After the Divorce, I Went Back to My Hometown, Pregnant and Became the Sheriff - Chapter 28

Jiang Xu woke up in Shen Yucheng’s car. He moved his stiff hands and touched the side of his neck. Although the nauseating scent of another Alpha still lingered in his system, the tearing pain had mostly vanished, leaving behind only a trace of feverish heat on his skin.

“The doctor gave you a blocker shot,” Shen Yucheng said. He held the steering wheel, glancing at Jiang Xu through the rearview mirror.

Jiang Xu opened his mouth, but for a moment, no sound came out.

“Tongtong is in the back seat,” Shen Yucheng added. “I took him to the hospital for a checkup. Aside from some scrapes, there are no issues. Don’t worry.”

“…Thank you.” Jiang Xu’s voice was hoarse. He turned to look at the small figure curled into a ball in the back.

“The sedative will wear off in a few hours.”

“Okay.” Jiang Xu leaned back against the seat. The movement pulled at the wound on his waist. He pressed his hand against the bandaged area; the cut was long, but not deep.

“I sent Zhang Rui to the hospital affiliated with your bureau.”

The car swayed gently. After a period of silence, Jiang Xu asked, “Can the interrogation be handed over to me?”

“You’ll need to apply with Cheng Zhen or Ye Yilang for that. I’m not sure if your clearance is high enough.”

“In that first phone call, Zhang Rui said they were innocent back then.”

“He is the only survivor among the kidnappers from five years ago.”

“I’m worried he’ll follow in Zhang Yongfeng’s footsteps.” Jiang Xu looked out the window. They were driving along the coastal road. As far as the eye could see, there was only the night and the endless sea.

Shen Yucheng tapped his index finger on the wheel. “I’ll try to secure the lead interrogator position for you.” Jiang Xu looked at that clean, pale hand and remembered the sound of the gunshot. “When did the Integrity Bureau start issuing firearms?”

While the Integrity Bureau and the Public Security Bureau overlapped in their work, their core responsibilities were fundamentally different. Public Security was a law enforcement agency where officers at the Inspector level or above had firearm authorization. The Integrity Bureau handled supervision; usually, only those with extremely high titles were equipped with weapons. Jiang Xu had rarely heard of anyone from the integrity system ever firing a gun.

“The General Bureau gave me firearm authorization when they reassigned me here.”

“You know as well as I do that having a gun and firing one are two different things.” Jiang Xu sighed. “You might get into trouble for this.”

Shen Yucheng gave a soft laugh. “I’ll deal with whatever comes my way.”

“That doesn’t sound like your usual style.”

“Doesn’t it?” Shen Yucheng asked casually. “How is your body feeling?”

“No issues for now.” Jiang Xu rested his head against the window glass. The receding scenery outside gradually slowed to a halt. Shen Yucheng pulled the car to the side of the road. “Want to take a walk?” he invited, getting out to open the door for Jiang Xu. The salty night wind flooded the car. Jiang Xu glanced at the sleeping Tongtong and stepped out.

The waves crashed rhythmically against the shore, shaking the heart with every beat on this night where the moonlight was dim. There were few cars on this stretch of road. In the deep blue night, the only warmth came from the car’s hazard lights.

“Aren’t you afraid of the cold anymore?” Jiang Xu asked. The sea breeze tousled his short hair. He instinctively reached for a cigarette in his pocket, only to remember that in the chaos of the day, he hadn’t thought to bring any. As he withdrew his hand, Shen Yucheng caught it. “Jiang Xu, the very first thing you ever said to me was asking if I was cold.”

Jiang Xu looked down at their joined hands, thinking back to the first time he met Shen Yucheng at the Police Academy. S-Police University had a tradition of exchange months between upper and lower classmen. The freshman Jiang Xu had been assigned to mentor was Shen Yucheng. Jiang Xu felt a surge of nostalgia. “Back then, I thought I was very lucky.”

Shen Yucheng raised an eyebrow, his blue eyes searching. Jiang Xu was looking out at the distant sea, his sharp profile looking exactly as it had years ago.

“Because I really liked your face.” Jiang Xu turned to meet Shen Yucheng’s gaze.

A crack appeared in Shen Yucheng’s icy expression.

“Very shallow, right?”

Shen Yucheng pressed his thin lips together. His skin was very pale; having been in the wind for a while, the corners of his eyes looked slightly flushed. The red tint at the corners of those blue eyes was a striking combination. “So the reason we started was that superficial.”

“Then I’ll apologize.” A ghost of a smile appeared on Jiang Xu’s lips.

Shen Yucheng hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, finding someone whose appearance suits your taste perfectly is no simple task.”

Jiang Xu looked at him in surprise. Shen Yucheng lifted his chin slightly. “After all, a face is also a type of allocatable resource.”

“Hey…” Jiang Xu couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re getting a bit too smug, Team Leader.”

Shen Yucheng laughed too. He let go of Jiang Xu’s hand and moved his fingertips to the skin of Jiang Xu’s neck. The artery pulsed regularly with life. He couldn’t resist stroking the area. “Jiang Xu,” he said in a low voice.

Jiang Xu didn’t answer, he only looked back.

“The divorce papers you left at home five years ago are in the car.”

Jiang Xu lowered his gaze. “Do you want me to sign them?”

Shen Yucheng shook his head. “Something from five years ago is just a scrap of paper in the eyes of the law.”

“What do you want me to do then?”

“I’ve drafted a new agreement. Tomorrow, let’s go to the registry and finish the procedures.” Shen Yucheng removed the ring from his fourth finger. Before Jiang Xu could answer the previous point, he asked, “Where is your ring?”

Jiang Xu looked at the plain, polished wedding band. “I threw it away a long time ago,” he said.

Shen Yucheng held his ring up, looking through the simple circle as if the hazy moon was framed within it. “It’s just as well that you threw it. Why don’t you throw mine away too?”

“Where do you want me to throw it?” Jiang Xu took the ring, which still held the warmth of the man’s skin.

“Over there.” Shen Yucheng pointed toward the full moon hidden behind the drifting clouds.

Jiang Xu remained silent as he raised his hand and threw with all his might. The ring traced a silver arc through the air like a tiny moon, trailing a shimmering parabola before plunging into the deep blue sea without even a splash.

Shen Yucheng spoke. “Before I came to G-City, I thought we could go back to the way we were. But after arriving, I realized you are completely different from the person in my imagination.”

Jiang Xu’s mind drifted. Their marriage had started in a hurried, reckless fashion. Once the impulse faded, they realized they were from two different worlds; both thought they understood the other, yet neither could truly define the person standing before them.

Shen Yucheng’s voice rose and fell with the howling wind. “I know the case from five years ago has always been a knot in your heart. If it isn’t untied, there is no future for us.” He fixed his blue gaze on Jiang Xu’s face. “I said when I first arrived that we would divorce when the case was over. That was because I never felt divorce was the end. Leaving that marriage where we hid things from each other and starting a new relationship—that is the best choice for both of us.”

“Didn’t you say there was no such thing as a ‘best choice’ in this world?” Jiang Xu said softly.

Shen Yucheng leaned into Jiang Xu’s embrace as if he were exhausted. He rested his forehead lightly against that warm shoulder. “At a time like this, must you still pick apart the flaws in my words?”

Jiang Xu looked down at the pale neck beneath Shen Yucheng’s black hair. Shen Yucheng wrapped his arms around Jiang Xu’s back and leaned in. They were so close their noses touched, yet their lips remained a fraction apart. Their warm breaths mingled, and the blue in Shen Yucheng’s eyes seemed to melt into the night.

“I installed a GPS on your phone,” Shen Yucheng said. “I apologize.”

Jiang Xu stepped back against the car door. Shen Yucheng boxed him in, leaving him no room to move aside. “You really shouldn’t have left the security system.”

“To each their own.”

“But regarding today… I still have to thank you.”

Shen Yucheng drew close to Jiang Xu’s neck, which was still filled with the scent of the other Alpha. “Whether as a husband or a father, I have failed.” He bit into the tanned skin. Jiang Xu frowned and pushed him away. “Don’t do that, Shen Yucheng. I don’t like it.”

“I was terrified, Jiang Xu.” Shen Yucheng brushed his cheek against Jiang Xu’s palm.

Jiang Xu froze.

“That shot on the rooftop—I was actually aiming for Zhang Rui’s heart.”

Jiang Xu looked at him in disbelief.

“Because my hand wouldn’t stop shaking, the muzzle drifted upward from my initial target. That’s why I hit his shoulder instead.” Shen Yucheng cupped Jiang Xu’s face and kissed him with extreme gentleness. “Seeing him fall and struggle on the ground… I felt both dread and regret.”

He spoke while biting Jiang Xu’s lower lip, his tongue pushing past those closed teeth to capture the moist tongue within. After a long, tangled kiss, Shen Yucheng slowly pulled away. “I cannot take a life in place of the law,” he said. “But why couldn’t I kill a man who harmed my wife?”

“What kind of madness are you talking about.”

“I am perfectly sober.” Shen Yucheng gripped Jiang Xu’s shoulders and leaned down to kiss him again. The thin shirt became damp, faintly revealing the rising deep red flush beneath.

Jiang Xu placed a hand over his own eyes, instinctively tilting his neck back. His Adam’s apple slid up and down with his rapid breathing.

Shen Yucheng busied himself for a long time until the damp shirt was a crumpled, loose mess. He moved to pull open Jiang Xu’s collar, but seeing that the trembling waist had begun to bleed through the gauze again, he straightened up.

“Jiang Xu,” he called in a hoarse voice, drawing Jiang Xu’s gaze back. “I have the confidence to uncover the truth, but… it seems I don’t have as much patience as I thought I did to wait for that day.”

Jiang Xu didn’t know what he was trying to say.

Shen Yucheng leaned down for one more kiss. “Let’s divorce as soon as possible,” he said, pulling Jiang Xu’s open jacket closed. “I want to start over quickly.”

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