HL 34

After finishing their prayers, Xu Nanxiao and Ying Yusheng prepared to head back home.

However, the moment they stepped out of the main gate of the temple, they spotted a familiar figure—

Officer Meng Zhao, along with several children, had also come hiking.

Xu Nanxiao tensed up all over the moment he saw him, like a cat with its fur standing on end. He immediately turned around and pretended not to see him.

But Meng Zhao still noticed Ying Yusheng. His face broke into a big smile as he bounded over in a few steps to greet him: “Professor Ying, what a coincidence, you’re hiking here too? And… Nan Xiao? Now that’s an unusual pair.”

“Don’t call me that so familiarly. I don’t know you that well,” Xu Nanxiao clicked his tongue.

Meng Zhao laughed in exasperation: “When you got into those group fights as a kid and asked me if you were going to be detained, you didn’t say we weren’t close then?”

“…”

Ying Yusheng smoothly inserted himself into their exchange: “Captain Meng, who are these children?”

“Oh.” Meng Zhao glanced at the children, who were standing quietly in place, and lowered his voice. “These kids are from the welfare home. It’s my turn to volunteer today, so I brought them out to have some fun.”

“As expected of Captain Meng.” Ying Yusheng’s eyes curved into a smile. “A man who dedicates his entire life to the people and to justice.”

Meng Zhao’s face reddened at Ying Yusheng’s praise. He quickly lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Professor Ying, please don’t tease me with those cringey lines from my younger days!”

“Poser,” Xu Nanxiao muttered under his breath.

“Nan Xiao.” Ying Yusheng said his name in a warning tone. Though Xu Nanxiao felt indignant, he obediently shut his mouth and stepped back behind Ying Yusheng.

This left Meng Zhao completely dumbfounded. He knew all too well what a troublemaker Xu Nanxiao was—this was the first time he’d ever seen Xu Nanxiao so docile.

But he didn’t dwell on it; instead, he turned his attention to Xu Nanxiao with concern: “Long time no see. Where are you working now? Your mother was just talking about you the other day.”

Xu Nanxiao’s body stiffened, and he didn’t respond.

Meng Zhao seemed not to notice his resistance—or maybe he did, but chose to ignore it. He took half a step closer and lowered his voice: “Last week I went to your place and chatted with your mom. She said your dad’s temper is much better now, and he knows he wronged you and your mother back then. If you have time…”

“None of your business?” Xu Nanxiao whipped his head back around, anger flaring in his eyes. “You’ve been promoted already—you’re not the beat cop for my neighborhood anymore.”

Then he let out a scoff: “Why do you care so much about me? You got a crush on me or something?”

Meng Zhao paused, then said with complete seriousness, “I’m not into men… Do you want me to have a crush on you?”

“Bullshit! That was sarcasm—can’t you tell?!”

Seeing Xu Nanxiao’s face turn green with rage, Ying Yusheng almost let out an unkind laugh. Meng Zhao, with his overblown sense of justice and rigid thinking, was the perfect counter to Xu Nanxiao’s rebellious nature.

Ying Yusheng knew perfectly well that Meng Zhao wasn’t interested in Xu Nanxiao romantically—he just had an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and couldn’t let go of anyone he thought needed help. His claim of dedicating his life to the people and justice sounded laughable, but it wasn’t a joke.

“Nan Xiao, I know you’re angry,” Meng Zhao said, looking at Xu Nanxiao with concern. “But family is still family. I’ve seen too many people spend their whole lives shackled by past resentments. Your father has already received his due punishment in prison. What I care about is you—I don’t want to see you carrying such a heavy burden forever.”

Xu Nanxiao was silent for a long time, then finally let out a cold laugh.

He lifted his eyes, a hint of mockery in them: “Every time you came to my house, you’d sit there and lecture my parents with all your grand principles, telling them to educate their children without using their hands. And then? After you left, my father beat me even harder, because I ‘brought shame to him.'”

He stepped forward, his face almost pressing into Meng Zhao’s: “Do you know what I hate most about you? It’s that you can’t change a damn thing, yet you still put on that righteous act.”

Meng Zhao’s handsome face instantly turned ashen.

Xu Nanxiao’s unbridled aggression filled the air with a palpable tension.

Ying Yusheng’s gaze flickered between the two, and he was about to say something to defuse the situation. Just then, a little girl—maybe five or six years old—tugged at the hem of Xu Nanxiao’s shirt.

Xu Nanxiao looked down impatiently, only to see her tilting her face up, her round eyes wide, and saying to him, “I need to pee.”

Knowing the child was with Meng Zhao, Xu Nanxiao had no patience for her. He said in a low voice, “Then go.”

Anyone could tell Xu Nanxiao wasn’t to be messed with, so none of the other children Meng Zhao had brought dared approach him. But this little girl, perhaps fearless in her youth, saw that Xu Nanxiao was good-looking and insisted on clinging to him.

“I don’t know where the bathroom is. Take me there.” The little girl clenched her small, round fists and blinked with utter confidence.

That completely deflated Xu Nanxiao’s anger.

After a long moment, he let out a deep sigh, admitted defeat, and took the little girl’s hand. Then he asked the other children nearby, “Anyone else need to go?”

A few of the bolder ones timidly raised their hands.

So Xu Nanxiao led them to the nearby restroom, while Ying Yusheng and Meng Zhao waited where they were.

Ying Yusheng could tell that Xu Nanxiao’s words had dealt quite a blow to Meng Zhao. He stared at a fixed point in the void ahead, not blinking for a long time, as if trapped in a spiral of thought.

“Professor Ying, did I do something wrong?” Meng Zhao’s voice was a little dry. “After graduating from the police academy, I became a beat cop. I knew every household’s situation inside and out. I met Nan Xiao when he was very young—I watched him grow up. Why does he hate me so much?”

Watching Meng Zhao’s dejected expression, Ying Yusheng thought for a moment, then suddenly asked an unrelated question: “Captain Meng, if I recall correctly, your father is the deputy director of the public security bureau, and your mother is a middle school principal, right?”

“Yes,” Meng Zhao nodded. “My parents were very strict with me when I was young, and I had my rebellious phase too, but I understood they wanted what was best for me. I believe Nan Xiao will eventually make peace with himself as well.”

“Your parents have a certain social standing, and you’re an only child, showered with love. You grew up in a very proper family, so you always do the right thing,” Ying Yusheng said. “Unfortunately, not everyone grows up in such a proper environment.”

“Captain Meng.” Ying Yusheng paused briefly, letting the weight of his words fully settle. “Maybe the reason Nan Xiao dislikes you is because you’re a little arrogant.”

Just then, Xu Nanxiao happened to be coming back with the children who had gone to the bathroom, and he caught Ying Yusheng’s words.

He paused, not walking forward, so neither Ying Yusheng nor Meng Zhao noticed him.

“Arrogant? Me?”

“Yes. Because of that arrogance, you always approach problems with the most rational attitude, without taking Nan Xiao’s circumstances into account. What you say is indeed correct, but I believe ‘being right’ shouldn’t override a person’s genuine feelings.”

“So you’re saying we should just let him keep going like this?”

“Rather than ‘letting him,’ I’d say ‘respecting him.’ All we can do is lend a hand when he wants to change.”

Meng Zhao chewed on those words, eventually pressing his lips together and giving a bitter smile: “I never thought about it that way. I’m not as good a person as you.”

“If you’re not a good person, then the rest of us are just scum,” Ying Yusheng said half-jokingly. “Honestly.”

Before he finished speaking, Xu Nanxiao suddenly returned with the children. As soon as they were back, they crowded around Meng Zhao, asking him to play by lifting them up.

Meng Zhao was busy dealing with the children and, after hearing Ying Yusheng’s words, found it hard to face Xu Nanxiao at the moment.

“I’ll take them along now,” he finally said, not meeting Xu Nanxiao’s eyes. “You… take care of yourself. Call me if you need anything.”

“I don’t have your number saved,” Xu Nanxiao said bluntly.

Knowing the other was just being stubborn, Meng Zhao smiled and shook his head. He didn’t say anything more and left with the children.

After watching Meng Zhao walk away, Ying Yusheng turned back to Xu Nanxiao with a smile: “Let’s head back too.”

But then he paused, startled. He saw Xu Nanxiao silently watching him, a glimmer of light shifting deep in his eyes, startlingly bright.

“Yeah,” Xu Nanxiao said, casually looking away. “Let’s go.”

After hiking all day, when they got home, both Xu Nanxiao and Ying Yusheng were sore all over. Ying Yusheng sat on the sofa to rest, and Xu Nanxiao also threw himself heavily onto the sofa.

But lying flat wasn’t comfortable no matter how he positioned himself. Xu Nanxiao squirmed a couple of times, scooted forward, and rested his head on Ying Yusheng’s lap.

They lay like that for about ten minutes or so, when Ying Yusheng suddenly said, “I want an apple.”

“Then go get one.”

Ying Yusheng laughed: “You’re resting your head on my lap—how am I supposed to go?”

Xu Nanxiao sighed, laboriously shifted his body, and lifted his head off Ying Yusheng’s lap. He lay flat on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, and said, “I want one too. Grab one for me—I can’t be bothered to move.”

“Alright,” Ying Yusheng said, his eyes curving.

For some reason, Xu Nanxiao was exhausted today. So tired that he didn’t even want to peel the apple; he planned to just eat it as is once Ying Yusheng brought it over.

But instead, he was met with a plate of perfectly cut fruit.

There was even a fork thoughtfully placed on top.

“Why did you cut it into pieces?” Xu Nanxiao blinked, turning to ask Ying Yusheng.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to move? Eating a whole one means you’d have to wash your hands afterward. I figured this would be easier,” Ying Yusheng said casually, then bit into his own apple.

Xu Nanxiao stared silently at the plate, picked up a piece of apple with the fork, and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, swallowed, and then stayed perfectly still.

He felt like something inside him was expanding, filling his heart to the brim. The plastic wrap encasing his heart finally cracked open a seam, and a steady stream of fresh air rushed in.

“What’s wrong?” Ying Yusheng asked perceptively. “Did I pick a bad apple for you?”

Xu Nanxiao shook his head.

Quite the opposite—it was delicious. Crisp, refreshing, and full of juice.

He thought to himself that he’d never before eaten fruit that someone else had prepared for him like this. And he’d never eaten an apple this good.

“Oh, Sheng Ge is here to pick up the boss again?” Coach Wang Heng grinned as soon as he spotted Ying Yusheng.

Ying Yusheng took off his cashmere coat, draped it over his arm, and greeted him warmly: “Good work. Where’s Nan Xiao?”

“He’s still in class.”

Ying Yusheng followed Wang Heng’s gaze, and then suddenly paused, slowly letting his smile fade—

Xu Nanxiao’s student was a woman.

That alone wasn’t a problem, but Ying Yusheng knew perfectly well that this woman was exactly Xu Nanxiao’s type.

She wasn’t a delicate, fragile beauty; she carried a quiet, powerful presence. Her shoulders were broad, her arm muscles firm and smooth. When she turned, the thin muscles of her back traced elegant lines that abruptly narrowed at her waist.

“Who is that?”

“Miss Chen? She’s a provincial team boxer. Impressive, right? Apparently she came specifically to take the boss’s classes.”

“I see…” Ying Yusheng drew out the words, quietly observing the two of them.

Xu Nanxiao suddenly said something that made the woman burst out laughing. She put one hand on his shoulder and the other over her stomach, her expression vividly alive.

What were they talking about? Ying Yusheng thought with a faint smile.

Was it the kind of light flirtation Xu Nanxiao excelled at, or was it something about boxing? Since they were both boxers, they probably had a lot in common, didn’t they? So interesting that they couldn’t stop talking even during class?

Sure enough, once the hooded man was out of the picture, the moment he had any contact with a woman, Xu Nanxiao started getting restless again—learning nothing from experience.

Ying Yusheng pressed his lips together. Something dirty and viscous was piling up in his chest; if he didn’t do something about it, it would seep into every part of him.

So he said to Wang Heng, “Has she paid yet?”

“She bought a ten-session trial package first. It’s almost up, but I think she’ll renew.”

“Don’t let her renew,” Ying Yusheng said.

Wang Heng was baffled. “Huh? How am I supposed to decide whether she renews or not?”

Just then, Xu Nanxiao noticed Ying Yusheng. He gave a slight lift of his chin in greeting.

“Raise the lesson fees, or create a little inconvenience,” Ying Yusheng said while cheerfully waving back at Xu Nanxiao. “You’ve helped my mother with so many problems. You’ll help me out with my troubles too, won’t you?”

With that, he walked toward Xu Nanxiao, leaving Wang Heng standing there dumbfounded.