How Can You Still Sleep at Your Age?

The next morning.

Xu Yanche got up promptly at five, springing out of bed like a carp flipping.

He Qing opened his eyes, saw Xu Yanche bounce out of bed, and rubbed his brow.

Sitting up, he asked, "Aren't you going to sleep a little longer?"

Xu Yanche looked at He Qing with disapproval. "How can you still sleep at your age? While it's cool out, you should exercise properly. You've just recovered from a serious illness, so this is exactly when you need to work out. Come on, let me give you an impromptu demonstration."

He Qing: "????"

Then the bewildered He Qing watched Xu Yanche take a running start and leap straight out the window.

He Qing: "!"

He Qing was so frightened his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

He hurriedly got out of bed and ran to the window to look down.

He saw Xu Yanche smoothly slide down the drainpipe, then use the ledge on the first floor to push off and leap through the air before landing steadily on the ground.

After landing, he even remembered to look up and flash a toothy grin at He Qing, who was peering down from the window.

[Easy. Nailed it.]

Watching Xu Yanche land safely, He Qing finally let out the breath he had been holding.

He had just been about to say something.

When he saw Xu Yanche scamper back up like a monkey.

Bracing both hands on the windowsill, he flipped back inside.

"Impressive, right?"

He Qing said sternly, "Don't do that again. It's too dangerous."

Xu Yanche did not think it was dangerous at all. He thought it was fun.

"It's not dangerous."

He Qing frowned.

This little wife of his really had no regard for personal safety.

He had just been about to say something when Xu Yanche ran into the bathroom to wash up.

After quickly finishing his morning routine.

Xu Yanche went downstairs to run.

Before leaving, he looked at He Qing. "Are you coming?"

Standing on the steps, Xu Yanche tilted his head up at He Qing.

The red mole at the corner of his right eye, framed by smiling brows and eyes, was vivid and alluring.

He Qing said, "Mm."

His tone was still as cold as ever.

But only he knew how flustered he was inside.

Xu Yanche watched He Qing stand there blankly.

He reached out, took He Qing's hand, and led him downstairs to go running.

The morning air was exceptionally fresh. As they ran, the breeze brushed their faces, bringing a refreshing sense of comfort.

The sun had just climbed over the mountains, and vast swathes of fiery-red dawn clouds stretched across the horizon, stunningly beautiful.

In He Qing's imagination, their morning run should have been something rather romantic.

But it was not.

Xu Yanche was like a monkey freshly descended from the mountains, darting all over the place with boundless energy.

The villa district's park was huge.

The landscaping was excellent too, with countless beautiful flowers planted throughout.

Xu Yanche took out his phone and ran a long way ahead.

Then he climbed up a large tree.

Holding his phone, he took pictures of He Qing in the distance.

He captured He Qing together with the endless dawn clouds behind him.

Looking at the photo he had taken, he said with satisfaction, "Looks good."

Then he jumped down from the tree.

He should have landed safely on the grass, but instead, he fell into someone's arms.

He Qing reached out and pinched Xu Yanche's waist. "Can you behave a little?"

Xu Yanche: "???"

He leaned closer, bringing them very close together.

[What is wrong with this guy? He's taking advantage of me and saying it like it's perfectly justified. Shouldn't I take some advantage too? Otherwise, I'm losing out.]

He Qing: "..."

Fine, fine. The tiny bit of affection that had just risen in him was snuffed out a little.

But right after that, he felt something soft against his lips. Xu Yanche had kissed him.

Their lips only brushed lightly before separating.

The tips of He Qing's ears instantly turned bright red.

Seeing He Qing's flaming red ears, Xu Yanche was immediately delighted.

[Hahahaha, He Qing really is an innocent big bad wolf. Hahaha, so cute. I really want to pin him down and ravish him properly.]

He Qing's ears turned even redder.

Xu Yanche pulled back a little, putting some distance between them. "Come on, come on, let's keep running. Exercise properly."

Ten minutes later, they ran into Ling Xu, who had just returned from the police station.

Judging by his appearance, Ling Xu seemed to have worked overtime at the station all night.

When Ling Xu saw He Qing, he stopped before entering Zhou Jinsu's house.

He looked at He Qing. "Let's talk. I have something to ask you."

But the moment he finished speaking, he saw Xu Yanche shield He Qing behind him protectively.

As though he were some kind of man-eating monster.

Ling Xu: "..." Was his tone too harsh just now?

Maybe he had just finished interrogating criminals and treated He Qing like one.

Seeing Xu Yanche protect him like that, He Qing was quite happy.

He reached out and patted Xu Yanche's shoulder. "He's my friend."

Xu Yanche did not believe him. "You're lying, right? He looks really fierce."

He Qing said helplessly, "Really. This is Ling Xu, the only heir of the Ling Household. He's a police officer, and he's very capable."

"Ling Xu, this is my partner, Xu Yanche."

Ling Xu stepped forward and extended his hand to Xu Yanche, making his tone as gentle as possible. "Hello."

Xu Yanche reached out and shook it. "Hello, hello."

[Oh my god, I didn't notice before, but now I can see Ling Xu's profile. Fuck, he's the captain of the criminal investigation division. Damn, and he's a workaholic too. He isn't going to arrest me, is he?]

[I don't think I've done anything wrong lately. I don't think so.]

He Qing said, "Yanyan, go back first. I need to say a few things to him."

Xu Yanche immediately agreed. "Okay, then come back early for breakfast."

After saying that, he ran off at lightning speed.

As though wolves were chasing him from behind.

Ling Xu looked at Xu Yanche's retreating figure with an indescribable expression. "Am I that scary?"

He Qing's expression did not change. "Yanyan is timid."

Ling Xu took He Qing to his own house.

His home was next door to Zhou Jinsu's.

He had deliberately bought a house beside Zhou Jinsu's back then.

The rooms were very sparse and cold, as if no one had lived there for a long time.

But the villa was spotlessly clean.

Ling Xu got straight to the point. "How did you know about the messages you sent last night?"

Ling Xu sat on the sofa and stared sharply at He Qing.

There was a hint of interrogation in his gaze.

He did not believe that He Qing, a CEO, had nothing better to do than investigate people.

Besides, those families had no competitive relationship with the He Household.

The He Household would not waste time on people they had no stake in.

A terrible suspicion had formed in his mind: perhaps He Qing was the mastermind behind those people.

But that seemed impossible upon further thought. Some of their crimes had happened while He Qing had been in a vegetative state.

He Qing was not nervous at all as he sat on the sofa.

He took out his phone and replied to Xu Yanche's message.

Then he looked at Ling Xu.

Leaning back against the sofa, he appeared languid and noble.

He was considering how to begin.

Five minutes later, He Qing asked, "What I'm about to say may sound, well... not very realistic, but it's the truth."

Ling Xu said, "Go ahead."

He Qing said, "You saw my wife just now, right?"

Ling Xu: "????" Was that what I asked? That was not what I asked.

The look in his eyes as he watched He Qing became even stranger.

He Qing: "..." For fuck's sake, what kind of look was that? Stop looking at me like I'm a criminal. I haven't done anything illegal.

Ling Xu asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

He Qing remained calm and composed. "Of course it has something to do with it. My wife can see everyone's gossip except mine, my parents', and his adoptive mother's. Simply put, he can see what happens to everyone, while my family and I can hear my wife's thoughts."

He had only confirmed last night that both he and his family could hear Xu Yanche's thoughts. Before that, he had thought he was the only one.

Ling Xu clearly did not believe what He Qing was saying.

He thought his good friend had spent two years as a vegetable and damaged his brain.

But if he did not believe him, there was no way to explain how He Qing had accurately stated where the evidence of those people's crimes was hidden last night.

Ling Xu asked, "Really?"

He Qing nodded. "Really. Just now, I heard my wife's thoughts. It seems you and Zhou Jinsu are a couple? You only officially got together last night. Before that, you two had been together in an ambiguous way."

Ling Xu, whose secrets had been exposed: "..."

Fine. He believed it now, because he and Zhou Jinsu had kept their relationship extremely well hidden.

No one else knew.

Ling Xu's mind immediately began to race.

If that was true, then making good use of Xu Yanche's ability would allow them to solve many cases and catch more criminals still at large.

Officer Ling immediately decided to test it out right away.

"Come on, bring your wife and go to the police station with me."

He Qing refused outright. "No. My wife still has to go film with the production crew today and earn money to support me."

Ling Xu: "..." Was his family really short of that little money?

He Qing continued, "Look at you. Your dark circles are practically hanging to the corners of your mouth. Get some proper rest, or you might suddenly drop dead. I'll go back and think about how to tell my wife about this. After all, he doesn't know our family can hear his thoughts."

"I don't want to expose it. I'll find a way to lure him into going to you on his own."

Ling Xu thought it made sense. "Mm. Then go. I'm going to rest."

As he spoke, he stood up, preparing to go next door.

Normally, he would definitely wait until He Qing had left before going next door.

But things were different now. He Qing already knew, so what was there left to hide? There was no need to pretend at all.