Zhang Fanyou was furious—Xie Wendong had trapped him with just a few words, yet he couldn’t do anything about it. He sighed and said, “Go ahead, what’s the matter this time?”

Xie Wendong said, “Not long ago, a shipment from the Golden Triangle was seized in Kunming. I hope you can get it out.” Zhang Fanyou was stunned and asked doubtfully, “Get it out? Where?” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Of course, I’ll be the one to receive it.” Zhang Fanyou rolled his eyes and said, “Does your boss think I’m a god who can do anything? The shipment from the Golden Triangle isn’t a small amount. Even if Dongfang Yi personally stepped in, it wouldn’t be possible to just hand it over to you. There’s nothing I can do about this.” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and asked, “So you’re not helping me?” Zhang Fanyou replied, “Even if I tried, I couldn’t help. It’s truly beyond my capabilities, and such a big deal can’t be covered up either.” Xie Wendong asked, “What if it can be covered up?” “What do you mean?” “This matter hasn’t spread outside yet. The bureau chief is holding it back. The Golden Triangle has been operating in Kunming for years—without backing, how could they have made it this far?” Zhang Fanyou rubbed his cheeks in thought before saying after a while, “I’ll do my best to help you.” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” Zhang Fanyou smiled bitterly and said, “I really hope you won’t ask me for anything else!” Xie Wendong hung up the phone with a smile.

On the third day, Qiu Ningshui took a rest, and Xie Wendong naturally had time. He had planned to go out with her for a walk, mainly to talk heart to heart. Unfortunately, the weather was unfavorable—continuous light rain lasted all night with no sign of stopping. Standing by the window and gazing at the sky, Xie Wendong muttered, “What an annoying weather.”

Jin Yan had lived in Kunming for some time and knew something about the local climate. He said helplessly, “Kunming is like this—always rainy.” After calculating quickly, he smiled and said, “By now, it must be covered in snow back home.” Xie Wendong nodded, lost in thought, and said emotionally, “Yes! Another year has passed in the blink of an eye.”

Jiang Sen sighed, “Things change so fast this year. Who knows what it will be like at this time next year?” Ren Changfeng laughed and said, “In the world, life and death are both uncertain. Why worry so far ahead? Enjoy the wine today—why worry about tomorrow’s troubles?” Xie Wendong was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. “People live for tomorrow.” With that, he picked up his coat and said, “I’m going to see Qiu Ningshui.” Seeing him about to leave, the others also got up to get dressed, intending to follow. But Xie Wendong stopped them, saying, “You don’t need to follow me today.”

Jiang Sen said, “But…” Xie Wendong knew what he wanted to say. Smiling, he said, “It’s inconvenient with too many people. I also feel awkward. Although the weather isn’t good today, I think things will be calm.” People say there’s no wind without waves, but life is unpredictable—even without wind, waves can arise.

Xie Wendong went to Qiu Ningshui’s building alone. He was not unfamiliar with this place. He could still vaguely recall being chased by several assassins sent by Ma Feng. If it hadn’t been for Qiu Ningshui back then, he probably wouldn’t have escaped so easily. Xie Wendong shook off the raindrops from his clothes and pressed the doorbell. After a short wait, Qiu Ningshui’s soft, slightly lazy voice came through, “Who is it?” “It’s me!” Xie Wendong replied. “Huh, you came so early!” Qiu Ningshui yawned. Xie Wendong smiled and said, “I usually get up early.” With that, he opened the apartment door and went in. Upon arriving at Qiu Ningshui’s place, he glanced around first. The room seemed unchanged from his first visit—still simply decorated yet elegant. Qiu Ningshui was wearing plain pajamas, her eyelids lowered, with a few strands of silk hair falling across her face. Having taken off her police uniform, she looked like a sleepy kitten, beautiful yet lazy. She looked at Xie Wendong drowsily and said mockingly, “My place must be quite nice, right?”

Xie Wendong raised an eyebrow and looked at Qiu Ningshui with doubt. She smiled and said, “Otherwise, why would such a beautiful woman not look at you and instead scan around?” Qiu Ningshui rarely joked, so Xie Wendong could only force a smile. Yet, the familiar warmth from before arose again, and he laughed along with her, saying, “She’s indeed beautiful. I’m afraid if I look at her, I won’t be able to take my eyes off her.” “Hehe!” Xie Wendong’s words made Qiu Ningshui giggle. She glanced at the quartz clock on the wall and said, “It’s only a little past eight.” Xie Wendong asked, “Normally, you’d be up and at work by now, right?” Qiu Ningshui replied, “But I’m off today.” Xie Wendong said, “So…” Qiu Ningshui finished, “So I’m going to bed.” Xie Wendong sighed and said, “It seems I really did come a bit early.” “Mm!” Qiu Ningshui nodded seriously. “It’s unethical to disturb someone’s sleep. If I woke up to a plate of fragrantly delicious breakfast in front of me, all my complaints would vanish.” “Haha!” Xie Wendong laughed loudly as he took off his wet jacket. “There’s no problem with breakfast, but whether it’s fragrantly delicious is another matter.” Qiu Ningshui covered her mouth and yawned, then turned to walk into the bedroom. Before entering, she said, “I believe there’s nothing in this world you can’t do.” Xie Wendong had always thought the same, but when he put on an apron and started cooking, he realized he was wrong. There were still many things he needed to learn, at least when it came to cooking. Back in school, his parents prepared his meals, and after joining the underworld, it was the restaurant chefs who cooked for him. He had never worried about this before. Gao Huiyu’s cooking wasn’t impressive, but at least it didn’t cause any adverse reactions. Looking at the dark, shiny eggs he had just fried, Xie Wendong silently prayed that no one would get poisoned after eating them. He took out two slices of bread and ketchup from the fridge, carefully sliced the bread thin, spread the ketchup on it, and placed the eggs inside. The dark eggs didn’t seem so terrifying under the cover of the bread. After a while, Xie Wendong clapped his hands—mission accomplished. This was the first meal he had ever cooked in his life. Just as he was considering whether to wake Qiu Ningshui, he suddenly heard a scream from the bedroom. He didn’t know what had happened, but he reacted quickly. Before the echo of the scream faded, Xie Wendong darted into the room like a raccoon. He saw Qiu Ningshui with wide eyes, standing on the bed and looking around. Finally, her gaze fell on Xie Wendong who had just rushed in, and she asked doubtfully, “Is there a fire?”

“Huh?” Xie Wendong was stunned and asked confusedly, “What’s on fire?” Qiu Ningshui seemed to understand something from Xie Wendong’s expression. She took a deep breath and said, “Why is the whole room filled with smoke?” Xie Wendong looked up and indeed saw that both inside and outside the bedroom, thick black smoke swirled, making the air unbearable. No wonder Qiu Ningshui asked if there was a fire. He scratched his head and said sheepishly, “Hehe, I’m cooking. How can there be no smoke?” Qiu Ningshui rolled her eyes and pointed at Xie Wendong’s nose, shouting, “Are you an idiot? Can’t you turn on the exhaust fan while cooking?” “Exhaust fan?” Xie Wendong looked puzzled and replied seriously, “Well… I’ve never used it before.”

“I’m completely conquered by you!” Qiu Ningshui leaned back on the bed, pulling the blanket over her head. But soon she sat up again and yelled, “If you burn down my house, I’ll fight you to the death!” Only then did she lie down with the blanket over her head. Xie Wendong stood there with his hands on his hips, staring. If anyone else had spoken to him like that, he would have exploded long ago, but it was Qiu Ningshui, so he was holding back. Feeling that he still hadn’t left, Qiu Ningshui cautiously lifted one corner of the blanket, revealing one eye, and asked, “Why are you still standing here?” Xie Wendong replied, “I’m thinking.” “Thinking about what?” “Whether to hit you on the left buttock or the right.” She glanced at him with a sideways eye roll and said, “Dare you!?”

“You can try!” Xie Wendong stepped forward quickly, threw the blanket off Qiu Ningshui’s body. “Ah! What are you doing…?”

Half an hour later, Xie Wendong held his red nose and couldn’t help sighing, “I’ve never met a tougher female police officer than you.” “Ugh…” Xie Wendong went to the mirror and muttered, “Stop giving me orders. I’m not your slave. There’s a limit to what I can tolerate. Anyway, it seems your skills have improved compared to before.” “Ugh…” Xie Wendong asked again, “Where’s the first-aid kit?” Before Qiu Ningshui could answer, he slapped his own head and said, “It must still be in the same old place, right?” “Ugh…” Xie Wendong smiled and gently adjusted Qiu Ningshui’s hair that was lying on the bed, saying, “Women shouldn’t be so aggressive. I prefer you like this.” “Ugh…” Qiu Ningshui wanted to curse his ancestors up to the eighteenth generation, but with a towel stuffed in her mouth, she couldn’t utter a word. Her hands and feet were tied to the bedrails, as if history was repeating itself—except this time, she was lying face down instead of face up.

Xie Wendong took cotton balls from the first-aid kit and inserted them into his nose. After a while, he clapped his hands and turned to Qiu Ningshui, saying, “See, isn’t it much better now? I don’t want us to always argue whenever we meet.” Seeing her eyes widen, Xie Wendong smiled and said, “I know you like this atmosphere too, don’t you?” Qiu Ningshui’s eyes grew even larger.

Xie Wendong stretched lazily, ignoring her angry gaze, and lay comfortably beside her, resting his hands behind his head as he watched Qiu Ningshui struggling desperately. After a while, seeing no sign of her stopping, he kindly said, “Give up. Moving around like this won’t get you rid of me.” You damn thing! Hearing this, Qiu Ningshui moved even more violently. “Can’t you be quiet for a while?” Xie Wendong took a deep breath and said calmly, “I’m very tired these days. Really, there’s an indescribable sense of exhaustion.” Qiu Ningshui looked at him in confusion. Xie Wendong added, “I don’t care about physical exhaustion; no matter how busy I am, I can endure it. But mental exhaustion is hard to bear. I wonder if you’ve ever felt that way, especially when worrying about someone. I hope my friend stays safe and happy for life, but it seems like a luxury for me.”