Blazing Armor

Gong Yingxian squinted his eyes, staring blankly at him for, seemingly unaware of what was happening at the moment.

Ren Yi’s face felt like it was burning up, his heart racing uncontrollably, and his body heating up. Gong Yingxian’s disheveled, sweat-soaked bangs, those eyes clouded with drunkenness, and those full, crimson lips contrasted sharply with his usual cold and restrained demeanor, exuding temptation.

Ren Yi, fearing that the changes in his body would be noticed, clumsily tried to get up, but Gong Yingxian grabbed his arm, pinning him down with his weight, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Ren Yi didn’t dare to breathe.

“You…” Gong Yingxian murmured, “Why… so close?”

“… If it bothers you, let go of me then.” Ren Yi tried to pry Gong Yingxian’s hand away, but despite being drunk, Gong still had a surprising amount of strength.

“Your name.” Gong Yingxian stretched his body lazily on top of Ren Yi like a cat. “It’s so dumb.”

“…” Ren Yi could feel Gong Yingxian’s warm chest pressing against him, making his scalp tingle.

“The dumbest I’ve heard… in my entire life.” Gong Yingxian laughed softly to himself as he spoke.

“Bastard,” Ren Yi cursed under his breath. “Alright, alright, let go of me now.” He struggled to push Gong Yingxian away.

“Don’t move,” Gong Yingxian grumbled in dissatisfaction before flipping over smoothly, pressing Ren Yi beneath him.

Ren Yi froze, staring at Gong Yingxian, completely at a loss.

He had been dating since his teens, once a flirtatious young man. At his age, he was more than experienced with both emotions and physicality. Yet, in front of Gong Yingxian, he didn’t dare to move. He didn’t know why, but whenever he faced Gong Yingxian, it was as if he reverted back to a naive boy, too shy to use any flirting, any tricks, or any games—fearing that he might be overstepping, destroying the hard-earned friendship between them.

Besides, he knew Gong Yingxian trusted him purely, saw him as a friend. How could he take advantage of that trust?

Gong Yingxian slowly lowered his head, so close that his messy bangs brushed against Ren Yi’s forehead, so close that Ren Yi thought those lips would land on his own. He held his breath, tense with anticipation.

But Gong Yingxian stopped. He stared into Ren Yi’s eyes and stammered, “Soup… tastes good.”

Ren Yi wasn’t sure if he felt disappointed or relieved; all he knew was that if this went on any longer, he’d surely give himself away. “C-could you get off me?” He reached out to push Gong Yingxian’s shoulder.

Gong Yingxian grabbed his wrist and pressed it back onto the bed. Then, using Ren Yi’s own hand to pat his head, Gong said in a somewhat sulky tone, “I hate fire, but… I don’t hate… you.”

Ren Yi’s heart trembled.

Gong Yingxian then comfortably wrapped his arms around Ren Yi’s waist, burying his face in Ren Yi’s neck, and peacefully closed his eyes.

Before long, the sound of steady breathing could be heard.

Ren Yi still didn’t dare move, staring up at the ceiling. After a long while, he called Gong Yingxian’s name softly twice, but there was no response. Only then did he realize that the person on top of him was really asleep. Yet, when he carefully tried to shift, Gong Yingxian let out a faint sleep-talk.

Ren Yi froze again.

Though the embrace felt nice, his body was starting to ache from not moving, and the weight of Gong Yingxian was making it hard for him to breathe. He carefully inched out from under Gong Yingxian and got up.

Looking at Gong Yingxian’s peacefully sleeping face, Ren Yi couldn’t help but smile.

He propped a pillow under Gong Yingxian’s head, covered him with a blanket, and then sat beside him for a long time. As he watched Gong Yingxian’s calm, unguarded sleeping face, his heart softened inexplicably.

With a gentle hand, he smoothed out Gong Yingxian’s hair, tracing the perfect contours of his face with his fingertips, his gaze overflowing with tenderness.

Gong Yingxian was right there beside him, even if only as a drunken friend. Ren Yi wished time could stop in that moment.

Only when he grew too sleepy to keep his eyes open did he lean in carefully, planting a soft kiss on Gong Yingxian’s lips. “Goodnight.”


—

The next morning, Ren Yi woke up at his usual time for training. After freshening up, he headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. Before long, he heard the sound of water running in the bathroom.

By the time he had placed breakfast on the table, Gong Yingxian had come out of the bathroom, and they bumped into each other without warning.

Ren Yi’s heart raced, and his gaze wandered a bit. Gong Yingxian’s reaction wasn’t exactly natural either; his expression was a little stiff. He coughed lightly and complained, “I shouldn’t have drunk. I didn’t even shower last night.”

“…Didn’t you shower at the station?”

“That’s different.” Gong Yingxian hesitated, then asked, trying to sound casual, “How did I get to bed last night?”

“Of course, I put you to bed. You couldn’t even walk straight,” Ren Yi teased. “Who would’ve thought you can’t hold your liquor.”

“It’s your liquor that’s bad,” Gong Yingxian shot back.

“Fine, blame the liquor.”

Gong Yingxian stole a quick glance at Ren Yi. “Did I say anything…”

Ren Yi raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you said a lot.”

Gong Yingxian looked slightly nervous. “What did I say?”

“You went on and on about how you think I’m so heroic, handsome, and charming. Said I’m the manliest man you’ve ever met, and how much you admire me…”

“Shut up,” Gong Yingxian glared at him.

Ren Yi burst out laughing. “Come on, let’s eat breakfast.”

Gong Yingxian looked at the simple breakfast of congee and side dishes, seemingly satisfied. “Is the congee hot?”

“You already took the first step yesterday by drinking hot soup. Why not keep it up and start eating hot foods?”

“Is it necessary?” Gong hesitated. “I’m used to my current diet.”

“Last night, you told me the soup tasted great.”

Gong scoffed lightly.

“That part was true,” Ren Yi smiled at him. “Hot foods are good for your stomach and taste better. I really don’t want you to miss out on good things because of some old habits. You could be enjoying so much more.”

Gong Yingxian fell silent.

“Life is more pain than pleasure. If you find something that makes you happy, why reject it?” Ren Yi scooped a spoonful of congee into his mouth. “Mmm, it’s delicious.”

Gong replied, “I suppose I can try a little.”

“Step by step,” Ren Yi encouraged.

Gong brought the spoon to his lips, blowing on it several times before cautiously eating.

Ren Yi grinned widely.

After a couple of bites, Gong suddenly asked, “Did I… have some kind of intimate physical contact with you last night?”

Ren Yi was caught off guard, almost spilling the congee from his mouth.

Gong frowned. “Yes or no?”

Ren Yi coughed lightly, trying to stay calm. “What… what do you mean by ‘intimate’?” He had spent the entire night trying to calm his thoughts from yesterday, and now Gong was bringing it up again. His mind couldn’t help but drift to the kiss, making him feel a bit guilty.

“Well…” Gong struggled to define it himself, but suddenly grew flustered. “Whatever it was, you better not tell anyone about my drunken behavior!”

Ren Yi chuckled, “Can I at least share it with Steward Sheng and Fei Lan?”

Gong gave a cold snort, “Go ahead and try.”

The two teased each other for a bit.

After finishing breakfast, Ren Yi asked, “It’s the weekend today. Are you heading to the station?”

“Cops don’t have weekends,” Gong replied. “But today’s not my shift.”

“Then are you…” Ren Yi hesitated, wanting to ask if Gong was going back to interrogate the hooded man.

Gong shook his head. “I’ve assigned Cai Qiang to interrogate him about the arson case at Wanyuan District and the car fire. I plan to go over the past clues with Sister Yan today.”

“Alright then.”

“Come with me,” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi. “You said you’d be willing to help.”

“Of course,” Ren Yi said earnestly, “I’ll give it my all.”

While Gong made a quick call to Qiu Yan, Ren Yi tidied up the kitchen and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

When they stepped outside, Ren Yi took the keys and slid into the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

“My place.”

Halfway through the drive, Ren Yi’s phone rang. Without looking closely, he answered.

“Hey, it’s me,” Qi Xiao’s voice came through.

“Oh, morning. I’m surprised you’re up this early.” Ren Yi sneaked a glance at Gong Yingxian.

“Yeah, I’ve run into a bit of trouble and could really use your help.”

“What’s wrong? Tell me.”

“My company got me an ad gig. Everything’s set—location, time, crew. But now the shooting location’s been closed due to some fire safety issue. They said it’ll be shut down for a week to fix things.”

“What’s the issue? Was it reported or did it fail an inspection?”

“I’m not sure on the details,” Qi Xiao said, sounding frustrated. “But if we can’t shoot by Wednesday, I have another event to attend, and they’ll have to replace me. The ad pays really well, and I don’t want to lose it.” His voice turned pleading, “Bro, can you help me out? I’m seriously stressing.”

The car was quiet, and every word Qi Xiao said was clearly heard by Gong Yingxian, who let out a soft hum of disapproval.

Ren Yi reassured him, “Don’t worry, which district’s fire brigade shut it down?”

“It’s the Beigang squad.”

“Send me the location’s name, address, and a brief of the situation. I’ll ask around. If it’s a minor issue, I’ll try to get them to speed things up.”

Qi Xiao sounded relieved. “Thanks, bro.” He made an exaggerated kissing sound over the phone and laughed.

Gong Yingxian raised an eyebrow and shot Ren Yi a sideways glance.

Ren Yi quickly said, “Alright, I’m driving, so I’m hanging up now.”

“Wait!” Qi Xiao teased, “Bro, I’ll make it up to you next time. However you want to play, it’s your call.”

Ren Yi gave a vague “Mhm” and hurriedly said, “Goodbye,” before hanging up the phone quickly.

Gong Yingxian’s voice was clearly displeased. “When it comes to fire safety, you’re not thinking of using connections, are you?”

“I’ll help him, but of course, everything will be above board,” Ren Yi replied, trying to downplay the issue. “Hey, do you think Ai Min Road might be jammed? Maybe we should take the highway.”

But Gong didn’t let it go. “How exactly are you planning to help?”

“That depends on the situation,” Ren Yi rubbed his nose. “Usually, small fire safety fixes are simple. If I give the squad a heads-up, they can do the inspection faster and save us a lot of time.”

“Oh, what a good friend,” Gong remarked, his tone cutting. “How did you two meet?”

“…At a friend’s gathering.”

“What kind of ‘fun’ do you two have together?”

Ren Yi felt more and more uneasy with each answer. “Are you interrogating me like a suspect?”

Gong turned his head and stared directly at Ren Yi, not breaking eye contact until Ren Yi felt uncomfortable. Then Gong said, “You’ve seen me interrogate suspects.”

The implication was clear—he was already being polite. Ren Yi was caught between laughing and crying. “We play… games together, alright?”

“Really?” Gong couldn’t shake the feeling that Qi Xiao’s tone towards Ren Yi had been odd. That way of speaking… those words… something about it bothered him, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what. Regardless, he didn’t like it.

“Really. I’m taking the highway, okay?”

Gong didn’t press the issue any further, but the name Qi Xiao now left a bad taste in his mouth.


—

When they arrived home, Steward Sheng immediately followed Gong, asking how his first visit to a friend’s house had gone, and what they had done.

Gong gave a few brief, dismissive answers, while Ren Yi happily chatted with Sheng, making him smile ear to ear. Sheng even playfully scolded, “Why did you come back so soon? It’s the weekend—you could’ve stayed longer.”

“I have things to do,” Gong replied. “Steward Sheng, Yan will be coming over later. Can you prepare some of her favorite dishes?”

“Oh, Miss Qiu is coming? Wonderful! We haven’t made taro pastries in a while,” Sheng said with a smile. “What a special day, so many guests coming to visit.”

Gong turned to Ren Yi. “Come with me.”

Gong led Ren Yi upstairs. At the end of the third-floor corridor, there was a closed door. It looked like any other door in the house, except for the lock—it was a smart lock. Who puts a smart lock on an interior door? Moreover, its brass handle had been polished by frequent use. Ren Yi knew that everything above the second floor belonged exclusively to Gong, and aside from his bedroom, none of the other doors showed signs of regular use, except this one. This door, clearly, led to a room Gong visited often.

Sure enough, Gong walked straight to the door, pressed his fingerprint to the lock, and the sound of it unlocking echoed through the hallway. Gong pushed the door open.

A wave of old, heavy air hit them, and before Ren Yi could even make out what was inside, an oppressive feeling settled over him.

Gong turned and glanced back at Ren Yi, his voice hollow. “My past… is in there.”