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Jiang Chijing pretended not to have heard Zheng Mingyi’s wordplay. Anyway, as long as he didn’t feel awkward, any awkwardness was a thing for others.

Luo Hai and the patrol team quickly arrived at the recreation room. As Zheng Mingyi had beat Ma Liu up too hard, Luo Hai wasn’t able to deal with it and could only follow on an ambulance, sending him outside for medical attention.

There was no doubt in the incident investigation. One inmate was in charge of distracting the prison guard stationed at the staircase, another inmate was in charge of luring Jiang Chijing to the recreation room, Ma Liu had made clear his intention to molest him, and during their fight, Zheng Mingyi heard the cabinets clanging against each other and came in to help Jiang Chijing out of the siege.

This little episode during the afternoon break was brought to a temporary close. The next step, regarding the exact rewards and punishments, would be determined by the warden.

The inmates in the library had gotten their fill of excitement. By the time two o’clock came, they were herded to the factory area behind the admin block for labour.

Silence flooded the second floor once again. By all logic, Jiang Chijing had already gotten rid of his duty to read to Zheng Mingyi, and Zheng Mingyi should be leaving as well. However, Jiang Chijing looked at Zheng Mingyi’s hand and still got him to stay behind, bringing him to the unmanned infirmary.

“I told you to take note of your strength but you still went this far.”

Luo Hai had left for the hospital outside and would probably only be back near the end of work. As before, Zheng Mingyi sat on the same sickbed, and Jiang Chijing again drug over the same swivel chair to sit in front of Zheng Mingyi, helping him clean and treat the wounds.

“What was that guy convicted for?” Zheng Mingyi asked.

“Rape and murder.” Jiang Chijing lifted Zheng Mingyi’s wrist, helping him clean the blood staining the back of his hands.

“Then I don’t have to hold back.”

Skin had broken across Zheng Mingyi’s joints. The new and old wounds interlaced together, dizzying Jiang Chijing’s eyes. He wasn’t a patient man in the first place, but he now forced himself to patiently apply medication for Zheng Mingyi with a somewhat unpleasant expression on his face.

“Officer Jiang,” Zheng Mingyi called. “Are you upset?”

“Huh?” Jiang Chijing raised his eyes, frowning. “No.”

“I’ll take note next time.”

Actually, Jiang Chijing really wasn’t upset. Ma Liu was different from Chen Er, who Zheng Mingyi had deliberately incited. This guy could get beaten up for all he cared, and Jiang Chijing wouldn’t feel the slightest remorse. He only feared that Zheng Mingyi would get into trouble for not knowing when to stop.

Since nothing bad came out of it, he naturally had nothing to be upset about; he was only annoyed at having to apply medication for Zheng Mingyi.

“Done.” Jiang Chijing finally finished wrapping the cloth bandage and adieu’ed this momentous task with a clap of his hands. “Just bear with this for now, this is the limit of my ability.”

Jiang Chijing had wrapped Zheng Mingyi’s right palm into a fat dumpling. There was no aesthetic sense to speak of at all. But this was already the best that Jiang Chijing could do; he had never helped anyone deal with a wound in that spot before.

“Can I be honest?” Zheng Mingyi held up his right hand, flipping his fist front and back for a better look.

“You can’t,” said Jiang Chijing.

Zheng Mingyi smiled, but still said, “It’s ugly.”

Veins rose on Jiang Chijing temple. “Do it yourself, then.”

But he didn’t expect that Zheng Mingyi would actually start to wrap it himself.

He undid the bandages around his palm, clamping the head in between his thumb and his index, then wound it twice around his wrist, and twice around his palm. After interweaving between every finger and wrapping around his palm twice again, he finally wound the surplus bandage around his wrist.

This was the way that he wrapped his hands for boxing.

Jiang Chijing accidentally spaced out watching it, because this visual was topped the list of things that he liked to spy on.

Zheng Mingyi starting to wrap the boxing bandages around his hands implied that he was right about to strip off his shirt and drip sweat like rain in front of the sandbag in his bedroom. Every time he finished boxing, he would stand by the window and unwind the bandages, his movements fluid with casual ease, drawing Jiang Chijing in so much that he could never tear his gaze away.

This was once a visual that Jiang Chijing could only glimpse through the monocular, but had now abruptly appeared right before his eyes. It was no more than an utterly average, unremarkable action, yet he felt that it was even more stimulating than a striptease.

“Do you want to learn, Officer Jiang?” Zheng Mingyi gazed at the daydreaming Jiang Chijing, asking.

“What?” Jiang Chijing snapped back to attention. “Nevermind.”

“I can teach you.”

At this, Zheng Mingyi reached out his right hand to grasp the swivel chair between Jiang Chijing’s parted legs, pulling Jiang Chijing towards him, not giving any room for objection.

This abrupt acceleration caused Jiang Chijing to lean back, and as the chair came to a sudden stop, he toppled forward out of inertia, the tip of his nose just barely missing Zheng Mingyi’s chin.

Knees knocking against the edge of the bed, Jiang Chijing unconsciously closed his legs. He and Zheng Mingyi were seated face to face, and unlike him, who had his legs tightly pressed together, Zheng Mingyi had boorishly opened his legs to allow him to get closer.

The orange prison uniform pulled taut against the lines of his thighs, and Jiang Chijing had to bite his tongue to restrain the wild images that burst forth in his mind. He raised his eyes in hopes of recovering from this visual assault, only to meet Zheng Mingyi’s eyes, and for a time he was completely unsure whether to rest his gaze.

Zheng Mingyi was going to be the death of him.

“Give me your hand.”

Zheng Mingyi spoke, then heedlessly raised Jiang Chijing’s right wrist, taking a new roll of bandages from the first-aid kit beside him. As he wound it around his hand, he narrated in explanation, “Start from here, then wind over here… two times around here… and spread your fingers apart.”

Jiang Chijing’s mind was completely blank, watching Zheng Mingyi wind the bandage around his fingers, and he cooperatively parted his index and middle fingers.

The coarse bandage slid between his fingers. With Zheng Mingyi tugging on it, the cloth rubbed in the gaps between his fingers, evoking a strong sense of deja vu.

He felt that these two fingers were like his legs. Zheng Mingyi got him to spread his legs apart, and used the bandages to invade his forbidden area…

“Zheng Mingyi.” Jiang Chijing inhaled deeply, teetering on the edge of his restraint.

“Hm?” Zheng Mingyi’s hands didn’t pause, continuing to wrap the bandage around Jiang Chijing’s middle and ring fingers.

“Can you stop seducing me?”

Jiang Chijing had held back these words for a long time. Way back in the recreation room, when Zheng Mingyi put his arms around his shoulders, speaking into his ears, he already wanted Zheng Mingyi to restrain himself more, to stop casually flaunting the sex appeal he possessed.

But Zheng Mingyi was visibly baffled by this, and his voice was tinted with amusement as he said, “But I’m not seducing you, Officer Jiang.”

“You are,” Jiang Chijing said, his brows creased.

“I’m really not.” Zheng Mingyi finished winding the bandages, saying as he looked towards Jiang Chijing. “Do you want to see what it looks like if I really seduced you?”

“What?” Jiang Chijing gave a start.

Zheng Mingyi’s legs suddenly gripped together, pinning Jiang Chijing between his thighs, then held Jiang Chijing’s nape in place, body leaning over towards him.

Jiang Chijing watched as Zheng Mingyi’s face got closer and closer to him, and subconsciously wanted to flee. But both his legs and his nape were immobilised by Zheng Mingyi; he wasn’t able to shy away.

Time seemed to slow down before his eyes. Jiang Chijing’s gaze swept across Zheng Mingyi’s brow line, unwittingly glanced into his deep, abstruse eyes and, as if fleeing, moved to his high nose bridge, before finally fixing on the gradually nearing lips.

Was Zheng Mingyi’s so-called ‘seduction’ was to kiss him directly? Wasn’t that too crude? Or was Zheng Mingyi always this aggressive to begin with?

Jiang Chijing’s eyelashes quivered, forcibly resisting the urge to close his eyes.

But right before their lips touched, Zheng Mingyi suddenly adjusted his trajectory. His lips brushed past the side of Jiang Chijing’s face, saying in his ear, “Officer Jiang, can you help me check if I’ve been bitten by a mosquito?”

Zheng Mingyi then retreated slightly, pulling his collar open with a hand, pointing towards his collarbones.

Warmth still lingered on his cheeks where those lips brushed past. Jiang Chijing mechanically shifted his gaze, looking towards Zheng Mingyi’s collarbones. Due to the way Zheng Mingyi had leaned forward, angling his chin, Jiang Chijing could not only see his collarbones but also the particularly prominent protrusion of his adam’s apple.

Fucking rat-ass mosquitoes.

These four words abruptly popped up in Jiang Chijing’s brain.

The wheatish skin was a smooth pale golden expanse. There wasn’t the barest trace of any mosquito bite. If anything, Jiang Chijing was the one who wanted to bite him and leave him a mark.

“Does your skin itch?” After successfully stopping himself from falling to temptation, Jiang Chijing looked at Zheng Mingyi, pulling the question from between gritted teeth.

Zheng Mingyi chuckled, his adam’s apple rolling gently. He sat upright, resuming his previous sitting posture, and said, “I’m only trying to prove that I wasn’t seducing you.”

Compared to this ‘mosquito trick’, Zheng Mingyi teaching Jiang Chijing how to wrap bandages just now did seem not to hold any suggestive undertones. However, regardless of its intentionality, all of it drew Jiang Chijing in like a moth to a flame, merely that it was more despicable in nature if it was on purpose.

“Release your legs,” Jiang Chijing said.

Zheng Mingyi didn’t move.

Jiang Chijing struggled to free bimself, but Zheng Mingyi instead clamped his legs tighter together.

“I’m counting to three,” Jiang Chijing suppressed his temper. “Three—”

“One.”

Zheng Mingyi stole the count from Jiang Chijing, casually propping his hands behind him, tilting his head as he looked at Jiang Chijing. It was as if admiring Jiang Chijing go crazy was one of his favourite forms of amusement.

Jiang Chijing flew into a rage. He got up and pushed Zheng Mingyi down on the bed, his left hand pulling at Zheng Mingyi’s collar whilst raising his right fist. “Do you think that I won’t hit you?”

“No.” Zheng Mingyi’s left elbow was propped up behind him, and his right hand grabbed Jiang Chijing’s uniform collar, abruptly pulling him towards himself. “I’m waiting for Officer Jiang to hit me.”

This move came completely out of the left field to Jiang Chijing. Due to his unstable centre of gravity, he was forced to put down his raised fist for support, bracing it by Zheng Mingyi’s side.

“Officer Jiang.” Zheng Mingyi’s hand was still clasped around Jiang Chijing’s collar. His eyes were hooded, and his gaze roamed the area surrounding the collar. “Can I tear off your uniform?”

Jiang Chijing was stunned. He clearly knew that their position could be captured by surveillance, and perhaps by now his colleagues in the control room had already noticed something wrong between them. If Zheng Mingyi were to tear off his uniform…

“Are you a pervert?!”

Jiang Chijing hurriedly pushed Zheng Mingyi away, standing up and steering clear from the bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in his collar.

Zheng Mingyi leisurely sat up, but this time his line of sight suddenly shifted towards the door of the infirmary.

Jiang Chijing almost jumped in fright. He hurriedly followed Zheng Mingyi’s line of sight over, and saw that half a person was standing by the infirmary door. Or, to be accurate, it was Yu Guang secretly standing behind the doorway with only half his head poking in, staring at the two of them unwaveringly.

“Why are you here?” Jiang Chijing’s brows knit.

“I’m here to look for you, Officer Jiang.” Yu Guang said gloomily.

“Me?” Jiang Chijing was taken aback. “What for?”

Yu Guang’s black eyes whipped towards Zheng Mingyi, obviously unwilling for Zheng Mingyi to be present.

Jiang Chijing checked the time and told Zheng Mingyi, “You should go.”

Zheng Mingyi got up and walked towards Yu Guang. Likely knowing it wasn’t a good idea to mess with Zheng Mingyi, Yu Guang kept shrinking his body behind the wall as Zheng Mingyi approached him.

“See you tomorrow, Officer Jiang.”

Zheng Mingyi turned his head back, saying this one sentence to Jiang Chijing before he left.

Jiang Chijing flashed back to Zheng Mingyi’s lips brushing past his cheeks, and the tips of his ears started to flush involuntarily. However, Zheng Mingyi soon left and Jiang Chijing was able to regain his normal composure, looking towards Yu Guang, half-hidden behind the doorway. “What are you looking for me for?”

Yu Guang still had the same gloomy look on his face. He asked, “Officer Jiang, do you do stocks?”

“Stocks?” Jiang Chijing was even more taken aback now. “No.”

“Liar.” Yu Guang mumbled softly, his gaze drooping downwards.

Jiang Chijing’s mind was filled with confused fog. He walked towards Yu Guang, tempering himself to say, “What on earth are you looking for me for?”

While they weren’t considered close, they could at least communicate with each other normally. But little did Jiang Chijing expect that once he neared, Yu Guang would actually retreat, seemingly dead-set on keeping a distance between them.

“Don’t come over,” Yu Guang said. “I can’t get too close to you.”

The corners of Jiang Chijing’s lips twitched. Any ideas of communicating with Yu Guang completely evaporated. He often couldn’t make sense of what this stinky brat was thinking in any case, nor did he understand how Luo Hai resolved the generation gap between them.

“Forget it, then.”

Jiang Chijing left the infirmary and returned to the library, while Yu Guang followed furtively behind him. Jiang Chijing just pretended that Yu Guang didn’t exist, going on with whatever business he had at hand. After a long time, Yu Guang appeared to be unable to hold back any longer, hesitantly walking up to the entrance of his work area.

“Officer Jiang, I’ve something important to tell you.”

Yu Guang made to come into the work area as he spoke. Jiang Chijing immediately called hold of him.

“Get out.” Jiang Chijing lifted his chin. “Whatever it is, you can say it from out there.”

“Doesn’t Zheng Mingyi always go in?” Yu Guang’s lips curled.

“He is him, and you are you.” Jiang Chijing mercilessly said. “I ask this one last time. What is it?”

Yu Guang breathed in deeply, sprawling over the office desk, one hand blocking the side of his mouth. He whispered to Jiang Chijing, “Officer Jiang, I know your secret.”

Secret?

Jiang Chijing’s brows furrowed at this, instinctively assuming that Yu Guang had found out about the pinhole camera in the recreation room.

But on second thought, Yu Guang didn’t even go to the recreation room in the first place, so how would he know what other inmates didn’t?

“What secret?” Jiang Chijing said without a flicker in his expression.

“I snooped around the clerical department the past two days, observing all of the prison officers.” Yu Guang’s voice turned smaller and smaller as he spoke.

“And then?” Jiang Chijing asked.

“You’re the God of Go, right, Officer Jiang?” Yu Guang’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. “I’ve finally found you, Idol.”

Jiang Chijing, “……?”