Chapter 125 02

Chapter 125.02

He Lin returned to the living room.

Without his interruptions, Li Shang on the sofa finally seemed to be genuinely asleep. He Lin watched him from a distance. Li Shang appeared to be in a deep slumber, his features relaxed, eyelashes lowered, and one pale hand hanging loosely over the edge of the sofa.

His slightly frail appearance, still recovering from a serious illness, filled He Lin with tenderness and concern.

He Lin knew that even in sleep, Li Shang was often alert. He didn’t dare disturb him directly and instead whispered softly, “How about moving to the bedroom to sleep?”

Li Shang, half-asleep, murmured a low response.

Only then did He Lin dare to approach and pick him up. Li Shang was half-reclining on the sofa. He Lin supported Li Shang’s back with one hand, his fingers tracing his spine, while his other hand slipped beneath his knees. With a gentle tightening of his arms, he effortlessly lifted him.

He was truly too light…

He Lin looked down at the person in his arms. Li Shang seemed to sense he was being carried, mumbled something with his eyes closed, then nuzzled his cheek against He Lin’s chest: “He Lin…”

Li Shang murmured his name drowsily, then closed his eyes and wrapped his other cool hand around He Lin’s neck.

He Lin felt his own heartbeat quicken.

He carried Li Shang all the way to the bedroom and laid him on the bed, but Li Shang woke up. Rubbing his eyes, he asked, “What time is it?”

“Did I wake you?” He Lin checked his phone. “Eight o’clock.”

Li Shang had actually slept quite a long time today and wasn’t particularly tired anymore. It was just that the previous mental and emotional exhaustion had drained him so much that he’d been in a kind of power-saving mode.

He pushed himself up, and when his hand touched He Lin’s body, he remembered He Lin was injured. He’d probably been a bit too boisterous earlier. He asked anxiously, “How’s your injury? And you even took a cold shower just now.”

Li Shang reached out to touch He Lin’s side: “Let me see the wound. I’ll help you change the dressing.”

He Lin obediently went to retrieve the medicine from the hospital. Li Shang sat on the edge of the bed, but before he could start, He Lin pointed at his neck: “Let’s change yours first. I was very careful earlier; the wound didn’t get wet. Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

Li Shang wasn’t entirely convinced and reached out to check the gauze on He Lin’s side. Feeling that it wasn’t damp, he bowed his head and allowed He Lin to change his dressing.

He Lin gently unwound the bandage from around his neck, layer by layer.

Perhaps because Li Shang was anemic, his blood clotting ability was significantly worse than He Lin’s. It had taken this long for the wound to even begin showing signs of healing. He Lin’s movements were gentle as he sprayed disinfectant and then softly blew on his neck.

Even now, seeing Li Shang’s wound made He Lin feel a lingering fear. If it had been just a bit to the side, or a little deeper… The mere thought made He Lin uneasy.

Suppressing the urge to touch Li Shang, he asked tenderly, “Does it hurt? The wound is healing so slowly. I hope it doesn't scar.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Li Shang reassured him, knowing He Lin was thinking about that day again.

Recalling it afterward, Li Shang had also felt a moment of fear. Facing life and death, fear was only human.

But even so, if he had to choose again, he would still make the same decision. It seemed that in that moment, his body’s instinct had made the choice faster than his reason.

As for scarring, Li Shang didn’t care at all. His body was covered with scars, big and small, many of which had been kissed by He Lin. Those scars had also borne witness to their shared moments.

But since He Lin cared, Li Shang reached out and ruffled He Lin’s hair, comforting him.

As he moved, the disinfectant on Li Shang’s neck had dried. He Lin took out a roll of thin bandage and, while securing it with his fingers, patiently wrapped it around Li Shang’s neck.

The wound was just below the Adam’s apple, slightly closer to the collarbone. It was horizontal, nearly four centimeters long.

Wrapping it here required skill. Too loose, and it would come undone; too tight, and it would hinder breathing and blood flow. Also, if it was too wide, it would be uncomfortable.

He Lin slowly wrapped a bandage about the width of a finger around Li Shang’s fair, slender neck, as if tying a white ribbon around it.

The feeling was wonderful, like personally wrapping a gift that belonged to him.

Li Shang only felt He Lin busy around his neck, his fingertips tickling him lightly.

After a while, He Lin said, “Done.” He carefully admired his exquisite “gift” and commented, “As expected, a true beauty looks good even in a bandage.”

Unsurprisingly, he received a sharp glare from the beauty.

Li Shang reached back and touched his neck. There was a bow.

Recently, He Lin had been changing his dressings, and he always tied it like this. Li Shang was well aware of He Lin’s little intentions, but he saw through it without exposing it.

After admiring the beauty and the bow enough, He Lin finally took off his shirt and leaned back, supporting himself with his hands behind him.

Li Shang’s movements were much more efficient than He Lin’s.

Sitting on the bed, he lowered his head, shedding any unnecessary emotions, like an emotionless army medic. There was no pity for the injured in his eyes, only the desire to finish this and clock out.

Li Shang began methodically. First, he removed the bandage from He Lin’s shoulder and sprayed it with antibacterial disinfectant.

He Lin’s wound had healed well and had already scabbed over. It didn’t really need bandaging anymore. But Li Shang still leaned down, gently wiped the wound, and wrapped it with a layer of gauze.

At the same time, Li Shang was certain that He Lin’s earlier claim of not being able to change his own dressing was nonsense.

Once that was done, he began bandaging the wound on He Lin’s side. This one was more serious and hadn’t healed enough to go without a bandage.

Li Shang focused entirely on the task, wrapping the gauze around him layer by layer.

The white bandage wrapped around his abs, muscles gently rising and falling with his breath—quite a feast for the eyes.

He Lin’s figure was definitely the type that had muscle when undressed but looked slim when clothed. His waist tapered in, giving a sense of strength, with two distinct lines of the Adonis belt.

But the half-dressed He Lin didn’t stir any waves in Li Shang’s heart. Instead, in He Lin’s eyes, the neatly dressed Li Shang had an orderly, ascetic quality.

When Li Shang leaned forward, he turned his head to wrap the bandage around He Lin. When the bandage reached the front, he deliberately pulled back, creating distance between them.

When Li Shang leaned close, He Lin could smell a faint, delicate fragrance on him—a scent he’d never encountered before but somehow found deeply familiar and comforting.

Li Shang’s cool fingers brushed against He Lin’s heated skin, occasionally accidentally touching his waist.

Watching Li Shang’s skilled movements, He Lin felt a slight ache in his heart. Such skilled bandaging techniques didn’t seem to come only from training during their base years. Even though Li Shang had never mentioned it, He Lin knew that in places he hadn’t seen, this person had likely tended to his own wounds alone.

This bittersweet feeling enveloped He Lin’s entire heart. He reached out and pulled Li Shang, who was still wrapping his bandage, into his arms.

Li Shang’s chin rested on He Lin’s shoulder, and he pushed him away somewhat helplessly: “Don’t mess around. I haven’t finished yet.”

But He Lin refused to let go, murmuring, “Let me hold you for a while, just a little while.”

Li Shang still held the bandage in his hand and found this amusing. How did this person have so much need for affection, like a puppy that hadn’t been weaned?

After five minutes, Li Shang mercilessly pushed He Lin away. They were in the middle of changing dressings—what was the point of hugging shirtless?

When pushed away, He Lin felt a sense of loss, as if their relationship was like Li Shang flying a kite, tightening or loosening the string entirely at his whim.

But so what?

He Lin told himself that as long as Li Shang didn’t let go, he would never leave him.

Finally, he tied off the bandage, and Li Shang snipped the gauze with a crisp *snip*.

With both wounds bandaged, Li Shang held the gauze and let his gaze drift downward, toward the area between his legs: “And also…”

He remembered there was another wound on He Lin’s thigh, right around the edge of his underwear.

Li Shang’s eyes lingered on a certain area that was already beginning to stir, and he clicked his tongue.

He Lin’s face flushed with embarrassment. He snatched the gauze back: “That one’s fine, I’ll handle it myself.” Then he retreated into the bathroom once more.

This time, Li Shang didn’t hear the sound of running water from the bathroom, nor any other noises. He simply got out of bed and took his medicine.

After all that back and forth, Li Shang was wide awake. It seemed only He Lin had been affected, while he himself maintained a cool and detached demeanor. But in reality, while punishing He Lin, he was also tormenting himself.

However, both his and He Lin’s wounds hadn’t fully healed yet, so doing anything now wasn't the right time.

Li Shang knew this was his own concern, as well as He Lin’s. So even though they were aroused, they were still doing their best to hold back.

To extinguish the desire that had flared up several times, He Lin went to the gym for some rehabilitation exercises, trying to burn off the excess energy.

While He Lin was working up a sweat, Li Shang took a shower and lay down in bed. After thinking for a moment, he opened a shopping app and ordered a box of oysters, using He Lin’s phone number and address.

It was just a shame that it wasn’t the best season for oysters. He asked several stores, and they all said they were out of stock…

Keeping it pent up like this wasn’t sustainable—they needed to replenish somehow.

Li Shang thought to himself, *Fine, a few more days wouldn’t hurt. Once his body recovered a bit more, it wouldn’t be too late.*

Besides, in a few days their vacation would be over. Once they returned to work and had things to do, they wouldn’t be thinking about *that* all the time.

From that day on, Li Shang stayed at He Lin’s place. On the first night, He Lin very seriously cleared out the master bedroom for him and slept in the guest room himself, putting on a proper and respectable front.

But it only lasted one night. By the second night, He Lin used chatting as an excuse to ramble on about all sorts of things with Li Shang. By the end, Li Shang couldn't be bothered to respond and just turned over to sleep. Seeing that Li Shang didn’t kick him out of bed, He Lin grew bolder, and that night he simply slept obediently beside him.

After that, He Lin started clinging to Li Shang and refusing to let go. Whenever Li Shang resisted, he would complain about his wounds hurting, playing dumb, acting spoiled and foolish—all of which left Li Shang stunned, and in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to kick him out of bed.

Held in He Lin’s arms, Li Shang listened to his heartbeat and felt happy deep down. But he still made excuses for himself—after all, they were at He Lin’s place, and it wasn't right to have the host sleeping in the guest room all the time.

A week passed quickly.

At dinner that evening, Li Shang took a sip of the soup in front of him. The soup was clear today, and he wasn’t sure what it was made from. The flavor was unfamiliar, but the fishiness had been well removed. He said, “The soup today is quite good.”

“Right?” He Lin replied. “Speaking of which, something strange happened. I received a whole box of oysters today, addressed to me. I’m not sure if someone bought them by mistake, but they wouldn’t keep for long, so I stewed them for you, for nourishment.”

Li Shang hadn’t been keeping track of the order and didn’t expect it to have already arrived. He stared at the bowl of soup in front of him. It was his first time having oyster soup—so this was what it tasted like.

But as for the oysters themselves…

He hesitated for a moment, then used a spoon to scoop them out and put them in He Lin’s bowl.

He Lin looked at the oysters in his bowl, puzzled: “You’re not going to eat them?”

Li Shang shook his head slightly with distaste: “The soup is fine, but the oysters look too fishy.”

He Lin hadn’t been willing to eat them himself earlier, but now that they were in his bowl, he ate them while thinking: *I did a pretty good job removing the fishy taste. Could it be any fishier than Wangzai fish soup?*

But he didn’t dare say that in front of Li Shang. He could only grumble inwardly while scooping whatever Li Shang didn’t want into his own bowl.

Li Shang watched him eat with an expectant look.

He Lin wasn’t stupid. After a moment, he asked: “You didn’t buy these oysters, did you?”

Li Shang continued drinking his soup, his eyelashes lowered, his tone casual: “Maybe you bought something in the past, and the seller sent them as a gift.”

Whether it was because Li Shang was too attractive or the oysters were actually effective, that night, He Lin found it hard to sleep.

Not wanting to disturb Li Shang beside him, he got up and went to the gym, doing two hundred push-ups and two hundred sit-ups before finally feeling a bit sleepy. But after showering and lying in bed, He Lin found himself wide awake again, unable to sleep at all.

Then he remembered that they would soon be returning to work. Li Shang still had a lot of things that hadn’t been moved over. Since Li Shang wasn’t living in his rented place anymore, it didn’t feel right to leave his things there.

.

Early the next morning, He Lin woke up bright and early.

Li Shang was still curled up under the covers, half-asleep, when he heard He Lin ask by his ear: “We’re going back to work tomorrow. Do you want me to help you pack and move your things over?”

Li Shang wasn’t fully awake yet, and his words weren’t fully processed. He closed his eyes and hummed in agreement.

With Li Shang’s response, He Lin was filled with energy. He cheerfully changed clothes and headed out.

He had been to Li Shang’s rented place several times before, and Li Shang had given him the passcode earlier. Once inside, He Lin started packing.

Including the week he had stayed at He Lin’s place, Li Shang had been away from here for over a month. The bathroom window was slightly ajar. He Lin didn’t know if Li Shang had left it open on purpose or forgotten to close it, but in any case, a thin layer of dust covered all the furniture.

He Lin found a rag in the bathroom and quickly wiped down the dusty furniture. Then he opened Li Shang’s wardrobe, where a row of clothes hung neatly, almost all in black, white, and gray—orderly and detached, just like him.

He Lin took the clothes down one by one and placed them in the suitcase he had brought. Seeing that the suitcase was only half full even after emptying the wardrobe, He Lin felt a sense of resignation, as if he should have expected this.

Other personal items were stored in the drawers on the side of the wardrobe. Only the underwear was missing. He Lin found a brand-new, unopened box in the bottom drawer of the bedside table. He wasn’t sure what came over him, but he felt a rush of blood to his head and quickly tossed the box into the suitcase.

The clothes in the bedroom were mostly packed—enough to ensure Li Shang’s daily needs. If anything was missed, they could always come back for it together in a few days.

Then He Lin went to Li Shang’s refrigerator and was about to remove the fridge magnets when he suddenly paused. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of them, thinking that when he got home, he could arrange them the same way. Li Shang would probably like that.

After dealing with the fridge magnets, He Lin casually opened the refrigerator door to see what was inside.

He planned to take whatever was still edible and throw away anything that had gone bad.

But as soon as he opened it, He Lin froze. Not only was the refrigerator empty, but it also wasn’t cold at all.

Well, it was basically just a cabinet.

Li Shang didn’t have many belongings. He carried his computer with him, and his clothes, shoes, and the first-aid items He Lin found barely filled one suitcase.

He Lin quickly packed everything into the suitcase. During his final check, he noticed a door next to the bedroom that led to a storage room. It was clearly added by the landlord. He placed his hand on the door and gently turned the knob—it opened.

He Lin stepped inside. The storage room was pitch black, so he reached for the light switch on the wall.

The moment the light turned on, He Lin saw that the wall was covered with a large clue map…

.

Li Shang didn’t wake up until 8:30 in the morning. He Lin wasn’t beside him, nor was he home.

He sat up and tried to recall, remembering what He Lin had said to him…

Moving?!

Li Shang jolted awake, his sleep-addled brain finally realizing what those words meant.

He hurriedly got out of bed, scrambling to change out of his pajamas. What about his things…

He Lin had been open enough—he had given him a place to stay and even allowed him to look at his phone—but Li Shang couldn't bring himself to be equally open with He Lin. There were many things he couldn't even clarify for himself, let alone explain to He Lin.

Li Shang didn't even think about eating and rushed out immediately to find He Lin.

As soon as he stepped out, he ran into He Lin at the building entrance, who was returning with a suitcase.

When He Lin saw Li Shang, he immediately broke into a wide grin, jogged over, and gave Li Shang's waist a quick squeeze. "You didn't see me when you woke up—did you miss me?"

Li Shang was preoccupied with other matters and wasn't in the mood for He Lin's flirting. He asked urgently, "Did you go to my place to pack my things? What did you take?"

He Lin was momentarily confused by the question. "Just clothes, shoes, your daily necessities, and some regular medication... Why? Is there something specific you needed? You can check later to see if anything's missing, and I can go back if needed."

Li Shang let out an "oh," sounding relieved, and followed He Lin upstairs.

Unpacking the suitcase, Li Shang sorted through the items, recalling where each belonged, and finally felt completely at ease.

It seemed He Lin hadn't noticed anything unusual—he had only packed some basic items. Luckily...

As Li Shang checked through his belongings, He Lin remarked, "By the way, your fridge is basically just a display case for fridge magnets."

Li Shang replied matter-of-factly, "Well, the power was cut since I was away for so long."

He Lin had nothing to say to that—he knew he couldn't win this argument...

After changing his clothes and washing his hands, He Lin came over to help Li Shang unpack for a while before suddenly remembering, "You haven't had breakfast, have you?"

Li Shang, still hanging clothes, hummed in acknowledgment and replied, "No, I haven't."

He Lin glanced at the time. "It's a bit late to cook now. I'll go out and buy some food. You can keep organizing slowly."

Only after He Lin left did Li Shang's heart start beating normally again.

He abandoned the half-hung clothes and went straight to the fridge magnets, carefully picking up each one and tracing them gently with his fingers.

He hadn't told He Lin that there was actually a hidden cabinet in his bedroom, where he kept his secrets and obsessions.

Fortunately, he had concealed it well—unless someone looked very carefully, it wouldn't be noticed. And as for that storage room...

Judging by He Lin's reaction, he probably hadn't discovered it.

Just as Li Shang was about to continue organizing, his phone rang.

He checked the number and quickly answered, "Hello, Coach Zhao."

Zhao Lingyue's voice came through: "Captain Rong, recently the provincial department has been considering forming a task force for the cases involving Psi. I know you've been following this case closely."

Li Shang hummed in agreement.

Zhao Lingyue continued, "I had a meeting with the leadership there. The provincial department hopes for cooperation from the base, especially regarding international matters. I'd like to get your opinion—are you willing to participate in the related work?"

Li Shang answered almost without hesitation, "I'm willing. Thank you, Coach."

Zhao Lingyue said, "But don't get ahead of yourself. Major cases like this usually take a long time to prepare. Right now, the task force is still in the personnel selection and online information gathering phase. The final team leader hasn't been decided yet, and I estimate it won't officially start until after the Lunar New Year. I'll keep you updated as things progress."

After a brief pause, Zhao Lingyue added, "Also, how's your recovery going? I heard you were hospitalized again not long ago."

"I'm almost fully recovered," Li Shang paused, then volunteered, "If there's a need, assign me. No one knows the details of this case better than I do."

It was his lingering obsession, the case he was determined to solve, the person he had to defeat.

Zhao Lingyue naturally understood his mindset but still felt compelled to caution him: "I have full confidence in your abilities, but there's just one thing: stay safe, stay safe, stay safe! Don't get hurt again. I wouldn't send you out unless absolutely necessary, but..." He paused before adding, "Hold off on cutting your hair for now."

Li Shang understood Zhao Lingyue's meaning. For undercover investigations, other aspects could be managed through clothing, makeup, or accents, but hair couldn't grow back quickly.

Back at the base, there was once an urgent undercover mission, but Zhu Xiaonian had just shaved his head because he found it too hot, nearly jeopardizing the operation. The higher-ups debated for two days whether to shave him completely or make do, eventually deciding to bleach and dye his short hair blonde before sending him out.

"Thank you, Coach. I'll do my best to complete the mission." Li Shang ended the call with Zhao Lingyue.

He sighed. He had been planning to cut his annoyingly long hair recently, but it seemed that wasn't an option now.

Li Shang's gaze fell on the fridge magnets, already arranged in their original positions.

One day, the shadows lurking beneath the surface would emerge into the light, revealing their true forms, and those caught up in this would eventually return to where they belonged.