Chapter 123

Li Qingyao frowned. She was not polite at all when talking to Chen Pu: "Captain Chen, as a male superior, is it appropriate for you to visit your female subordinate's home at 10:50 at night?"

Chen Pu: ...

Chen Pu: "Just tell me whether you want to let me in or not!"

Li Qingyao glanced at him, turned around and went into the house.

Does this mean...letting in?
Chen Pu was delighted and did not forget to change his slippers. He looked down and saw that the pair of men's slippers he usually wore were on the floor at the door, not on the shoe rack.

Chen Pu bent down without changing his expression, changed the direction of his slippers that were facing the door, and put them on.

He endures.

Perhaps it was because his emotions had fluctuated so violently before that when Chen Pu really stepped into Li Qingyao's house, he was in a contradictory state of being dull-witted but very tense. Therefore, tonight, he was more sensitive than when he stepped into the lair of a serious criminal.

The first thing he noticed was Li Qingyao's eyes. Although she looked like she had taken a shower, her eyes were still red and swollen.

She cried again. But it was nothing. When did she not cry when she met Luo Huaizheng in private?
Even though you’ve cried so many times and you still haven’t gotten back together, don’t panic.

Then, Chen Pu noticed that the number of tissues in the trash can was not too large, not as much as the last time they cried in Luo Huaizheng's office. This was also within Chen Pu's acceptable range.

Li Qingyao was putting away the used teacup and took out another clean teacup for Chen Pu. She also took out the kettle and added boiling water to it. This was natural in Li Qingyao's eyes - the tea that Chen Pu sent was expensive. She and Luo Huaizheng only finished the first brew, so of course they couldn't just throw it away. They continued to brew it for Chen Pu, after all, he was their own family.

But in Chen Pu's eyes, it was very hurtful - she used the tea he gave her to entertain Luo Huaizheng. This tea was snatched from his second brother last month and was not available on the market. She also gave him the tea left by Luo Huaizheng! He gave her two kilograms at a time, and his parents only got one kilogram! At this moment, she was reluctant to throw in a few new ones.

He... endured it any longer.

Chen Pu glanced at the sofa again. Only one piece of the cloth was slightly wrinkled, showing signs of someone sitting on it. The chair that Li Qingyao often sat on was placed diagonally opposite the coffee table. In other words, they were talking at least one meter apart, without close contact - at least not when they were sitting.

Recalling Luo Huaizheng's expression when he went upstairs today, even a tank in front of him would not be able to stop him. Chen Pu was 99% sure that the guy had confessed to Li Qingyao. After all, men understand men.

However, Chen Pu also observed that it took less than half an hour from the time Luo Huaizheng entered the room to the time he left.

Chen Pu didn't know what other people would do, but if it were him, he would never leave after staying for only half an hour tonight. That would be too useless.

Looking at Li Qingyao's current expression, he seemed a little tired and not in a good mood, with no trace of love in his eyes or brows.

So, all the signs indicate that the two of them...didn’t succeed?
Li Qingyao had already made tea. She was really a little speechless. She sat down in the same chair and position again. Seeing Chen Pu still standing there, wondering what he was thinking, she said, "Sit down. The sooner we finish talking, the sooner it will be over. I want to sleep."

Chen Pu said "Oh".

After sitting down, Chen Pu realized that he was sitting in the same place where Luo Huaizheng had just sat. He looked up again and saw Li Qingyao leaning back in his chair with an impatient look on his face, which gave him a subtle feeling that he and Luo Huaizheng were connected by the same fate. Chen Pu raised his fist to his mouth, coughed lightly, suppressed his pounding heartbeat, smiled sympathetically, and asked, "What is Luo Huaizheng doing here?"

Li Qingyao answered calmly: "It seems that this has nothing to do with you."

Chen Pu looked at her pretending to be cold and arrogant, lowered his head, picked up the teacup, and drank it in one gulp. Then he tilted his head slightly, looked at her, and said, "What if I say it has something to do with me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent.

Li Qingyao was stunned for a moment before looking into his eyes.

Chen Pu's appearance at this moment was different from all his previous appearances. The soft light shone on his face, which was particularly clear and handsome tonight, and also on his shoulders, back and arms. His usual coldness, arrogance, or the gentleness and ruffianism that were unique to her were all gone. He sat very straight, his short black hair was stained with a faint light, and there was no smile on his face. He just stared at her with his dark and stubborn eyes.

Those were not her Chen Xiaopu's eyes, they were a pair of eyes that truly belonged to a man. When Chen Pu decided not to endure any more and looked at her with such an undisguised look, Li Qingyao's heart was like an ink bottle with a thin neck and cold texture, which suddenly fell to the ground, and the ground was full of messy ink, and she didn't know how to end it for a moment.

Facing Chen Pu's gaze, Li Qingyao was strangely distracted.

She recalled the first time she met Chen Pu more than three years ago.

That was when Chen Pu had no idea.

One evening in late summer, when she was a senior in college and was deciding where to go in the future, she went back home on the weekend and spent the extra time to go to Chaoyang Home to look for clues.

By then, she had already mastered comprehensive basic criminal investigation knowledge, and had begun to come up with steps and methods to find her brother.

But strangely, she never gave up the search. She also knew that the guy named Chen Pu had been looking for her. He also refused a promotion and asked to be transferred to the police force where her brother used to work. Her father told her that they had been working in the same area and doing the same thing for several years, but they had never met each other.

Maybe it’s because Chaoyang Home is so big.

So after knowing the name Chen Pu for seven or eight years, she still hadn't seen him in person. But she had seen him in photos and videos, and even in video calls when he was only wearing underwear.

That day was no different from every day before. Li Qingyao searched all day but still found nothing. She was tired, so she stood by a small shop, drinking a bottle of ice water to rest. At this moment, she saw a person walking out from the opposite alley.

That guy was really rough. As he walked, he raised a bottle of mineral water and poured it over his head. He shook his hair and wiped his face. He didn't care about the water all over his head. Maybe he was really too hot.

A bottle of water was empty, and the man who looked very similar to Chen Pu threw the bottle into the trash can, then pulled up his black T-shirt and shook it casually. Then he raised his head, revealing his clear and handsome features, and continued to walk towards another alley.

Li Qingyao followed him from a distance of several dozen meters.

Perhaps it was because Chen Pu was exhausted from searching that day, or perhaps it was because the paths in Chaoyang Home were winding and crowded with people, and she had attended the police academy for four years and had improved her tracking skills to some extent, so he had never noticed that she was following him.