As the days passed, Bai Xiao continued living in Ch'en's house, and the two of them grew more and more in sync, to the point that they almost felt like an old married couple.
Every morning, Ch'en would leave for work after telling Bai Xiao what she felt like eating that evening. Bai Xiao, in turn, would use his free time to wander through the market, then prepare a steaming hot meal and wait for her to come home.
Aside from the fact that they went back to their own rooms after dinner, they were practically no different from husband and wife.
Perhaps because she was trying to protect him, Ch'en no longer let Bai Xiao involve himself in the smuggling case. Bai Xiao, for his part, was more than happy to take it easy. Though the mission had made no progress at all, he was thoroughly enjoying his current life.
Every day, he would make a round of the docks. If nothing happened, he would stop by the supermarket to buy groceries, then wait for Ch'en to come back so they could have dinner together.
This ordinary, peaceful, and free life was exactly what he had always longed for.
He honestly would not have minded if it continued like this forever.
But that was only his wishful thinking.
That day, Bai Xiao was once again going through his usual supermarket routine when he received a message from Ch'en.
"Bai Xiao, can you make a little extra food tonight? Two of my colleagues are coming over for dinner."
Coming over for dinner?
Bai Xiao immediately caught the scent of something unusual. Ch'en was not the kind of person with an easygoing personality. How could she possibly invite people over to her house for dinner so casually?
And not just one person, but two.
Then again, Bai Xiao did seem to remember hearing about Lungmen's three-person Guard Department team. It seemed to be Ch'en, Hoshiguma, and one other person. If two colleagues were coming, then it should be the two of them.
This was going to be important.
Because of their constant time together, Ch'en's affection for Bai Xiao had been steadily rising, but lately it had hit a bottleneck. To break through, he needed something unexpected.
And now, this was a very good opportunity.
Having made up his mind, Bai Xiao began planning dinner.
Meanwhile, over at the Guard Department, Ch'en let out a sigh and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
"Well, are you satisfied now?"
Hoshiguma only smiled, while the woman beside her stood there with her arms folded and a blank expression on her face.
"Satisfied? Satisfied with what?" She narrowed her eyes as if seeing Ch'en in a whole new light. "I really never expected that the great Inspector Ch'en would secretly bring a man home. Why didn't I realize before that you were this desperate?"
Under normal circumstances, Ch'en would never have tolerated that kind of mockery. She would have thrown sarcasm right back without hesitation.
But now, she did not argue at all. She only lowered her head and looked at the tips of her shoes, her face flushed red.
"Hmph. Tonight I'm definitely going to see for myself just what kind of man has you this infatuated. You've been distracted all day, barely even looking into the case anymore."
Seeing Ch'en like this, Hoshiguma felt a sour twist in her heart, but she still forced a smile and tried to smooth things over.
"Come on, Missy, don't make it sound so ugly. Bai Xiao is just too important. We have to keep him safe. After thinking it over, Old Ch'en's place was simply the safest, so he's only staying there temporarily. Right, Old Ch'en?"
Ch'en's reaction left Hoshiguma's heart sinking by half.
Not only did Ch'en fail to follow that explanation, she almost seemed to be tacitly accepting what Swire had implied.
Could she really have gotten involved with Bai Xiao already?
The thought of the two of them living under the same roof every night—even if they slept in separate rooms, it was still the same villa—made Hoshiguma panic.
Truthfully, she did not even know why she was panicking.
Maybe it was because Bai Xiao was the first person who had ever said he wanted to pursue her.
Or maybe it was because it was the first time she had ever heard such a thing.
Everyone called her Sister Hoshi. They admired her boldness. They feared her strength...
Only Bai Xiao—if he wanted to pursue her, it was probably just because he found her attractive.
And that was exactly what Hoshiguma lacked.
If not for Bai Xiao, she might have almost forgotten that she too was an exceptionally charming woman, and that whether in looks or figure, she was second to no one.
Looking at Ch'en's shy expression, Hoshiguma clenched her fists, a competitive fire igniting in her chest.
Old Ch'en, I'm not losing to you.
At least not in this.
...
To break through this bottleneck, Bai Xiao was practically scheming with every fiber of his being.
After thinking it over for a good while, he finally settled on his approach.
Just as boys liked to show off a beautiful girlfriend, women had a similar vanity too—
especially in front of their friends.
If that was what Ch'en wanted, then Bai Xiao would satisfy that wish and max out her affection for him.
The only headache was that Hoshiguma would almost certainly be there too, which meant things had the potential to turn into a full-blown battlefield.
So what should he do?
Bai Xiao kept thinking while buying groceries, but in the end, he came up with no perfect answer. Finally, he simply gave up on thinking about it.
What was the point of overplanning? Reality always changed faster than any plan. Adapting on the fly would always be the best strategy.
So he prepared everything as thoroughly as he could.
When Ch'en opened the door and stepped inside, the aroma of food greeted her at once. Exquisitely prepared dishes were already arranged on the table, and the sounds of cooking still came from the kitchen.
Swire sniffed the air.
"Smells amazing. Your little boyfriend's pretty good at this, huh?"
Ch'en shot her a glare. "What little boyfriend? Don't talk nonsense."
Then she raised her voice and called out, "Bai Xiao, I'm back."
While they were still changing their shoes, Bai Xiao stepped out of the kitchen carrying another dish and smiled.
"Perfect timing. This is the last one."
He greeted Hoshiguma with a smile, while Swire looked him up and down before giving her judgment.
"Not bad. He really is handsome, and he can cook too. Looks like your taste isn't awful after all."
Ch'en did not bother denying it again. She only shot Swire another glare. Swire ignored it completely and instead stepped forward, extending a hand toward Bai Xiao.
"Hello. I'm Ch'en Hui-chieh's colleague, Swire."
"Hello, Miss Shi."
Ch'en and Hoshiguma exchanged a look and immediately started holding back laughter, as if this sort of thing had definitely happened before. Swire, meanwhile, inhaled sharply and forced out a smile.
"My surname is not Shi. Don't call me Miss Shi."
"Then what should I call you...?"
"Just call me Swire."
Bai Xiao wore the expression of someone meeting her for the first time, but in truth, he had already recognized her.
She was one of the important figures too.
Ch'en's route was the S-rank clear, Hoshiguma's was the A-rank clear, while Swire and Lin Yuhsia were the B-rank clears.
In other words, if Bai Xiao wanted a fast clear, he could absolutely go straight for Swire. It would just lower his final rating. And one thing was certain: even if she was only a B-rank clear, the fact that she stood on the same tier as the Rat King's daughter meant Swire was definitely no ordinary person.
Bai Xiao still wanted the S-rank ending.
That meant using everything that could be used, and being wary of everything that needed caution.
This Miss Swire was clearly no simple character, and from the undertone of her words, she seemed faintly targeted toward him.
But honestly, that was normal. When a girl found out her best friend had a boyfriend, her first instinct was always to check him out and see what kind of person he was.
Bai Xiao did not mind her attitude in the slightest.
In fact, a new plan was already taking shape in his mind.
According to the system, everyone who could clear a stage was an important character within that stage. And during the game, the more of them Bai Xiao successfully conquered, the richer the rewards would become.
So...
Why not?
It was only a game.
What was there to be afraid of?
Just something to do while he was at it.
....
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