Blazing Armor

Although Ren Yi couldn’t go on duty, he could still guide the soldiers in training. Therefore, the day after returning to the squad, he got up early, wanting to return to that familiar, regular life of the past.RrKepcfvHEFLonIFDOmrCsjLZdQkKY

However, just halfway through the morning exercises, the alarm rang.qPJDpAtKchrgLYVearoheYgniQvqzY

The sound invigorated every pore of Ren Yi’s body, but when he instinctively started to run towards the garage, he suddenly remembered that he was still suspended from duty. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit lost.LGurzwsczeOQjUnGjFsZctbztGqROo

With half the squad absent, the remaining soldiers trained even harder, and during lunch, they all complained incessantly.nmHOeBddUwYtTGRtnjQEFILsAIUQhx

In the afternoon, during free time, Ren Yi first called his dad for a while, then played some games. When his eyes got tired, he went to the backyard to work in the vegetable garden they had cultivated themselves, making sure to keep himself busy.wbfcCLVefzaWQCaxZlanFIcVLxnYKw

Of course, he didn’t forget the doctor’s advice and wouldn’t overexert himself.LgOoJsfSToTmhyMbnHrJyjveNKmGbE

As Ren Yi was turning the soil, Fenghuang and Miaomiao were playing nearby. The spring sun warmed his back, making his heart feel cozy and lazy, not wanting to think about anything, just enjoying the moment.pryNumyUsitvMhbDtTRARJlUIpllGv

But it wasn’t long before a young soldier ran over: “Captain Ren, Dr. Gong is here.”lXrMgMUvxJoCierBfLuuFGehQXWijk

Ren Yi wasn’t surprised; he just felt a bit regretful about the brief peace. He casually said, “Tell him I’m working, and ask him to come back another day.”hAEGMzGBjfDMeFFgXRNNkiRToDuzrT

“Huh?” The young soldier thought to himself, why had their captain suddenly become unfriendly with Dr. Gong?ymVjMiwXTnCOoZMEWhVeEnZWcZobmF

“What do you mean ‘huh’? Just go.”EYYNYdykenWVqxkdIjZBIBKGaTVkHk

“Okay.”oDuRSXIcTtBYKdLAWPpvtKPymFykHR

Ren Yi continued to turn the soil, pondering whether to plant chives or Shanghai greens, but his mood had already become restless.mLwTmxVfhAeSXUqRLxtISQuIeVJBDR

Before long, he heard footsteps behind him, and it was clear they weren’t from his squad. They all wore insulated combat boots with thick rubber soles, making a solid and steady sound, while this footstep was graceful, elegant, and light. If it were any more delicate, the sound would be nearly inaudible, clearly from a pair of handmade leather shoes that cost more than his monthly salary.vDjeJwSzqqmXBguozMPASgRFdcPgsA

Ren Yi straightened up and turned to look at the newcomer.EYjhjCQrltWNKsvwXLeQaCnXFNuRFm

Since that day, this was the first time Ren Yi had looked directly at Gong Yingxian.VWuQKMfxihlwpnLeyjWRTWmOpwjEAZ

Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi with a steady gaze: “The doctor should let you rest well.”DjNtmozrWdxGQlkBCElRaVixlQLALS

“This little work is nothing.”BmMpJhrXAwhWJdrQVnApPAVUisHCHS

Miaomiao meowed and jumped to Gong Yingxian’s feet, rubbing against his calf.oeYNJGNPJuhCnbiyDWnsfFnnrhbNHF

Gong Yingxian bent down to pick up Miaomiao, stroking its head, and said to himself, “I’ve been particularly busy these days, having caught so many people from the organization that I can’t even finish interrogating them. There are a lot of materials left on the computer that Qingyan used, although he destroyed some, Xiao Tan is working hard to recover them. In short, this time the harvest is particularly great.”wxiKBiSpTnwlKnftqdOZqCFmfaLUgl

“That’s good news.” Ren Yi continued to focus on turning the soil.mJBkQfclpNGFajoQpbCGYOCqnjrpWL

“Zhang Wen and Purple Flame are still being pursued, but they are already at the end of their rope and can’t escape.” Gong Yingxian continued.HUMcLMEiDlQqanSSiQIuNEVNsGTifT

“Good.”ZNegdcKUOOjwABEjFUuwyFYvvZIzqV

“As for my case…”gbASaCXUFPLeZjPuhkNsIgvWwdCzBI

“You really don’t have to tell me this.” Ren Yi said, “I only recently found out about it, and it seems to have nothing to do with me.”uSibKWuUcIIcrnDrLuvdFltYiqCmxJ

Gong Yingxian’s gaze dimmed: “Ren Yi, you have every reason to be angry, and I know you will be, but I still have to do this. I want to apologize to you properly after everything is over. I’m sorry.”JXXJRtoSMPcTSQgpDyLeYhKjklAHUS

“The last time, you used my dad’s situation to your advantage. You apologized, and I forgave you because I thought you didn’t mean it. You just lacked empathy and were inexperienced. But this time, you did it on purpose. You knew how much it would hurt me, and it seems you didn’t care.”qJDUyrVXpdmkfNwskmUUaiwGiJHerB

“I do care!” Gong Yingxian gritted his teeth, “I didn’t want to involve you in this. I know it would hurt you, but there were many unforeseen circumstances.”ZsACZKxvtSvjJyizNxsQGilKpzloto

“You said you didn’t want to involve me, so why did you come to find me then?” Ren Yi’s grip on the hoe tightened.CfqEJlIwbRrVdVGuGiSTTHbJyFraSI

Gong Yingxian said softly, “I miss you so much, and I was afraid you would worry if you didn’t hear from me. Besides, I need your help. Very few people know about this plan. After Zheng Pei came, Yan Jie, Cai Qiang, and Xiao Tan have all been monitored. The only person I can trust is you.”XjenjUkZVXoyUxNqTnBbxNGebrMdAl

“You trust me?” Ren Yi retorted, “That statement is ridiculous. If you trusted me, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”javhqNDFgfJSsWVRbpKINJvGBXAKFg

“I trust you, but the police’s plan must be kept absolutely confidential.” Gong Yingxian took a deep breath, “I didn’t expect you to follow Yue Xingu, nor did I expect you to follow me. If I had told you or tried to stop you, Purple Flame might have noticed something unusual. This plan cannot afford any mistakes.”hmDzQYSrreBTZZfRIHzaPsWxwdDrZA

Ren Yi nodded: “I understand you have your reasons. I actually have many questions, but I don’t want to ask anymore. As I said earlier, I suddenly realized that this has nothing to do with me.”LQOCCFmIakrmSeJIvQRCDZCyYwgSVk

“Ask away, and I will tell you everything…”BlKMNZFcewHTufEdTHNdnkNLfOsDZl

“You won’t.” Ren Yi stared directly into Gong Yingxian’s eyes, “I never asked you to tell me everything about your work. I’m also a public servant and know the importance of confidentiality, but some things should be handled according to the situation. I thought you treated me as a comrade, but it turns out I was the only one who thought so. When you needed me, I did my utmost to cooperate and help, but when you didn’t need me, I had to be kept in the dark, even watching me suffer because of the falsehoods you created, and you didn’t care. The reason was that I wouldn’t lie?” Ren Yi had hoped to remain calm; after all, the doctor had said he shouldn’t get angry. He had neglected his body for so long and just wanted to take good care of it, but the more he spoke, the more agitated he became. “Gong Yingxian, I don’t know if you can understand what I’m saying. You kept secrets from me for the sake of the case, which is not wrong in the grand scheme of things, but no one wants to be used, especially someone like me who gives everything unreservedly, only to be used up and then ignored by you. You never considered me in your plans from start to finish. Other people might be excused, but you didn’t… consider me.”ziaBJmCexjqKsuTknCxSObtLcxqpjz

Gong Yingxian’s lips trembled, his eyes filled with hidden pain, “You… are right. It’s my fault. I know this will hurt you, but I still did it to catch Purple Flame. Ren Yi, give me a chance to make it up to you.”WVEdFPYfffQPTmAuHBeBTaWRaLJHVA

Ren Yi was silent for two seconds: “You’re very smart and good at drawing inferences. Last time, you realized that a sincere apology could earn forgiveness, so this time you didn’t make excuses and just apologized. But I see that you don’t actually think you were wrong; you only want a result that benefits you.”yPsoVtFQTkCgpzoiFImDRExvvpZlBK

Gong Yingxian was stunned.hQQAZQnXEBmQtvEPmiFCsdwgZxHwwM

Ren Yi’s eyes suddenly turned red, and he said hoarsely, “I’ve thought a lot these past few days, and I’ve realized that we really… aren’t suited for each other.” He took a deep breath, feeling like he couldn’t continue, but he forced himself to finish what he wanted to say, “I used to look down on this saying. I thought that as long as we liked each other, we could overcome most difficulties, especially personality differences. Now I understand it’s not that simple. I see nothing but pitfalls ahead of us, and no matter how hard I try to fill them, I can’t. This time has already exhausted me, and I can’t bear to think about the next time.”zsYuvaYceFXNxwKaSYoZWkSerDkBXS

Gong Yingxian’s voice trembled. He suddenly realized that the previous Ren Yi would still get angry and shout at him, but this calm Ren Yi, as if the world had fallen silent, frightened him even more: “Ren Yi, I will never hurt you again.”BHDZfkIpIWBUlSPSpeYPcEMhlJscra

“You will. Next time, you’ll have to choose between me and something more important, and you’ll still choose to sacrifice me. You weigh the results against the importance. You think that just making my father confused for a while, just making me uncomfortable for a few days, just letting me take a bullet through a bulletproof vest, as long as it doesn’t cause major damage, can be fixed.” Ren Yi forced a bitter smile, “I would never do that to you, so I can’t accept that the person I love treats me this way. Yingxian, we… we… should break up.” Saying this sentence twisted his insides in pain, making it almost impossible for him to stand straight, relying on the hoe in his hand to steady himself.jzquahUPaoeQHYquMUIDjtYGqhVUqz

Gong Yingxian froze, the deep and beautiful light in his eyes extinguished in an instant.newBKmFCaIYynHUmbRgVOnEBePeDoi

Ren Yi couldn’t bear to look at Gong Yingxian’s face. He knew Gong Yingxian liked him, and he knew Gong Yingxian would be sad. He felt the same way, but in the foreseeable long future, such things might happen again and again. While he still liked this person, it was better to stop here, to avoid the end where mutual affection turned into a mess, and precious love turned into ugly hatred.wgvIoHCjzYhVYsiSicMcTaeocFzjAX

Gong Yingxian’s tall body trembled, and even Miaomiao felt the turmoil in his breath, struggling to jump away from him. He clenched his fists and said in a low voice, “How can you… how dare you say that!”WPRhfmXUzIpIVrHNBfaVsfwZapCiRv

Ren Yi didn’t answer. He couldn’t even imagine that one day he would say those two words. All forms of artistic creation instill the idea that any couple who has experienced life and death trials will ultimately be together through thick and thin.CXoiXpVOeUfPiifatXLjhYdHIIGCrF

That was only because the long and mundane life that followed was no longer worth expressing.aVllChMJxdPBIemUFxqtAtqifPfCch

He used to think that with everything he and Gong Yingxian had gone through, so passionate and thrilling, they were destined to be together. But people ultimately do not live in drama all the time; it is the trivial details that wear one down.uzjWdAESqpelDtJmGnRrJNMUbLqSLc

Better a short pain than a long one; the more one contemplates this saying, the more it rings true.WqdmtVUYgmFwoqqFDVqLmgHMZaxPzY

Gong Yingxian’s eyes turned red: “Ren Yi, how dare you say those two words to me? If something goes wrong, we will find a way to solve it. Why do you have to say those two words?! Are you going to give up on me? Didn’t you say we would never be apart for a lifetime?!”lAiZoPnAUOVputJbrvtavETpLlOqhn

Ren Yi’s nose tinged with bitterness, and he turned his back, not daring to look directly at Gong Yingxian’s sadness: “It’s your problem, not mine.”ueKhMmvWhBlsiIkxiAcWXZxOELAkEW

Gong Yingxian felt as if struck by lightning. He hesitated for a moment before quietly saying, “…It’s my problem. But you said you would like me no matter what.”QVwWYAKsJkWXQWbfRzBtcpDoqQvRbh

“So you feel invincible now?”wdHwUwgLCiptdsjjRWgSXOhxJZWTXN

Gong Yingxian stared blankly at Ren Yi’s back. He had prepared himself to accept Ren Yi’s accusations, but he still underestimated the impact this person had on him.KyUQPSfFfbDsgaTpVcvqgkYODxpYKz

In this world, there are only two things he fears facing: fire and Ren Yi’s rejection.LzfQPIhiQBUgOndJJDcZYPhWwfGSgA

Gong Yingxian took a deep breath: “Take back what you just said. No matter what you say or do, I will never give up on you.” mmUPnxITEVbXeHxhfuqBwxGJHsUqNq

Ren Yi still did not turn around.EGJqCxgqhMBZeosdbfYakYAKRBbiTG

“I not only do criminal investigation but also research. As long as I want to, I have plenty of patience, especially for you.” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi with a gaze that was both gentle and sorrowful, “You should rest well. I’ll come to see you next time.”HCwMuQhazorhvdZGieQRacMUkishtz