Chapter 6: You Used to Call Me Brother Chen Mo

“Uncle Policeman…”

He’s only six years older than her.

And yet, she calls him uncle?

Chen Mo pressed his tongue lightly against the roof of his mouth, hearing the soft, sugary tone of the girl calling him “uncle.” For some reason, it made his heart tingle.

“You’re welcome,” he replied.

Lin Qiqi watched Chen Mo’s retreating figure, her cheeks flushing as she waved the bottled water in her hand with excitement.

“Ahhh! Zhiyi, did you see? That policeman was so handsome!!!”

“He looks so wild—if I were his girlfriend, I’d feel so safe!”

Chen Mo’s appearance wasn’t the standard sharp and disciplined look of a soldier. If not for the black police uniform he wore, Lin Qiqi would’ve thought he resembled a devil-may-care, rich playboy.

Indeed, all the handsome ones have been handed over to the nation!

“Ahhh—” Lin Qiqi continued her excited shrieks. “Did you see that? Did you?”

“Thanks, I’m not blind,” Song Zhiyi responded, struggling to steady the water bottle Lin Qiqi’s excitement nearly knocked from her hand. She had been looking at that face of Chen Mo’s for seven or eight years now!

“I want to ask for his WeChat…”

“No way!” Song Zhiyi instinctively pressed down on Lin Qiqi’s phone, her tone laced with an almost imperceptible nervousness.

“?”

What’s up with her?

The usually obedient Song Zhiyi reacting so strongly?

“He… he’s on duty right now. It’s inconvenient; don’t get him into trouble,” she explained, masking the slight sourness she felt inside. Though her marriage to Chen Mo was one of mutual convenience, seeing other girls eager to add him on WeChat still stirred some feelings.

“That’s true.”

Policemen are highly disciplined. Adding someone on WeChat while on duty would be unprofessional!

Lin Qiqi, still giddy from the encounter, stared at the bottled water in her hand, reluctant to drink it.

After a while, she noticed something curious. Glancing between Song Zhiyi and herself, Lin Qiqi’s brows furrowed.

“Hey,” she asked, “Isn’t it a coincidence that the bottle he gave you is your favorite peach flavor? Do you two… know each other?”

“…”

Know each other?

More than that—they were married now!

But Song Zhiyi knew Chen Mo had only agreed to marry her because of a promise he made to her brother to take care of her…

Thinking of this, a fleeting sadness crossed Song Zhiyi’s eyes. She quickly changed the subject. “The editor just messaged me. He said if it gets too late, I don’t need to clock back in—just organize the information and send it to the editorial office.”

“That’s great!” Lin Qiqi exclaimed. Traveling back to the city outskirts just to clock in would’ve been a hassle.

Besides, who wouldn’t prefer heading home to a hot meal?

Meanwhile, other officers looked on, baffled, as their team captain, Chen Mo, handed water to the two young reporters.

“What’s going on? Captain Chen… is this iron tree finally blooming?” one officer mused.

“Honestly, that ponytailed girl is even prettier than the beauty queen of our precinct!” another officer whispered.

“I’ve worked with the captain for two years, and this is the first time I’ve seen him voluntarily give water to a girl. Well, he’s 27 now—it’s about time he found a wife!”

Sun Yang, finishing a can of energy drink, joined the conversation. Glancing over, he waved dismissively. “Relax, guys. That girl was the one who got attacked by criminals last night. She’s married. Captain’s out of luck!”

“What?!”

Turns out the pretty girl was already taken!

By 7:30 PM, as the sky darkened, the police still hadn’t located the two severed hands.

Lin Qiqi, after interviewing a few more passersby, sent the organized information to Su Hong and prepared to leave.

“Zhiyi, my house is far from here, and I might miss the last bus. Want to head back together?” Lin Qiqi asked, glancing at her phone. There were only thirty minutes left before the last bus departed.

Security had been poor lately, and she didn’t want to risk walking home alone.

“I’ll wait a bit longer. I need to verify some information with the police,” Song Zhiyi said, glancing at Chen Mo’s team. They seemed about ready to wrap up for the day. “You should go, though—don’t miss the last bus.”

“Honestly, it’s the internet age. You don’t need to take this so seriously…” Lin Qiqi hesitated.

Nowadays, online articles were written for clicks, with some reporters fabricating details outright. While they had gathered some facts today, adding a little embellishment would be enough.

“It’s precisely because we live in an age of advanced technology that we must stick to the truth!” Song Zhiyi replied earnestly.

She couldn’t control how other reporters wrote their articles, but she refused to fabricate anything herself.

“You have a point…”

But still—how would they make money without traffic?

“Ah, I’m running out of time—I’m off!” Lin Qiqi dashed away to catch her bus.

Song Zhiyi sat on a stone bench, quietly organizing her notes as she waited for Chen Mo to finish his duties.

“Damn, could the criminal be a hand fetishist, chopping off those girls’ hands to keep as trophies?” Sun Yang muttered, rubbing his neck. Crime nowadays was so deranged that the lack of leads made such speculation unavoidable.

“I bet he is!” another officer chimed in, wiping his sweat. “Captain, want to grab dinner together?”

“Dinner? Sure, I’m starving,” Sun Yang said, spinning his police cap. After working all afternoon with nothing to show for it, he was determined to eat three bowls of rice later.

“I’ll pass,” Chen Mo declined bluntly.

“Huh? Why?”

“I’m eating at home.”

The officers: “…”

You’re eating at home?

Is someone cooking for you, or is it instant noodles again?

Chen Mo’s gaze fell on the petite figure sitting quietly on the bench, playing with her phone. She was so small, so well-behaved, so quiet… it made him want to steal her away.

Walking over, his tall frame cast a dark shadow under the streetlight, enveloping Song Zhiyi.

“?” Song Zhiyi looked up, seeing Chen Mo. “Can we go home now?”

“Yeah,” Chen Mo nodded. “Let’s go home.”

He liked hearing the words “go home” from her lips.

They meant…

She belonged to him.

“Eh, Captain Chen?” Sun Yang watched in disbelief as Chen Mo walked off with that married young lady.

A few other officers stood frozen in place.

“Sun Yang, didn’t you say that girl was married?”

“Yeah…”

“And Captain Chen left with her.”

“Yeah…”

“Does that mean our captain is becoming a homewrecker?”

“What?! Nonsense!” Sun Yang quickly corrected himself, “Captain Chen is the epitome of uprightness. How could he ever stoop to being a third party? He’s just walking her home.”

Well, that made sense.

Chen Mo was a righteous and principled captain of the criminal investigation unit. How could he possibly fall for a married young woman’s charms?

“Alright, let’s go eat.” Watching until Chen Mo and Song Zhiyi disappeared from sight, Sun Yang scratched his cheek.

Though, to be honest, for a fleeting moment, he’d had the tiniest bit of doubt.

But this was Chen Mo they were talking about—the pride of the police department. He couldn’t possibly be a homewrecker… could he?

Chen Mo’s car was parked at the station, so he decided to take a taxi home.

Once back, Chen Mo first changed out of his uniform, unbuttoning a couple of buttons on his shirt to reveal his collarbones and muscular chest. He also rolled up his sleeves to his forearms, exuding a wild and roguish charm.

He opened the fridge and took a look.

“Not much left in here. We’ll just make do for tonight.”

“Okay,” Song Zhiyi responded as she walked out of the bathroom. Seeing Chen Mo standing by the fridge, she quickly added, “I’ll go grocery shopping after work tomorrow!”

Whenever Chen Mo was home, he always cooked. Song Zhiyi felt bad about it and wanted to at least handle the grocery shopping.

But with Chen Mo frequently away on assignments and Song Zhiyi busy with her internship and working late hours, their fridge was often neglected. In fact, she hadn’t restocked it in over a week.

What kind of wife was she even being?

“Alright,” Chen Mo replied, taking out the leftover dumplings and steamed buns from that morning. “You didn’t even finish this small amount for breakfast?”

“…I already ate a lot,” Song Zhiyi said, pressing her lips together.

She was just a normal girl; how could she eat so much? She wasn’t Hu Jiu from next door.

“Eat more,” Chen Mo urged. The young girl was too thin—her slender arms looked like they’d snap with a bit of pressure. “You’re still young. Don’t follow others in dieting.”

“I’m not that young,” Song Zhiyi retorted, instinctively puffing out her chest.

Sure, her weight might be on the lighter side, but at 168 cm tall, she was well-developed. Definitely not small!

“I was talking about your age,” Chen Mo replied, his gaze briefly flickering to her chest, though admittedly, that wasn’t small either.

“Well… I guess I’m not as old as you, Uncle Police Officer,” Song Zhiyi softened her tone, but at her age, she could very well be a mother already!

Uncle Police Officer?

At that, Chen Mo’s deep eyes narrowed slightly. With a sudden “bang,” he shut the fridge door.

His tall frame loomed over Song Zhiyi.

“…?” Startled by his sudden intensity, Song Zhiyi instinctively took two steps back.

“Do I seem old to you?” Chen Mo leaned forward, cornering her against the kitchen doorframe.

“No, no, not at all…” At such close range, Song Zhiyi could see a faint mole below his collarbone.

It was… very sexy!

“I remember,” Chen Mo said with a faint smile, his deep, magnetic voice resonating in her ear, “you used to call me Brother Chen Mo.”

Her soft, sweet voice calling him “Brother Chen Mo” used to stir something in him.

“So why are you calling me Uncle now? Do I seem old to you?”

When he saw those college boys flirting with Song Zhiyi earlier, he couldn’t help but wonder: did such a young and vibrant girl prefer men her own age?

“I didn’t mean that!” Song Zhiyi quickly waved her hands in protest.

So men cared about their age too, not just women?

Feeling as though she had unintentionally hurt Chen Mo’s pride, Song Zhiyi didn’t hesitate. With her soft voice, she called out sweetly, “Brother Chen Mo.”

Chen Mo: “…”

So obedient—calling him just because he asked.

Obedient enough to make him want to tease her.

Chen Mo’s arm muscles tensed slightly, and his deep eyes darkened. The faint scent of peach on the girl’s body was alluring, making him crave a taste. And now, with her soft voice calling him “Brother Chen Mo,” even a saint would feel something.

“Brother Chen Mo? What’s wrong…” She noticed his intense gaze and started to feel uneasy.

“Brother Chen Mo—”

“Enough,” Chen Mo interrupted, covering her mouth with his hand. If she kept calling him that, he wasn’t sure he could hold himself back. “Why do you have to say it so many times?”

“Mm?”

Chen Mo looked at the girl staring up at him with wide, confused eyes, her mouth still covered by his hand.

Inwardly, he cursed.

Damn it.

Why did her innocent, docile expression only make him want to kiss her more?

The unintentional allure was lethal.

“?” Song Zhiyi grew even more unsure of what was happening as his expression grew darker.

Chen Mo swallowed hard, then slowly lowered his hand and straightened up. “…I’ll go cook.”

Song Zhiyi: (?◇?)?

She watched as Chen Mo turned away to grab two small potatoes, scratching her head.

So… did he like being called Brother Chen Mo or not?

As Chen Mo filled the rice cooker with water, the soft stream felt like her lips against his palm.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he suppressed the emotions stirring within him. Fishing a cigarette from his pocket, he lit it, letting the smoke curl around him as he peeled the potatoes.