Restricted Area

Princess was no longer around by the time he returned to the library.

Jiang Chijing notified the prison guard that had helped him watch over the library, then under the many gossipy, busybody gazes, sat back in his office area.

Coming in after him, Zheng Mingyi still sat at the first row nearest to Jiang Chijing, on which still lay his unfinished comic book.

In the past, Jiang Chijing used to wish the afternoon to go by faster so that after the inmates left, the rest of the afternoon would be his free time.

But today, Jiang Chijing was staunchly opposed to the arrival of two o’clock. Because the moment it turned two, only he and Zheng Mingyi would be left alone in the library again.

He had just escaped from the suffocating recreation room and didn’t want to be alone with Zheng Mingyi again. But it was useless to run away from reality. After other inmates left the library, Zheng Mingyi came to his side again.

“Officer Jiang, won’t it be very uncomfortable for you like this?” Zheng Mingyi asked.

The office area was overly cramped. When Jiang Chijing or Zheng Mingyi relaxed, their knees would inadvertently bump against each other. Since Zheng Mingyi refused to close his legs, then…

Jiang Chijing’s two legs were tightly pressed together, and his knees were pointing towards the windows. His sitting posture was even more prim and ladylike than a lady.

“No.” Jiang Chijing worked on the sudoku in his hands. “Go study your stocks.”

Zheng Mingyi shifted the mouse, looking at Jiang Chijing, bored, asking, “Do you need help?”

“What?”

“You haven’t moved in a long time.”

Jiang Chijing didn’t spread the newspaper on the table but held it in his hands, deliberately avoiding Zheng Mingyi’s line of sight, preventing this person from giving him the answers again.

Every time he worked out an empty square, he would make a marking with his pencil. But after solving the simplest squares, he hadn’t moved in a long time.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t figure out the remaining squares, but that he wasn’t even in the mood to figure them out in the first place.

Having the newspaper in his hands was no more than his shield to avoid having to talk more than necessary to Zheng Mingyi. His plan was to squander the half-hour like this, but he didn’t expect that Zheng Mingyi would catch him daydreaming.

“I don’t need any help,” said Jiang Chijing.

“Oh.”

Zheng Mingyi lazily turned his head back, continuing to study the candlestick chart on the screen. But no more than a moment later, he looked back at Jiang Chijing, and he said, “Officer Jiang.”

“What is it now?” Jiang Chijing set down the newspaper, frowning as he looked at Zheng Mingyi.

Zheng Mingyi didn’t answer. He only turned over and leaned slowly towards Jiang Chijing.

The frown was still on Jiang Chijing’s face, but the impatience gradually turned into heightened wariness, which, as Zheng Mingyi continued to press in closer, was complexed with a hint of panic.

After backing up to the window, Jiang Chijing was no longer able to back away. He held a hand against Zheng Mingyi’s chest. “What are you doing?”

The distance between the two of them was so close that Zheng Mingyi’s lips were less than a fist’s length away from Jiang Chijing’s nose. Jiang Chijing couldn’t help but think madly—if Zheng Mingyi was going to say that there was an eyelash on his face again, he’d pluck all of Zheng Mingyi’s eyelashes right out.

But Zheng Mingyi didn’t touch Jiang Chijing’s face this time. He only stretched out his left hand, pressing it against the window frame next to Jiang Chijing’s ear, then used his right hand to pull the curtains. He said, “The sun’s too strong.”

As Zheng Mingyi spoke, his chin was lifted and his line of sight was directed upwards at the sliding rail above the curtain.

The smooth jawline was right in front of Jiang Chijing’s eyes. His gaze dropped, half-lidded, staring blankly at Zheng Mingyi’s adam’s apple, and the impulse to bite it inexplicably rose in his mind.

The windows in the library faced northwards. While the afternoon sunlight wouldn’t shine in directly, it was true the seats near the windows would feel warmer.

Zheng Mingyi withdrew his right hand and touched the shell of Jiang Chijing’s ear. He asked, gazing at him, “Officer Jiang, do you feel very hot as well?”

Jiang Chijing lowered his gaze without responding, and he heard Zheng Mingyi say, “Your ears have flushed.”

All right.

Jiang Chijing shut his eyes, taking a deep breath.

He was completely unable to resist the advances, whether witting or unwitting, that Zheng Mingyi made on him. Even long before Zheng Mingyi was imprisoned, he was already unable to tear his eyes off this man.

At a hair’s trigger—Zheng Mingyi topless, wearing an apron, or searing a steak—every bit of him was able to excite every nerve in his brain, let alone their close proximity now, the adam’s apple and collarbones just within his reach.

“Zheng Mingyi,” Jiang Chijing endured the hoarseness of his throat, speaking softly, “Stay away from me.”

He was already at the ends of his restraint. His eyelashes were quivering with the strenuous effort it took him not to succumb to temptation. He was afraid that if Zheng Mingyi got any closer to him, he wouldn’t be able to keep from pouncing on Zheng Mingyi, and Zheng Mingyi would completely discover that he was a pervert.

After a long while, Zheng Mingyi replied with an “okay” and retreated back to his seat.

The tightness of his airways finally regained the sensation of breathing. Jiang Chijing secretly let loose a sigh of relief in his head, picking up his newspaper again, this time keeping an even more deliberate distance from Zheng Mingyi.

He didn’t say anything and his lips were pursed tightly into a straight line. Heavy vexation was concentrated between his brows; anyone could tell that he was currently in a very poor mood.

While Zheng Mingyi was in part a cause behind his less-than-stellar mood, more of his frustration was directed at himself for being unable to control his spiralling thoughts and the pure filth that automatically filled his mind.

“Officer Jiang,” Zheng Mingyi suddenly spoke. “Am I making you feel very uncomfortable?”

Hearing this, Jiang Chijing was momentarily dazzled. He didn’t expect that after rousing him so badly, Zheng Mingyi would actually notice his unhappiness and take a moment for self-reflection.

“Yes,” said Jiang Chijing.

“Sorry,” Zheng Mingyi said sincerely, “I couldn’t resist.”

Jiang Chijing, “……”

Zheng Mingyi stood up. “I’ll be off now for today, then.”

Jiang Chijing detested people like this who would openly and honestly give an apology, because then it was conversely difficult for him to take the ‘crime’ up with them.

He was quiet for a moment, and watching the figure of Zheng Mingyi’s back, he said, “Don’t come tomorrow. I’ll speak with the warden.”

Zheng Mingyi paused in his steps, but he didn’t look back as he left the library.

Actually, Jiang Chijing didn’t tell Zheng Mingyi not to come by anymore out of anger, but that he objectively judged he couldn’t let Zheng Mingyi step into his restricted area again. If this went on, he would only be flirting with danger.

He guessed that the warden wouldn’t immediately agree and prepared himself for having to go back and forth a few times. But perhaps Zheng Mingyi had found some excuse, for unexpectedly, he really didn’t come back to the library the next day.

His job as a librarian was already very idle. Jiang Chijing had gotten used to seeing Zheng Mingyi twice a day, so now he was so idle that it made him feel uneasy.

He took a cigarette and walked to the opposite infirmary. At this time, Luo Hai was watering the flowers and plants on the balcony, whereas that stinky brat Yu Guang was back behind the computer again.

“So what’s wrong with you today?” Jiang Chijing walked to the balcony and lit his cigarette, gazing towards Yu Guang as he asked this question, leaning against the railing.

“I’ve got a stomachache today,” Yu Guang cackled, and his hands went back to clacking the keyboard noisily again.

Hearing the keyboard noises, Jiang Chijing suddenly felt something amiss. He walked over to Yu Guang and took a look. Sure enough, there was an abnormal program running on the computer screen.

“Aren’t you going to stop him?” Jiang Chijing asked, straightening his body and looking towards Luo Hai on the balcony.

“I can’t persuade him out of it.” Luo Hai sighed in exasperation. “He promised not to reveal it to anyone after looking into it and that there wouldn’t be any kind of follow-up measures.”

Jiang Chijing’s head pounded. “And you’re just taking his word for it?”

“I swear.” Yu Guang held up three fingers. “If the God of Go is fine, I will never cause him trouble.”

Jiang Chijing walked back to the balcony, lowering his voice as he spoke to Luo Hai. “All in all, he’s still a con, how can you just let him flout the rules?”

“I know this is wrong.” Looking at the factory area past the balcony, Luo Hai said, “You might not get it, but sometimes people just can’t help themselves.”

Jiang Chijing was often unable to control his own mind. Of course he knew what it was like, so he knew that it was useless no matter what he said. However, Luo Hai doing this had given him ammunition. He said, “That being the case, you’re also not to stick your nose into my business from now on.”

Luo Hai knew he couldn’t win this battle and didn’t compare Zheng Mingyi to Yu Guang again. However, he suddenly remembered something; he looked at the time, asking, “Are you not reading the news to Zheng Mingyi today?”

“Don’t have to,” said Jiang Chijing.

Luo Hai seemed to want to press on, but at this time, Yu Guang suddenly poked his head out from behind the computer, interjecting, “Oh, right, Officer Jiang. Is it true that Zheng Mingyi really can’t do it?”

“Can’t do what?” Jiang Chijing was completely baffled.

“They’re all saying that Zheng Mingyi can’t get it up, so he can only be the one receiving.”

“……”

Jiang Chijing had considered that Princess would spread the excuse that Zheng Mingyi had made up, but he didn’t expect the added bells and whistles, directly twisting the story into that Zheng Mingyi couldn’t get it up at all.

“Zheng Mingyi is a bottom?” When Luo Hai heard this, his eyes widened in shock.

“He’s not.” Jiang Chijing frowned. Not only was he not, but he also irrefutably, practically oozed top vibes.

“Really?” Yu Guang blinked owlishly. “So it’s still Officer Jiang who’s the one underneath?”

“What does this have to do with me?” The veins on Jiang Chijing’s temples bulged.

“They all say that you’ve slept with him,” said Yu Guang. “They even say that Officer Jiang is very fierce, not a weak little bottom who would get blown over by the wind.”

Which motherfucker would get blown over by the wind…

Expletives were already resting on Jiang Chijing’s tongue, but he heard Yu Guang say, as though unfinished, “Back then many people thought that Officer Jiang was very loose, but now they’ve completely lost interest, scared that their asses will suffer.”

At this, Jiang Chijing suddenly got an odd feeling, like he had overlooked something.

He keep sieving through his mind, eventually twisting a fragmented, thin thread into a thick rope, then held this rope and pulled it. A clear conclusion leapt to the forefront of his mind—

The excuse that Zheng Mingyi spun wasn’t only to shake Princess off.

He knew that Princess would spread his words, and he also knew that the prison was filled with rumours about him and Jiang Chijing. So he had claimed to be a bottom on purpose, not only to nip Princess’ interest but also for others to mistake Jiang Chijing as a top, putting a stop to the rumours of him being a public bus.

Thinking back to how Zheng Mingyi had pretended to let Princess give him head, this action actually served to divert Princess’ attention, giving him an opening to pass a message to Jiang Chijing through the camera without exposing it, speaking in front of Princess.

Once the message was delivered, he stopped Princess. At this time, he achieved his objective, whilst keeping Jiang Chijing’s little secret.

As for the reason why he would call Jiang Chijing over, might be motivated by what Jiang Chijing had previously analysed, but there could also be other reasons. For example, by deepening the association between the two of them, the rumour that Jiang Chijing was a top would have more credibility.

On the surface, Zheng Mingyi did this to resolve the pest that was Princess.

But in actuality, while dealing with Princess, he also helped Jiang Chijing to clear up the rumours.

When Jiang Chijing finally arrived at this conclusion, the whole expanse of his back prickled numbly.

Zheng Mingyi’s ploys ran frighteningly deep. But Jiang Chijing’s first instinct wasn’t to keep away from him, but to see him right now and ask him if he had arrived at the correct conclusion.

Previously, Jiang Chijing had a hunch that he hadn’t managed to hide what he wanted to hide, that Zheng Mingyi had stripped him down to his underwear.

But now, this feeling changed. He had a vague premonition that he was possibly stripped so far down that he wasn’t even left with his underwear anymore.