Blazing Armor

When they got home, Ren Yi was wide awake, brimming with energy. He couldn’t contain his excitement and said, “You go take a shower first, I’ll cook some instant noodles for you.”

“Alright.” Gong Yingxian skillfully hung his suit and tie on the clothes rack as if he had done it countless times before.

Ren Yi glanced at him from behind, secretly smiling. He liked this scene, as if they were living together: “If the bathroom’s cold, turn on the heater.”

Ren Yi headed into the kitchen, took out a few packs of instant noodles, and prepared some eggs and sausages. He boiled water and, after thinking for a bit, opened the fridge, rummaging for a while until he found a bag of frozen dumplings with a three-flavor filling. After all, just having instant noodles seemed a bit too plain. He imagined the picky gaze of “Miss Gong” and couldn’t help but laugh.

The noodles finished cooking first. Ren Yi took out two bowls, divided the noodles, placed the soft poached eggs he cooked separately on top, and then sliced the sausages into oval shapes, arranging them around the eggs. He did his best to make the two bowls look somewhat presentable.

Gong Yingxian came out after his shower, looking fresh and clean. His skin was so fair it almost seemed to glow. His freshly blow-dried hair softly clung to the sides of his face, making him look even younger than usual, almost like a college student. Even the slightly thick autumn pajamas couldn’t hide his broad shoulders and long legs.

Ren Yi stood a short distance away, his heart pounding.

Gong Yingxian glanced at the noodles on the table: “You even plated them? That’s some improvement.”

“I tried my best, but if you want speed, this is the best I could do,” Ren Yi laughed. “Eat up, once you’re full, you can get a good night’s sleep.”

Gong Yingxian sat down, picked up a few strands of noodles with his chopsticks, blew on them softly, and whispered, “It’s hot.”

“Take your time, it’ll cool down soon,” Ren Yi said as he took a bite. “You know, instant noodles are kind of addictive. If you don’t eat them for a while, you’ll start craving them.”

“Is that so?” Gong Yingxian looked skeptical.

“You’re different though,” Ren Yi added. “You’re always different from others.”

Gong Yingxian propped his cheek on one hand and stared at Ren Yi. “Are you complimenting me?”

Ren Yi paused and then smiled, “Yes.”

“…You’re different too,” Gong Yingxian replied, before lowering his head again to blow on his noodles.

Ren Yi felt a warm sweetness in his heart.

Suddenly, Gong Yingxian asked, “Do you still have anything cooking in the kitchen?”

Ren Yi was startled and immediately dashed into the kitchen. He had completely forgotten about the dumplings boiling in the pot—his attention had been entirely on Gong Yingxian, so he hadn’t even heard the loud boiling sound.

The dumpling water had already spilled all over the stove. He quickly turned off the heat and looked down at the mess. It was disastrous— the dumplings had practically been tortured, their pieces scattered and broken apart.

Gong Yingxian had somehow come over as well. “What did you cook?”

“…Dumpling skins… meatball soup.”

Gong Yingxian leaned closer to take a look. “Aren’t those dumplings?”

“You can still recognize dumplings?” Ren Yi said awkwardly.

Gong Yingxian glanced down at him from above, saying, “I’m holding back from mocking you right now, don’t provoke me.”

Ren Yi cleared his throat. “Look at them, do they resemble dumplings? This is clearly meatball soup.”

“Whatever you say.” Gong Yingxian returned to the table.

Ren Yi served himself a bowl and carried it over.

Gong Yingxian looked at him in disbelief. “You’re still going to eat that?”

“We can’t waste food.” Ren Yi took a big bite. “Mmm, it’s delicious, and there’s shrimp inside too.”

Gong Yingxian snickered and shook his head before finally taking his first bite of the instant noodles.

Ren Yi eagerly asked, “How is it?”

“Pretty much what I expected—heavy on artificial flavors. But… it’s alright.”

Ren Yi smiled. He knew Gong Yingxian wasn’t good at expressing himself, and having grown up with the best of everything, “alright” was actually a good review. Watching Gong Yingxian eat the noodles he had cooked, Ren Yi’s appetite grew as well.

After a few glances at Ren Yi’s bowl, Gong Yingxian hesitated for a moment and then said, “Give me some of your ‘meatball soup.'”

Ren Yi was stunned and asked in surprise, “Really?”

Gong Yingxian, embarrassed, snapped, “Shut up.”

Ren Yi immediately went to the kitchen and served a small bowl for Gong Yingxian, holding back laughter as he watched him.

“I’m just trying not to waste food,” Gong Yingxian explained. “You should really apologize to that pot of soup.”

“I’m sorry,” Ren Yi said earnestly.

Gong Yingxian was amused by him.

Ren Yi smiled as he watched Gong Yingxian hesitantly take a bite, thinking that perhaps Gong Yingxian was a kind person deep down, just someone who had armored himself with coldness and distance.

—

The next morning, Ren Yi woke up even earlier than usual, earlier than when he was with his team. He prepared a hearty breakfast spread, and while busy in the kitchen, he put on his headphones and called his father. From his experience, his father was usually in a good mood early in the morning.

“Why are you calling so early? You out for morning drills?” Ren Xiangrong was sipping his porridge.

“Yeah, old Ren, I’ve got two things I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“First, something I mentioned briefly before. Aunt Wang’s family is moving back to their hometown. I’m looking for a new housekeeper for you. Just giving you a heads-up—you’ll need a new one after the New Year.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m not a kid.” Ren Xiangrong paused, his voice lowering a bit. “Just don’t know if the new one will adjust.” He knew well that the reason so many housekeepers hadn’t worked out before was because of him.

“That’s not something you need to stress about. Just eat well and sleep well.”

Ren Xiangrong sighed softly.

“The other thing,” Ren Yi continued, “Dad, how much do you still remember about the past?”

“What are you referring to?”

Ren Yi hesitated for a moment. “The Baosheng Chemical Plant and Gong family fire cases.”

Ren Xiangrong sounded puzzled. “Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

“We recently found a website—it’s hidden, hard to track down, filled with a lot of unregulated criminal activity. Sites like this are generally referred to as the dark web. This particular site is a gathering place for pyromaniacs and arsonists from all over the world.”

“There’s a site like that?!” Ren Xiangrong was both shocked and angry.

“Yeah, we’ve noticed that several recent cases seem to have some connection to this website. The latest investigation even ties back to those two cases from years ago.”

“Isn’t this the police’s business?”

“I’ve been assisting the police lately, haven’t I?” Ren Yi said. “Dad, the doctor said that one of the symptoms of your condition is frequently forgetting recent events, but sometimes being able to recall things from long ago. Can you try to remember anything from back then? Any documents or details—it’s really important.”

“No problem, I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll send you some digital files on your phone. Have Aunt Wang print them out for you to go through. I’ll visit home in a couple of days, and we can have a proper chat. There’s a reason I’m so invested in this case, and I’ll explain everything to you.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Ren Yi heard music through his headphones and hummed along as he fried some eggs, his mood light and cheerful.

Once breakfast was ready, Gong Yingxian also got up. Perhaps because he ate something before bed the night before, his eyes were a bit puffy, with faint red circles under them. Combined with his slightly messy hair, he exuded a lazy, irresistibly seductive aura that stirred something inside Ren Yi.

Ren Yi sometimes found it difficult to control his fantasies about Gong Yingxian. He could only try his best to manage his gaze and expressions, lowering his head to cover it up as he tidied up the dishes. “Hurry up and eat. Look, *this* is my true skill level. Let’s forget about that meatball soup from last night.”

Gong Yingxian teased him, “You weren’t saying that last night.”

Ren Yi threw him a playful glance. “New day, new me.”

“Strictly speaking, it’s still the same day.”

“Oh, you’re so annoying. You cook next time.”

“Sure,” Gong Yingxian replied casually.

Ren Yi stared at him. “I meant cooking.”

“I know.”

“You can cook?”

Gong Yingxian shrugged. “Like you said, just follow the recipe. How bad could it turn out?”

Ren Yi laughed. “Alright, I’ll wait for you to cook for me then.”

After breakfast, Gong Yingxian dropped Ren Yi back at his unit and returned to the precinct. They agreed to stay in constant communication about the case, as both of them sensed it was reaching a critical point.

The morning at the unit was uneventful. They played a game of basketball, had a video call with Gao Ge, and soon it was time for lunch.

Before lunch, Ren Yi received a WeChat message from Gong Yingxian, saying that the meeting had approved the decision to agree to Zhou Chuan’s terms.

Ren Yi replied: *That bastard’s getting off easy.*

Zhou Chuan, though ready to be discharged from the hospital, would need long-term treatment and care for his burns. He knew if he ended up in detention, it would practically kill him. The hygiene and medical conditions there were nowhere near as good as in a top-tier hospital.

“He’s providing intel on Chen Pei and Seraphim,” came Gong Yingxian’s next message.

“That’s great,” Ren Yi replied, adding, *Go get ’em, Old Gong!* followed by a cheeky emoji.

After sending the message, Ren Yi stared at the screen, watching as Gong Yingxian’s typing indicator appeared, then disappeared, then reappeared again, only for nothing to be said. Ren Yi’s heart was in his throat, waiting, until finally, after the third time, three simple words came through: *We’ll talk later.*

Ren Yi felt a bit deflated. He chuckled at himself. Every time, he only dared to flirt a little, testing the waters cautiously but trying to seem casual. Sometimes he felt elated, other times disappointed. The mix of sourness and sweetness—so this was what having a secret crush felt like.