Blazing Armor

Qiu Yan took a drag from her cigarette and fell silent.

Her silence made Ren Yi increasingly nervous. He could clearly see that Gong Yingxian treated Qiu Yan differently, but he had no idea how Qiu Yan felt about Gong Yingxian. He had always avoided thinking about it, fearing that she might feel the same way…

Qiu Yan looked at Ren Yi and sighed softly, “I don’t have any prejudice about orientation, and I’m not trying to discourage you, but I think you should give up on this idea.”

Ren Yi stared blankly at her.

“Captain Ren, you’re a good person, someone worthy of respect. Both Yingxian and I see you as a friend, especially Yingxian. He trusts you a lot. If he ever finds out that you have these kinds of feelings for him, he…” Qiu Yan hesitated, clearly finding it difficult to speak.

Ren Yi nodded slightly, giving nothing away. He had no intention of making some dramatic declaration of love in front of someone he wasn’t close to—it would be ridiculous. He didn’t care what Qiu Yan’s motives were or how she felt. His feelings were his own, and even if she hadn’t said anything, he hadn’t planned to change the way things were between him and Gong Yingxian.

From his expression, Qiu Yan could tell he wasn’t taking her seriously. She locked eyes with him and spoke earnestly, “You might think I’m meddling, or that I have some hidden agenda, but that’s not it. I’m just looking out for you both. There are things you don’t know. When Yingxian was in his adolescence, he was harassed.”

Ren Yi froze. “He… he was…”

“During his teenage years, his physical development wasn’t typical. And because he’s Asian, he was often harassed by other boys at school. At one point, a middle-aged man stalked him, taking photos of him for six months, even attempting to kidnap him.”

Ren Yi’s face changed drastically. “Did they catch that guy?”

“They did. He had a record of child sexual abuse, and he’s still behind bars.” Qiu Yan shook her head. “Thankfully, Yingxian had been practicing martial arts from a young age. Quite a few of the boys who harassed him ended up in the hospital. He transferred schools four times because of it. Things didn’t get better until college. His sense of isolation is partly because of what happened to him as a child and also because of those experiences during adolescence.”

Ren Yi took a deep breath, feeling a cold numbness wash over him. It felt like he was sinking.

“So now you understand,” Qiu Yan said awkwardly. “He’s extremely averse to and disgusted by this kind of group. Captain Ren, I mean no offense, and of course it’s wrong to generalize. But Yingxian’s past experiences… you can’t blame him for feeling this way.”

Ren Yi forced a casual smile, though it barely hid his discomfort. “Captain Qiu, don’t worry. I just have a little fondness for him. At my age, I can control my feelings. He…” Ren Yi felt a sharp pain in his chest, “He’ll never know.”

Qiu Yan nodded and gave Ren Yi an apologetic look. “I’ll head back to the precinct. We’re still interrogating Zhou Chuan and Peng Fei. If you’re free, you can come listen in.”

“Alright, I’ll be there soon.”

After Qiu Yan left, Ren Yi leaned wearily against the railing, looking up at the sky. He let out a sigh filled with loneliness.

He hadn’t expected that Gong Yingxian had gone through such horrors in his youth. Just hearing about it made his scalp tingle. Qiu Yan was right. After experiencing something like that, it’s impossible not to develop a prejudice against an entire group.

If Gong Yingxian ever found out how he felt, would he think Ren Yi was also trying to get close to him for ulterior motives?

Ren Yi had kept his feelings hidden precisely because he didn’t want to betray Gong Yingxian’s trust. He didn’t want their friendship to fall apart. He had known for a long time that Gong Yingxian probably only saw him as a friend, and now Qiu Yan’s words had only confirmed that.

Ren Yi had always been popular. He had never had trouble finding love, and he had never experienced unrequited feelings. If he liked someone, he wasn’t lacking in the courage to express it or pursue them. But when it came to Gong Yingxian, he couldn’t bear to let him know. It wasn’t about pride or dignity—he simply cherished their relationship. He couldn’t stand the thought of seeing disgust and disappointment in Gong Yingxian’s eyes. He just wanted to be a reliable friend to him. That’s what Gong Yingxian needed: a friend.

So, he would bury all his desires deep inside. He would remain Gong Yingxian’s friend. He would do anything within his power for him.

Being able to stay by Gong Yingxian’s side as a friend was enough.

After Ren Yi went downstairs, he instructed Sun Dingyi to clean up the aftermath and return to the squad before heading straight to the Hongwu sub-bureau himself.

The old man who had just attempted to jump off the building was supposed to be sent to the hospital, but when the ambulance arrived, he adamantly refused to get on, fearing the cost. He was still causing a commotion in the station’s lobby when Ren Yi walked in, and by that time, his son had already been handcuffed.

Qiu Yan coldly warned, “Mr. Gao, if you continue to interfere with our duties here, we’ll arrest you as well. I mean what I say.”

The old man angrily yelled, “You dare! Let my son go!”

“Father, you’re old. They wouldn’t dare arrest you. If they try to, just threaten to jump off the building!” his son shouted.

Ren Yi glared at him disdainfully and couldn’t hold back, cursing, “You’re a complete idiot and an unfilial piece of trash. Not only do you covet your cousin’s property, but you also drag your father’s dignity and life into your shameless acts. Today, all you’ll get is a pair of handcuffs and nothing else.”

“Who the hell are you! What does this have to do with you!”

Ren Yi turned to Qiu Yan, “Captain Qiu, this old man isn’t seventy yet, right? We can still detain him, can’t we?”

Qiu Yan crossed his arms and gave a cold smirk. “Yes, we can.”

“Then let’s stop wasting time and just lock him up.”

Qiu Yan signaled to his subordinates.

Two officers stepped forward and cuffed the old man on the spot.

Finally scared, the father and son began shouting, but in the end, they were both dragged away.

“Captain Ren, you were so cool today!” one of the female officers who knew him well complimented.

Ren Yi grinned, “Of course, I’m always this cool.”

“Captain Ren, you drop by our station every other day. Who’s the lucky lady you’ve got your eyes on?” a male officer teased. “Tell me in secret, and I’ll back off.”

“Yeah, he’s got his eye on one of our policewomen. Isn’t Dr. Gong our station’s beauty?”

The crowd burst into laughter.

Ren Yi was used to joking around like this whenever he came to the station, but today, both his and Qiu Yan’s expressions became slightly awkward when they heard the comments.

Ren Yi laughed it off, saying, “If you’ve got the guts, say that in front of Dr. Gong and see if he won’t spray alcohol in your eyes.”

After a bit more banter, Qiu Yan led Ren Yi to the interrogation room.

Just then, two officers wheeled Zhou Chuan across the hallway.

When Zhou Chuan saw Ren Yi, there was a mix of emotions in his eyes—hate, fear, or perhaps both.

As they passed by, Ren Yi asked Qiu Yan, “Is he crippled now?”

“No, but the burns caused muscle atrophy, so walking has become difficult for him.”

Ren Yi snorted coldly, thinking to himself, *Serves him right.*

Entering the interrogation room, Gong Yingxian and Cai Qiang were discussing something.

When Ren Yi saw Gong Yingxian, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat. He had just resolved to suppress his feelings, yet the moment they met, all that affection, desire, and impulse surged into an invisible force, pulling him closer, urging him to get nearer.

No wonder Qiu Yan had noticed—it’s impossible to truly hide when you like someone.

Cai Qiang teased, “Captain Ren, I wasn’t there, but your heroic deeds have already spread throughout the station.”

Ren Yi chuckled, “Stop praising me, or I might start floating.”

Qiu Yan then asked, “What’s the situation?”

Gong Yingxian frowned slightly, “Zhou Chuan will be transferred back to Hongwu Hospital from the detention center today.”

“All that for a piece of scum like him, and we still have to foot the bill for a special care room, not to mention assigning officers to watch over him,” Cai Qiang grumbled. “But, unfortunately, the information he provided is valuable.”

“He implicated Chen Pei?”

Gong Yingxian nodded, “Zhou Chuan came into contact with Seraphim four years ago during his time at university. He claims he doesn’t have pyromania, just a fascination with the unusual, which led him to explore a lot of dark web sites. However, he insists he only watched and never participated. After graduating, he struggled to adjust to society because of his personality, and soon after starting work, he became unemployed. To make ends meet, he began thinking about making money through dark web transactions. But he’s too timid to commit actual crimes, so he limited himself to filming fire-related videos.”

“So he never had contact with Seraphim’s core users in the country?”

“Quite the opposite. Because of his technical skills, he did interact with a few. Occasionally, they paid him for assistance, but all of it was online—none of them ever met in person.”

“And who are these people?”

“He’s unwilling to say. He only mentioned Chen Pei, and it seems like he’s genuinely scared.”

“So, what did he reveal?” Ren Yi was extremely curious.

Gong Yingxian let out a soft sigh, glanced at his file, and said, “There’s a group of Seraphim users in the country. While it’s unclear whether this group is connected to Seraphim’s founder, they might be linked to several arson cases.”

Ren Yi was stunned.

“Zhou Chuan says this group is something he deduced on his own; it doesn’t have a fixed structure, or if it does, he doesn’t know about it. He only had contact with a few members, possibly from the outer circle, but the group is quite powerful.”

“How does he know that?”

“He said those people spent a lot of money on Seraphim—he’s seen transactions in the hundreds of thousands at a time. And during some of the live streams he participated in, they talked more than once about how they were behind certain arson cases. He’s not sure if they were just bragging, but from their conversations, their spending habits, and some cryptic posts on the forums, he inferred that members of the group hold high positions in society.”

Cai Qiang chimed in, “We believe Zhou Chuan knows more than he’s letting on. There’s definitely something he’s afraid to reveal.”

“Exactly,” Qiu Yan said thoughtfully, “It’s highly likely he’s been threatened.”

“He was reluctant to talk from the start and showed obvious signs of fear,” Gong Yingxian said, turning to Ren Yi, “Do you remember that time at the hospital?”

“I remember. He was genuinely scared.”

“Now he’s finally talking for two reasons,” Gong continued. “First, Chen Pei has been arrested, and the situation is irreversible. Second, his injuries are causing him significant pain, and if he were sent back to the detention center, he’d suffer even more. That’s why he’s cooperating, but still holding back some information.”

“But for now,” Gong added, “our priority is to solve the Wanyuan Community case. He’s already provided enough evidence.”

Ren Yi’s eyes lit up. “So, can we convict Chen Pei?”

Gong Yingxian’s eyes darkened slightly, and after a moment, he slowly nodded.