“You—you—you—what the fuck did you just say?!”

The supervising officer’s face turned bright red with anger. “Luo Lin, you have no sense of discipline! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”

“You’re the one who asked,” Luo Lin said innocently, crossing his arms. “That’s just what I saw.”

The argument between them went on until Shen Yunhe arrived.

Shen Yunhe, ever protective of his own, interjected, “Well, Luo Lin did report things truthfully, but next time, let’s leave out personal details like that. Luo Lin, go write a 500-word reflection.”

“Got it, Boss. I’m outta here.”

Luo Lin took off running, leaving his mentor to handle the mess like the professional he was.

“500 words? My grandson’s elementary school essays are longer than that!”

“Well, maybe elementary school kids are under too much pressure nowadays. I should bring this up with the education depart—”

Luo Lin didn’t stick around to hear the rest. He slipped away.

The day was still early. Luo Lin thought about calling You Qi out for drinks, but that little flirt was busy. Apparently, he had a date with a younger jock.

“Traitor,” Luo Lin cursed him for ditching friends for a fling.

He found a familiar bar, ordered a Zombie Party cocktail. His alcohol tolerance was high, so even a strong mixed drink like this barely fazed him.

Sitting alone was boring, so he started chatting with the bartender.

As a regular, the bartender knew him well.

They talked about recent news and trending topics, but Luo Lin soon felt a bit uncomfortable. He turned around and saw a man standing behind him, holding a thermal bag, staring at him like he was glued to him.

Luo Lin recognized him. The guy had hit on him multiple times before, and he’d turned him down every time. Yet, here he was, still trying.

What was in that bag? A bomb?

He’d played a murder mystery game the night before, where a yandere character had gutted someone out of obsessive love. The script was terrible, but it still left him a little on edge. He immediately tensed up.

“I remember you saying you like gentle and caring people, Luo Lin. I made some snacks myself—would you like to try them?”

The man opened the thermal bag to reveal a lunchbox with a Brown Bear design. His slender fingers unclasped the lid, revealing handmade pastries inside.

The effort put into this shocked even Luo Lin.

“I like caring people?”

“Yes, you said so yourself.”

Luo Lin thought back carefully. He did vaguely recall making a rather reckless statement once.

A long time ago, during an interview, the host had asked about his ideal type.

He had just made something up on the spot.

“I like pampered wives.”

Back then, You Qi had just gone through a breakup, and Luo Lin himself was completely disillusioned with love. Over the years, his sister and friends had been tirelessly setting him up with potential partners, but he had little interest. He had met a few people, like a blind date.

But every single one of them had been insufferable:

“I like a quiet, obedient bottom who stays at home. As soon as we marry, we’ll adopt a child, and you can take care of them at home.”
“Living expenses? 300 a month should be enough for you and the kid, right?”
“This job of yours isn’t good—too much fighting and violence. I like someone gentle and well-behaved. Why don’t you quit and come work as my secretary instead?”
“Salary? We’re family now, why would you even need a salary?”
“Luo Lin, no one can stand your personality. You need to learn to be more accommodating.”

Every time, Luo Lin had cursed them out:

“300 a month? Are you raising a kid or a goldfish? I’ll give you 300 a month—come be my farmhand.”

“Being your secretary? Nice. I’ll work for a month, gather evidence of your tax evasion, then report you to the authorities. I’ll be a righteous widow living the high life.”

“The economy has advanced, technology has advanced—how the hell have people like you not gone extinct yet?”

He never held back.

So when that sleazy talk show host had pried into his private life, clearly wanting an excuse to get closer to him, he had answered:

“I like pampered wives. Big-dicked, skillful pampered wives.”

The host had been taken aback. “But… aren’t you a bottom?”

“Bottoms can’t like pampered wives? Tops can’t be pampered wives? Men can’t be pampered wives? That’s gender stereotyping! Let me tell you—pampered men are soft, obedient, cute, gentle, thoughtful, kind… Who wouldn’t like that? Who doesn’t want to come home to a warm embrace, to daily encouragement and affection? Who doesn’t love a pampered wife in white stockings cooking in the kitchen? Some men can’t find partners? They should reflect on themselves! Put on the white stockings! Show off their muscles! Learn to be pampered wives!!

“Become pampered wives! That way, you’ll attract both men and women. That’s the only way to be invincible! Be pampered wives! Look, even my old enemies—if they wear white stockings, I’ll hit them one punch less. I might even let them go! If everyone becomes a pampered wife, the world will be at peace! Humanity will reach utopia! Be pampered wives! Be pampered wives who defy labels!!”

That rant had gone viral for a long time, and his colleagues, including Shen Yunhe, still teased him about it. Luo Lin didn’t care—he had always been sharp-tongued and wasn’t afraid to talk back. But he hadn’t expected someone to take it seriously.

“You’ve got it wrong,” Luo Lin carefully closed the lunchbox lid. “That was just me bullshitting my way through an interview. These pastries deserve someone better—not someone like me, who never knows when he’ll eat his last meal or die on the job.”

The man’s eyes turned red, and he pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say.

“Sorry for bothering you.”

At least this time, he finally understood Luo Lin’s intentions and did not insist any further. He picked up the thermal bag and left the bar.

“It seems he misunderstood your meaning. You like ‘jiao qi’ (pampered wives), not ‘ren qi’ (housewives),” the bartender said, serving Luo Lin a plate of fried chicken wings as a drinking snack. “Although both mean ‘wife,’ ‘ren qi’ tend to invest their energy into their husbands, while ‘jiao qi’ invest in themselves. Can I guess that what you actually like is a beautiful and radiant person?”

Beautiful and radiant—

That phrase always made Luo Lin think of Chu Chen.

Standing in the sea, wearing a short-sleeved school uniform, his skin almost translucent under the sunlight. Even his eyes were as blue as the ocean.

He had said: “Senior, it hurts so much.”

“Let’s run away together.”

And with just a small gesture, he could stir up all of Luo Lin’s emotions.

“The tragedy of a ‘ren qi’ is being abandoned by their husband, while the tragedy of a ‘jiao qi’ is abandoning their husband. Luo Lin, you really know how to play the game.”

The bartender’s comment dragged Luo Lin back from his memories. He sniffed and downed the rest of his drink in one gulp.

Sometimes, he hated his inability to get drunk.

If he could, he would have just laughed it off, snapped back at the bartender with something like: “Of course, I know how to play! I’ve swum in Siberia, danced on Arctic glaciers, while you were still sniffling and copying your classmate’s homework,” and let the matter drop.

Instead, he let the ache in his chest linger.

….

On a gray bedsheet, Chu Chen slowly loosened his grip on the plush rabbit he was holding.

[Brainwave activity has ceased. You are now free to move.]

An AI voice notification rang out. Chu Chen opened his deep blue eyes, sat up from the bed, and hugged his rabbit, gently stroking it.

[Based on previous intelligence, the Bureau only supports Luo Lin’s brainwave uploads. It is likely that today’s monitoring officer was Luo Lin.]

Chu Chen lowered his head, continuing to stroke the plush toy.

His fingers brushed through the soft fur, first smoothing it in one direction, then against the grain. He played with it for a long time, seemingly never growing tired of it.

“Senior—”

“I finally caught you.”

His blue eyes were like the legendary Elven Lake, his fluttering lashes carrying an irresistible charm.