The Major Crimes Unit handed over the “Pink Mask” case, enjoying a few days of relaxation. But not long after, Xi Wan brought news that “Pink Mask” was indeed planning to make an issue out of their motive, which was opposing online malice.

The core members of “Pink Mask” were either wealthy themselves or came from wealthy families, so the lawyers they hired were all elites. Their goal was not to plead not guilty, but to plead guilty while striving for the lightest possible sentence.

In recent years, lawyers have become increasingly adept at creating momentum online and using public opinion to influence judgments. Currently, many media outlets and influencers online have spoken up for Wang Yingzhuo and others. The only one not involved was Ye Ruige’s lawyer. It was said that Ye Ruige herself was unwilling to strive for a lighter sentence.

“Fortunately, our Mr. Ling gave Old Zhou a preventive shot early on. They are now well-prepared and plan to defeat them one by one.” Xi Wan sighed as she spoke. “It’s just too busy. A while ago, I wasn’t going home; now it’s his turn not to be able to go home.”

Ling Lie asked, “What about Xu Jiang’s side?”

“I heard Old Zhou say that ‘Pink Mask’ seems to really intend to use Xu Jiang, but they haven’t done it as obviously as media statements yet.” Xi Wan said, “Their boss talked to Xu Jiang, analyzing pros and cons and such, mainly telling him to stay steady and not be used by those with ulterior motives. But who can say for sure about the human heart? Old Zhou and the others advised him, but the pain is on Xu Jiang. If I were Xu Jiang, I wouldn’t know what to do either.”

Ling Lie unscrewed his thermos and took two sips of water, making clinking sounds inside.

The more Xi Wan listened, the more wrong it felt. What was that sound?

After drinking, Ling Lie’s lips were a bit red. “Might as well let them use Xu Jiang.”

Xi Wan was surprised. “What?”

Ling Lie said, “‘Pink Mask’ wants to use Xu Jiang being attacked and smeared to find resonance for their motive. Xu Jiang’s current situation is very troublesome; those smears indeed make it impossible for him to stay in his original position. Even if temporarily transferred, he can’t get over that hurdle in his heart. coupled with the external stimulus of ‘Pink Mask’, something will happen to him sooner or later. It can’t be solved by Brother Zhou or some leader advising him.”

Xi Wan agreed. “I feel he might want to leave.”

“Be simple and crude. Solve whatever problem exists.” Ling Lie said, “Xu Jiang has a tough personality and can’t tolerate sand in his eyes. When he punished male and female students back then, he was also acting according to rules. What let people catch a handle on was that his methods were excessive, hurting those students’ self-esteem. But there were no problems with his work, nor with the admission process. Why does he have to face this now?”

Xi Wan said, “Who doesn’t know the logic?”

“No, Ms. Xi, your sentence is actually an escape. Who doesn’t know the logic, but doing it is too hard. Even if the procuratorate issues an investigation report, many people will still blacken Xu Jiang, or even the entire procuratorate.” Ling Lie said, “Because such consequences can be foreseen and the nature of the internet is known, should we not do it?”

Xi Wan pondered. “This…”

“Xu Jiang has been ruined by people who wanted to screw him over. He is already shattered now; might as well step on him again.” Ling Lie picked up the cup again. “Crush him thoroughly so he can be reshaped. Otherwise, big chunks of stone and small grains of sand hurt the hand.”

Xi Wan felt she understood, yet seemingly didn’t. She asked, “I’ll call Old Zhou. How about you and Old Zhou go see Xu Jiang together?”

Ling Lie checked the time. “Okay.”

Xi Wan called Zhou Xiaofeng, who said they were just thinking of visiting Xu Jiang’s home. After finishing with Ling Lie, Xi Wan suddenly changed the topic. “Why do I feel something is wrong with your thermos?”

Ling Lie: “Hmm? What’s wrong?”

Xi Wan: “Whose thermos makes clinking sounds? And you stuttered after drinking just now.”

Ling Lie laughed. “Nonsense, my glib tongue…”

Xi Wan: “You put ice cubes in your cup, didn’t you?”

Ling Lie: “Uh…”

Xi Wan: “Does the Captain know?”

Two days ago, Ji Chenjiao brought a thermos to work, placing it in the most conspicuous position on the desk, afraid others wouldn’t see it. Whenever free, he took the cup to get hot water. Xi Wan saw it and asked, “New cup? Looks expensive.”

Ji Chenjiao: “Ah, Ling Lie gave it.”

Xi Wan: “…” Asked you who gave it?

There was also an unfamiliar thermos on Ling Lie’s desk. Xi Wan had seen Ji Chenjiao urging Ling Lie to add hot water.

So Ling Lie was adding ice cubes to the cup behind Ji Chenjiao’s back?

Ling Lie whispered, “Don’t let Little Ji know.”

Xi Wan laughed loudly. “Okay, okay.”

Ling Lie made sense too. “Thermos (literally: heat-preserving cup), it’s not called a thermos only if it holds hot water, right?”

Xi Wan: “Yes, yes, everything you say is right.”

In the afternoon, the procuratorate’s car came to the municipal bureau to pick up Ling Lie. Shen Qi lay on the window watching. “Damn, is the procuratorate looking for trouble with my brother again?”

This time it was Ling Lie going to cause trouble for others.

In the evening, after a not-so-pleasant “meeting” ended, Zhou Xiaofeng wanted to treat Ling Lie and Xu Jiang to a meal. Ling Lie smiled. “Not eating. Going back to see if Captain Ji has anything for me to do.”

Xu Jiang stood by the door, eyes a bit red. “Are you sure they will do as you say?”

Ling Lie said, “I’m not sure.”

Xu Jiang frowned tightly.

“But I know this is your chance.” Ling Lie said, “Otherwise? Can you think of a better way? You aren’t willing to transfer posts, can’t stay in the original post, mentality collapsed. In another half year, will you be taking off the uniform?”

Zhou Xiaofeng patted Ling Lie’s shoulder, signaling him to stop talking.

“Let him speak.” Xu Jiang stood straight.

But Ling Lie smiled. “Done.”

Xu Jiang: “…”

“Talking for an afternoon, isn’t my mouth dry?” Ling Lie carried a knitted net bag containing his thermos. “Alright, think about it yourself too. Some things, once you turn that corner, you’ll know they aren’t big deals at all. You’re drawing a prison for yourself.”

Evening glow hung in the sky. Ling Lie took the subway back. Passing security check, his thermos was inspected; he was a bit unhappy about it being touched by others.

On the way, he received a call from Ah Dan. This glib charlatan said Tu Wang was returning to Country N soon and wanted to gather together again.

Ling Lie: “Tsk, you guys just want to hire a chef, right?”

Tu Wang quickly said from the side, “Brother Lie, I’m paying!”

Ling Lie remembered he seemed to still owe these two charlatans a meal from the last case investigation, so they set a time.

Tu Wang: “Waiting for you!”

Coming out of the subway, Ling Lie saw Ji Chenjiao. Although this subway exit wasn’t far from the municipal bureau and family quarters, Ji Chenjiao definitely couldn’t stroll over here just for a walk.

Ling Lie strolled over with a smile. “Captain Ji, what a coincidence.”

Ji Chenjiao was wearing running clothes. “Yeah, running past.”

After speaking, he saw the thermos Ling Lie was carrying and snatched it over. “Ran a few kilometers, give me some to drink.”

“Ah!” It was too late for Ling Lie to stop him.

Ji Chenjiao almost choked on an ice cube, turning back to glare angrily.

Ling Lie shouted: “I can explain!”

“I bought you a thermos just for you to put ice cubes in?”

The living room lights were on. Ling Lie sat cross-legged on the sofa eating cut fruit, head buried while being scolded. His gray-blue thermos sat pitifully in the center of the coffee table, “corpse” separated from “head”. The ice cubes inside had been poured out cleanly by a certain ruthless captain.

Ling Lie swallowed a piece of kiwi and said honestly, “No.”

Ji Chenjiao paced back and forth between the coffee table and the TV, presenting facts and reasoning. Wherever he walked, Ling Lie leaned in the opposite direction. His attitude of admitting mistakes was very correct, but he didn’t give a single glance, clearly letting it go in one ear and out the other.

After Ji Chenjiao finished speaking, seeing Ling Lie’s roly-poly toy appearance and looking at the melodramatic drama playing on TV, he was so angry he saw stars. He snatched the remote control and switched to the news channel.

Only then did Ling Lie look at him obediently. “Burp!”

Ji Chenjiao: “Eat, eat, eat. Did you listen to what I said to you?”

Ling Lie wiggled, his long legs about to prop up onto the back of the sofa. Ji Chenjiao quickly rushed over and slapped them down.

Ling Lie felt wronged. “Didn’t you peel the fruit for me? Do you want me to eat it or not?”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Ling Lie was brewing his fake crying ultimate move, unused for a long time. “Keng keng—”

“Keng your head!” Ji Chenjiao laughed angrily, poking his forehead. “Why doesn’t anything ever go in here? Look at the temperature now. Are you that happy chewing ice cubes every day? The nerves in your head…”

Ling Lie: “…”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Well, brought up the sore spot again.

Ling Lie started to reason. “My ears are fine, nerves are fine too! Even if there are problems, they definitely weren’t frozen out! Didn’t you look at where I was born and raised? We are within the Arctic Circle there. It starts snowing as soon as summer passes. Our bones are made of ice, and our hearts are ice-sealed too.”

Ji Chenjiao: “…I think your brain is made of ice. Shake it and ice water might come out! No wonder nerve deafness!”

Ling Lie pouted. “Why are you mocking other people’s physiological defects? Did I mock your future baldness?”

Ji Chenjiao: “You mock on loan?”

Despite the bickering, Ji Chenjiao still somewhat regretted mentioning Ling Lie’s deafness, so he sat down with Ling Lie, preparing to coax him a bit.

However, after only a few sentences, Ling Lie started laughing: “Hahahaha!”

Ji Chenjiao was also amused. “What are you giggling at?”

“Anyway, believe me, I’m not afraid of cold. I have ice flesh and snow skin.”

“Yes, yes, yes, drinking hot water will melt you, right?”

“Little Ji, mention hot water less in the future.”

“How can mentioning hot water steam you?”

Ling Lie blinked. “Not that meaning.”

Ji Chenjiao was curious. “Then which meaning?”

Ling Lie put on a pained expression. “Men who tell people to drink hot water at the drop of a hat easily become greasy.”

Ji Chenjiao: “!”

Ling Lie fled to the balcony hugging the fruit platter, not even wearing slippers.

Ji Chenjiao angrily kicked the slippers over to him. “Can you watch less melodramatic dramas and marketing accounts?”

Ling Lie was extremely heartbroken. “Just say it straight, you despise your boyfriend me for being tacky!”

Ji Chenjiao sneered. “Oh, you are quite self-aware.”

Ling Lie squatted by the miscellaneous basket on the balcony rummaging. Ji Chenjiao didn’t know what he was looking for. Going over to look, he saw Ling Lie dig out yarn and needles.

It was a half-knitted yarn net bag, specifically for holding a thermos. Ling Lie’s own was bought on the roadside for five yuan. Ji Chenjiao sniffed at it when he saw it. Ling Lie said at the time, “How about I knit one for you based on this?”

Ji Chenjiao, who originally disdained the yarn bag, said awkwardly, “That depends on what flower you can knit. If it’s not tacky, I might reluctantly use it.”

Now Ling Lie clutched this semi-finished yarn bag in his hand. “I am tacky, I am melodramatic, I’m not knitting anymore!”

Saying so, he was about to unravel it.

Ji Chenjiao was startled and quickly snatched it over, protecting it like a treasure. “What are you doing!”

Ling Lie smiled slyly. “Aren’t I tacky? Captain Ji wants a tacky object knitted by a tacky person?”

Ji Chenjiao gritted his teeth. “You aren’t tacky, I am tacky!”

Ling Lie burst into laughter.

The two reached a compromise that the thermos couldn’t keep ice in winter but could in summer. Ling Lie went to shower. After washing, seeing Ji Chenjiao not in the living room and the study light on, he thought Ji Chenjiao was working overtime.

Adhering to the principle of not disturbing Ji Chenjiao, Ling Lie quietly went to the balcony to continue knitting the yarn bag. However, after knitting for a few minutes, he felt something was wrong because movements came from the study from time to time. Ji Chenjiao wasn’t like this when working overtime usually.

He walked over quietly and found Ji Chenjiao working overtime my ass; he was clearly doing a puzzle!

Not puzzling anything else, but the Polaroids they took together.

Three walls of the study were book cabinets with glass doors, convenient for hanging photos. Ji Chenjiao wrapped the Polaroids in plastic lamination of the exact size. There was also a pile of colorful strings and clips on the table.

Ling Lie: “Ah, this!”

Ji Chenjiao was somewhat embarrassed, coughing several times continuously.

“Ah, this!” Ling Lie “ah this-ed” endlessly, picking up the colorful string. “Isn’t this the kind of tacky decoration that sells very well online? What kind of scam did our tough guy Captain Ji suffer to buy it?”

Ji Chenjiao snatched it back. “Convenient for hanging photos.”

“No, no, no, you must have been scammed. Come, tell the police uncle.”

Ji Chenjiao decided to respond to all changes with silence, hanging their photos with a straight face. But how could Ling Lie let him off easily, following behind him causing trouble from time to time, and making sarcastic remarks.

“Has no one ever told you? You really have a constitution easily prone to being deceived. You even watched the health channel! Heavens, don’t you know that channel always sells fake and shoddy products?”

“And this colorful string, these clips! Tsk tsk tsk, Captain Ji, you still owe me a set of women’s clothing. How about buying your size directly? You have a princess heart!”

The veins on Ji Chenjiao’s forehead were about to pop from anger. After hanging the last photo, he finally couldn’t help but pin Ling Lie on the table.

Ling Lie: “Oh ho—”

Ling Lie struggled symbolically a few times, his peripheral vision catching a bag in the corner by the window. “Little Ji, Little Ji, what’s that?”

Ji Chenjiao bit the tip of his ear. “Playing the ‘look behind you there’s something’ trick with me?”

Ling Lie patted Ji Chenjiao’s waist. “Not a trick, there really is a bag there.”

Ji Chenjiao seemed to remember something and looked at the corner. “Oh, that.”

Ling Lie took the opportunity to slip out of Ji Chenjiao’s arms, squatted in the corner, and took out an exquisite gift box from the bag.

“Eh? Merry-go-round? You bought it?”

Ji Chenjiao put both hands in his pockets, looking left and right.

“But why would you buy this?” Ling Lie was shocked. “This is definitely for princesses to play with!”

“…”

Ji Chenjiao walked over and took the gift box. “Don’t want it, fine.”

Ling Lie: “For me?”

Ji Chenjiao remained silent.

Ling Lie: “For Princess Me?”

Ji Chenjiao tried to hold back laughter but failed, chuckling softly.

“Should have said so earlier.” Ling Lie took the gift box back. “Build it together?”

Inside the box was a pile of parts to be assembled according to the diagram. The two sat on the floor, the parts dazzling and colorful.

Ji Chenjiao said that when buying the string and clips for hanging photos, he accidentally saw the recommendation for the merry-go-round, so he ordered it together.

“Remember back on Fengchao Island, you spun the chair in the hotel like a top.”

Ling Lie remembered. Ji Chenjiao mocked him, saying he would buy him a merry-go-round.

“I thought it was a real merry-go-round.” Ling Lie said deliberately, “Turns out it’s just a toy model.”

Ji Chenjiao pushed the semi-finished toy model to his side. “Then you don’t want it.”

Ling Lie hurriedly pulled it back. “I want it! What’s given to me is mine!”

Ji Chenjiao smiled. Taking advantage of his closeness, he hooked his arm around his neck and asked for a kiss.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day Ling Lie agreed to meet Tu Wang and Ah Dan. Ji Chenjiao was busy and couldn’t go, so Ling Lie drove there himself. He was already very familiar with the road to “Wind Stone Residence”, knowing where free-range chicken was cheap and delicious, and where to buy seasonal winter bamboo shoots.

After buying some groceries, Ling Lie called Ah Dan to ask if anything else was missing. But Ah Dan’s phone was off. Ling Lie’s phone used to turn off all the time, so he didn’t think anything was wrong and called Tu Wang. After ringing for a long time, Tu Wang’s nervous voice came: “Ling, Officer Ling.”

Ling Lie heard something wrong. “What’s wrong?”

Tu Wang said, “Ah Dan went somewhere unknown; I can’t find him.”

Ling Lie asked, “Then where are you?”

Tu Wang said, “I’m right at home. Have you arrived?”