Chapter 6: The Marks on the Collarbone Are Highly Suspicious

Xu Huai slept particularly soundly, waking up only when the alarm rang. When he opened his eyes, it was already the next day.

Sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains. Xu Huai half-closed his eyes, picked up his phone, and looked at the time—it was still early.

Xu Huai stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before remembering that he had to go to Xie Jing’s house today and didn’t need to clock in at the [National Security Special Protection Department].

At this moment, a sweet fragrance drifted in from outside the door.

Xu Huai got up and got out of bed, preparing to leave the bedroom, but then took a step back as if suddenly remembering something.

The jar on the table was still sealed tightly, and the talismans were still attached to the top, with no signs of being opened.

Yes, he had specifically reinforced it the night before. This thing shouldn’t be able to escape.

But as he opened the door, Xu Huai suddenly remembered the size of the ball of Yin energy when he stuffed it in last night…

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but it seemed bigger today.

Probably just the angle.

The living room was well-lit, and the soft morning sun at eight o’clock shone into the room.

A slender man stood by the dining table, carefully taking the packed lunch boxes out of the bag. Hearing the noise, the man looked towards the bedroom, a hint of surprise on his face:

“Did I accidentally wake you up?”

Xu Huai had gone to bed a little late last night, and he was indeed a little listless when he got up this morning, which directly led to him unconsciously revealing a somewhat wilted expression.

Hearing this, Xu Huai shook his head: “No, I was woken up by the alarm.”

Seeing Xu Huai’s gaze drift to the lunch boxes on the table, Xie Jing said: “This is the takeout I ordered. I didn’t know what you liked to eat, so I bought a lot.”

Xu Huai: “You’re too kind. I’m not picky.”

Xu Huai wasn’t picky. When he lived with Zhang Daoquan as a child, it was good enough to have something to eat and not be hungry. He never had the chance to develop picky eating habits.

Xu Huai, who had washed up and returned to the living room, glanced at the things on the table and found that Xie Jing had bought mostly porridge, with only a small amount of buns and snacks.

Out of curiosity, Xu Huai asked Xie Jing, who was nibbling on a bun, “Do you like to drink porridge?”

Xie Jing didn’t directly answer Xu Huai’s question, but he didn’t deny it either. He just said, “Drinking porridge is good for the body.”

After that, Xie Jing mentioned that they would have to drink it often in the future, but Xu Huai didn’t hear it.

However, that wasn’t important, and Xu Huai didn’t press the matter further.

There was a bowl of unopened pumpkin porridge in front of him. As soon as Xu Huai sat down, the sweet aroma of the porridge wafted out.

While drinking porridge, Xu Huai asked his superior, Song Lianzhou, for leave from the [National Security Special Protection Department] today and reported that he had taken on a commission.

Song Lianzhou told him to hurry up and get busy, and not to contact him unless it was necessary.

Xu Huai slowly typed a question mark in the chat box. When he put down his phone and looked up, he realized that Xie Jing had been staring at him for a long time, his eyes somewhat hesitant.

Xu Huai: “?”

Xu Huai touched his chin, a look of confusion in his eyes.

Xu Huai: “What’s wrong?”

Why was he looking at him like that? Was his eating posture ugly? It shouldn’t be.

Xie Jing: “Did you go anywhere else last night?”

Xie Jing’s question made things even stranger. Xu Huai was full of question marks, humming an uncertain sound: “Huh?”

He had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow last night and slept until this morning. Where could he have gone?

Seeing this, Xie Jing opened the front-facing camera on his phone and handed it to Xu Huai.

Most new phones automatically activate beauty mode when they detect a face, and Xie Jing’s phone was no exception. However, even with beauty mode on, the red marks on Xu Huai’s collarbone remained very noticeable.

Xu Huai froze.

The top button of his pajamas had been buttoned up when he washed up earlier, but now the button was gone, and the collar was loose. And within the red marks, a purple mark about the size of a thumb was particularly noticeable.

Xu Huai raised his hand and gently pressed the spot with his fingertip.

The action was subconscious, to confirm that the thing was really on his body.

Xu Huai was utterly unaware that this action caused the person sitting opposite him to deepen his gaze.

Xu Huai’s expression was solemn: “This is…”

Seeing that Xu Huai seemed to recognize it, Xie Jing suppressed the corners of his lips, looking like he was listening intently.

But then he heard Xu Huai say decisively: “A mosquito that I’m allergic to.”

Xie Jing: “…?”

Xu Huai knew his body was very fragile.

When he was younger, he would typically take Chinese medicine with every meal. It was hard for Zhang Daoquan, who couldn’t even afford to eat, to buy medicine and brew it for him, barely managing to raise him to adulthood.

He didn’t have any serious illnesses, but he had a constant stream of minor ailments. Although it was a bit unusual for a mosquito bite on his chest to turn red and look like an allergic reaction, his constitution was like that, so it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Xie Jing’s lips were a bit tense, and he asked three questions in a row, even his voice a little hoarse: “A mosquito that you’re allergic to? The boss doesn’t seem very surprised. Does this happen often?”

Xu Huai shook his head, rebuttoned the collar of his pajamas without much concern, and said calmly: “Not often.”

…Not often?

So, this had happened before?

“I didn’t expect mosquitoes to evolve so quickly. I’ve never experienced this before, even when bitten by mosquitoes. This is the first time. It seems I need to light mosquito coils in advance.” Xu Huai lowered his head and continued to drink porridge.

Xu Huai didn’t consider any other possibilities. Firstly, he had minimal close contact with others, especially friends. This was his home; how could anyone burst into his room in the middle of the night to attack him?

Second, Xu Huai had put a talisman behind the door. If the door were pushed open from the outside, he would naturally notice. Ghosts were even less likely to do that. What kind of thing would deliberately run into the line of fire? It must be tired of living.

Xu Huai paused and looked at Xie Jing, suddenly saying:

“Did you come to my room last night?”

Asking this was indeed a bit offensive. Even if he suspected something, he shouldn’t have asked so bluntly.

Xu Huai knew that this was impolite, and when he saw Xie Jing freeze after he spoke, he apologized sincerely: “I’m sorry.”

Xie Jing silently tapped the table with his knuckles, tilted his head slightly, not angry, but very puzzled: “Why did you suddenly ask that? Do I look like… a pervert who randomly breaks into other people’s rooms?”

Quite the opposite.

As he got to know him better, Xu Huai found that Xie Jing was cheerful and talkative, and his behavior was very polite. The two got along surprisingly well. Xie Jing had nothing to do with the word pervert.

He asked this because the moment he lowered his head, a fragment flashed through Xu Huai’s mind.

If he had to say, it was a “flash of inspiration,” barely considered a sixth sense.

This “flash of inspiration” was almost a brain fart, a wild idea, and didn’t have much reference value.

Xu Huai: “I just suddenly remembered a film I saw before. The story in it left a deep impression on me. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

Xie Jing: “What?”

Xu Huai looked a little conflicted. It was tough to say.

“It’s okay.” Xie Jing shook his head.

Seeing Xu Huai’s concern, Xie Jing said: “I don’t mind. I’m just curious what kind of film it’s related to.”

How could he be suspected so inexplicably?

Was he really suspecting him, the only other person in the house?

Or was he secretly hinting at him, telling him not to worry so much, that whether there were marks on his body or not was none of his business, and that they were just strangers who had met a day ago?

It couldn’t be that he was overthinking it, and that Xu Huai, purely, thought of that story, right?

After thinking for a couple of seconds, Xie Jing chuckled softly: “Boss Xu, you are interesting.”

Hearing this, Xu Huai looked into Xie Jing’s eyes and asked, “Me?”

Xie Jing: “Yeah.”

Xu Huai’s beautiful, peach-blossom eyes looked straight at Xie Jing. Being stared at by that gaze, Xie Jing’s expression didn’t change, but he secretly pressed his slightly itchy canine tooth against his tongue.

Xu Huai had just woken up and had only washed up briefly, not even bothering to fix his slightly upturned hair ends.

—So cute.

When they first met last night, Xu Huai was covered in impatience and a “stay away” aura. Just getting close could make you feel the coldness that emanated from within. But now, Xu Huai was holding the sweet pumpkin porridge he had given him and drinking it without any guard, eating whatever was on the table without being picky at all.

Xu Huai even looked at him with such expectant, slightly shining eyes, to confirm the truth of his words.

So cute.

Xie Jing’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

His teeth itched.

He didn’t bite enough last night, and he wanted to bite him again.