Chapter 61: The Fish Has Taken the Bait

Lin Xiaosu did not refuse her offer of close protection.

Because he couldn’t guarantee what Du Lifeng would choose.

The bait had already been thrown.

Whether the fish would bite or not, no one could say.

Zhou Mei was thinking of protecting him.

He, too, was thinking of protecting her.

Just one night was needed—by tomorrow morning, he would know Du Lifeng’s final decision.

So, tonight, there would be a change of guards at the detective agency.

As the sun set and night fell, Lin Xiaosu and Zhou Mei strolled along the street, then entered the detective agency. The main door was closed from the outside, signaling that the building had entered its night mode.

In the grocery store across the street, a middle-aged aunt watched their backs as they went in, her face full of expression. She picked up the phone to call her son…

“Son, you really need to start dating… How could you know if someone’s right for you just by drawing at home? The key is to try! Look at the detective agency across the street—he’s got another woman staying over tonight. I’m telling you, what matters is finding someone to sleep with… What? You want me to send you money? You spend twenty thousand a month just chasing girls? That young detective, does he ask his mom for money? Don’t use being broke as an excuse! Why can he make a living and you can’t?...”

A round of scolding, with examples and comparisons: Lin Xiaosu bringing Zhou Mei upstairs to sleep made him the model “other people’s son.”

Such is the heart of parents everywhere.

Upstairs, Zhou Mei pushed open Miao Ruolan’s room and looked around. She seemed to be glancing casually, but let’s not forget she was a police officer. Her eyes, while not as uncanny as Lin’s, were still observant. Someone was sleeping on the bed—and alone. That was key.

Then she entered Lin Xiaosu’s room.

There, too, someone was sleeping in the bed—and alone.

A simple glance at the two rooms yielded a clear conclusion: unless the detective agency’s two residents had a habit of splitting up after the deed, they were probably quite innocent.

“I heard you’ve developed a bad habit of staying up all night recently. Tonight you get a full night’s sleep!” Lin Xiaosu pointed at the bed. “Up you go!”

Zhou Mei hesitated. “It might not be safe tonight.”

“Don’t worry. I’m ninety-nine percent sure—they won’t come.”

“And if they do?”

“Even if they do, you wouldn’t be able to handle them. Whether you’re wide awake staring out the window or sleeping, it hardly makes a difference.”

“That’s a pretty contemptuous thing to say, but why do I still hear a note of concern?” Zhou Mei blinked.

“See? I do care about you. So, will you ask your mom to reduce the rent?”

Zhou Mei’s eyes widened. “You… you…”

“Alright, alright. Did you think I became a detective for nothing? You think I didn’t know whose place I was renting? With a single call, you found me the best shopfront, and the landlord was so agreeable. I thought she had her eye on me or Ruolan, planning to set her dull son or old maid up for a windfall, so I did a little digging. Turns out, I nearly overlooked the favor you did me—this place belongs to your family…”

Zhou Mei shot him a look. “You just said my mom was easy to talk to, the rent is already low, and you want me to ask for more off?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop. Sleep!”

Zhou Mei handed him her phone and charger. “Plug this in for me.”

The charger by the bedside was already in use. Lin Xiaosu looked around for another socket.

“There’s one behind the desk,” Zhou Mei said.

That confirmed it—the place was hers. She knew it so well, she even remembered the outlet hidden behind the desk.

Zhou Mei lay down, took off her jacket but not her inner clothes, even keeping her gun under the covers.

She took up only a small space, lying against the wall, leaving plenty of room on the outside.

As a young woman, she couldn’t very well invite him to bed, but as long as she didn’t act coy, he’d probably get in anyway.

Tonight, there was nothing romantic about it; it was just sharing a bed in extraordinary circumstances.

If it was only for sleep, there were three rooms upstairs—any could do.

But tonight, there was a chance of an assassination attempt.

They needed to keep watch together.

So, despite three rooms, they had to squeeze into one.

Zhou Mei soon fell asleep.

Lin Xiaosu didn’t sleep. He turned off the main light, dimmed the desk lamp to its lowest setting.

Silently, he walked to the window and sat cross-legged.

Ancient martial arts—he was getting more addicted the more he practiced.

Why?

Because each training session brought new rewards.

With the help of the silverfish in his sea of consciousness, the elusive meridians appeared as a visible grid to his inner sight.

What others found hardest—feeling the meridians—was as clear as day to him.

So, clearing his meridians was as easy as eating beans.

In just over ten days, he’d already opened two major channels, the ten primary meridians, and the eight extraordinary ones.

Even Ruolan didn’t know.

Why?

Because Lin Xiaosu knew what filth he expelled during the process, and Ruolan, who always fought to wash his clothes, didn’t need to know. So, whenever he meditated, he’d strip entirely.

But tonight, that was impossible.

With Zhou Mei in bed, if he stripped naked and she opened her eyes with a “What are you doing?”—how would he explain?

That was a stain no river could wash away…

Forget it, clothes or not, dirty is dirty.

Lin Xiaosu began another grand project inside his body—clearing the micro-meridians.

In the body, there are two main, ten primary, and eight extraordinary meridians—what most people know. But in truth, there are countless micro-meridians.

Where are they? Everywhere, head to toe.

When you run a hair along your arm and feel it, how does that sensation travel? Through nerve endings, which are also micro-meridians…

The “Rejuvenation Technique” said, “Meridians are countless and combine freely; wherever they go, miracles happen.”

This idea greatly inspired Lin Xiaosu—he wanted to clear all meridians in his body, forming passageways for vital energy.

Once the highways were built, any combination could be tried.

Later, if he wanted to focus somewhere, he’d just run his energy through the completed channels—how convenient!

It could be ambition, or just laziness—too lazy to figure out routes, so he’d do all the groundwork now and let the energy run wild later…

As the vital energy flowed, the subtle pain produced a phrase: “pain and pleasure combined.”

Time flew by.

Feng City gradually quieted.

And in the silence, the east slowly brightened.

Lin Xiaosu opened his eyes, inwardly exclaiming.

He got up and went to the bathroom, water running, body wash used again and again.

Finally clean, he picked up his clothes and washed them too.

By the time everything was done, dawn had arrived.

Feeling refreshed in clean clothes, Lin Xiaosu opened the bathroom door to see Zhou Mei sitting up, staring blankly at the half-empty bed beside her.

That half of the bed had clearly not been slept in.

For people like them, it was easy to tell at a glance whether a bed had been used.

“You slept on the floor?” Zhou Mei asked.

“See? I’m a gentleman! Remember to call me Gentleman Lin from now on…” Lin Xiaosu said.

“Pfft! Sleeping on the floor makes you a gentleman? Haven’t you heard, ‘As long as your intentions are pure, even monks and nuns can sleep together’? Not daring to get on the bed just shows your intentions weren’t pure!”

“Come on!” Lin Xiaosu retorted. “By your logic, I really should have gotten into bed! Move over…”

“I’m off to work! The whole bed is yours!” Zhou Mei jumped up and ran to the door.

When she reached it, her cheeks flushed red.

From behind came a voice:

“Lend me your car for a few days.”

Zhou Mei shook her head. “You can borrow money, but my car and… my best friends are never lent out! Bye…”

“You’ve only got eight thousand in your account—what’s there to borrow? Leave the car keys!”

Zhou Mei turned, looking him up and down. “Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“Why do you need the car?”

“Because I don’t have a license. Car rental companies won’t rent to me. So I have to borrow from a friend.”

Zhou Mei’s eyes widened…

Not having a license is your reason for borrowing a car? Isn’t that exactly why you shouldn’t be borrowing one?

But she wasn’t just anyone. Her gaze settled. “What are you up to?”

“Last night, no one came to assassinate us. Our prediction was right—Dongzi has probably run.”

“You’re going after him?”

“What else? Why do you think I forced him to run?”

“I’m coming with you!”

“No. This trip isn’t for you.”

Zhou Mei slowly opened her small bag, holding the keys tightly, torn inside. He wanted to go alone? And the target was a gene-enhanced person—no one knew where he’d gone. If he’d returned to a gene-modded den, even bringing the whole CID team might mean certain death.

“Xiaosu, you can’t be so reckless! Really! Why don’t we talk to Captain Zhang first?”

“There’s no time!” Lin Xiaosu reached out and took the keys from her hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t break any traffic laws!”

“This isn’t about traffic violations! We’re talking about your head…”

“Then you should worry less—I have a trump card!”

His voice trailed down the stairs.

By the time Zhou Mei reached the door, her car had already started and merged into traffic.

She raised her hand, pressing her forehead gently.

I must be crazy—handing my car to someone without a license, and to chase an extremely dangerous gene-modded man…

You have a trump card!

What trump card?

Just because you worked with an ancient martial arts adept? Sharing a bed doesn’t mean you learned martial arts yourself—besides, from what I saw, you didn’t even share a bed…

Yet, he did seem to have some skills.

For instance, when Huang San and his gang ambushed him in the alley, he took them down easily.

And yesterday, when he plucked a hair from the gene-modded man—so quick, even she, watching closely from up close, couldn’t see it happen.

A few last notes:

First: Update schedule—new chapters every day at 8 a.m., minimum 6,000 words (that’s just a base; if things go well, there might be even more). If there’s no update on time, don’t assume I’ve stopped; blame the review process.

Second: Some thoughts. The start of this book was as bleak as “Great Cang”—not just similar, but identical. I know why: I’m not good at hype, not great at wild ideas, so the opening didn’t attract many curious readers. But my strength is in careful plotting. I write seriously.

If you appreciate my attitude, please subscribe and vote. You give me your trust, I’ll return a wonderful story.