CH 86

Lu Ye hadn’t originally planned to bring up the topic of “leaving” so soon.

—His arm hadn’t fully healed yet, and the police station had recently added new interns to add to the workforce. Plus, there weren’t any major holidays or events recently. It seemed like the perfect time to carve out some free time to deal with his personal issues.

But the sudden knocking on his apartment door disrupted his plans, and Lu Ye subtly furrowed his brow, suddenly becoming alert.

Though he couldn’t tell who was knocking on the door outside, given the nature of his work, he often encountered unexpected situations. Even during his medical leave, there was always a possibility of being called back for duty.

While he had informed the precinct about his leave and mentioned that he might be leaving the city for a while, there was still a chance that the station might have unexpected events or staffing issues, leading them to urgently seek him out.

During this time, Lu Ye hadn’t contacted anyone outside, and he hadn’t even had access to his own phone. Qi Yanbai was sensitive about him having contact with the outside world, so Lu Ye didn’t know if anyone had tried to reach him during these ten or so days. If they had, he had no way of knowing how Qi Yanbai had handled it.

The unexpected turn of events had awakened him, and Lu Ye pondered for a moment. He realized that he had been “missing” for quite a while.

Back then, to make Qi Yanbai let down his guard and force him to open up, Lu Ye had falsely claimed that he had resigned from the police station and was about to be transferred elsewhere, disappearing completely from the city.

This excuse had indeed worked wonders for making Qi Yanbai lower his guard. However, the problem was that Qi Yanbai had believed it and genuinely thought that Lu Ye was “isolated and helpless,” which made him act more recklessly and be less cautious in dealing with the outside world.

Once or twice could be managed, but the longer Lu Ye remained “missing,” the more potential unexpected situations could arise.

Maybe he really should leave, Lu Ye thought. Qi Yanbai’s current state was stable, and Lu Ye thought it was time to resolve this issue before it created further complications.

Although Lu Ye had made up his mind, he maintained his usual composure. He casually took Qi Yanbai’s hand and led him out of the studio, conveniently closing the door behind them.

Qi Yanbai hadn’t expected Lu Ye to pass up such an excellent opportunity to seek help. He looked back toward the direction of the studio with a puzzled and cautious expression, as if he were trying to determine whether Lu Ye genuinely didn’t care about the person outside or if he was merely attempting to lower Qi Yanbai’s guard, waiting for an opportunity to seek help from the outside.

Lu Ye acted as if he hadn’t noticed Qi Yanbai’s vigilant gaze and sat down in front of an easel in the living room. He casually examined the incomplete work on it and then nailed a fresh piece of paper onto the easel, all the while with a nonchalant expression.

“Since you haven’t been working for several days,” Lu Ye smiled and said, “teach me. Consider it an opportunity to hone your teaching skills.”

Lu Ye’s hand hadn’t fully recovered, and learning to paint was just an excuse to make Qi Yanbai relax. He reached for his toolbox with his left hand and selected a newly sharpened pencil, sketching a line on the white paper.

Lu Ye could only draw stick figures with his right hand, and his left-hand skills were even worse resulting in wobbly, twisted lines with multiple bends. Qi Yanbai couldn’t help but sigh as he watched.

“Gently,” he advised.

Qi Yanbai sat on the armrest of the couch behind Lu Ye, leaning forward slightly. He wrapped one arm around Lu Ye’s waist and the other around his shoulders, holding Lu Ye’s hand. With an eraser, he carefully erased the dark, twisted lines.

The television in the distance hadn’t been turned off yet, frozen on the final scene of the movie. Qi Yanbai raised his eyelids to glance at the plastic cup on the TV cabinet and absently held Lu Ye’s hand, lightly tracing the outline of a cup on the white paper.

For a while, neither of them spoke. The room was so quiet that only the sound of the pencil rubbing against the paper could be heard.

A few minutes later, the knocking in the hallway gradually stopped. It seemed that the person outside had finally confirmed that Lu Ye wasn’t home and had given up after realizing there was no point in persisting.

The elevator doors opened and closed, and on the white paper in front of them, the outline of a cup was gradually taking shape. It wasn’t until all the noise in the corridor had completely disappeared that Qi Yanbai finally breathed a sigh of relief and spoke up.

“Lu Ye.”

He rested his head on Lu Ye’s shoulder, his voice sounding soft and ethereal, and the warm breath brushed against Lu Ye’s neck, leaving a barely perceptible tickle.

“About just now—”

“What about it?” Lu Ye interrupted him.

“Why didn’t you answer?” Qi Yanbai asked softly. “He clearly came to find you.”

Lu Ye knew that Qi Yanbai couldn’t resist it—he was a straightforward yet pure-hearted person who detested anything that could make him feel insecure. If something made him anxious, even if he felt uncomfortable, he would try to address the “source of risk” first, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

Qi Yanbai knew that if he spoke up, it might break the precarious balance and harmony between them, but he still wanted a definitive answer from Lu Ye.

“Our agreed-upon time hasn’t arrived yet,” Lu Ye calmly replied. “And my injury hasn’t fully healed. Where would I go?”

Qi Yanbai was momentarily taken aback. He tightened his arms around Lu Ye’s waist and turned to look at him, his expression rarely showing a hint of uncertainty.

Before this, he had always thought that the “peace agreement” between him and Lu Ye was a mutually understood lie, a fig leaf to maintain peace, and it could be torn up by either of them at any time.

But what surprised him was that Lu Ye was actually treating it as an “agreement” and earnestly abiding by it. Even though the opportunity to “escape” was right in front of him, he still gave it up.

In that moment, Qi Yanbai felt the guilt of deceiving Lu Ye again, a guilt he hadn’t felt in a long time. He lowered his head, resting his forehead against the nape of Lu Ye’s neck, and suddenly felt like he hadn’t changed at all.

He was the selfish one, the one who lied, and he took advantage of Lu Ye’s trust time and time again without remorse.

He felt ashamed, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but draw new hope from Lu Ye’s reaction today.

“If possible, I hope you can stay forever,” Qi Yanbai said.

Lu Ye remained silent for a couple of seconds. He put the pencil back in the toolbox and then turned to face Qi Yanbai directly, gazing steadily into his eyes.

“Forever?” Lu Ye smiled and asked in return.

Qi Yanbai probably knew that using such words at this moment was too sensitive. He lowered his gaze, trying to make amends. “Or at least until your injury is fully healed.”

Lu Ye didn’t know if he was charmed by Qi Yanbai’s compliance, but he chuckled softly, lifted his hand, and ran his fingers through Qi Yanbai’s hair like petting a cat.

Qi Yanbai closed his eyes slightly as Lu Ye’s touch made him feel content. He leaned his head into the palm of Lu Ye’s hand and nuzzled it gently.

“Lu Ye,” Qi Yanbai said softly, “You won’t suddenly leave me, right?”

This time, he didn’t use words like “forever,” which showed that he had compromised a lot. Lu Ye understood in his heart that from the moment Qi Yanbai had kidnapped him until now—up to this very moment—Qi Yanbai had truly lowered his guard and was willing to believe in him.

He no longer sought answers through obvious lies because this time he wanted to get a genuine response.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to become subtly tense. Lu Ye silently locked eyes with Qi Yanbai for a moment, then he lowered his eyelids and suddenly smiled.

“Yes,” Lu Ye replied with great certainty, “I promised I would stay with you forever.”

Qi Yanbai breathed a sigh of relief, imperceptibly releasing the heavy burden that had been weighing on his heart. He gazed into Lu Ye’s clear eyes, completely unaware that Lu Ye had just made a decision that was entirely contrary to his response.