Xie Qi walked in front, the path growing increasingly familiar.
Qu Yanning followed behind cautiously and said, “This is the way to my house.”
“Mhm,” Xie Qi replied, gently rubbing his wooden prayer beads, the corners of his lips slightly lifting.
“…Oh.” Qu Yanning gave a dry response.
The man had just saved his life—there was nothing wrong with inviting him in for a cup of tea.
But it wasn’t until they had entered the apartment that Qu Yanning suddenly realized—how did he know where I live?
He shook his head, choosing not to dwell on it.
Anyway, Second Master didn’t seem like a bad person. If he knew, he knew.
In a rush, Qu Yanning had Xie Qi take a seat and quickly brought out his best tea leaves, brewing a pot and placing it in front of him with utmost hospitality.
“Thank you again for today,” Qu Yanning said earnestly.
If it hadn’t been for Xie Qi, he probably wouldn’t have made it back alive.
“No need,” Xie Qi responded flatly, lifting the teacup with his slender fingers.
The steam tinged his pale fingertips pink.
He lowered his gaze and gave a nonchalant reply.
“…Alright.”
While Xie Qi focused quietly on drinking tea, Qu Yanning sat with his eyes slightly downcast, awkwardly staring at his toes, scratching his head internally in search of a conversation topic.
“Um… would you like some late-night snacks?”
He had wracked his brain for a while and ended up blurting out something completely lame.
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it deeply.
Who would’ve thought that the ethereal, otherworldly Second Master would simply nod and say, “Mhm.”
“…?” Qu Yanning was stunned.
After a beat, he cautiously asked, “Do you have any dietary restrictions?”
Xie Qi shook his head.
Qu Yanning told him to wait a moment and jumped up to head to the kitchen.
It was late, and there weren’t many ingredients left at home.
After rummaging through the fridge, he found half a bag of frozen dumplings and three small yellow croakers.
He put a pot of water on the stove.
Once it came to a boil, he tossed in the dumplings, added a pinch of salt, covered the pot, and turned to prepare the fish.
He scaled and gutted the croakers, rinsed them clean, and rubbed them with salt to bring out the flavor faster since there wasn’t time to marinate.
While the dumplings cooked, he washed his hands, chopped garlic and ginger, and made a dipping sauce with vinegar.
Since fried food wasn’t ideal for late-night snacking, he chose to steam the fish.
Fearing Xie Qi might find it too bland, he prepared the dipping sauce as a backup.
Steam hissed from the pot, and the round, plump dumplings bobbed in the boiling water.
He scooped the dumplings into bowls, added a bit of clear broth, a spoonful of homemade lard, and garnished with fresh green scallions.
Two fragrant bowls of dumplings were ready.
He placed the fish on a plate with ginger slices, splashed it with cooking wine, and set it in the steamer.
Then he brought the dumplings out. “Second Master, please try it and see if it suits your taste.”
Xie Qi paused his bead-counting and gracefully rose to sit at the table.
Qu Yanning set the table and offered a shy smile, “There wasn’t much left at home, so I made dumplings and steamed some small yellow croaker.”
Xie Qi had been glaring darkly at the scallions in the bowl.
But at the mention of the croaker, his ears twitched slightly.
With elegant restraint, he used his chopsticks to push the scallions aside. “Mhm.”
Qu Yanning smiled, dimples showing, “The croaker should be ready soon. I’ll go check. Help yourself, no need to be polite.”
As soon as Qu Yanning left the room, Xie Qi’s chopsticks flew into action—he swiftly picked out all the scallions and dumped them in the trash.
By the time the croaker was done steaming and Qu Yanning came back, Xie Qi had already eaten most of the dumplings.
The dumplings were filled with shrimp and corn.
Xie Qi skillfully peeled off the wrappers and only ate the shrimp, leaving behind a bowl of golden corn kernels and a few dumpling skins.
“Steamed small yellow croaker,” Qu Yanning said, twitching at the corners of his mouth.
Pretending not to notice how picky the man was, he placed the dipping sauce in front of him. “If the flavor’s too mild, you can use this.”
Xie Qi finished the last dumpling and looked longingly at the fish.
Qu Yanning sat across from him, eating slowly.
Xie Qi licked his lips subtly and maintained an elegant posture as he picked up a piece of fish.
Steaming preserved the croaker’s natural freshness.
The meat was tender and smooth, with few bones. One bite, and Xie Qi eagerly picked up another.
Qu Yanning was full after one bowl of dumplings and silently watched the dignified man feast on fish, sensing vaguely that something felt… off.
All three croakers ended up in Xie Qi’s stomach.
Only three delicate fish skeletons remained on the plate.
Wiping his mouth, he finally spoke, “Thank you for the meal.”
Qu Yanning asked carefully, “Are you full? Want anything else?”
“No need,” Xie Qi replied with a blank face, though clearly satisfied.
“…Okay.” Qu Yanning began tidying up, hesitating whether to ask the big shot to stay the night.
But before he could say anything, Xie Qi stood up to leave. “It’s late. You should rest. I’ll head back.”
Qu Yanning glanced at the clock—it was already 2 a.m. Not just late. Super late.
“It’s so late… and there’s no public transport at this hour…”
Xie Qi radiated post-meal contentment and wore a rare gentle expression.
He reached out and tapped Qu Yanning’s forehead. “The talisman I gave you—keep it on you.”
“Ah… I forgot.” Qu Yanning slapped his forehead, embarrassed. He had placed it on his nightstand and forgotten all about it.
“That talisman wards off evil and keeps you safe.”
The paper charm contained some of Xie Qi’s shed fur.
He belonged to the white tiger lineage of the feline race—an ancient divine beast, brimming with yang energy.
Carrying his fur would repel any evil spirits.
Qu Yanning understood and earnestly promised to keep it with him.
Xie Qi fingered his beads and walked out. “Farewell.”
Qu Yanning walked him to the elevator before heading back.
Inside, his roommate Chu Zhou yawned, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Who was that? Showing up at this hour…”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Qu Yanning interrupted quickly, his cheeks flushing. “I—I got mugged, and Second Master happened to be passing by. I just made him a late snack to thank him.”
“Ohhh…” Chu Zhou drawled, clearly amused. “A classic case of the hero saving the beauty.”
“You didn’t get hurt, right?”
“…I’m done talking to you.” Qu Yanning huffed, glaring.
“Guess not.” Chu Zhou looked at Qu Yanning’s red ears and shook his head like a worried old aunt. “Tsk tsk… boys really do grow up and fly away, huh.”
……
Outside the Qu residence, Xie Qi stood looking up. In the night, only one window was still lit.
He smiled faintly. “His cooking’s not bad. Just too soft-hearted.”
A flash of white lit the night.
A black-and-white kitten crossed its paws and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
******
A week later, the Shen City Morning Post reported the follow-up on the serial murder case.
The killer, Li Hanwen, had been brought to justice.
Li Hanwen had killed with extreme cruelty and showed no remorse after his arrest.
The court, after a public trial, sentenced him to death, to be carried out immediately.
“Feels like dying like that was too easy for him.”
At the time, Qu Yanning was sitting in a dessert shop across from Xie Qi.
He happened to see the report in the shop’s newspaper and realized the case that had rocked Shen City had finally concluded.
“Death isn’t the end,” Xie Qi said, stirring his coffee gently.
The bitter aroma wafted up as he frowned and pushed the cup away.
Qu Yanning took a bite of cheesecake, the rich cheese melting on his tongue.
He didn’t have time to savor it— “What do you mean? He’ll go to the eighteenth level of hell?”
“…Watch less TV.” Xie Qi coughed and forcibly suppressed the smile on his lips, answering with a deadpan face.