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Every time he brought up the clues, Zheng Mingyi would always change the subject.

Knowing that no answers were forthcoming, also reluctant to waste time on this, Jiang Chijing reignited his battle spirit and pressed Zheng Mingyi beneath him.

He performed commendably in the third round of combat. Officer Jiang seized the command the whole way, and Teacher Zheng essentially was only responsible for lying in bed and being pleasured.

But he had to say, after three rounds in the day, Jiang Chijing was truly a little worn out. His lower half also ached terribly. When he nestled with Zheng Mingyi on the sofa to watch a movie at night, he’d fallen asleep in the midst of it.

He was in bed when he woke up the next morning. It was quiet outside, perceivably in the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps due to having rested for an entire night as well as having to return to prison before eight, Zheng Mingyi zealously tormented Jiang Chijing to death and back to life.

Jiang Chijing continually reminded Zheng Mingyi that this wasn’t the last fuck of his life; it wasn’t necessary to go this hard. But none of this got into the head of Comrade Zheng Mingyi, who was still serving his sentence. This guy only knew to bury himself in hard work, nearly causing Jiang Chijing to be unable to get out of bed.

At 8:30 a.m., Guan Wei appeared at Jiang Chijing’s door.

Jiang Chijing didn’t know if Zheng Mingyi had told Guan Wei why he had come to Jiang Chijing’s house on the day he got out of prison. While Zheng Mingyi might have fabricated a dignified reason, Guan Wei wasn’t a fool, he could probably put two and two together.

Their remaining time in the morning was spent in the last throes of passion. Zheng Mingyi didn’t have any time left for breakfast, and could only hastily freshen up then pin Jiang Chijing against the front door, giving him yet another breathtakingly deep kiss.

Unlike Jiang Chijing, who was completely depleted, Zheng Mingyi seemed full of vitality. Not only did he seem as though he hadn’t burn any energy during this limited 24 hours, but also like he’d made up for all that was sapped out of him during his time in prison.

If Jiang Chijing were to describe it, this guy was basically an incubus who had drained him dry with this one trip.

Had Guan Wei not pressed the doorbell a good number of times, who knew when Zheng Mingyi would break off the kiss with him.

“I’m leaving now, Jiang Jiang.” Zheng Mingyi looked at Jiang Chijing, appearing very reluctant to step out of the door.

Jiang Chijing was abruptly reminded of his young niece, who also liked to dawdle before leaving due to her reluctance to go to school. He never imagined that Zheng Mingyi would be this clingy; after all, he’d still be going to work tomorrow; they would see each other in prison again.

But the difference between his and Zheng Mingyi’s attitude was that he was going to work, whereas Zheng Mingyi was going to sit in prison. It was only natural that he wouldn’t be as happy and content as he was.

“See you tomorrow.” Jiang Chijing knew that time was running out and kissed the corner of Zheng Mingyi’s lips. Following this, he moved away and pressed the door handle behind him. “The next time you’re out, I’ll ready my uniform.”

Maybe because ‘next time’ sounded promising, Zheng Mingyi straightened up and gazed at Jiang Chijing, saying, “And if you lie to me again?”

“Then I’ll…” Jiang Chijing said a few words in Zheng Mingyi’s ear. Zheng Mingyi smiled and said, “All right.”

Guan Wei brought Zheng Mingyi out of the community, driving in the direction of Southside Prison.

Quiet fell upon the house again. If it weren’t for the creases on the Fundamentals of Weiqi from being crushed, the past day would have seemed like a dream.

No, it couldn’t be a dream. Unless he ran a marathon in his dream.

After having breakfast, Jiang Chijing returned to his bedroom to change the sheets. The desk by his bed was still tidy, untouched by their going at it. Jiang Chijing casually swept a glance over and found that a branded watch now rested next to where he usually placed his watch.

That was Zheng Mingyi’s watch. Jiang Chijing knew its worth. It could probably buy him another of the car he currently used.

Zheng Mingyi should have forgotten to take it with him. However, this watch would also be confiscated upon his return to prison, so it wouldn’t make much difference whether or not he had taken it with him.

Jiang Chijing kept that watch in the drawer, continuing to tidy his room.

There were two toothbrushes inserted into his cup by the sink in the washroom. Jiang Chijing went to bed early last night and didn’t remember to prepare any for Zheng Mingyi. When he asked about it later, Zheng Mingyi said that he had gone down to the supermarket after he fell asleep.

The quality of the toothbrush was obvious from its appearance; Zheng Mingyi hadn’t bought a disposable item that cost a few bucks, but one that appeared to be for long-term use.

It was a rather strange feeling.

When Jiang Chijing was with Luo Hai, they hadn’t gone to the point of cohabitation, whereas he and Zheng Mingyi had only officially met each other for no more than a month ago, yet this person was already grandiosely setting his toiletries in his washroom.

If he had to put a finger to it, Jiang Chijing did have some reservations towards Luo Hai, because he really didn’t want to expose his pet hobby to him.

It was similar to how people would pay attention to courtesy in front of acquaintances, whereas they could be themselves in front of close friends. Since Zheng Mingyi had long stripped him of his underwear, Jiang Chijing conversely didn’t have that psychological impediment.

After putting the toothbrush away in his mirror cabinet, Jiang Chijing casually sorted out the items on its shelves as well. However, as he tidied it up, he abruptly felt that the cabinet seemed to be missing something.

He couldn’t tell exactly what it was until he went to throw out the rubbish, then suddenly found a barely-used bottle of cologne lying in the trash bin outside his yard.

If Jiang Chijing wasn’t mistaken, he had kept this cologne in the mirror cabinet in his washroom after using it last week.

He sighed in exasperation but couldn’t be bothered to pick this cologne out of the trash. From the looks of it, he might be taking a large vinegar jar into his family.

> vinegar jar; someone prone to jealousy

Translated on ninetysevenkoi.wordpress

***

Please do not repost or retranslate.

Jiang Chijing rose earlier than usual on Monday.

Some of his civilian colleagues in prison disliked the greasiness of the mess hall food and would occasionally pack their own lunches to heat in a microwave at noon. Jiang Chijing was too lazy to exert the effort and never brought his own lunch before. However, he was in a good mood yesterday and specially made a trip to the supermarket to buy a few glass tupperwares.

When he brought a bag to prison, Jiang Chijing went through the usual checks. The sentry made small talk with him, asking him if he had picked up a new skill in cooking. He simply replied that he was tired of prison food and wanted to change it up a bit.

There was always more mail on Monday than other days, after all, the mail from the two-day weekend would have accumulated as well. But there were way more today, because the letters came pouring in after the prison lifted the weeklong lockdown.

Jiang Chijing rapidly checked the contents of each letter, one among which rather surprised him. This was because it was the first reply letter that Xu Sheng had received all this time.

There was no detailed address on the letter, but it wasn’t hard to tell from the contents. The letter should have been sent from the hospital.

“Xu Sheng, mail for you.”

Jiang Chijing carried on as per normal and delivered the mail for Block B and C first before coming to Xu Sheng’s cell. From Xu Sheng’s expression, he also appeared rather surprised by Jiang Chijing passing mail to him.

“You should already have heard, right?” Jiang Chijing said. “The old madam’s operation was a success.”

“Yes.” Xu Sheng kept a constant watch on the condition of the two elderly and should have heard the news at the earliest. He opened the letter and read the opening, and his pupils briefly dilated. But he immediately folded the letter, as though wanting to slowly savour it when alone.

“If you have any plans,” Jiang Chijing said, “you can contact the admin branch any time.”

“Thank you, Officer Jiang,” Xu Sheng said.

Jiang Chijing didn’t speak more of it, turning around and leaving the cell block.

The old man of the elderly couple was the one who had written the letter to Xu Sheng. It began with informing him of the old madam’s situation, saying that the operation was a success and that’d even hired professional care, telling Xu Sheng that there was no need to worry.

But in the second paragraph, the style changed. The old man began to speak of the time when he first met Xu Sheng. It was easy to see from what was written that he didn’t hate Xu Sheng, but even missed those bygone days.

Then came the third paragraph. Reading it caused Jiang Chijing’s heart to thump.

The elderly couple knew that there was something wrong with their son, Ah Wei. He had done some shocking things as a child, but they had chalked it down to his young age and never took it to heart.

Later, when they found out that Ah Wei had been killed by Xu Sheng, they were both flabbergasted and irreconcilable with reality. However, over the years, the suspicion in their hearts deepened. They couldn’t comprehend why Xu Sheng would do this, and the more their doubts grew, the more fearful they became. As such, they were never willing to confront it.

This was until two days ago, when a law enforcement officer surnamed Guan came to look for them, who revealed to them the conjectures of what had happened behind the scenes that year. Understanding finally dawned on the elderly couple, and they felt greatly agonised.

Ten years had passed. The happenings of that year had become a distant past. The old man wanted the agent to reopen the investigation into the serial torture and murder case, granting Xu Sheng an early release from prison. However, the agent said that there was insufficient evidence to reopen the case and it would be hard for results to come out of it. After all, what he had told them was mere speculation.

Having said that, there was still a silver lining.

As the victim’s family, the old man could write a pardon letter. Even if using this now was unable to reopen the case, it could minimally serve as an application to the prison for a reduced sentence for Xu Sheng.

Xu Sheng had already served over a decade, and also had a favourable performance record in prison. If his sentence could really be reduced, it was even possible that he could regain his freedom in a few years.

By then, Princess would be almost done serving his time. The two of them could start a new life outside.

It was a good outcome.

Even Jiang Chijing’s mood lifted at this.

Without a doubt, the ‘Agent Guan’ that the old man spoke of was definitely Guan Wei. Guan Wei wasn’t in the force long enough to have been appointed as the officer leading the case back then, so Jiang Chijing could only think of one reason for him to stick his hand into this case now—Zheng Mingyi.

In the deal between Zheng Mingyi and Xu Sheng, they had exchanged money for the latter’s network. But when Zheng Mingyi came out of prison the day before, he had mentioned to Jiang Chijing that he had asked Xu Sheng’s men to act as eyes for Guan Wei.

At that time, Jiang Chijing thought it was odd. Why had a deal that was clearly marked up suddenly come with an additional clause?

Xu Sheng wasn’t a fool; he shouldn’t have agreed to a sudden condition from Zheng Mingyi outside their original terms. His men outside were helping him as a favour, he wouldn’t needlessly get them to act for him.

But Jiang Chijing didn’t think deeper into it at that time, assuming that Zheng Mingyi had forked out more money. However, now it appeared that Zheng Mingyi should have brokered another deal between Guan Wei and Xu Sheng’s men.

Guan Wei handled things with the elderly couple, granting Xu Sheng a reduced sentence. In this way, Xu Sheng’s men would naturally repay him by doing their best to help him close cases.

Jiang Chijing suspected that Xu Sheng himself was in the dark about this, for he wouldn’t have agreed to have Guan Wei disturb the elderly couple. However, this was out of concern for the health of the elderly couple. After a decade, the old man had enough time to accept the truth of that incident, and the old madam’s lack of knowledge on this wasn’t an obstacle—as they could see now, Guan Wei had obtained the best outcome.

No, it wasn’t Guan Wei. Zheng Mingyi was the one who had facilitated this outcome.

On the way back to the admin block, Jiang Chijing couldn’t help but sigh again that this guy’s big brain was truly sexy, so sexy that he was pretty much a goner.

Whether it was helping Guan Wei solve the case or helping Xu Sheng reduce his sentence, Zheng Mingyi was ultimately helping himself.

Guan Wei was only concerned about HX Management at first, but now he was simultaneously looking into several companies. If he managed to get to the end of it, his promotion was a sure fact, not to mention the societal good he would bring.

Xu Sheng was only concerned about the old madam’s medical bills at first, but now he somehow got a chance for his sentence to be reduced, a blessing that came falling into his lap out of the blue.

Those who worked with Zheng Mingyi were able to maximise their gains. Jiang Chijing believed that, were it him, considering his aptitude for controlling the field, he would be unable to achieve the same results.

And most importantly, Zheng Mingyi was still sitting in prison.

Right as this thought came to him, Jiang Chijing rounded about from the connecting corridor to the admin block, and saw that Zheng Mingyi was already waiting at the library door.

He had changed back into the orange inmate uniform, and silver handcuffs shackled his wrists. The prison guard responsible for escorting him around was standing next to him.

Today, Jiang Chijing took longer than normal to deliver the mail. It appeared that Zheng Mingyi had been here for a while. When Jiang Chijing approached, he greeted Jiang Chijing as he usually did, “Morning.”

In the past, Zheng Mingyi’s stage line was always “Morning, Officer Jiang” without any variation. Yet, it was only the first part today, causing Jiang Chijing to feel on edge.

Right as Jiang Chijing waited for Zheng Mingyi to say the last two words, he saw Zheng Mingyi move his lips slightly. While the guard next to him wasn’t paying attention, he mouthed to Jiang Chijing: Wife.