The press conference went more smoothly than expected.
Shen Wu drove to the captain’s residence, loosening the top button of his collar.
The explanation that Qinian was “taking time off to recover due to ill health” had already been released.
Now that they had obtained a crucial lead, their focus needed to shift toward solving the mystery.
Though a few reporters with no sense of boundaries had clung to him like stubborn plasters, pestering him with all sorts of questions and thoroughly irritating him, the job was far too easy for him. The thoughts written plainly across the reporters’ faces were almost touchingly transparent.
*
The keypad lock beeped, and the door opened.
Shen Wu lowered his head to change shoes. His gaze swept over the bottom shelf of the shoe cabinet, and he paused.
A pair of combat boots as big as boats sat pressed tightly against Jiang Nuan’s tiny combat boots.
The sight was irritating no matter how he looked at it.
Expressionless, Shen Wu extended a foot and nudged Jiang Ce’s boots aside.
Only after creating a broad demarcation line between the two pairs of shoes did he let out a cold snort, change into slippers, and walk inside.
The heating in the living room was turned up high. Sunlight streamed through the half-drawn curtains and fell across the sofa area. It was so quiet that he could almost hear the second hand of the clock on the wall ticking.
Jiang Nuan’s head rested against Jiang Ce’s shoulder. Her breathing was long and even, and she was sleeping soundly.
Jiang Ce’s large hand rested loosely at her waist. He, too, was dozing against the back of the sofa.
Shen Wu stood several steps away, looking at the scene. The anger he had forced down at the press conference surged back up all over again.
The noise at the door woke Jiang Nuan. She straightened her neck groggily and rubbed her eyes.
“Jiang Ce, your shoulder is so hard. It made my neck sore. Are those muscles made of iron?”
Jiang Ce chuckled. He casually tucked her fallen hair behind her ear and coaxed her gently, “My fault. I’ll get you a soft cushion next time. You’re awake? Thirsty?”
Only then did he turn toward Shen Wu, who was radiating cold air from the entryway, and greet him.
“You’re back.”
Shen Wu stood across from the sofa.
He was wearing the formal suit he had put on for the press conference. The black suit was sharply tailored, lending him an aloof, refined air that clashed completely with the homey living room.
He nodded, his gaze settling on the hand Jiang Ce had placed on Jiang Nuan’s back. It lingered there for a moment.
For some inexplicable reason, Jiang Nuan’s back prickled with cold. She instinctively sat up straighter.
“Weren’t you holding a press conference?”
Only then did Shen Wu withdraw his gaze, as if he had finally been willing to spare her a fraction of his attention.
“Qinian’s matter has been dealt with.” He walked over and sat in the single armchair. “I’ll brief the captain on the latest intelligence from Area A once he gets back.”
Jiang Ce nodded and stood. The light in the living room immediately dimmed by a sizable patch.
“Perfect timing.” He rolled his neck. “The captain will still be a while. I’m going to work out in the gym.”
Then he flashed Jiang Nuan a wide grin.
“If you’re awake, drink some water. The water in the thermos on the coffee table is at the perfect temperature.”
With that, he strode toward the hallway, his broad back quickly disappearing around the corner.
The gym door closed.
Through two walls came the muffled, heavy clatter of metal equipment.
Jiang Nuan sat on the sofa and looked at Shen Wu with an extremely peculiar expression.
It was the look of a researcher in a laboratory who had just set his sights on a rare specimen.
Her eyes gleamed with barely restrained eagerness.
Shen Wu’s brows drew together slightly.
“What are you plotting?”
Rather than showing any guilt, Jiang Nuan tilted her head in confusion.
“You didn’t read my mind right away?”
Shen Wu crossed his long legs and tugged at the corners of his mouth in a smile that was anything but genuine.
Paired with those eyes of his that seemed to see through everything, the expression took on a dangerous edge.
“After all, every time you meet my eyes, you twist your neck as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
He leaned back into the sofa.
“To protect your cervical spine, and to keep you from irritating me to death with that suspicious, guard-against-a-thief look—”
“I’ve decided to temporarily disable that service.”
He let out a cold laugh and added, “Purely for the sake of my own physical and mental health.”
Jiang Nuan rolled her eyes dramatically right in front of him.
Did this man really have to wrap every bit of consideration in such an obnoxious package?
Jiang Nuan coughed and steered the conversation back on track.
“Shen Wu.” She sat up straight, her expression turning serious. “I feel like… my ability has changed.”
She briefly described the changes in the river, then said, “Can you let me try externalized purification one more time?”
Her eyes lit up as she spoke.
Shen Wu looked at her.
The sunlight fell on the ends of her half-dry hair, casting a golden halo over the fine, wispy strands.
Her expression was utterly earnest—so earnest that there was no hiding the light in her eyes.
He was silent for two seconds, as if he could still sense the trembling and surrender she had experienced when she was forced to accept him back then.
His long lashes lowered, and then he let out a quiet scoff.
“Oh?”
He leaned deeper into the sofa.
“Still suffering from that incurable urge to perform acrobatics?”
