As a grassroots police officer, Shao Mingyin was busy, extremely busy, but he usually had holidays during the Spring Festival. Liang Zhen was more anxious than him, eagerly flipping through the calendar day by day, and finally, on the thirtieth day of the lunar month, he eagerly awaited Shao Mingyin’s day off.

Liang Zhen was thrilled. Just as he received his share of the performance payment, although he couldn’t help with rent and utilities, he had money for buying New Year goods. Shao Mingyin came back in the afternoon, and after entering the house, he first put something into the drawer of the entrance cabinet, and then started to take off his shoes. Liang Zhen told him not to bother taking them off, urging him to hurry up as every second was precious, but when Shao Mingyin saw that the arrangement in the house hadn’t changed much, he pulled Liang Zhen back, who was about to bend down to put on his shoes, and asked, “Did you really clean up?”

“Of course, I did,” Liang Zhen said confidently. He had been extremely idle these past few days, and he didn’t know what to do, so Shao Mingyin had him clean his room to give it a festive atmosphere.

Liang Zhen readily agreed, he swept and mopped the floor, and since Shao Mingyin lived alone and didn’t have many things, Liang Zhen just wiped down some items on the table and arranged them neatly. After finishing, he stood at the entrance and looked inside, feeling quite satisfied with himself.

But Shao Mingyin was clearly not satisfied. After a disdainful snort, he pointed to the groove beside the kitchen door and asked, “Did you clean here too?”

Liang Zhen blinked his eyes. His expression clearly asked why he should clean there too.

Shao Mingyin shook his head helplessly, walked inside to the side of the bed, and after touching a spot on the top of the bed headboard, he faced Liang Zhen and spread his hand, asking, “Did you clean here?”

“No,” Liang Zhen was very honest. “I didn’t know these places needed cleaning too.”

“You really are a young master,” Shao Mingyin said, grabbing a towel. Since he couldn’t count on Liang Zhen anymore, he pointed to the TV cabinet and said if Liang Zhen had nothing to do, he could open all the drawers and take a look.

“I intentionally didn’t tidy up there,” Liang Zhen had a reason, “That’s your privacy.”

“Go ahead and tidy it up,” Shao Mingyin threw him a plastic bag, “Throw away anything useless you find.”

With permission granted, Liang Zhen also opened the TV cabinet. There were indeed some empty packaging boxes and such inside, as well as some documents. Shao Mingyin was squatting and sweeping under the bed, so Liang Zhen read the words written on them aloud. When Shao Mingyin heard something like a bill or payment statement, he immediately said to throw it away without even lifting his head.

“What about this?” Liang Zhen found a folder from a corner of a cabinet and took out the papers from inside. There were no words on either side of the bag, so he untied the string and was about to read it, but as soon as he saw the keywords in the title, his voice choked up.

Shao Mingyin was busy cleaning the neglected corners by Liang Zhen, so when he noticed that Liang Zhen had been silent for a while, he didn’t say anything. After mopping the floor again, he walked over to him and leaned on the mop, asking, “What are you looking at?”

Liang Zhen didn’t speak, so Shao Mingyin leaned closer. Although there was still a smile on his face, when he saw his signature in the bottom right corner of the document, his heart skipped a beat.

“What’s wrong?” Shao Mingyin still smiled, hoping to ease the tense atmosphere. “It’s just a confidentiality agreement for psychological counseling, nothing unusual.”

“But… why are there so many?” Liang Zhen counted and showed Shao Mingyin, “Seven copies, Shao Mingyin, seven.”

“Don’t get excited. There’s nothing to get excited about,” Shao Mingyin comforted him. “Do you know how many procedures police officers have to go through after firing a bullet during official duty? Even if they didn’t shoot, just pulling out their guns while patrolling, I still have to write a report. Being a policeman is also very stressful, so it’s normal to have some psychological counseling.” He took out three of them and pointed to the titles, “See, not all of them are counseling. These are evaluations that everyone has to do.”

“You’re lying,” Liang Zhen turned to the last page. “These are all from three years ago. Three years ago, you had just graduated.”

“The pressure on police cadets is also great…”

Shao Mingyin’s excuses didn’t hold up well, and Liang Zhen was even more worried and had nowhere to vent his depression. Shao Mingyin, seeing the particularly distressed look on his face, pinched his cheeks, trying to tease him.

“It’s all from three years ago. Just… just…” Shao Mingyin leaned in, making a sound similar to when you remind a dog it’s time for dinner, “Come on, smile, Liang Zhen, smile…”

“I’m really upset. I’m…” Liang Zhen was immersed in regret and sadness for not meeting Shao Mingyin earlier, but no matter how upset he was, he couldn’t resist Shao Mingyin’s teasing. He struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up too easily.

“It’s not that serious,” Shao Mingyin continued to rub his face. “It’s all in the past. Nothing will happen even if you throw them away.”

“But these can’t be thrown away,” Liang Zhen put the documents back, but the despair in his eyes remained unabated.

“Hey, let me tell you the truth,” Shao Mingyin knew he couldn’t escape today. “I only attended police college for a year. Later, I was recruited for undercover work, so I went. After three years, when I quit, I still had to go through various procedures, including psychological counseling, even if I didn’t need it, they would arrange it for me.”

Liang Zhen was speechless. If anyone else stood in front of Shao Mingyin and heard a street-level policeman say he had been an undercover agent before, they wouldn’t believe it either.

“How could you be an undercover agent!?” Liang Zhen snapped back to reality, immediately recalling documentaries he had seen before. “Isn’t that even worse?”

“Not at all,” Shao Mingyin said. “It’s cool, just like in the movies.”

“I won’t go into specifics, it’s classified. Just know that I’m doing fine now. I’m…” He ruffled Liang Zhen’s hair, which had grown quite long. If he didn’t plan on growing a ponytail in the future, Liang Zhen should cut his hair.

“I’m happy being with you,” Shao Mingyin smiled. “I’m enjoying spending New Year’s with you. Don’t frown on Chinese New Year’s Eve.”

He hugged Liang Zhen, ultimately comforting him: “You’re going to buy New Year’s goods, right? Let’s go to the supermarket and get some snacks. We can eat them while watching the Spring Festival Gala tonight.”

“Okay,” Liang Zhen hugged him tightly. “I’ll treat you well!”

“Got it,” Shao Mingyin pushed back Liang Zhen’s hair, revealing a handsome forehead. “Let’s not bring this up again. Be happy and spend New Year’s with me.”

Liang Zhen agreed with an “okay,” but then he buried his head in Shao Mingyin’s neck again.

With time being tight, they drove to the nearest Century Mart. It was the first time they were properly buying New Year’s goods. They thought there would be few people at this time, but to their surprise, the queues at the supermarket on Chinese New Year’s Eve were longer than in previous days.

After browsing around, besides some snack packs and a few cans of beer, they didn’t find much to buy. Liang Zhen even intentionally grabbed a shopping cart, but before they could even slow down to half, he suddenly had an idea and asked Shao Mingyin if he wanted to sit in it.

Shao Mingyin: ???

“Yeah, you sit in it, and then I’ll push you,” Liang Zhen said convincingly, “It’s fun.”

“If it’s so fun, why don’t you sit in it yourself,” Shao Mingyin sized up Liang Zhen, “How old are you to have such thoughts.”

Rejected, Liang Zhen played with the cart by himself, speeding up, braking suddenly, and even leaning out of the shelves after a turn, urging Shao Mingyin to catch up.

What could Shao Mingyin do? He could only follow along. After the turn, Liang Zhen finally stopped fooling around; they were in line now.

Shao Mingyin stood next to Liang Zhen. He wasn’t holding onto the cart’s handlebar; he was just moving forward with the line. The cashiers were eager to go home, so they scanned items quickly. Although the line looked long, it didn’t take long for them to have only five or six people in front of them.

They were also close to the small shelf next to the checkout counter.

From the moment they lined up, Shao Mingyin sensed that Liang Zhen had some ideas. Each time he moved forward, Liang Zhen’s movements were a beat slower. When he looked around, his gaze always lingered somewhere. When the shelf was right in front of them, Liang Zhen couldn’t resist anymore. His hand wanted to reach out but hesitated. He looked at Shao Mingyin with a questioning and expectant look.

Shao Mingyin didn’t avoid Liang Zhen’s eye contact. There were only a few things sold on these small shelves in every supermarket. Whatever Liang Zhen wanted, Shao Mingyin could guess.

He asked him, “Want it?”

Liang Zhen smiled, pursed his lips, and nodded, his ears turning red.

Understanding, Shao Mingyin didn’t disappoint Liang Zhen’s expectations. When he took that step aside, Liang Zhen’s double eyelids widened into monolids.

But soon Liang Zhen’s shoulders drooped, and his gaze became instantly dazed.

“Eating too much candy is not good for you,” they were already at the checkout counter, and Shao Mingyin directly placed the jar of gum on the counter. He urged Liang Zhen, “Don’t just stand there. Put everything up here.”

“Oh… okay…” Liang Zhen sniffled, feeling aggrieved but unable to express it. Although they didn’t buy much, they still had two bags. Liang Zhen held one in each hand. Shao Mingyin rewarded him by opening the pack of gum and offering two pieces to his mouth. Liang Zhen turned his head away in a huff, showing his displeasure.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to buy gum?” Shao Mingyin pretended not to understand. “Why aren’t you eating it now?”

“When did I say I wanted gum!”

“But you kept looking at the gum. If you didn’t want this, what were you looking at?”

“I—” Liang Zhen, feeling frustrated, lowered his head slightly and unexpectedly bit Shao Mingyin’s ear. It felt chilly there. With a lick of his tongue, Liang Zhen’s anger dissipated immediately.

“No, I still want to buy it,” Liang Zhen stopped in his tracks and insisted, stubborn yet sincere. “I’m all grown up. I want to go back and buy—”

“Don’t buy it,” Shao Mingyin interrupted him. “I’ve already bought it.”

“Let’s go,” he pushed the bewildered Liang Zhen who was still standing there, also helping him carry a bag. “I didn’t tease you; I really bought it.”

“You, you…” Liang Zhen still didn’t want to leave, and his words were incoherent. “When did you buy it?”

“Just on the way back today,” Shao Mingyin urged him, speaking earnestly and playfully.

“Stop dawdling, let’s go home and see how grown up you are.”