FI CH62: Calm, and Uncalm

The moonlight fell silently between the bunks.

He Zhenling’s eyelashes fluttered, his voice hushed. “I called you, many times.”

Lin Su understood. “And when you couldn’t wake me, you decided to help yourself.” He said, snuggling deeper into the bed and lightly hooking He Zhenling’s sleeve. “Sigh, you’re really impatient. I’m awake now, come on…”

He Zhenling’s knuckles suddenly curled, and he took a deep breath. “…You fell down by yourself.”

Lin Su nodded. “Mm-hmm, and I rolled into the bed by myself too. Alright, alright, hurry up.”

He looked up expectantly and patted the bed.

“…”

The hand holding his tightened for two seconds.

Between the dark and silent beds, the tall figure suddenly leaned down. His other hand braced itself by his side, making the bed frame shake slightly, almost completely covering him—

Lin Su’s eyes widened slightly as he looked up. “He—”

“Have you thought it through?” a low voice fell, so close it seemed to make his eardrums tingle. His words were cut off as he saw He Zhenling’s gaze fall upon him. “You invited me to lie down. And then?”

Lin Su placed a hand on his chest, his breathing a bit messy. “Of course, it’s… to do as I please~”

The person above him chuckled, his breathing also becoming ragged.

However, his body stopped with restraint, hovering over him with a blanket in between. “Specifically.”

Lin Su’s face burned. …This was a bit too direct.

In the silence, his knuckles bumped against a hard ring.

The breathing before him seemed to grow heavy, brushing across his face. Their breaths intertwined, and the temperature began to heat up.

Lin Su’s heart tingled, and his knuckles moved again.

The person above pressed down at once.

He Zhenling sat on the edge of the bed, the hand that had been bracing him now gripping his waist, pulling him closer—

His eyelashes hid the darkness in his eyes as he leaned down.

Lin Su’s waist trembled slightly. His eyes half-closed, his fingertips clenched. Just as he lifted his chin a little, he suddenly heard a faint thud from the door.

The abrupt, soft sound broke the quiet night.

He snapped his eyes open. The scorching breath instantly moved away from his face.

He Zhenling froze abruptly, propped up above him.

As if waking from the hazy passion, he took a few deep, hot breaths, closed his eyes for a few seconds, then pulled back and looked toward the door.

Air rushed back in, flowing again.

Lin Su pressed a hand to his pounding heart and also propped himself up to look.

Half a talisman, clipping through the door, was swaying furtively on the door panel.

“…”

He narrowed his eyes, tidied his collar slightly, and patted He Zhenling next to him. Leaning close, he whispered, “It’s knockout gas.”

The tall back seemed to radiate an extremely low pressure. “Mm.”

The knockout gas seeped in silently from the crack under the door.

Lin Su watched for two seconds, then reached out and pulled the person onto the bed. He Zhenling turned his head, about to speak. He just made a “shh” sound and dragged him onto the bed. “Lie down first.”

He Zhenling paused, then lay down silently.

Lin Su rustled his way to the outer side, felt for the phone on the bedside table, turned on the video recording, and saw only darkness. He put it back and released Xuenima:

“Xuenima.”

Xuenima popped out with a “poof.”

Just as it was about to speak, it saw the scene before it, and all its fur stood on end: [You- you guys—!?]

Lin Su grabbed it. “It’s too dark for the phone to record clearly. You turn on the video recording.”

Xuenima’s eyes went wide, and the way it looked at him was not right: […]

Lin Su paused, then sighed lightly. “What are you thinking?” He turned Xuenima around to face outward. “Record the room.”

[Huh?]

…

It wasn’t long before the knockout gas was finished.

The door opened without a sound, and a figure wearing a mask slipped in.

The room was pitch-black and silent.

The intruder glanced at the beds. He saw that both the top and bottom bunks had a lump under the covers. The top bunk was unclear, but he could faintly see the figure of a sleeping person on the bottom bunk.

He looked away again and rummaged through the luggage with a low-light flashlight.

On the bed, three pairs of eyes watched in unison.

Xuenima even automatically turned to follow: [Hehehehe… so this is what we’re recording. But after his luck was siphoned away, ‘Bump-head Jin’ is really unlucky to run into you guys when you’re not asleep.]

Lin Su’s gaze turned dark as he stared. “Yeah…”

The two of them didn’t have much luggage. The person rummaging didn’t take long to stop.

He found only vacation items, nothing suspicious. Being cautious, he didn’t linger and slipped out quietly after putting everything back.

The door closed silently.

Lin Su sat up in bed. “Looks like they’re suspicious about whether we have other identities.”

The person behind him also sat up. “Mm.”

He patted Xuenima, transferred the recorded video to his phone, and sent it to He Zhenling. “This, plus the photo of the array that Zhou Li took, should be enough for the Surveillance Association to open a case, right?”

A deep voice came. “It’s enough.”

Lin Su paused and turned his head.

He saw He Zhenling’s handsome face illuminated by the moonlight, his brow heavy with thick desire, a rare trace of ruthlessness in his expression.

His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed. Just as he was about to quietly retreat back to bed, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck:

“…Don’t mess around. Go back to sleep.”

“…”

A heavy gaze, earnest and restrained, fell upon him.

Lin Su pursed his lips. He had overused his powers tonight and was indeed sleepy. He gave up on stirring up trouble, slid off the bed with regret, and climbed back up:

“Okay, good night.”

He burrowed inward and wrapped himself in the blanket.

After a while, the rustling sound of someone lying down came from below.

He slept until the next day.

When Lin Su woke up, he looked around.

He Zhenling was not in the room. A faint noise came from the adjoining bathroom.

By the time he got out of bed and dressed, just as he was fastening his buttons, the bathroom door opened with a “thud.”

He Zhenling walked out.

His face was still wet, and his damp fringe brushed past his eyes. Their gazes met, and both paused. Then He Zhenling turned his head away, pursed his lips, and asked:

“It’s just past ten. Did you sleep enough?”

Lin Su smoothed his own clever hair. “I’m not that sleepy anymore.” He started toward the bathroom, pausing as he passed He Zhenling, and peeked:

“Are you shy again? It’s not like we did anything…”

A deep gaze fell upon him instantly.

He Zhenling chuckled, looking at him. “Is that possible?”

Lin Su walked into the bathroom, relieved. “That’s good. I thought you were all talk.”

Behind him: “…Hah!”

After tidying up, they went out.

There was still some time before lunch.

The sunlight in the coffee shop was just right, and Lin Su prepared to go lounge there for a while. On the way, they passed the snack counter, and He Zhenling stopped:

“I’ll go buy a sandwich to have something before the coffee.”

Lin Su nodded. “I’ll go on ahead then.”

As soon as he entered the coffee shop, he saw a familiar figure.

Song Jin’an was standing by the counter, pressing on a phone placed on top.

Lin Su paused, then walked over.

As he got closer, he saw the phone screen was lit. The lock screen had several unread messages stacked on top of each other, with the topmost one faintly showing something like [Bill], [Debt]…

Judging by the phone case, it was Zhou Li’s.

He spoke up, “What are you doing?”

Song Jin’an jumped, immediately pulling his hand back, then composed himself and said, “I saw a phone here and was about to find the owner.”

Xuenima, hearing half of it, popped its head out: [He’s becoming a monk?]

“…Not the kind that begs for alms.”

Lin Su corrected it, then said to Song Jin’an, “It’s my friend’s. I can take it to him.”

Song Jin’an averted his gaze. “Alright.”

He turned and left.

Lin Su’s gaze lingered for two seconds, then turned to the now-dark phone screen. Xuenima looked along with him: [Was he doing it on purpose or was it an accident?]

“Accidental and intentional.”

At the very least, he had been secretly paying attention to Zhou Li.

Lin Su had only been waiting there for two minutes when Zhou Li came looking for him. “Hey? Junior.” His gaze shifted, and he picked up the phone, relieved. “I knew it was here.”

“Senior, how did you leave your phone behind?”

“My phone is the same as my friend’s. I took his by mistake. He couldn’t find his phone and realized I had it.”

Just as he was speaking, He Zhenling walked in with sandwiches. Zhou Li greeted him and quickly slipped away. He Zhenling handed the bacon and egg one to Lin Su.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Su tore open the paper bag and took a huge bite. “Someone’s about to cause trouble. Keep an eye out.”

…

Downstairs, in the billiard hall.

Crack! A shot was made, and a roar went up from the crowd.

Song Jin’an stood to the side, not joining in, the words he had seen flashing through his mind. The players at the front happened to be switching. A rich kid stepped back, and an idea sparked in his mind. He called the person over:

“Tao Ze.”

Tao Ze walked over. “What’s up?”

Song Jin’an lowered his voice. “Don’t you know the managers of most of the casinos in Mu City?”

“Yeah, you wanna go play?”

“No.” Song Jin’an paused, then said, “There’s a guy named Zhou Dongmin who owes a debt. Have your people go collect it, and press him hard.”

Tao Ze was confused. “Huh? Who’s that? Did he cross you?”

Song Jin’an looked away. “He offended my friend. Just have your people go collect it. Don’t expose me.”

“Sure, you can count on me.”

Tao Ze then went out to make a call.

Song Jin’an let out a breath of relief: When we get off the ship, I’ll quickly send him away. Let him be busy going back to work part-time or dealing with debt collectors. Let him go back to his own world.

The cruise ship was returning today, docking around 5 PM.

The midday sun fell warmly on the deck, perfect for sunbathing with afternoon tea.

Lin Su grabbed He Zhenling and went to play with Zhou Li and the others.

With many people around, it was a good time to play Ludo.

Hua Xi jumped a game piece, full of excitement. “This trip has been pretty good, except Zhou Li has had it a bit rough.”

Zhou Li was quite used to it and said optimistically, “It’s fine. I’ve encountered so many things since I was a kid. This is nothing.”

“Sigh, you really are a resilient cabbage.”

Just as he said that, a call came in.

Zhou Li looked at the caller ID, helpless. “See?” He stood up and walked to the side to answer the phone. “Hello.”

A rough voice immediately came from the receiver: “Hurry up and send the money. Dammit… they’re here to collect again!”

Zhou Li clutched his phone. “The financial aid is only assessed at the end of the year. I don’t have any extra money right now.”

“End of the year? By the end of the year, your old man will have been beaten to death! Hurry up, I need it today! Figure something out yourself—”

The person on the other end paused. “Hey, aren’t you on some cruise ship? Rich people’s things, just taking a few would be worth a lot of money.”

Zhou Li frowned. “What? Isn’t that stealing?”

“What’s wrong with taking a few things? Take some inconspicuous ones, who’s going to notice…”

The loud voice blared on.

Just then, two rich kids came onto the deck.

Zhou Li covered the receiver and walked a bit further away. “Impossible.” The two rich kids turned their heads and glanced over, whispering to each other:

“What was that, his dad?”

“Did I hear him say something about taking…”

The two passed by Lin Su, their voices drifting over.

Lin Su looked up and watched them walk to the other end of the deck. Their circle of people was over there, and Song Jin’an was among them.

He watched for a moment, then quietly retracted his gaze.

…

By the booth, the two rich kids were just sitting down.

Song Jin’an looked at Zhou Li, who was on the phone far away. He turned to the two and asked as if curious, “What’s wrong? What were they talking about over there?”

One of them said, “It sounded like something about taking or stealing.”

The other sneered, “He really is poor.”

As they spoke, they remembered the previous friction and, with a bit of a desire to suck up to the Song family, decided to vent for him: “With a father like that, what kind of good thing can he produce?”

“No wonder he has no manners, right, Xiao An?”

But as they said it, they saw Song Jin’an’s expression stiffen slightly.

Song Jin’an gave a perfunctory reply and changed the subject.

The topic before them quickly changed. His stiff expression relaxed, but he was still thinking about that word: “steal.”

Over there, Zhou Li had already hung up the phone.

Song Jin’an looked over, thinking to himself: Just sending him away isn’t safe. What if he gets recognized and taken back? It would be best if he were arrested by the police, or got a criminal record.

My parents are so upright. They would never accept a criminal son raised by a gambler.

__

Author’s Note:

Song Jin’an: Secretly staring.

Drowsy Su: Secretly staring… ↑

He Daniao (Big bird): Secretly, secretly staring. ↑

Xuenima: No nesting dolls allowed.

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