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Psst! We're moving!
After work, Jiang Beibei rummaged through her kitchen at home, swiped some fried pancakes her grandmother had made, and then headed straight to the door across the hall.
“Hey, Second Brother?”
Tang Xizhou was there too. Seeing her arrive, he teased, “You’ve already started treating this place like your own home.”
“I still have to go back to eat dinner,” Jiang Beibei said as she broke the pancake in half and handed him a piece. “Second Brother, did you come here for something?”
“Wow, that tone,” Tang Xizhou chuckled. “You really think of this as your own home now, huh? You even ask why I’m here.”
Mrs. Chu snickered. “Well, this is basically her home.”
“I came to talk to Captain Yao about something,” Tang Xizhou explained. “Specifically, the footage from the February 28th raid that your station requested. I’m discussing it with Captain Yao right now.”
“Weren’t you part of that operation too, Auntie?” Jiang Beibei asked.
“Full of vigor and style,” Mrs. Chu laughed. “With the help of the brothers’ squad, we wrapped it up perfectly, taking down an entire group in one go.”
“Two got away, but it’s no big deal,” Tang Xizhou added. “In this day and age, once they enter the city, it’s pretty much impossible for them to escape.”
Chu Yao came home after work, washed his hands, and gave Jiang Beibei a hug. Tang Xizhou sat on a small stool, and Chu Yao absentmindedly ruffled his hair.
“Second Brother, are you staying for dinner tonight?”
“Sure,” Tang Xizhou grinned. “I’m too lazy to cook anyway.”
He noticed Chu Yao pulling out a ring from his pocket and putting it on. “Yao Er, let me recommend something useful to you.”
“Hmm?”
Tang Xizhou opened his phone, pulled up an image, and showed it to Chu Yao. “This is a necklace with a clasp. You can wear it around your neck when you need to take off your ring for work. Just clip the ring onto the clasp—it’s convenient and won’t get lost.”
Jiang Beibei was curious. “Wow, Second Brother, where did you find this miraculous thing?!”
Tang Xizhou smirked. “Old Yan has lost three rings already and couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to invent something himself, but for someone like me—a study-slacker brain—if I can think of it, someone else has definitely already made it. So I searched online, and sure enough, it exists. How’s that, little sister? Your life skills can’t compete with mine, right?”
“How could I compare with you!” Jiang Beibei gave him a thumbs-up. “Second Brother, no wonder you’re Big Sister-in-Law material—you know what I mean!”
Tang Xizhou lightly smacked her, feigning force but using minimal strength. “Hey, are you asking for trouble?”
Jiang Beibei responded with a long string of laughter.
A few days earlier, the brothers had gathered for a meal. Huang Yuandao suggested they hold an arm-wrestling competition, and whoever lost would have to answer a sensitive question.
When Tang Xizhou lost to Song Lang, Huang Yuandao finally asked the question everyone had been dying to know: “Tang Laoli, just tell us—who’s the top and who’s the bottom?!”
Tang Xizhou looked disgusted. “Look at how shallow you all are. We don’t really divide roles—whichever one of us is tired that day gets to lie down and be taken care of.”
Amidst the teasing and hollering, Yan Qingming chimed in: “Generally speaking, detectives tend to be more exhausted.”
Qin Yuan whistled excitedly. Tang Xizhou sighed, “...What a bunch of uncultured people. Do you really need to react so strongly? Old Yan, you’re such a troublemaker—did you really have to add that last bit?”
Yan Qingming grinned. “Absolutely necessary. It’s usually me.”
Jiang Beibei wailed dramatically. “No! My OTP is being reversed!”
Huang Yuandao consoled her. “Look on the bright side, sis—as long as they stay together, it’s true love!”
Since that semi-public revelation of their private lives, Jiang Beibei’s gaze toward Tang Xizhou had grown softer.
Tang Xizhou complained, “Your minds are stuck in a rut. Stop looking at me like I’m some good buddy of yours.”
“Got it! I’ll listen to you!” From then on, Jiang Beibei deliberately added respectful honorifics whenever she spoke to him, finding it increasingly amusing.
However, while the relationship between the two brothers remained as calm as ever, it didn’t mean their lives were without challenges.
Although Tang Xizhou’s mother no longer pressured him to find a girlfriend, she occasionally spiraled into anxiety over the thought of her son not getting married or having children. Whenever this happened, she’d storm over to Unit Two, pinch Tang Xizhou’s ears, and vent her frustrations.
Following the principle of letting her hit him rather than making her upset, Tang Xizhou always greeted her with a smile and never argued.
But lately, Tang Xizhou’s mother hadn’t visited as often.
The reason? One day, she came by again while Tang Xizhou was still at work. Only Yan Qingming was home—washing clothes in the washing machine, cooking in the kitchen, and mopping the floor while wearing an apron.
As soon as she saw this scene, Tang Xizhou’s mother blushed furiously, feeling awkward and unsure of what to say. She stayed for only a short while, leaving behind a bag of fruit before departing.
When Tang Xizhou returned home, Yan Qingming remarked, “Laoli, your mom’s face is thinner-skinned than mine.”
“That’s because your mom treats me like free labor,” Tang Xizhou replied.
He said this because, the previous week, when Tang Xizhou accompanied Yan Qingming back to East Mountain to visit Yan’s elderly grandmother, Yan’s mother didn’t hesitate to put Tang Xizhou to work making steamed buns and kneading dough.
She even pointed at Tang Xizhou and told the grandmother, “Mom, feel free to boss him around—he’s practically part of our family.”
After hearing that, Tang Xizhou didn’t feel tired at all and worked with great enthusiasm.
Later, as Yan Qingming massaged his back, he teased, “You idiot. Back in the day, you’d be the temporary wife brought into the family during harvest season—to help with the labor. Once the crops were harvested, if the family decided you couldn’t bear children, they’d send you back home.”
Tang Xizhou shot back, “If your family dares to do that, I’ll arrest you!”
“There’s no chance of that happening,” Yan Qingming chuckled. “Not in this lifetime.”
“Bullshit! If I ever get tired of you, I’ll divorce you immediately and live the single life!”
Yan Qingming joked, “Save it. After two days of freedom, your room will turn into a pigsty.”
“I have a sister.”
“Your sister might sprain her back just vacuuming. Do you think she’d clean your room or wash your smelly socks?”
“I have a brother-in-law.”
“Your brother-in-law does chores for your sister—not for you. This kind of thing isn’t done unless it’s true love. Who else would do it for you?”
In mid-April, Mr. and Mrs. Chu moved to their new house in the front yard. Chu Yao took the day off to see them off and then went shopping with Jiang Beibei for a double bed. He seemed unusually energetic all day.
Jiang Beibei teased, “Calm down, don’t be so impatient.”
Chu Yao replied, “I just got married. If I’m not eager now, our marital life will be miserable.”
“Hahaha, fine, you win the logic battle.”
Grandma stood at the doorway, watching as the double bed was carried into the apartment across the hall. Shaking her head, she tapped Jiang Beibei’s forehead. “Not coming home tonight?”
“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Beibei grinned. “Hehe, we’re testing the bed tonight.”
“Don’t talk so recklessly about private matters,” Grandma scolded gently. She always worried Jiang Beibei might inadvertently spill intimate details.
Jiang Beibei shrugged. “Why would I talk about this? No one’s paying me a bonus for it. But if there were a competition offering a million-dollar prize for sharing bedroom secrets, I’d livestream it and praise Yao Ge to the skies.”
Grandma sighed deeply. “Oh, my girl, your mouth never stops running!”
Inside the room, Chu Yao was overseeing the delivery of the bed. He caught snippets of their conversation. When Jiang Beibei, munching on candy, hugged his waist and bumped her forehead against his chest, Chu Yao asked, “What are you going to praise me for?”
“For being able to go seven times in one night.”
Chu Yao nearly doubled over laughing. “Are you telling Grandma these things?”
“Would I dare?” Jiang Beibei pinched his waist, slipping her hand under his shirt to stroke his abdomen without restraint. “Tonight, we’ll test the new bed. If you can go seven times, I’ll write a ten-thousand-word review praising the store tomorrow.”
And so, on the first night without parents at home…
Chu Yao and Jiang Beibei went wild—literally.
They drank a little wine. With just one glass, Jiang Beibei was already tipsy and insisted on plenty of foreplay. She grabbed the bottle and started chasing Chu Yao around the bed in the bedroom.
“If you catch me, the wine is yours,” she declared.
With that, she tipped her head back and gulped down a large mouthful of red wine, kicked off her shoes, and ran.
Having studied dance, she moved gracefully, dodging his grasp easily. As Chu Yao chased her around the bed, she slipped through his fingers every time.
After several rounds, Jiang Beibei swallowed the wine and unilaterally declared success—only to be caught by Chu Yao moments later and thrown onto the bed.
Halfway through undressing, the phone rang.
Seeing it was Tang Xizhou calling, Chu Yao picked up. “What’s up?”
“...Sleeping?”
“Bullshit,” Tang Xizhou scoffed. “All that thumping overhead—I’d believe you’re asleep only if you’re some kind of mini-drill. Take it easy.”
Chu Yao: “...”
So much for privacy. Though the parents had moved out, the neighbors were still around. Even the slightest movement echoed through the walls, and before anything serious happened, the whole neighborhood already knew.
Jiang Beibei giggled uncontrollably. Drunk and uninhibited, she shouted into the phone: “Second Brother, stop talking like that when you’re cuddling Big Brother, hahaha...”
Tang Xizhou: “...Who told you I’m cuddling him? He’s at his place.”
“What?! You have a partner and you’re not sleeping together?!”
“Fourth Brother has a partner too, but he’s still cuddling his dog. Little sister, are you drunk? Did Yao Er get you drunk?”
“How dare he get me drunk!” Jiang Beibei slurred. “I got myself drunk just waiting for him to sober me up...”
And just like that, another normal word gained a new meaning after “overtime.”
Chu Yao quickly hung up and turned off his phone, kissing her lips to silence her.
Jiang Beibei struggled to push him away and delivered her final instruction: “Yao Ge, your mission tonight is to sober me up. Until then, you’re not allowed to stop.”
Chu Yao’s lips curled into an uncontrollable grin.
This was so much fun... Jiang Beibei exceeded his expectations, especially in terms of harmony and openness. Every day with her felt full of anticipation.
“Alright, I’ve left my last words. Husband, you may begin.”
“Last words?” Chu Yao paused, confused.
Jiang Beibei grinned wickedly. “I’ll close my eyes and play dead. You’re responsible for bringing me back to life… Doctor Chu, it’s all up to you to perform a miracle.”
Chu Yao suddenly realized that if they kept this up, half the dictionary would end up as sensitive words between them.
It was clear that Jiang Beibei was very drunk.
________________________________________
The next morning, the two went to work hand in hand. Before parting ways, they shared a light kiss.
Song Lang came out to walk his dog and remarked, “Big Miao, I won’t buy you dog food anymore. Watching those two upstairs is enough to fill anyone up...”
Qin Yuan, rushing out with a suitcase for a business trip, sighed dramatically. “...Not just filled, I’m stuffed every meal.”
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