Chapter 199: [Extra·Reunion (1)]

Chapter 199: Bonus Chapter: Reunion (Part 1)

It was early summer. The air conditioner hummed, blowing cool breezes that gently swayed the translucent gauze mosquito net on the upper bunk, revealing the person sleeping inside. His dark hair fell over his forehead, his eyelashes long and thick, and a pale wrist rested against the net, draped over the edge of the bed. His other hand was on his stomach, tucked under his half-lifted shirt, as he slept sprawled out haphazardly.

Third Brother Cheng Kaiji returned from the cafeteria with breakfast. Just as he was about to call out, he noticed a grayish-black mosquito clinging to the mosquito net, its proboscis probing frantically but too short to reach the finger pressed against the net.

He pulled out his phone, first recording a short video of the mosquito to post on his Moments. Then, just as the mosquito finally seemed to find its target, he called out, "Get up! You’re about to graduate and you’re still sleeping in?"

Jian Ruochen turned over, his leg bumping against the guardrail of the upper bunk, and opened his eyes drowsily, meeting Cheng Kaiji’s gaze.

He stared at Cheng Kaiji’s close-cropped hair and the scar on his eyebrow for a long moment before murmuring vaguely, "San Ge?"

"Call me Third Brother all you want, but you still have to get up!" Cheng Kaiji smacked Jian Ruochen’s arm and showed him the dead mosquito in his palm. "The mosquitoes are biting you. Hurry up! I never should’ve taken you to the antique market! Got you obsessed with those cheap novels from street stalls, staying up all night reading."

Jian Ruochen frowned, opened his eyes, and sat up straight.

The wooden bunk bed with a desk below, the balcony directly across, the small fridge connected to the outlet on the balcony—familiar yet strange.

He stared blankly for a while, then reached under his pillow for his phone: May 20, 2030.

Had he... come back?

Jian Ruochen pulled aside his collar and felt his shoulder—the bullet scar was gone. Everything felt like Zhuangzi’s butterfly dream.

He had lived to over sixty—could he really come back after death?

Which side was real?

Jian Ruochen thought for a moment, then absentmindedly typed "Guan Yingjun" into the browser search bar.

Nothing.

No such person.

He sat there in a daze, feeling a sense of loss.

"What are you sitting around for? Come down and wash up, eat breakfast," Cheng Kaiji said.

"Oh."

Jian Ruochen held onto the ladder and climbed down. When he landed, he met Cheng Kaiji’s puzzled gaze. "Why are you so proper all of a sudden after waking up?"

Jian Ruochen suddenly realized.

Right, he used to jump straight down from the upper bunk.

Now that he was suddenly a young man again, it felt a bit unfamiliar.

"I’m still half-asleep," Jian Ruochen said, then went to the bathroom, filled the sink with cold water, and dunked his head in for a while. When he lifted his head and looked in the mirror, he touched his eyes in surprise.

Dark brown.

Familiar yet strange.

Jian Ruochen raked a hand through his short hair and walked over to Cheng Kaiji. "What’s for breakfast?"

"Shao Mai," Cheng Kaiji said in Cantonese. "Didn’t you say a couple days ago that you were homesick? Well, the char siu bao that your brothers sent arrived today. I bought this shao mai just so I could borrow the cafeteria steamer to heat up the buns."

"Did you share some with the cafeteria auntie?" Jian Ruochen picked up a bun and took a bite.

"Yeah, yeah," Cheng Kaiji said, sipping his iced mung bean soup while studying Jian Ruochen.

It was the same face—clear-eyed, with a pair of fox eyes that added a sly charm—but after a night’s sleep, there was a new steadiness and nobility between his brows. His whole aura had changed.

It was like… those stern old uncles who go fishing back home.

Cheng Kaiji eyed him suspiciously. "What did you dream about last night? How come you woke up so quiet?"

Jian Ruochen said with a teasing smile, "Dreamed I was Hong Kong's top cop in the late '90s."

Cheng Kaiji: ?

"Oh, and I had a boyfriend seven years older than me," Jian Ruochen added, eating just the filling from the char siu bao.

After finishing, he instinctively glanced beside him, then remembered no one was there to take the leftover dough from him and finish what he didn’t like.

He paused, then lowered his head and finished the bun himself.

Cheng Kaiji was shocked: "B-boyfriend? Hong Kong's top cop?"

He thought it over carefully for a moment, then took a silent bite of his bun. "Your dream… makes no sense."

Was he that obsessed with becoming a cop?

"Anyway, which unit are you planning to apply to after graduation?" Cheng Kaiji, unwilling to dwell on his brother’s dream boyfriend, quickly changed the subject.

"Doesn't matter. Probably back to Guangdong."

With my husband gone, what did it matter where I worked?

But he came back.

Would Guan Yingjun come too?

In his previous life, he died of old age. That body that had endured so much hardship in youth and barely made it to adulthood, gave out just past sixty. It was only because Uncle Luo and Guan Yingjun constantly made sure he took his medicine and saw doctors that he managed to hold on.

Even if Guan Yingjun came, it would take a few years, right?

He was so healthy—he should live a long time.

"I’m going out for a walk," Jian Ruochen said, collecting the plastic bags on the table and taking them out to throw away.

Near noon, the sun was high over the athletic field.

Freshmen were doing drills with their instructors.

Jian Ruochen watched for a while, then turned and walked out. He wanted to try his luck at the antique street.

Maybe he’d run into him?

One day, two days, three days passed—graduation ceremony and police academy graduation passed.

Jian Ruochen found no sign of Guan Yingjun.

Until the last day on campus, when he had packed all his luggage and was dragging his suitcase to leave, he reached the gate and saw someone standing at the campus gatehouse.

A man in police uniform, his shoulder insignia gleaming silver, exuding an air of dignity. The wide brim of his police cap shaded part of his face.

Jian Ruochen stared at his straight-backed posture and stopped in his tracks.

"Hello, I'm looking for Jian Ruochen," the man said.

The lower half of his face, now visible, was sharp and ruggedly handsome, carrying a familiar, bone-chilling intensity.

"Jian Ruochen?" The security guard cast a doubtful glance at the man's shoulder insignia, noting the one bar and three stars, then shifted his gaze to the man's face.

Too young. A Superintendent First Class this young? Was it even possible?

Could it be a fake police uniform bought online to pull a fast one?

Guan Yingjun removed his hat. "He's not here?"

He had woken up in this body three days ago.

The original owner had been in a car accident a week earlier during a pursuit mission. When Guan Yingjun awoke, he was being moved to the morgue. Sitting up abruptly, he sent the white cloth covering his face flying, startling the attending doctor so badly they nearly fainted on the spot.

During the check-up, Guan Yingjun saw the date: May 20, 2030.

He couldn't help but recall the times when Jian Ruochen had shown him around his "hometown" during their travels and shared stories of his "previous life."

Guan Yingjun's throat tightened. Staring daggers at the security guard's eyes, he repeated, "From your expression, you seem to know him. Is he not here?"

Jian Ruochen gazed in disbelief at his slightly reddened eyes and called out softly, "Guan Yingjun?"

Guan Yingjun turned abruptly, his gaze falling on the young man standing not far away, with a suitcase.

Under the sunlight, Jian Ruochen's eyes glowed with a deep amber hue. His black hair was cut into textured layers, gently brushing against his ears, and a small red mole was visible on the tip of one ear.

Suddenly, he smiled, his fox-like eyes curving slightly, dimples appearing at the corners of his lips, his face lit up with unrestrained joy.

He said softly, "Inspector Guan, I'm here."

Jian Ruochen ran a few steps forward, dragging his luggage, and opened his arms to embrace him.

Guan Yingjun stood rooted to the spot.

His whole body shook, his fingers stiffened slightly, as if his heart had only just started beating again at that very moment.

"Jian Ruochen," Guan Yingjun called out, his voice shaking as he reached up to touch the young man's face. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. Do you have any idea how I felt when I couldn't wake you up this morning? I—" He trailed off.

Because Jian Ruochen leaned up and kissed him.

Just once.

Then, from behind them, came a sound—

"Bang!"

Jian Ruochen turned to see Cheng Kaiji's suitcase toppled on the ground, his dazed expression, and his trembling finger pointing at them.

"You... you two..." Cheng Kaiji, utterly bewildered, voiced an utterly confused question: "Huh?"

Only then did Jian Ruochen glance at Guan Yingjun's shoulder insignia.

Whoa, one bar and three stars.

Superintendent First Class!

That's a serious police rank; you could even become a district commander.

Or you could work as a station chief, deputy station chief, or department head.

At the very least, they would lead technical investigation teams.

People who make this rank usually aren't spring chickens.

Jian Ruochen tilted his head and asked, "How old are you now?"

Guan Yingjun whispered back, "Pushing 27."

Jian Ruochen muttered, "Why is it that every time I meet you, you're always pushing 27?"

Cheng Kaiji had enough, "You dreamed about having a boyfriend the day before yesterday, and now you actually have one?"

"This is exactly the one I dreamed about," Jian Ruochen introduced seriously. "Guan Yingjun, this is my third brother, Cheng Kaiji. I’ve been telling you about him."

Cheng Kaiji looked shocked, "You actually told him about me?"

Guan Yingjun extended his hand, "Hello."

The two shook hands.

"Jian Ruochen mentioned the time you two snuck into the military fire drill area together when you were kids," Guan Yingjun said with a slight smile. "Seeing you today, you really are something special."

"Haha," Cheng Kaiji laughed dryly.

These two things, they have no logical connection at all!

If you can't give a compliment, just don’t!

He found it absurd that his own little brother he had watched grow up now had his own secrets.

This doesn’t seem like a new relationship at all!

It’s more like an old married couple who’ve spent a lifetime together!

And they’re strangely in sync.

Cheng Kaiji’s mind raced, his brain working at high speed. After a moment, he picked up the loudly fallen suitcase and suddenly exclaimed, "You had an online romance! You actually had an online romance?"

He understood now!

Completely understood.

When Jian Ruochen said he dreamed of a boyfriend before, he was testing his reaction.

Now that he’s graduated, he can’t keep up the act anymore and is ready to come clean to the family?

Jian Ruochen’s eyes shifted, and he reached out to hold Guan Yingjun’s hand, interlacing their fingers firmly before declaring emphatically, "Yes, that’s right. I had an online romance."

Cheng Kaiji asked, "Where is he from?"

Jian Ruochen froze, looking up with his eyes to ask: Where are you from?

Cheng Kaiji: ...How foolish!

How do you not know this?

Had his always-sharp brother actually been scammed?

"I'm from Guangdong Province," Guan Yingjun pulled out his police ID. "Currently serving as the captain of the Technical Investigation Unit at Nanshan Public Security Bureau in Shenzhen. I might be transferred soon."

Cheng Kaiji took the ID, examined it, and even checked the info on his phone.

Damn, it's legit.

A 27-year-old first-level Superintendent!

He must have pulled off major feats!

After finishing technical investigations, people like him often move to desk jobs. Following that three-year promotion cycle, he’ll definitely make it to bureau chief eventually.

Cheng Kaiji was spacing out.

When they left the Criminal Police College, Guan Yingjun got a cab.

Cheng Kaiji sat in the front passenger seat and saw through the side mirror that Guan Yingjun was sitting in the back, their fingers intertwined, with Jian Ruochen’s head resting on Guan Yingjun’s shoulder. By the third traffic light, Jian Ruochen had fallen asleep.

The way that man looked at Jian Ruochen was anything but innocent.

So lovey-dovey you could cut the tension with a knife.

Oh no, grandpas, your favorite grandson has been swept off his feet by a 27-year-old online-dating Superintendent!

Cheng Kaiji closed his eyes, deciding to just check out mentally.

A moment later, everyone opened their eyes.

Before Cheng Kaiji was fully awake, he heard Jian Ruochen from the back seat say, "Come back to the compound with us. I’ll introduce you to the family."

He even leaned forward and added, "Third Brother, you have to have my back."

Guan Yingjun said, "Then let’s buy some gifts after we get off the plane."

Having been in the force for years, he had learned a lot about the ways of the world from Jian Ruochen.

At that moment, Guan Yingjun gave a perfectly measured smile, glanced sideways at Cheng Kaiji, and asked, "Third Brother, what do the old folks usually go for?"

Cheng Kaiji’s brain short-circuited, and he blurted out genuinely, "I’m 23, and you’re calling me brother?"

No wonder this man became a Superintendent at 27 and managed to win Jian Ruochen through online dating! This guy knows how to roll with the punches—definitely not to be underestimated!

Absolutely unacceptable, absolutely...

Jian Ruochen piped up, "You’re my brother, he’s my man, so of course he calls you what I call you."

Cheng Kaiji took a deep breath.

Author’s Note:

Guan Yingjun: Third Brother, yes, we’re married. I love him, and he loves me. We’ve promised each other forever, entwined in life and death, together for all eternity.

Jian Ruochen: We met online.

Cheng Kaiji: This... this guy is too cunning, absolutely cannot be kept around! (Furiously polishing walnuts in anger)

After returning home:

Grandpa Officials: Oh, a 27-year-old Superintendent, not bad. Did undercover work, right? Young man, haha, not bad. (Smiling but hiding a knife.jpg)

Turning around: Stick one in the west wing and the other in the east!