Chapter 224: Chapter 224

Shi Nian turned his head to look at him.

I wonder if it’s at this moment that people’s moods are easily influenced by the layers of light blue outside the window, leading them to relax and unwind as well? It always feels like looking at him now makes my heart involuntarily soften.

She turned back but reached out to him: "Mr. Tang, can I borrow a cigarette?"

Tang Yanqing was taken aback: "You want to smoke?"

"Oh." She glanced at him sideways: "Is it not allowed?"

Tang Yanqing frowned: "Then wait a moment. Xiao Yi might have some ladies’ cigarettes."

"No need, I’ll just smoke the men’s ones."

Tang Yanqing hesitated slightly but still took out a cigarette, pulled out two sticks, and handed her one.

Shi Nian sat down against the wall, leaning back. After a tiring night, her feet were somewhat swollen, uncomfortable in the shoes, so she simply took off both shoes, placing them on her sides, one on each side.

He gazed at her, then lit the lighter, cupping the flame with both hands, crouching down in front of her, and carefully helping her light the cigarette.

She took the cigarette, expertly brought it to her lips, took a slanted puff, then gently parted her lips, closing her teeth to exhale the smoke.

He couldn’t help but laugh: "Wow, an old smoker, huh?"

She laughed, sitting cross-legged, her left hand without the cigarette holding her ankle.

"I really didn’t expect that I could even trick Professor T."

He squinted, gazed again, then his eyes fell on the fingers holding the cigarette, and he laughed: "Indeed, I was tricked by you too. The posture is that of an old smoker, but it doesn’t belong to you, it’s something you mimic from someone else. The reason even I was fooled is because you mimic this posture so fluently and casually, because you are too familiar with it."

Shi Nian choked a little, revealing that she wasn’t actually skilled at smoking. She simply took down her hair tie, letting her long hair fall to each side, covering her cheeks.

He wisely understood that this was not the moment to speak.

He sat down beside her, shoulder to shoulder, directly on the ground, leaning against the white wall.

But unlike her, he didn’t sit cross-legged but propped up his right leg, extended his right hand holding the cigarette, resting it on his knee.

A bit lazy, a bit unrestrained, a bit reckless.

Sitting side by side , they didn’t speak but accompanied each other in silence, taking a few puffs of their cigarettes.

She flipped her hair back, turned to look at him: "... I’m thinking of my dad."

He shrugged and smiled.

Of course, it’s her dad. Who else could it be, the male figure so familiar in her life?

She stared at the tiny red glow of the cigarette and tried to smile: "My dad smoked a lot, especially when tackling difficult cases, he smoked even more. Sometimes waking up in the morning, the floor would be full of cigarette butts, the whole house shrouded in smoke..."

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but smile slightly: "If only our house had sprinklers then, my mom would have had a way to control my dad." The rightful source is N()velFire.net

He finally turned to look at her profile: "You used to observe your dad smoking for a long time, and even imitated him."

"Yes." Shi Nian took a deep breath and forcefully smiled: "Because back then I was young and really wished my dad would put down his work and play with me. I would stand at the door, hoping that as soon as he glanced my way he’d know what I wanted. Unfortunately, more often than not, even when my legs went numb from standing, he was still engrossed in his cases, smoking one cigarette after another, not noticing my presence at all. And so, the only thing I could see during all that time was my dad smoking this one single action."

"Later," her nose became congested, and her voice turned muffled: "Later, my dad passed away. I was a terrible daughter, leaving for M Country in a hurry, and I didn’t even bring a photo of my dad with me. Thus, whenever I miss him, I always unconsciously mimic his smoking actions... Ugh, I never thought that when I remember my dad, this would be the clearest image in my mind."

Tang Yanqing then laughed too.

As a police officer, due to the constant day-and-night cycles and sometimes going hundreds of hours without sleep, while needing to maintain a clear mindset to outsmart criminals, almost every investigator has one or two mental crutches. The most common being tobacco, and he’s no exception, even Tang Yanyi smoked ladies’ cigarettes; while Jia Tianzi relies on coffee, Guan Liang depends on catching "zombie computers" all over the network.

Sometimes, upon reflection, the life of a police officer is truly unbearable. That’s why he initially resisted joining the police force, but later, after becoming an officer, he fell deeply in love with this profession, this not-so-easy-to-handle hardship.

"You miss your dad?" He ran his hand along his chin: "Do I look a bit like him, maybe?"

Speaking of this, in fact, the frustration and fear he had previously felt had slowly dissipated. In front of her, he couldn’t just throw a tantrum, nor could he show fear...he had to reassure her.

"Hmph, stop taking advantage of me!"

Shi Nian laughed heartily and reached out to hit him.

After hitting him, she still lowered her head and smiled, "It’s not that you look like my dad, but your attitude reminded me of him."

Shi Nian lowered her head and looked at the ground. The marble floor, reflecting the ceiling lights, created hazy shadows, gently enveloping it, as if the ripples of a dream.

"My dad would also be nervous about me like that, and tell me not to do certain things...And you also know about that incident, the one when I was in middle school, my dad actually put on his police uniform and went downstairs to block the person, talking with them for so long, not afraid of being accused of police bullying."

She was all smiles, but a hint of sadness slowly gathered in her eyes.

"I had such a father, and my mom had such a husband. Both my mom and I once thought we would live our lives peacefully...But, there will always be a day when my dad can’t protect me anymore. Ultimately, I have to become strong myself."

After saying this, she slowly turned her head, solemnly looking at Tang Yan Yi: "Thank you, Mr. Tang, thank you for always considering my safety and trying to shield me whenever danger strikes. But Mr. Tang, just like I can’t always be the little girl under my dad’s wings, I can’t always rely on 24-hour police protection. I have to walk out on my own, and I must learn to protect myself."

Actually, when Shi Nian mentioned her dad, Tang Yan Yi already understood what she wanted to say.

He admired her bravery, loved the fearless righteousness and brightness that comes naturally from being a cop’s daughter...but he was reluctant.

He lowered his head: "Huangfu Huazhang might not be as simple as you think."

"I know." She met his gaze with clarity: "Did you forget I’m also a cop’s daughter? I inherited the police genes from my dad, and I can use basic deduction methods, right?"

She touched her temple gently: "My intuition isn’t too bad either. Precisely because I know he’s not that simple, that’s why I want to get closer, to see for myself what secrets he hides."

She gazed into his eyes earnestly.

"Four centennials: a hundred-year-old university, a hundred-year-old campus, a hundred-year-old pearl, a hundred-year-old painting...except for the centennial pearl, the other three are directly related to him. So how could I let such a person go easily?"

Tang Yan Yi squinted his eyes: "But when you mentioned the ’centennial pearl’ just now, you clearly looked away for a moment. This proves you’re hiding something from me, and that secret is related to the pearl—do you think the centennial pearl could also be linked to him?"

Shi Nian laughed: "Jeez, talking to someone like you, can I ever lie happily again?"

"Speak quickly." He smiled, reaching out to pinch her nose playfully.

The sudden intimacy made her feel uneasy, and she hurriedly moved back a little.

"Um... I researched the use of Mizhu. In the East, it’s mostly used for jewelry, but in the West, there are different uses."

Tang Yan Yi leaned in: "For instance?"

Shi Nian’s face turned red: "For instance, a woman’s bra...often in the center is a pearl flower, embellished with Mizhu."

Bra, cough, bra, it’s really a topic she couldn’t speak about frankly in front of him. But damn it, she couldn’t avoid it.

She just felt his gaze suddenly burn like a flame, scorching and landing on her.

Her cheeks involuntarily flushed, she took a deep breath, leaned the back of her head against the wall, and gently closed her eyes to avoid his gaze.

"And coincidentally, we talked about the Lin Qi family’s connection to the textile industry. As a fashion brand giant in this city, it’s impossible for their product line not to include high-end bras...so I suspect that Mizhu might also have connections with Mark and Huangfu Huazhang."

After trying hard to calmly finish this paragraph, she had already struggled to clench her fingertips tightly.

Because she could clearly sense his scorching gaze, brazenly lingering on the corresponding part where she wore the bra, reveling and wandering without leaving an inch.

It felt like he was tasting her...with his eyes.

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[Second update in the morning~]