The dinner was very sumptuous. Zhu Yanan cooked boiled shrimp, sweet and sour fish, mapo tofu, and steamed baby cabbage. Liang Yi bought braised chicken feet and braised lotus root slices. Adding the hot pot with two sides, there was more than enough food.
Then we turned on the air conditioner and took out the frozen beer from the fridge. It was so comfortable.
"Come on, let's toast the seasonal wind. He finally did something good." Liang Yi opened a can of beer and said breezily: "It's not easy to find a good roommate these days."
Zhu Yanan also raised her glass: "Yeah, with Liang Yi here, I feel much more at ease sleeping at night."
Ji Feng said listlessly: "You two are exaggerating."
"You don't understand."
Neither Liang Yi nor Zhu Yanan were locals, and both were currently single. Usually living alone, when they got off work late and went back to a cold, dark room, they would just sleep, shower, change clothes, nothing else.
Plus both of them were busy with work, their rest times were not necessarily weekends. Occasionally free for an afternoon, they couldn't even find friends to hang out with.
But with roommates, getting off work early, they could go out to see a movie or have a meal. Buying daily necessities, they could place a combined order for convenience. They could also bring food to share.
Most precious of all was that they were in the same field of public security and law, so they could completely understand and support each other.
Roommates like these were not easy to come by.
Liang Yi boasted about Zhu Yanan: "Yanan's living habits are especially good. You don't know, my previous roommate, loved to throw things around and not clean up, the room was a complete mess. Not like Yanan at all, the fridge is neat and tidy, she even tells me which things I bought earlier to eat first."
Zhu Yanan returned the compliment: "Liang Yi is great too. When I work overtime too late, she waits for me at the gate of the compound. And my packages are very heavy, she helps carry them up every time."
Ji Feng: "..."
"How nice." Jian Jing said gently: "You two must be very happy, able to eat together, watch TV shows together, place group orders together."
Liang Yi, simple and honest, nodded heavily: "Yeah, feels great."
Zhu Yanan, reserved: "It's just a little more convenient."
Jian Jing turned her head, not wanting to keep looking.
Ji Feng saw her expression and held in a laugh: "Alright, that's enough. Look at Teacher Jian's face, sour as a lemon."
Liang Yi put her arm around Jian Jing's shoulders breezily: "Teacher Jian can sleep over tonight, let's sleep together!"
"No need." She lifted her chin and announced coldly: "I've decided not to use you as the model for my female supporting character, you've hurt me too deeply."
Liang Yi panicked: "No, don't! I want to show my face too, I can brag about it for a long time."
"Hmph." Jian Jing ate and drank wine, firmly refusing to change her mind.
Liang Yi drooped dejectedly.
After Jian Jing let out her resentment, she was finally able to eat calmly.
Of course, with two police officers, one prosecutor, and one mystery novelist present, the dishes were not just mundane fare like beef rolls, lamb rolls, shrimp balls, honeycomb tripe, etc.
How could they lack interesting cases?
Everyone contributed and brainstormed a full table of cases.
Exciting!
Thrilling!
Brilliant!
Jian Jing listened, ate and drank at the same time. Listened until she was full, ate until she was full, drank until she was drunk.
Liang Yi banged the table excitedly, venting her frustration: "I've always wanted to encounter a locked room case, why do I never get one?"
Jian Jing: "Locked rooms are no fun at all. They're always fake locked rooms, I've never encountered a mechanical locked room."
Zhu Yanan listened with great speechlessness. She hated complicated cases the most. Verifying them was extremely troublesome, taking up days at a time.
Liang Yi continued complaining: "Especially unlucky these two months, only ran into ordinary cases. Teacher Jian, why do you always get especially good cases?"
Jian Jing blinked innocently: "Do I? I don't think so, I'm not Edogawa Ranpo."
Liang Yi turned to ask for support: "Ji Feng, am I right or not?"
"Right about what, you two are drunk." Ji Feng took away Jian Jing's wine glass - young ladies these days were extraordinary, drinking a case of beer was not enough, she had started on red wine instead.
The wine was brought by Teacher Jian too, calling it a housewarming gift when she clearly had ulterior motives all along.
But from the looks of it, Teacher Jian must feel quite lonely on ordinary days too.
However lonely, she had drunk quite enough.
"It's 11:30."
He earnestly advised, "You have overtime and a shift tomorrow, call it a day.
Liang Yi banged the table angrily: "Don't be a wet blanket! If you want to leave, then leave. Teacher Jian can stay over and sleep."
"In your place?" Ji Feng looked over her 10 square meter bedroom and said boldly: "Too shabby for Princess Pea."
Liang Yi was furious: "What did you say? What's wrong with my room?"
So what if it's a little messy, some clothes on the chairs, charger wires strewn about?
"Who's Princess Pea?" Jian Jing glared at him. "Say that again."
Ji Feng shrugged.
"Damn you!" Liang Yi got up angrily, then staggered and flopped headfirst onto the sofa, flailing her limbs but unable to get up at all, just like an upturned little turtle.
Jian Jing: "Uh..."
Zhu Yanan hurried to help prop her up.
Liang Yi suddenly lifted her head and waved a hand: "I'm fine, I can still drink!"
Jian Jing: Clearly drunk.
Since the host was drunk, it was inappropriate for the guests to remain. She said: "That's enough, let's not drink anymore."
Zhu Yanan knew her own low alcohol tolerance. She hadn't drunk that much today, just feeling a little dizzy now.
But remembering the overtime tomorrow, she didn't dare keep the guests either: "Alright, I'll see you guys off."
"You take care of Liang Yi." Ji Feng helped out by pulling Liang Yi up. "Auntie, time to call it a night, go to bed."
Liang Yi absolutely refused, grabbing Jian Jing's hand: "Teacher Jian, let's keep drinking and chatting more!"
Jian Jing was yanked stumbling by her and gave her a black look: "Next time, next time."
"Fine." Liang Yi reluctantly let go, then glared fiercely at Ji Feng again: "Take good care of Teacher Jian, I'm warning you, no taking advantage of her."
Ji Feng almost coughed up blood: "What are you thinking?"
"Can't trust men." Liang Yi hiccupped drunkenly, spouting nonsense. "Oh, where's Yanan? Where are you?"
The Yanan propping her up was speechless: "She really is drunk."
Jian Jing nearly laughed to death.
Finally everyone clumsily shoved the raving drunk Liang Yi back into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she sprawled out her limbs and passed out.
Ji Feng sent Jian Jing home.
"Teacher Jian, still sober?" He helped her into the passenger seat. "Feel like throwing up? Do it before getting in the car."
Jian Jing lazily said: "I'm fine, wide awake."
With the increase in her immune functions, her alcohol tolerance had also increased somewhat. She couldn't say she could drink thousands of cups without getting drunk, but at least she wasn't blackout drunk yet.
However, she didn't plan on taking sobering medicine this time. Drinking with friends was for relaxing. Sobering up right away would defeat the purpose.
Seeing her gaze still fairly clear, Ji Feng didn't insist. He helped her buckle her seatbelt and slowly started the car.
The speed stayed at 60 km/h, very steady.
The drunkenness slowly set in. Jian Jing propped up her face and complained: "So thirsty, is there any water?"
"Wait a moment." Ji Feng checked the road conditions, then stopped at a 24-hour convenience store to go in and buy water.
"Here." He held the half-melted mineral water bottle to her face. "Feel better?"
She nodded slowly.
The car got back on the road.
Jian Jing unscrewed the cap and drank a mouthful, quenching her thirst. Then she started chatting: "Why aren't you talking?"
"What do you want me to say?" he asked.
"Chat about anything, or I'm going to fall asleep." She mumbled.
Ji Feng laughed and said: "Okay, I happen to have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"The green pendant you're wearing around your neck, it's real right?" Ji Feng said. "I've never seen you wear something so valuable before, any special reason?"
Having known each other for years, he believed that he understood Teacher Jian Jing quite well. She could afford expensive jewelry, but preferred exquisite accessories and disliked heavy, cumbersome designs, finding them burdensome.
But this time she was wearing not a ring, but had deliberately found a chain to hang the ring from, which was visibly heavy. She had been wearing it for several days without changing it to match her outfits, which was rather odd.
Jian Jing took out the emerald ring from deep within her collar: "This one?"
"Mm."
"You could find it even though I hid it so well, huh." She yawned.
Ji Feng said, "This proves that I pay attention to you."
Jian Jing fiddled with the cursed ring, murmuring indistinctly, "It's a kind of talisman I guess. I've run into a bit of trouble."
"Tell me about it."
"I'm not telling you." She put it back. "You don't tell me anything, so why should I tell you."
Ji Feng: "So you're still thinking about my case, hm?"
"Huh." She said, "Experience it yourself."
"Then let's do this - one question each, you go first." He was easygoing.
Jian Jing made a "tsk" sound, but unexpectedly said, "You have to answer whatever I ask?"
Ji Feng: "Mm-hmm."
Jian Jing: "I heard Chief Gao say you've gone on over 20 blind dates, and every one failed. Why?"
"Teacher Jian, weren't we talking about cases?" Ji Feng laughed. "You're not being fair."
Jian Jing turned her head, loose strands of hair falling at her cheeks. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, eyes dazed and innocent like a little white rabbit's: "Cases? What cases?"
"Don't try to take advantage just because you're tipsy. That's cheating." He smiled and pondered, "Alright, fine. Telling you is no big deal."
She waited to hear his response.
Ji Feng said, "My father's case was solved long ago. The perpetrator was arrested on the scene and readily confessed. Not long after I joined the force, I reviewed it and that was indeed the case."
"Hm?"
"But the case that led to his murder remains unsolved to this day. " he said. "I believe the real murderer could still be at large."
Jian Jing propped up her forehead, feeling muddled. "Unsolved case, not cold case?"
Ji Feng looked amusedly at her. "That was more than one question. It's your turn now."
Still looking dazed, Jian Jing protested, "Say what?"
"Cheapskate." Ji Feng laughed, but he wasn't angry or impatient.
Jian Jing was unhappy. "How am I cheap?"
"You're cheap in every way."
"I'm not cheap at all. Slander me again and I'll punch you." She threatened.
"Threatening violence after just a couple sentences, and you say you're not petty?" He laughed. "Alright alright, you're not petty, I take it back."
Jian Jing reluctantly stayed her hand.
In the deep of night, the streets were empty and quiet. The two chatted idly as they quickly made their way home.
Jian Jing was lively in the car, but after getting out she felt something was off.
The world was spinning.
"Whoa, tipsy are we?" Ji Feng held her shoulders to steady her, pressed back the dog leaping forward, and guided the disoriented woman into the bedroom.
Knight crouched at the edge of the bed, furiously wagging his tail.
"Stop shaking, stop shaking." Jian Jing collapsed onto the bed, painfully clutching her temple. "You're making me dizzy."
Knight's fluffy tail drooped dejectedly as he whimpered.
Ji Feng brought slippers to the door, tidied away the scattered sandals, hung up the fallen handbag, and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water to place at her bedside. He even asked, "Do you need a trash can?"
She shook her head, the back of her hand rubbing her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"There's something..." She blinked forcefully, trying to think. "Did my double eyelid stickers fall off?"
Ji Feng lowered his head to look. There did seem to be something stuck to her eyelids, as well as glittery fragments clinging to the corners of her eyes, like silvery tears.
"Girls..." He sighed, and went to the bathroom to wet a towel for her to wipe her face.
Jian Jing scornfully glared at him. "Bring the makeup remover wipes from the bathroom." She told the dog.
As if on cue, Knight dutifully fetched a box of wet wipes in his mouth.
"You're less useful than my dog." She criticized.
Ji Feng didn't bother arguing with the drunk. He snatched the wipe she had taken out.
Jian Jing was incensed. "What are you doing?"
Amused, Ji Feng said, "Teacher Jian, this says 'Wet Toilet Tissue'. Are you sure you want to wipe your face with this?"
Jian Jing: "???" She squinted hard at the packaging, trying to make out the words, but her dizzy head could only tell that it was blue.
Were these makeup remover wipes or toilet wipes? She struggled to remember.
After a while, Ji Feng brought over a moist wipe and placed it on her face. "Wipe off with this."
Lying crooked on the pillow, Jian Jing slowly wiped her face.
Ji Feng watched her for a bit, then suddenly chuckled. Crouching down, he asked, "Something on your mind?"
"Are you afraid of death?" she asked.
He answered, "Of course I'm afraid."
"Do you think people who have died before become more afraid of death, or less afraid?"
Ji Feng said, "More afraid I'd think. Each time I woke up in the hospital, I was scared out of my wits afterwards."
Jian Jing didn't respond, only threw the dirty wipe in the trash.
"If you've run into some trouble, tell me about it." He said, "Maybe I can help somehow."
She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I don't need your help, I can handle it."
"Teacher Jian, you're far too eager to compete with me." Ji Feng laughed. "What for? Just because when we first met, I intimidated you a bit and you lost face?"
Jian Jing turned her head away dismissively, waving her hand to shoo him off. "You can leave now, your yapping is making my head hurt."
"You've still got stuff on your eyes."
"What?" Extremely vexed, she struggled to sit up. "Help me up."
"Don't move."
Ji Feng tilted his head and reached out to peel off a transparent film. Eyeshadow residue still clung to it, looking remarkably like a peach blossom petal in March.
"What is this stuff? Double-sided tape?" He held it under the lamplight to examine, baffled.
"None of your damn business." The missing eyelid stickers made her eyes feel much better. Jian Jing wiped her face with the damp towel, impatient to be rid of him. "You can get the hell out now."
"Alright, alright." Ji Feng gave up investigating. He pulled the blanket over her. "I'll close the door for you, go to sleep."
She yawned, already growing drowsy.
Ji Feng found the light switch and turned it off, leaving as quietly as he could.
