DA chapter 70

Being stared at directly by Lin Jia, Yan Xu had a moment where he wanted to hide both hands.

He held back the urge and put the plastic bag onto the entry table. Then, he raised his eyes to look at Lin Jia.

There was a kind of provocative look in his eyes, like smashing the pot since it was already broken.

Lin Jia said nothing and moved aside, letting the real owner of the house enter.

This apartment was a standard one-bedroom unit, not very big. The living room faced the door directly. As soon as Yan Xu came in, he saw a cat curled up on the sofa.

This time, Lin Jia came as a guest of his own accord and had even brought his cat.

On a second glance, Yan Xu saw the red wine on the dining table. Lin Jia had already let it breathe.

Besides the expensive wine, there were white porcelain plates with intricate patterns placed at both ends of the table according to hotel standards.

Other than that, however, there was nothing that could be called food.

Yan Xu dropped into a chair, looked over every plate, and then looked at Lin Jia leisurely and teased, “Is the dinner you prepared air?”

The only answer was the rustling sound.

Yan Xu watched Lin Jia pick up the beer he had bought on a whim to pass the time. He took one can after another out of the plastic bag and placed them on the plate in front of Yan Xu.

Before long, the beer cans were stacked high.

Although Lin Jia said nothing, Yan Xu felt he had spoken.

He felt that Lin Jia was saying: Why eat air? Isn’t there alcohol here? Eat them—eat the bottles and cans together.

Yan Xu: “…”

He looked at Lin Jia amusedly. “If you stack more, it’ll fall. Are you trying to smash me to death?”

“How could I dare?” Lin Jia glanced at Yan Xu sideways and continued stacking the bottles. “Captain Yan won’t drink my wine, and you won’t even let me vent with beer? The Management Office is too overbearing.”

After speaking, the bottles were stacked half a person high.

Yan Xu had bought six bottles in total. Lin Jia held the last one and gently placed it on top.

As he withdrew his hand, he deliberately hooked his little finger under the bottle.

In an instant, the bottles came crashing down—

“Tsk.” No matter how fast Yan Xu was, he only had two hands. He only managed to catch two bottles from the collapsing tower, while the remaining bottles and cans fell from above.

The cans split open and alcohol spilled across the floor. The smell of beer spread at once.

Yan Xu was about to ask whether Lin Jia got hurt, but saw Lin Jia standing far away—not only unharmed by the bottles, even the splashed foam did not touch him at all.

Instead, the cat was startled and jumped high.

Only then did Yan Xu realize this person did it on purpose.

He threw the two cans back onto the table, crossed his arms, leaned against the dining table, and looked at Lin Jia amusedly. “Can’t you be more open about it?”

Lin Jia did not deny it. “Next time for sure.”

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The doorbell rang at that moment.

Yan Xu turned to open the door, but Lin Jia got there first.

Yan Xu’s arm moved back, his hand pressing the gun tucked at his lower back.

Too many people in the Underwater World hated him. He changed where he lived every so often; not even Deputy Chen knew his location.

Normally, no one came to his door.

Outside were several people in hotel uniforms. Lin Jia had ordered hotel food, and they were there to deliver it.

This delivery was different—it came with five or six people pushing two food carts.

Although they worked at a hotel, the hotel belonged to the Management Office, so they were managers too and naturally recognized Yan Xu.

Even if they weren’t managers, few people in the Underwater World didn’t know Yan Xu.

Seeing Yan Xu, several people froze.

The way they looked at Lin Jia became a little more complicated.

“Just put it here.” Lin Jia remained expressionless.

Yan Xu withdrew his hand from his revolver, casually picked up a beer can from the table, and hooked the ring with his finger.

With a clang, he pulled it open. The floor was already a mess, so he casually threw the pull tab aside and raised the can to his mouth.

But his gaze remained fixed tightly on Lin Jia.

He noticed that Lin Jia did not thank the delivery staff. His face remained calm and composed, as if he were accustomed to high-priced services.

Did accounting make that much money?

Or had he been tricked again?

Lin Jia pushed the food cart into the room. Yan Xu kicked aside a broken beer can on the floor to clear the way for the cart.

The cart smoothly reached the table, and Lin Jia lowered himself to place the dishes on it one by one.

Yan Xu planned to clean the mess on the floor, but Lin Jia stopped him. “The smell isn’t that unpleasant. Leave it. The hotel didn’t send an aroma diffuser.”

The beer Yan Xu had bought actually smelled quite good, yet Lin Jia still dismissed it.

“As you like.”

Yan Xu let him have his way.

The two took a seat amid the rich smell of alcohol.

Lin Jia poured himself some red wine.

Yan Xu glanced at his own wine glass, which was polished and shiny.

He tapped the glass with a bent finger and clicked his tongue.

Of the two wine glasses on the table, one held richly colored red wine, while the other was clear and empty.

Lin Jia had only poured wine for himself, not Yan Xu.

Stingy.

Yan Xu filled the wine glass with beer. There was still some beer left in the can, so he raised his head and drank it all. Then he crushed the can and casually threw it aside.

“Heh.”

A light laugh.

Yan Xu raised his head. “What are you laughing at?”

Lin Jia looked at the wine glass in front of Yan Xu. Amber-colored liquid with white foam rose for a moment while it was poured, then slowly subsided.

Regardless of how others were, Lin Jia had never seen someone use a wine glass to hold barley beer. Even the beer probably never imagined it could be poured into a wine glass and curl awkwardly at the bottom.

A trace of smile still stayed at Lin Jia’s lips: “Nothing.”

Yan Xu: “I know. You’re laughing at how ridiculous I look. What can’t be said?”

As with the previous two meals, Yan Xu intended to cut the steak into pieces all at once.

“No.” Lin Jia said sincerely. “Captain Yan is very cute. I just couldn’t help laughing.”

Yan Xu held the glass, not very satisfied. “Cute can’t be used to describe a man.”

“Captain Yan is twenty-two this year and is still a college student, right?” Lin Jia sipped his red wine. “Should students count as boys? Why can’t boys be described as ‘cute’?”

Yan Xu didn’t argue with Lin Jia. He looked Lin Jia over carefully: “You sound like you’re very old. How old are you?”

Lin Jia: “Forty.”

Yan Xu: “…”

He picked up a piece of steak with his fork. “Then I shouldn’t call you ‘Brother Jia’; I should call you ‘Uncle Jia.’”

In the Fish Belly, Yan Xu had once followed Xiao Yao and Xiao Tian in calling Lin Jia “Brother Jia.”

Lin Jia adjusted the napkin. “Whatever makes Captain Yan happy.”

“Tsk.” Yan Xu sighed. “It’s really hard to pry one truthful sentence out of your mouth.”

He could find out which hotel Lin Jia lived in, so of course he knew his age.

23, only one year older than him.

Lin Jia raised his eyes and quietly surveyed the full table of dishes.

Tonight’s menu had appeared a few days ago. Lin Jia had let the cat eat some, and now he wanted to see which dishes Yan Xu had eaten and if they matched what the cat had eaten.

His mouth casually dealt with the conversation: “What truth does Captain Yan want to hear?”

Yan Xu didn’t believe that Lin Jia would really tell the truth and said casually, “Why invite me to dinner?”

Lin Jia said, “I want to thank Captain Yan for protecting me in the Fish Belly.”

“Is that the only reason?” Yan Xu held the wine glass in his hand. Lin Jia’s answer seemed reasonable, but Yan Xu knew he was not telling the truth.

“Captain Yan doesn’t seem satisfied with my answer.” Lin Jia noticed this and asked, “What answer does Captain Yan want to hear?”

Yan Xu put a piece of beef in his mouth.

He thought of Lin Jia’s messages and the reflection in the last one.

He was certain this dinner was not out of gratitude from Lin Jia. He knew it was a deliberate approach and temptation.

So he did not fall for it. “Just asking casually.”

Lin Jia waited a while. Seeing that Yan Xu had no intention of continuing, he wiped his mouth and said, “Does Captain Yan have no questions he wants to ‘seriously ask’?”

Yan Xu rested his head on one hand and looked at Lin Jia. “Would you seriously answer?”

Lin Jia: “How would you know without trying?”

Then try.

Yan Xu asked. “Is your relationship with your lover good?”

He dug a pit for Lin Jia. If the answer was yes, his current tempting behavior could not be explained. If the answer was no, then his previous explanation would not hold up.

Lin Jia said: “If you mean the lover of mine who died of tongue cancer, then there was no relationship.”

He raised his eyes. “Because he did not exist.”

This sudden confession made Yan Xu pause.

Lin Jia put down the napkin. “The first day I met Captain Yan at the Bounty Hall, the cat jumped onto Deputy Chen. I knew Captain Yan suspected me of deliberately hurting someone. If I hadn’t used that reasoning, how could I have dispelled Captain Yan’s suspicion?”

Yan Xu: “You think that kind of reasoning could dispel it?”

“I couldn’t think of another reason.” Lin Jia defended himself. “But the fact is, the cat got frightened. I failed to watch it for a moment, which made it pounce on Deputy Chen. For that, I deeply apologize.”

Yan Xu neither agreed nor denied it.

Lin Jia did not expect Yan Xu to believe such an explanation, either. He waited patiently.

Yan Xu had set a trap for him, and Lin Jia played along.

What he said was, ‘If Captain Yan means that lover of mine who died of tongue cancer.’ He was waiting for Yan Xu to ask, ‘What? You have another lover?’

Once Yan Xu asked that, Lin Jia would look into his eyes and answer meaningfully, ‘For now, no. But in the future, there will be.’

Language was often the most effective method of teasing.

The other side of the table remained silent, perhaps considering whether the confession was believable.

Lin Jia was not anxious. He lowered his head and continued cutting the steak, making every cut neat and beautiful.

In the end, he cut the entire steak into small pieces, just like Yan Xu.

But Yan Xu still did not speak.

Lin Jia’s patience ran out. When he raised his head, his expression stiffened.

—At some point, Yan Xu had drunk himself unconscious on the table.

Lin Jia: “…”

Without expression, he stood up and picked up the beer can in front of Yan Xu.

This person had saved two cans of beer. He had poured one can into a wine glass and only drank the remaining bit inside the can, leaving the rest untouched in the glass.

The other can had not even been opened.

A true “one-cup drunk.”

Lin Jia commented mercilessly: “Weak.”

He pulled a cushion out from under the cat’s butt, opened the zipper, and spread out the folded blanket inside. He threw it over Yan Xu with disdain.

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