REDPEAFOWL, Chapter 19: Photoshoot
“How do you feel about taking photos for a book, Inspector-Lu?”
Lu Yipeng looked at the questioner with a clearly puzzled expression,
“Lieutenant, are you suggesting that I do something illegal regarding books?”
Chen Qian chuckled before quickly waving his hand, “No, someone contacted me and wants you to take my photos for the book.”
“?!” Lu Yipeng raised his head to look at his superior officer and felt like he heard or misunderstood something. He was summoned to meet the deputy chief of police just because of taking photos for a fashion book?
“What do you mean, lieutenant, by taking photos?” The young police officer asked again, the one being questioned nodded, and then continued, “Liu, the owner of Magazine A, came to talk to me yesterday and said he wants to do a feature on the police in the fashion magazine. Lately, I’ve seen you on TV quite often, he must be impressed. Inspector-Lu’s appearance is quite handsome.”
Lu Yipeng raised an eyebrow unenthusiastically about the compliment,
“When did I go on TV.” The young police officer said, and received an immediate response, “Every time you drive and catch the criminals it is on the news. I heard that you avoided the reporters all the time, but your pictures are always on the screen. Don’t say you don’t watch the news.”
Lu Yipeng’s eyebrows furrowed even more in confusion. He thought about the news photos taken behind him, or sometimes when he walked out of the hospital. Sometimes the photos were not taken and instead they used the picture from his ID card.
“I want to tell them to stop taking pictures of me. This is close to infringing on personal rights.” The young police officer nodded and smiled, then continued.
“Come on now… what about posing for a photo, inspector?”
“What?!” Lu Yipeng immediately exclaimed before shaking his head, “No, I don’t want that. I’m a police officer, not a model. If we’re going to do a setup related to police, then let’s do something more interesting like portraying a police officer who performs duties to the best of his abilities even if he gets injured. That kind of setup might be more intriguing.”
“Well, those kinds of setups do exist and are quite common.” Chen Qian said, raising his head to look at Lu Yipeng earnestly, “I was thinking, if we change the presentation approach, maybe more people, especially teenagers who are choosing their career paths, might become more interested in becoming police officers. Your book, Inspector Lu, will be quite popular among the teenage group. It might work. You go for a photo shoot like this and you might attract more interest in becoming a police officer.”
Lu Yipeng looked visibly troubled, “And if it doesn’t work…”
“If it doesn’t work, then no big deal. Just go for a photo shoot. I’ve already discussed this with the chief and he agreed with it.”
“What?!” Lu Yipeng exclaimed once again. Chen Qian picked up a piece of paper with the Hong Kong Police Department logo on it and handed it over for him to read.
“That’s right, Inspector. No need to worry about wasting official time, as this will be considered public relations work for the department.”
…
In the end, Lu Yipeng had to come to the studio for a photo shoot for another two days, even though he was not entirely willing to do so. On top of that, he had to remember the names and faces of the female celebrity that Duan Feng had asked him to ask for her autograph.
Inspector-Lu and they agreed to meet outside of the city for a while. The area was by the sea, and the building was a single-story structure built in a modern architectural style. There was ample parking when Lu Yipeng got out of the car.
Two young men immediately approached.
“Inspector-Lu, right? Mister Liu is waiting for you this way, sir.”
The young police officer had to follow the two people into the building, which was painted white inside and divided into several large hallways. The rooms were labeled with numbers, and there were slots to indicate which company or individual was using the studio rooms.
While Lu Yipeng was scanning the area looking for the actress that Duan
Feng had recommended for his signature, someone else walked in to greet him.
“Inspector-Lu, right? I was afraid you wouldn’t come.” The man who greeted him was small in stature, around thirty to forty years old. He had combed hair and dressed in flashy fashion, which Lu Yipeng thought he would never understand the beauty of this type throughout his life. The man smiled and raised his hand as if holding a weapon.
“I am Liu Guashi, and I think vice captain Chen must have mentioned my name to the inspector before.”
Lu Yipeng had to shake hands and respond as politely as possible before speaking back, “Yes, he mentioned something about you to me.”
Liu Guashi looked at the young police officer and smiled again, “Inspector, you look even more handsome in person than in your ID card photo, if you agree to appear on the good TV. Not sure if it will take long before you become a celebrity.”
Lu Yipeng did not feel happy to receive the compliment. He remained calm and spoke softly, “I am here to follow my vice’s orders regarding the interview.”
“Oh, okay.” Liu Guashi said, smiling warmly, “Follow me this way, inspector.” As he finished speaking, he led the way, walking ahead of the young police officer to the studio room. When they entered, the young police officer had to stop when several people surrounded him immediately.
“Oh… Is this Inspector Lu Yipeng? He looks even more handsome in person than in his photos.” Someone’s voice rang out loud, before Lu Yipeng felt like someone had touched his chest.
“Wow, fit and firm body, dressed to the nines in this uniform. I’m thrilled to see a man like this.”
Inspector Yipeng decided to push those people away because he started to feel that if he let them hang around for too long, they might get bolder. He heard the whispers of gossip getting louder, “Alright, behave yourselves a bit, or else the inspector will catch you.”
“Oh… Inspector Yipeng is handsome indeed. I consent to being caught all night.” One young man, who walked with swagger, clearly said out loud. The young police officer frowned and then turned to find Liu Guashi.
“Mister Liu, are you going to interview me here?”
“Yes, sir.” Mister Liu said, smiling, “Let’s go straight to the sofa over there. I must apologize to my people.”
The other side continued, holding Liu Yipeng’s hand, leading them to sit on the dark brown leather sofa placed deep inside the room, “Don’t worry, just make yourself comfortable.” Liu said. After pulling Yipeng to sit down, the young police officer hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, “This is no problem at all, sir.” He said before handing the notebook back.
“Let’s start the interview, inspector.” Mister Liu said, smiling, “Ever since Inspector Lu became famous, I’ve been receiving fan mail and emails asking to do interviews about Inspector. I brought some letters for you to read.” After finishing his words, the woman sitting next to him handed Yipeng a letter to read, and he blinked a few times.
“I am a police officer.” The young police officer replied with a fairly serious face. The other person nodded and smiled, “That’s what makes it interesting. Usually, the books I make contain pictures that are not of teenage idols. They are often about famous celebrities, but no one has ever done anything or a photobook regarding government officials before.” He paused for a moment,
“Of course, when we talk about government officials, especially the police, the image we often think of is an old man with a rather stern expression, who comes out to be interviewed when big cases happen. Every time, teenagers, right, where do they want to go party, is it true, sir?”
Lu Yipeng looked at the speaker’s face and answered calmly, “It has to be like that. They work hard and don’t have much time to take care of themselves.”
“Hmm… inspector, you really live up to being a good police officer.” Liu
Guashi said, then continued, “I heard that you graduated at the top of your class as a police cadet with the highest honors. Your name was on the honor roll for all six years of studying. I wonder if you have any secrets about this, do you know?”
“I am dedicated to studying diligently.” Lu Yipeng said, then turned to look at Liu Guashi, “Is this recording my voice?”
The person being asked chuckled, “Yes, but inspector, you don’t need to be nervous. I’ll have the kids rewind the tape. It’s casual to talk like this, to make yourself comfortable. I want the interview to be as natural as possible.”
“Um.” Lu Yipeng nodded, trying to imagine that he had known Liu Guashi for many years, but…it was difficult to maintain the same composure.
“The focus of the inspector’s study is reading books, studying textbooks diligently all day, right?”
“No. I allocate my time.” Lu Yipeng replied, “We don’t need to study textbooks all day. Another thing, the police academy focuses more on practical training than theory.”
“Oh… So when you were studying, did you secretly go on trips or anything like that?”
“Yes.” Lu Yipeng answered, starting to remember, “We all need some time to relax. No one can be in a frame all the time. We just need to limit ourselves.” “Oh, okay.” Liu Guashi nodded, “I heard from many of your teachers, including the trainers, that you were mischievous during his study. Is this true?”
“Who did you ask?” Lu Yipeng asked back, making Liu Guashi shake his head, “They told me to keep it a secret, but said inspector, you were both mischievous and brave. When something happened, you would take the lead. Even in food fights at the cafeteria, you were the one in charge.”
“Well… I’m not a troublemaker. I just intervened.”
“The fact that you intervened against seven or eight classmates in the seventh grade, is that just intervening?” The other person asked, Lu Yipeng looked confused, “If you want to intervene against those people. If you don’t want to be beaten up by them. You have to punch them before they do anything.” Lu
Yipeng said, then turned to Liu Guashi again, “Mister Liu, ask something more imaginative.”
The person being asked chuckled approvingly, “Hmm… You are quite imaginative, inspector, you may be mischievous and naughty, but still graduated with honors. And also receiving compliments in all subjects like this shows that the inspector is not ordinary, right?”
“No, I’m just an ordinary person.” Lu Yipeng said, “It depends on how much effort you put into something.”
“Ah, I see.” The man nodded, then asked further, “Did you take the entrance exam to the Police Officer Academy?”
“Not difficult.” Lu Yipeng replied, “But I’ve been preparing to take the exam since I started studying in primary school.”
“I see that you have been inspired to become a police officer by your father, right?”
“Um.” The man nodded, “Not really inspired. My father, who passed away, wanted me to become a police officer. He said it was a profession to be proud of.”
“Okay. From this background, it seems that your mother passed away when you were born and so you lived with only your father until you were fifteen and then your father passed away. Growing up like this one would think you have some family issues like lack of warmth or something similar, right?”
“No.” Lu Yipeng answered, shaking his head, “My father has had chronic lung disease for a long time. He refused to remarry because he loved my mother so much. I feel that my mother must be an amazing woman because of that. I don’t feel unhappy or sad about it.”
“Um, you sound very strong from the way you talk.” Liu Guashi spoke seriously, “We came to an important moment for us two weeks ago. I tried to open a column to ask the fans of the book. If we invite Inspector for an interview, what questions would the fans want to ask Inspector? Do you know that there are fan clubs following you now?”
Lu Yipeng made a strange face, “I don’t want to have any.”
Liu Guashi chuckled heartily, “I’d better start with this question. Normally, police officers are not supposed to have good figures. They are either too fat or too skinny, their looks are mediocre. Why do you, Inspector Lu have such a good appearance and a perfect physique like this?”
“Um… who asked that?” Lu Yipeng asked back. Liu Guashi smiled, “Your fan club.”
The young police officer looked at him with a somewhat incredulous expression but answered the question, “My appearance is just like this. As for my physique, I exercise regularly.”
“So… Do you have any special hobbies or interests? Besides working out and chasing criminals.” Liu Guashi asked.
Lu Yipeng raised his eyebrows, “Those two are my professions. As for hobbies… planting trees.”
“What kind of trees?” asked the other person.
“Flytrap.”
“Oh…” The person listening widened his eyes, “Trees that eat insects? I never knew you would raise such strange trees. Did you order them online or seize them from somewhere?”
Lu Yipeng raised his eyebrows again, “My senior gave them to me.”
“Oh…” The other person responded and nodded, “And what about your favorite food?”
The young police officer remained silent for a moment, “I’m not sure. I eat anything. Not too picky. If I had to choose something to eat regularly, it would probably be fried rice with tofu.”
“Very basic.” The other person replied, “And what about drinks?”
“Just water.”
“Normally, when you have free time, what kind of tourist destinations do you think of, inspector?”
“The sea.”
“What month and day were you born?”
“August 25th. Are you going to interrogate me?”
The person being questioned chuckled, “The next question is the most frequently asked by fans. I wonder if such a handsome and talented inspector has a partner or lover.”
“No, I don’t.” Lu Yipeng said, causing the other person to look genuinely surprised, “Oh… I can’t believe it, sir. Is it because you have a connection with
Hong Kongque, or what?”
Lu Yipeng’s face immediately tensed up, “Why do you ask about him?”
“Oh, just a question from fans. If you don’t want to answer, it’s okay.”
“Well, I have nothing to do with him at all.”
“Okay, and do you have a girlfriend or are you too high-profile to find a partner?”
“No, I don’t have one.”
“It’s possible.”
“…” Liu Guashi remained silent for a moment, then asked, “What does the lady in your dream, inspector, look like?”
This time Lu Yipeng was the one to stay silent for a while. After thinking for a moment, the young police officer replied, “She’s probably someone who resembles my mother.”
“Oh, I see.” Liu Guashi nodded, then summarized, “Thank you, inspector, for honoring us with this interview today. Is there anything you would like to say to our readers at home?”
“Well… I think being a police officer is a good profession. Currently, our department is in need of new recruits. If you are interested, you should try applying.”
“If you volunteer to interview each applicant in person, I’m sure many people would apply.”
Lu Yipeng frowned immediately and Liu Guashi quickly said, “That’s enough for the interview.”
The young police officer let out a sigh before standing up, “I’m leaving now.”
“Just a moment, sir.” Liu Guashi said before getting up as well, “We haven’t taken any photos yet. Inspector, please sit over there and have a drink to relax.
Then we can discuss what concept would be best for the photoshoot.”
“What?!” Lu Yipeng looked puzzled before being walked over by two other men with arms linked, dragging him to sit in another chair. Then they brought him a glass of water to drink.
“Uh… now that we’ve seen you, I want to be a police officer too.” one of the two men spoke up. Lu Yipeng looked at him, “How old are you?”
“Eighteen, sir.”
“You can still apply then.” Lu Yipeng said, looking at him and giving a slight smile, “If you get accepted, will I get to see you every day?”
Before Lu Yipeng could respond, the other man raised his hand to touch his arm, “Inspector, you have a great body. Even in a uniform like this. If you take off your shirt, then…”
“You guys, be a little considerate of the inspector.” Liu Guashi, who was walking in, spoke up again. The other two people looked at each other and chuckled, “Mister Liu, you also want to see the inspector shirtless, right? Hmm… A handsome man with a body like this, not easy to come by, right?”
“Go further away.” The person being teased said, chuckling, and the two young men walked away. Lu Yipeng adjusted himself uncomfortably, “Hey,
Mister Liu. I don’t model for adult books, you know.”
“Yes.” Liu Guashi nodded, “I wouldn’t have you model for adult books either, I swear.”
Lu Yipeng looked at Liu Guashi skeptically from the moment he stepped into the studio. He started to feel like he was stepping into forbidden territory. Just as he thought about it, a man approached him every now and then.
If Hong Kongque alone could endure, he probably couldn’t handle this group.
Lu Yipeng looked at Liu Guashi again, thinking that if this doctor or cousin did anything inappropriate or crossed the line sexually, he would report them to the publisher right away.
“Um… I think the inspector looks best in this type of outfit.” Liu Guashi said. After looking at Lu Yipeng for a while, “The angrier the inspector looks, the better it looks. Why don’t you try standing over there for a couple shots? Just two photos will do.” With that, he waved at Lu Yipeng before walking away.
Lu Yipeng was made to stand in front of a black backdrop. Across from him were two spotlight flashes for the photoshoot, and there was another cameraman. Liu Guashi stood behind him.
“Move back a little more, inspector. Try walking back and forth a bit, don’t look at the camera, just walk comfortably. That’s it.”
As soon as the shutter clicked and the flash burst out, Lu Yipeng wondered why these guys were taking pictures of him walking.
“Inspector, is this necktie too tight? I think it looks too cramped. Especially for the photoshoot.” Liu Guashi said as Lu Yipeng looked at him.
“Just loosen it a little, that’s it. Just a little.”
Lu Yipeng raised his hand to loosen the necktie. Liu Guashi quickly spoke up, “That’s it, inspector. I’ll have the kids come in to help with the clothing.”
Lu Yipeng was about to say something when two men suddenly entered, handing him a cloth to wipe his face and helping him loosen his necktie in a grand manner. Lu Yipeng had to push both men away, “You’re making me look untidy.”
The young police officer adjusted the buttons on his shirt, then fixed his necktie before walking out of the scene.
“Just a moment, inspector. We haven’t taken any pictures yet.” Liu Guashi called out. Lu Yipeng turned to look at him, “Aren’t you going to take any photos?”
“Test the lighting and pose, inspector. Sit there straight for a moment.
Powder your face, so it won’t shine too much when the flash goes off.”
Lu Yipeng raised an eyebrow and reluctantly grabbed a powder puff to dab on his face. He heard another person speak, “Inspector, don’t make such a mess with the powder. Your skin will look oily. Just a little is enough to prevent shine.”
The young police officer had to sit quietly, as any gesture he made towards a lady might be inappropriate. The lady applied a bit of powder, while using her hands to guide his face up, and smiled, “You look handsome already. Let me adjust your shirt a bit.”
Since she was a woman, Lu Yipeng did not want to offend her like he did with the two men earlier, so he allowed her to adjust his clothing. As she helped put on his shoulder straps, the young police officer’s mobile phone suddenly rang loudly.
“Pengpeng.” The voice that boomed made Lu Yipeng raise his hand in surprise. He hurried to a corner of the studio and whispered into the phone.
“I’ve just returned from Vietnam, bought some gifts for you. Can you stop by and see me at the mansion?”
“I’m busy right now. Can’t go.”
“What are you busy with?” The voice on the other end demanded sharply. Lu
Yipeng glanced over at the people walking back and forth before responding,
“I’m here for a photoshoot.”
“What’s up with that?!” The voice at the other end of the line immediately asked, “Photoshoot? With who?”
“Liu Guashi.”
“Guashi?” Hong Kongque repeated the name over the phone, “Pengpeng, are you starting to sell yourself through the newspapers now or what?”
“Seems like it.” Lu Yipeng burst into the conversation, “I’m here because of my deputy’s orders.”
“Chen Qian had something crazy in mind to have you do a photoshoot with that faction. Where are you doing the shoot?”
“At Studio T, That’s it” He didn’t finish his sentence as he hung up the phone before Lu Yipeng could respond. He turned to see Liu Guashi walking towards him, “I’ll just ask you to head over to the scene, so we can start shooting right away.”
Lu Yipeng stood silent for a moment. Eventually, he asked, “Mister Liu. Do you know Hong Kongque?”
Liu Guashi looked at him and nodded, “I do, everyone knows him. Knows his name, at least. Even if one is not a policeman, why do you ask?”
“Oh… and are you afraid of him?”
Liu Guashi chuckled, “Inspector, you don’t seem afraid of him at all. Why would I be afraid? I think he’s just an old man who has a kind heart. Doesn’t seem dangerous at all, right? It’s probably just gossip going around.”
Lu Yipeng swallowed his saliva nervously, “I think you should be cautious.”
“I’m not cautious, inspector, you were harsh during the interview. You didn’t want to talk about him at all, why bring him up like that? Let’s head to the scene, we’ll finish late if we keep this up.”
Lu Yipeng had to walk back to the scene, hoping that nothing crazy would happen.
The photoshoot seemed simple and not as scary as Lu Yipeng initially thought. At least he was wearing the outfit neatly, and all he had to do was stand, sit, and walk back and forth for a while. After a while, the young police officer began to feel more relaxed and even found some angles to smile at the camera. Liu Guashi saw this and quickly raised his index finger and instructed the cameraman to capture the moment.
While in the middle of shooting, a man suddenly ran in, “Inspector-Lu.
There’s an older relative here to see you.”
“?” Everyone turned to the one speaking. As they looked behind, they saw a man in a dark red jacket walking in.
“Hey Pengpeng, having fun modeling?”
“!!!” Lu Yipeng almost bit his tongue to stop himself from blurting out the name. Liu Guashi looked at the man walking in and smiled, “Do I know you?”
“I am a senior relative from his grandmother’s side of the family.” The newcomer walked confidently towards the photo shoot scene, not caring about what the people in the scene were doing, before stopping in front of the young policeman.
“Pengpeng, it’s time to go home.”
Lu Yipeng was speechless. While Liu Guashi and the others looked equally stunned.
“Um… Are you really his senior relative? I mean… you look around the same age as him.”
The man in red smiled, “I can assure you I am indeed his senior relative. I was born first, I am older than him.”
After speaking, he turned to Lu Yipeng, “Pengpeng, will you come back by yourself, or should I drag you back?”
Lu Yipeng swallowed hard before finally speaking, “Um… please remain calm. I just came here for a photoshoot.”
“I do not allow it.” The man spoke sternly before turning to him, “I never agreed to let anyone else see your body again.”
Lu Yipeng was still at a loss for words when the man turned to sweep his gaze over the others, “Who’s in charge of the camera?”
The person behind the camera blinked slowly. The man in red turned to him and spoke calmly, “Are you taking a lot of pictures of him?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll buy both the camera and the memory card inside it.”
“Sure.”
“In that case, I’ll take a lot of shots.”
“Wait!” Liu Guashi, who was standing quietly, looked up with a hint of curiosity, “Who are you? From what I have investigated, Inspector-Lu has no relatives as young as you. Are you a blackmailer or something?”
The accused person turned to look at the speaker before smiling slyly, “If I say yes, what will you do? Write a story about it? The income must be pretty good.”
“Oh, of course. I’ll have someone take a picture of you as well. You’ll get both the news and a charge for violating personal rights.”
“Guashi…” The person called out to him with a hint of sarcasm, “This is an interesting position you are posturing. Does it match your father’s investment plan to borrow money for me to invest in someone like you?”
This time, Liu Guashi seemed slightly hesitant, stammering a bit before speaking, “Who are you? How do you know about borrowing money?”
“Call your father and ask him, but ask nicely. Don’t let him know that you’re bothering me. The consequences could be severe, the kind of blood vessels in the brain bursting, you will be blamed for that.” With that, the other person watched as Liu Guashi looked at him and immediately made a phone call. After a brief conversation, Liu Guashi’s face gradually turned pale. He glanced at the person in the red suit and quickly turned away as he hung up the phone.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t realize it was you.”
“Um… it’s okay.” The person standing there replied, then continued, “Alright, I’ll buy that camera with the memory card together. How much are you selling it for?”
“No problem.” Liu Guashi said somewhat shakily, “If you just want a picture of yourself, take the memory card.”
“Um… that’s fine…” The person in the red suit nodded and took the memory card that the camera technician brought over before turning to smile at Liu
Guashi, “This matter today, let’s keep it a secret, especially since Inspector-Lu is involved. I’ll let you go this time. Oh… but if this leaks or becomes news, even just a single word, you’ll know what will happen.”
“Understood.” Liu Guashi replied with a fearful tone. The other person let out a sigh before turning to the young police officer.
“Alright, you can go now.” With that, he waved to Lu Yipeng, leading him outside the studio.
…
When he came out, Lu Yipeng was so surprised that he stumbled, encountering the long limousine with a red peacock emblem in front of Luo Songzhi who was waiting to open the back door. The young police officer was pushed into the car by another person before the door closed.
“Kongque, do you have to make things messy?” The young police officer asked. After the other person had settled in, this was the first time he had the opportunity to ride a limousine together. This bullet Hong Kongque looked at him, then reached out and slapped him loudly.
Lu Yipeng turned his head as he was slapped, both confused and startled. As he raised his head, he was slapped again.
“How dare you come to take pictures of others like this.” Hong Kongque shouted, then pulled up the neck of the young police officer, “Even if it’s Chen Qian’s command or anyone else’s, you have to tell me first. I do not allow you to take pictures with anyone else. You belong to me. Remember that!”
Lu Yipeng looked towards the person in front of him, this was the first time he had seen Hong Kongque this furious. His dark expression turned bright red, his eyes staring at him as if he was furious, and his hand holding the collar of his shirt tightened more and more.
“Kongque. Are you jealous of me?”
Hong Kongque’s eyes lingered before pulling up the collar of Lu Yipeng’s shirt, “With your face, do you dare to talk to me like this?”
Lu Yipeng squirmed once before trying to grab both hands that were holding the collar of his shirt, “You seem jealous of me.”
“Your mouth! Do you think someone like me would..!” Hong Kongque didn’t finish speaking, because Lu Yipeng suddenly moved quickly, pushing him closer to the car seat.
“If you’re not really jealous, why are your hands shaking? Normally your hand is heavy handed and you would be choking me now. You would never let me speak so much nonsense before.”
“Huh!” Hong Kongque just made a sound. Lu Yipeng felt the overwhelming pressure on his neck and immediately raised his hand to hold the hand of the other person, before speaking, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, okay?”
“…”
“I’m serious. I didn’t think you would…” He paused for a moment, the young police officer smiled, “Be jealous of me this much.”
“Disgusting.” The other person said, but before he could exert more force, his hand was pulled out by the young police officer, and pressed down on the car seat.
“Kongque, don’t be so stubborn… Usually you sigh regularly as a sign of giving up. I have never been able to defeat you, but today you seem very agitated, breathing out of rhythm. Am I making you very upset?”
“Well…” Hong Kongque just sighed and looked away, “There’s a crazy kid. I don’t know why he’s always looking at ships nearby, it’s making me nervous that he might let his gaze wander a bit and go charm someone else.”
Lu Yipeng smiled slightly and moved his face closer, “And what about you?
Don’t you usually charm others too?” Yikes!!
Hong Kongque’s hand that was being held suddenly slipped out and slammed into the face of the young police officer with such force that Lu Yipeng saw stars.
“If you don’t see it with your own eyes, don’t accuse me of it!” Hong
Kongque growled, “A fine talker like you is really something.”
“Kongque.” Lu Yipeng stepped forward before stumbling and reaching out, grabbing the other person’s hand and squeezing it again, “I apologize.”
Hong Kongque pursed his lips before turning his gaze elsewhere, “I don’t want to hear your empty apologies, just leave.”
Lu Yipeng looked at the other person with a hesitant and awkward expression, but in the end, he smiled.
“What are you smiling at?”
“I’m happy.”
“?!”
“You’re so jealous of me that you’re speechless.”
“!!”
“Kongque…”
“…”
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“…”
“You and I… should understand each other by now.”
“Understand what?”
“…”
Hong Kongque looked at Lu Yipeng before smiling, “You’re a cop, say something intelligent first.”
Lu Yipeng pursed his lips. Finally, he let out a sigh, “Kongque, do you know? Sometimes I don’t want you to be Hong Kongque.”
“You’ve gone a bit too far. I’ve never not wanted you to be Lu Yipeng.”
“?!”
“Surprised, huh?” He asked and continued, “If you weren’t a cop, not so stubborn like this, do you think I would ever meet you? I don’t regret you being a cop. I’m just afraid you would regret it more than I would.”
“I don’t regret it at all.” Lu Yipeng said firmly, “Just regret meeting you.”
“With lips like that should I take back my words about you being stubborn some night?”
Lu Yipeng didn’t answer that question. He lowered his hand, took off his necktie, unfastened his belt and shoulder strap, unzipped his outer suit, then leaned down and whispered in the other person’s ear.
“Do you know that you’re the first person to make me take off my uniform without ordering or saying anything?”
Hong Kongque just smiled at the corner of his mouth, “Hmm… Is there such a thing or shall I not know?”
Lu Yipeng smiled slightly. Then he took Hong Kongque’s hand, and slowly unbuttoned his own shirt, revealing his toned chest. When his hand touched the warm and firm chest, Hong Kongque let out a deep sigh. As Lu Yipeng’s hand moved inside his shirt, he caressed the part that had been touched and rubbed countless times, believing it was a special day.
“Too cruel.” Hong Kongque gritted his teeth before clapping his hands and pulling the other person closer, “Do you think doing this won’t make you regret later?”
The young police officer pursed his lips, “I don’t know. Have you ever thought about regretting?”
“Never.”
“No matter what happens, or how it ends?”
“Uh-huh.”
Lu Yipeng glanced at the other person before letting out a sigh, “You are truly strong.”
“If you can’t fight, just retreat. You might lose all your honor student titles.” The other person said, pushing him away lightly. Lu Yipeng quickly grabbed his hand.
“I failed the exam the first time I met you.” The young police officer said, kissing the hand, “Kongque. I failed the exam because of you. To be honest, I never thought I would pass, but I still…”
“…”
“Am I stupid?”
“Uh-huh…” Hong Kongque nodded, then raised his hand to caress the cheeks that were still red from the other person, “Inspector, you are both stubborn and stupid.”
“Really… Do you like it?”
“…”
“…”
Finally, Hong Kongque let out a sigh, “Do you still need to ask? Do I tolerate anyone acting stupid every day? It’s not like you don’t know, right?”
Lu Yipeng shook his head, “I don’t know. I can’t figure you out, Kongque.
When will you end this?”
“Why do you have to ask me?” The other person retorted. The young police officer stared at him in silence for a while. Finally, the other person spoke up,
“Ask yourself, when do you want to end this?”
“I…” Lu Yipeng bit his lower lip tightly before hugging Hong Kongque tightly, “Kongque, will it have to end one day?”
“Um…”
“When that day comes. Will you forget about me?”
“I won’t forget, will you forget about me.”
“Do you think I will forget?” The other person retorted, echoing Hong Kongque’s words.
“I don’t know. You’re still young, there’s a lot more to learn in life. When you get older, you might forget.”
“I may not live to be old.”
“?!”
“Kongque.” Lu Yipeng called out that name again before turning his face and lightly kissing the cheek of the other person, “It’s a full moon tonight, stay by my side. Just one more night.”
Hong Kongque said nothing, just drew that face closer and gently leaned in.
…
The silver moonlight shone down on the evening sky, reflecting off the small window of a small boat drifting away from the shore.
The silver light painted on the half-face with wrinkles, a result of time, on the forehead of that face, there appeared a triangular scar elongated, the lines at the corners of the deep-seated mouth deepened when the person raised their face and looked at the moon, with only a faint smile.
The silver moon gradually became covered by dark clouds. Before the raindrops rushed down, hitting the boat so loudly it sounded like someone was throwing rocks, a chuckling laughter and shouting of a name could be heard.
“Hong Kongque!!”
***
Finally, we decided to skim through the story of Hong Kongque a bit until (of course… it wasn’t revealed as he had gone away!!!) the plot starts coming out in an unfinished manner, with only chill chapters in mind (and mostly out at sea), making me think. If we don’t get through the main story a little bit, this might turn into a never-ending series of island-hopping adventures for sure (the writer would probably give up first).
Honestly, when I started writing this at first, I didn’t think it would end like this, but as it goes towards the end, I thought it would be okay to include these aspects (and readers will definitely want to strangle us).
Now I secretly like Kongque a lot (of course, I’ve been subtly leaning towards Kongque for a long time), and feel like Pengpeng keeps sneaking in just like a star. Haha, at the beginning of this chapter, it’s like a Pengpeng interview.
Anyway, thank you so much for following and reading (I’m feeling better now… but… work is still piling up…<<I’m definitely going to die)
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