After the Divorce, I Went Back to My Hometown, Pregnant and Became the Sheriff - Chapter 30

That night, Jiang Xu lay in bed for a long time, unable to sleep. Inspector Zhao’s words echoed in his mind once again.

While Shen Yucheng would inevitably be held accountable for firing his gun, the severity of the matter could be interpreted in many ways. He had already been granted firearm authorization by the General Administration of Integrity; firing in a moment of crisis was a justifiable action.

Recently, someone had tampered with Zhou Lexuan’s DNA data. Tracing the relationships of the technicians involved led straight to two people: Ye Yilang and Cheng Zhen. These two were the top figures of the G-City Bureau. Although G-City was a small border town, their titles carried enough weight to make things happen. With G-City soon to be integrated into S-City’s jurisdiction, were the report and the DNA tampering a form of “tribute” from one of them to a big shot in S-City?

As he was thinking, a muffled thud came from Unit 401 upstairs, followed by the sound of a chair dragging across the floor. Jiang Xu rolled over, intending to ignore it, but then he heard Tongtong calling him from the next room. He had no choice but to throw back the covers and get out of bed.

“Daddy,” Tongtong said, lying in bed clutching his small quilt. “It’s thundering outside…”

Jiang Xu had finally managed to coax the child to sleep, only for Shen Yucheng’s noise upstairs to wake him up. “It’s not thundering. Go back to sleep.” Jiang Xu sat on the edge of the bed and tucked Tongtong in. “Do you want to finish the story about the little squirrel?”

“Okay.” Tongtong squinted and nuzzled Jiang Xu’s palm. Jiang Xu gave a gentle smile, pulled a children’s picture book from the nightstand, and began to read in a low voice.

He lowered his tone intentionally. By the middle of the story, Tongtong was already yawning. Just as Jiang Xu let out a sigh of relief, another thud came from upstairs. Tongtong, who was on the verge of sleep, rubbed his eyes again. “Daddy, it really is thundering.”

Jiang Xu suppressed the urge to curse at Shen Yucheng. “It’s going to rain, and the squirrels have all gone to sleep. Tongtong should be a good boy and sleep too, okay?”

Tongtong muttered something in response. Jiang Xu read a few more lines before the child finally drifted off. He placed the book back on the shelf and dimmed the nightlight. Once he stepped out of the room, he immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Shen Yucheng’s number.

The phone rang only a few times before it was answered.

“Shen Yucheng,” Jiang Xu’s voice was low, but certainly not pleasant. “What are you doing in the middle of the night?”

“Are you still awake?” Shen Yucheng asked, sounding inexplicably confident for someone making a call at this hour.

“Thanks to you, yes.”

The line went quiet. Feeling exhausted, Jiang Xu muttered, “Stop the noise,” and prepared to hang up, but Shen Yucheng guessed his intention.

“Jiang Xu,” Shen Yucheng called out.

“What?”

“The air conditioner.”

Shen Yucheng chose to be stingy with his words at the crucial moment. Jiang Xu rolled his eyes in the dark.

“The air conditioner in my place is broken.”

From the moment Shen Yucheng was born, he had been surrounded by nothing but applause and praise.

As an only son, his elders held high positions within the system. Throughout his upbringing, every resource the family could muster was tilted in his direction. For thirty years, while he didn’t consider himself completely out of touch, he had certainly never been troubled by the basics of living.

If it weren’t for Jiang Xu, he likely would never have set foot in an old staff dormitory, let alone lived in one.

Consequently, he couldn’t understand why, despite buying the best appliances on the market, the heating on his unit had failed after only a few days.

“Shen Yucheng,” Jiang Xu said, looking up at the brand-new indoor AC unit. “Hand me the chair.”

Shen Yucheng obediently moved a chair over.

Jiang Xu stepped onto the chair to check the dedicated circuit breaker for the AC. “This isn’t like the luxury flat they arranged for you,” he said, using the back of his hand to cautiously touch the breaker. “Old electrical systems can’t be overhauled easily. Voltage instability is common here. Hand me the multimeter. The one on the right side of the desk.”

Shen Yucheng found it and handed it over. “He Xianxing can handle it, why can’t I?”

“What does he have to do with this?”

“You defend him too much, Jiang Xu.”

“It’s just your competitive streak talking, Shen Yucheng.”

Shen Yucheng pressed his lips together and said nothing, sitting on the bed watching Jiang Xu check the voltage.

Jiang Xu glanced down, too tired to keep bickering. He reached up for the breaker; the loose hem of his pajama top swayed with his movements, exposing half of his midriff.

Shen Yucheng’s gaze drifted quite openly over those firm abdominal muscles. The dim lighting emphasized the defined lines. He looked at the fresh gauze around Jiang Xu’s waist; beneath the white fabric was healthy, tanned skin that shifted with every breath. “Did you change the dressing?” he asked.

“Mhm,” Jiang Xu replied with a neutral, weary tone.

Shen Yucheng looked up at Jiang Xu’s Adam’s apple, which was more prominent because of the way he tilted his head. “What’s the problem?”

Jiang Xu stepped down from the chair. “Low voltage,” he explained, moving the chair back. “The breaker can’t handle a high-power inverter AC. You should find time to replace this old one.”

Shen Yucheng cleared his throat. “You can’t fix it?”

“It’s the middle of the night. Where am I going to manifest a new breaker for you?” Jiang Xu reached down to pack his toolbox—a kit he’d assembled himself when he first moved in. He packed away the miscellaneous tools and prepared to leave when Shen Yucheng called his name.

“Now what?”

Shen Yucheng looked expressionless as he asked, “What about me?”

Jiang Xu stopped. “Just use an extra blanket tonight.”

“I only have one blanket.”

“Six degrees shouldn’t kill a grown man.”

Shen Yucheng muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Even though he didn’t hear it, Jiang Xu immediately guessed what he was saying and quickened his pace toward the door.

But Shen Yucheng didn’t give him the chance. “Let me stay at your place.”

“No,” Jiang Xu said bluntly. “It’s inconvenient.”

“What’s inconvenient about it? It’s just one night.” Remembering what Jiang Xu had said a few days ago, Shen Yucheng coughed and fixed his gray-blue eyes on Jiang Xu’s face with a look that was almost piteous.

“It’s really cold.” He slowed his blinking. The orange light traced the curve of his long lashes, casting shadows on his face that looked like fluttering wings.

Jiang Xu remained silent for a long time. In the delicate silence, Shen Yucheng’s sense of shame for “using his looks” finally surfaced, yet he forced himself to maintain the act, though his earlobes turned a faint pink.

“Just one night,” Jiang Xu sighed deeply. Lust-blinded, it seemed the phrase was timeless for a reason.

Shen Yucheng followed Jiang Xu into the bedroom carrying his things.

“You sleep here tonight.” Jiang Xu turned up the AC.

“What about you?”

“I’ll sleep in the living room.”

Shen Yucheng crossed his arms. “Is there a need to be so distant?” He tilted his chin up with the poise of a homeowner. “Let’s just sleep together. Don’t make a fuss.”

If Jiang Xu hadn’t known it was his own bed Shen Yucheng was pointing at, he might have believed he was the guest. “Shen Yucheng, your sense of entitlement is incredible.” Jiang Xu rubbed his brow in exhaustion.

Despite the words, they ended up in bed together, lying back-to-back, facing opposite directions.

“Have you lived here all these years?” Shen Yucheng’s voice sounded wide awake.

“Mhm.”

“Why buy a double bed if you sleep alone?”

Jiang Xu closed his eyes. “I like sleeping sideways. Is that a crime?”

“…”

Shen Yucheng waited a moment before saying, “Everything you say now is so sharp and prickly.”

“Well, at least you realized it before it was too late.”

Shen Yucheng rolled over and wrapped an arm around Jiang Xu’s waist, carefully avoiding the wound. “Tomorrow,” he said, throwing out a topic he knew would interest Jiang Xu before the other could push him away, “the investigators from the General Bureau will arrive to look into the shooting.”

Jiang Xu paused. “Have you thought about who reported you?”

“Inference without evidence is just delusion,” Shen Yucheng continued. “But what is certain is that Zhang Rui is in grave danger right now.”

“I was ordered to withdraw from the Zhang Rui investigation.”

“Is that so? Who replaced you?”

“He Xianxing.”

Shen Yucheng tightened his arms, pulling Jiang Xu into his embrace. Jiang Xu kept his head down, leaving his nape exposed to Shen Yucheng’s view.

“Do you know who is coming to investigate you?” Jiang Xu asked.

“Li Peiwen. My mentor.”

Five years ago, Li Peiwen had also been the one to handle Jiang Xu’s suspension. “It seems that whether it’s Public Security or Integrity, things always circle back to the same small group.”

“That isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Shen Yucheng was too close to the gland on Jiang Xu’s neck. His breath made Jiang Xu shiver involuntarily. Jiang Xu frowned and raised a hand to cover his neck. “Stay away from there.”

“You’re too guarded.” Shen Yucheng grabbed Jiang Xu’s wrist and pulled him around to face him.

Jiang Xu looked down at what was pressing against his thigh and narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you say you wanted to start over? Are you starting from the ‘head’ down there?”

Shen Yucheng chuckled, resting his head on Jiang Xu’s shoulder. “You’ve quite a way with dirty talk yourself.” His hands moved to Jiang Xu’s lower back, his cool palms sliding down. Jiang Xu shifted his waist, causing the old double bed to let out a suggestive creak.

“You really should get a new bed.” Shen Yucheng kissed Jiang Xu’s dark brow, then the fluttering eyelid, before moving down to bite his lip.

“Yeah!” Jiang Xu panted, a ghost of a laugh in his voice. “I should swap it for a single bed.”

Shen Yucheng didn’t argue. He caressed the side of Jiang Xu’s neck, his fingers undoing the loose buttons of the pajamas. Tanned skin met the night air.

“It’s gotten bigger.” Shen Yucheng knelt on the bed, looking down at those two trembling spots of red. He gave a light, meaningful nudge with his knee, leaving it unclear which part he was actually referring to.

“I see you’re quite good at the dirty jokes, too.” Shivering, Jiang Xu wrapped his arms around Shen Yucheng’s neck as the man leaned down to kiss him.

The wet sounds of their encounter filled the room.

“Just a bit of husbandly fun.”

The double bed groaned under the strain, the rhythmic creaking joining the hot gasps and muffled moans that lasted through the night.

Near dawn, Jiang Xu was finally moved aside as Shen Yucheng pulled away. Lust is a double-edged sword that was the last thought drifting through his mind before he fell into a muddled sleep.

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