Murder Call

Today, this deep khaki suit really complements Mo Lin’s complexion, making him look a few years younger. The vest inside is of the same color, paired with a deep brown tie that matches the color of the cufflinks. The tie is clipped with a small, silver tie clip that adds the perfect finishing touch. The more Gu Yuan looks, the more pleasing he finds it.

The person in front of him looks like a nobleman from the Republic of China era, with a calm demeanor mixed with a hint of arrogance.

He’s been watching a drama with a national style lately, and this suit is very similar to the one worn by the male lead. Gu Yuan even suspects that Mo Lin might have peeked at his video playback history.

Mo Lin, having struck a pose, is browsing today’s headlines on a tablet. Sensing the other person looking at him, he doesn’t rush to look up. Instead, he unconsciously adjusts his glasses with his middle finger and thumb, giving a close-up of his slender fingers. 

Then he leisurely says, “Why don’t you come over and sit?”

Gu Yuan, driven by hunger for food, has a slightly delayed brain response. When Mo Lin looks at him with an assessing expression, he quickly turns around and pours himself a glass of water.

Mo Lin chuckles and says indulgently, “Breakfast is in the warming box, there’s your favorite pancake.”

Gu Yuan’s head heats up, and his ears turn red. Last night’s reunion seems to have been just a prelude. From this morning, the atmosphere between the two has subtly changed.

Perhaps after a night, his brain secreted too much dopamine, making him feel like a beast seeing food whenever he looks at Mo Lin now.

Indeed, men think with their lower halves, and he’s no exception, Gu Yuan thinks as he turns his head and walks into the bathroom.

He moves quickly, taking less than twenty minutes to wash up, eat breakfast, and change clothes. During this time, Mo Lin, still posing, finishes an international call on the balcony, reaching an agreement with the other party in fluent English.

Gu Yuan listens absentmindedly, and by the time the call ends, he’s already changed his shoes and is standing at the entrance, looking at the messages in the work group chat.

Mo Lin comes over to change his shoes, and seeing Gu Yuan engrossed, he seizes the opportunity to give him a good morning kiss.

Originally, it was just meant to be a good morning kiss, but once their lips touched, it became more than just a kiss.

Gu Yuan’s waist is embraced by Mo Lin, his rapid breaths falling on the strands of hair on his forehead.

Warm lips cover his again, his head tilting back from the kiss, eventually being pressed against the wall. After a night of brewing, this moment of intimacy is particularly captivating.

Faced with a strong and passionate kiss, Gu Yuan’s chin trembles uncontrollably.

Mo Lin takes advantage of Gu Yuan’s unguarded moment, his fingers trailing up the heated back, gently yet assertively claiming his territory.

These actions aren’t meticulously planned, yet they hold Gu Yuan’s very essence in the palm of his hand.

A button pops off Gu Yuan’s shirt, bouncing a few times before disappearing somewhere. Gu Yuan looks down to find it, but Mo Lin pulls him back, pressing him against the wall: “Don’t bother looking, I’ll buy you a new one…”

He sounds like he’s comforting a child, using a new toy to divert Gu Yuan’s attention.

Warm fingers convey ambiguous signals, the man’s breath and scent growing more intense. At this moment, Gu Yuan is lost in irresistible tenderness…

“Don’t touch that…” Gu Yuan suddenly shields himself with his hand, his voice trembling, visibly flustered, the blue veins on the back of his hand bulging and full against his pale skin.

Mo Lin feels like there’s a fire in his heart, burning up to his head. In Gu Yuan’s tense voice, he notices something unusual: “What’s this?”

Mo Lin touches Gu Yuan, feeling a slippery sensation on his fingertips, as if they’ve been dampened.

Gu Yuan immediately turns his head to the other side, his ears burning red.

“What’s going on?” Mo Lin asks, feigning confusion, “Could it be from breakfast?”

“Mo Lin!” Gu Yuan shouts his full name in frustration.

Mo Lin brings his fingers to his nose, sniffing lightly, and smiles, “I still prefer it when you call me Brother Lin.”

Gu Yuan knows Mo Lin is getting back at him for submitting the overtime request without asking his opinion!

“How about… we go to the room for a full body check?” Mo Lin draws out the last word, his breath brushing against Gu Yuan’s neck, not minding adding fuel to the fire.

Gu Yuan, feeling a rush of anger, pushes Mo Lin away and turns to leave.

Mo Lin, however, pulls him into his arms, his fingers gently stroking the back of Gu Yuan’s neck: “What? Afraid there’s something wrong with your body?”

Gu Yuan tries to stay calm: “Don’t forget, Teacher Mo, I have a psychological condition. If you push me too far…”

“And what if I do?” Mo Lin still smiles, “Are you going to murder your husband?”

Mo Lin’s expression, as if saying, “I just want to see you angry, what can you do about it,” makes Gu Yuan fume.

Finally, Gu Yuan channels his anger into strength, landing a right hook on Mo Lin’s left cheek.

Just then, the phone suddenly rings. Frustrated, he searches for his phone, finally answering it just before the call ends.

Gu Yuan: “Speak.”

Li Meng: “Um… the victim’s family is here, they want to see the body…”

Gu Yuan: “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Gu Yuan hangs up the phone, then angrily goes back to his room to change clothes.

Mo Lin rubs his punched left cheek, inexplicably smiling with happiness.

Even ordinary people need to vent when they’re sulking, let alone Gu Yuan, whose mental state has just improved.

Keeping it bottled up would definitely cause problems, so it’s better to vent it out, have a good fight.

Mo Lin takes out his phone, carefully checking his left cheek, thinking: At least it didn’t leave a mark.

“I’ll go down and start the car, wait for you at the entrance,” says the person in Mo Lin’s room.

*

The car hasn’t even reached the police station when they see a bunch of reporters sitting in the courtyard.

Wang Yue was prepared, having cleared out the parking spaces on the west side early in the morning, set up a police line, and arranged plastic stools, corralling the reporters into the parking area. With armed criminal police maintaining order, the reporters sit obediently inside, not daring to make a fuss.

Mo Lin’s car drives smoothly into the underground garage. A male reporter suddenly stands up excitedly, but after a glance from the stationed police officer, he sits back down.

Wan Shu is filling out an identity information form when she sees two tall figures push open the door and walk in. One looks cold, while the other smiles at everyone. Wan Shu is momentarily stunned, her eyes lighting up instantly.

Sensing an unusual gaze on him, Gu Yuan pulls up the hood of his hoodie, covering most of his head, hiding his pretty neck and eyes completely.

Mo Lin follows the unusual gaze and sees a young girl staring at him intently. Out of courtesy, he smiles and nods at her.

The girl stares at their backs for a long time until Zheng Mao urges her to fill out the form, snapping her back to reality: “Who’s that next to Teacher Mo?”

Zheng Mao, with a serious face, says, “Why do you ask? Hurry up and fill out the registration form, then go to Interrogation Room No. 3!”

Wan Shu clicks her tongue indifferently and continues filling out the form.

Gu Yuan passes by the captain’s office and sees a middle-aged man with silver hair standing inside.

The middle-aged man wears a pair of dark sunglasses, exuding an air of wealth.

Gu Yuan thinks: Is that the victim’s family?

Just as he passes by, a roar comes from the captain’s office: “You must have made a mistake! How could my daughter be dead?!”

Liu Quan storms out of the office, his chest heaving violently, gripping the door frame with bulging veins, clearly shaken.

Wang Yue massages his temples helplessly: “Mr. Liu, this is the police station, who would joke about such a thing?” Then he tells Li Meng, “Take Mr. Liu to identify the body.”

Liu Quan hesitates but follows Li Meng to the autopsy room.

In the autopsy room, a body is laid out. Liu Quan hesitates to look, his gaze drifting to Gu Yuan, who is wearing a white coat.

The white coat gives off a sense of formality and seriousness, and Liu Quan’s eyes instantly redden.

“Mr. Liu, the person lying here is Liu Yun, and the evidence bag beside her contains her belongings. Please examine them carefully and raise any questions you have.”

Liu Quan stares at the bloodied face, finding it hard to believe. The further down his gaze goes, the paler his face becomes.

The rest of the body is well restored, except for the face, which was destroyed by the killer and couldn’t be restored.

Liu Quan staggers, nearly losing his balance. Perhaps he has doubts, so he looks towards the evidence bag. He hesitates, then frowns, his face showing disbelief.

Mo Lin has been observing Liu Quan’s reaction all along. He can sense that initially, Liu Quan’s emotions were very sorrowful. But when he saw the belongings in the evidence bag, he suddenly seemed confused, then frowned, as if recalling something.

Liu Quan looks somewhat dizzy, his legs starting to tremble.

This catches Mo Lin’s attention. Liu Quan, perhaps feeling Mo Lin’s gaze, uneasily leaves the autopsy room, then sits in silence on a bench in the corridor, looking like he hasn’t recovered for a long time.

Gu Yuan, looking at Liu Quan sitting on the bench, suddenly recalls a phrase he read in a book: When people are extremely sad, they can’t cry.

The reason they can’t cry is because psychologically, they develop a sense of denial, and the brain defines everything that happened as a joke.

So Gu Yuan thinks Liu Quan is just too sad, and there’s nothing wrong with his emotions.

But Mo Lin doesn’t see it that way. His intuition tells him that Liu Quan might have a problem. It seems that during the interrogation, they’ll need to dig deeper.

[Author’s Note]

Mo Lin: What’s wrong with being hit by my wife? It’s just a little love punch~