Chapter Twenty-Six: Pretty Lamb, Please Stop Playing With Guns

At this moment, Xue Tian’ai’s jaw nearly hit the ground. He stared in shock at the blushing young policewoman gazing back at him. What on earth was happening? Had he misheard? Did this feisty policewoman just call him what he thought she did?

The onlookers reacted exactly like Xue Tian’ai: everyone fell silent in an instant, closing their mouths and focusing their attention on Xue Tian’ai and Shen Xinyi, as if sensing that this was no simple matter.

“Honey, I was wrong. Come home with me, please.” Perhaps worried Xue Tian’ai or the bystanders hadn’t heard clearly, Shen Xinyi repeated her words, her tone plaintive and pitiful.

“I… You…” Xue Tian’ai, never having faced such a situation, was at a loss for words and stuttered in reply.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t spend so long on cases every day and neglect you. It’s my fault. I promise I’ll spend more time with you from now on. Please don’t be mad at me. I swear on the great Party branch that I’ll cook for you after work every day, help you bathe, and be your most devoted, caring wife!”

As she spoke, Shen Xinyi donned a mournful expression and took hold of Xue Tian’ai’s hand.

“But I don’t even know you!” Xue Tian’ai finally blurted out.

“Honey, are you still mad at me?” Shen Xinyi’s expression grew more aggrieved, her eyes reddening as she pretended to wipe away tears.

The crowd instantly came alive again, breaking into groups of two or three to discuss the matter. Well, well, it seemed there really was more to this than met the eye! From their perspective, it looked like the man was sulking because his girlfriend was busy with work and neglected him, while the girl was now feeling wronged because of his anger.

Xue Tian’ai felt as though his worldview had begun to crumble since returning to China. The first time anyone called him “husband,” it was actually this young policewoman he barely knew! What was this supposed to be?

“Hey? Honey, you must have forgiven me, right?” For some reason, Shen Xinyi’s look of grievance was instantly replaced by excitement.

Noticing the abrupt change in her expression, Xue Tian’ai’s heart skipped a beat. What was this little policewoman up to now?

“Look, honey, you even bought me lingerie…” she said shyly, pointing at the delicate bag in his hand.

“I didn’t—”

“All right, all right, I’ll wear it for you then! We’ll go home now, I’ll put it on for you, and then…” Shen Xinyi’s cheeks flushed so deeply they looked ready to drip blood, her beautiful eyes brimming with a mischievous, enchanting light.

Now the crowd seemed to understand. The woman who had earlier scolded the police officer now turned to chide Xue Tian’ai.

“It’s not easy for a girl to be a police officer. She’s serving the people, after all. What’s the big deal if she can’t spend as much time with you? Don’t be so petty, young man.”

“That’s right. Every couple has their little conflicts. You have to understand each other!”

“Try seeing things from the other person’s perspective—wouldn’t that solve everything?” And so forth.

The remarks came in a jumble. Where Xue Tian’ai had once felt proud and self-satisfied listening to the crowd, now he only felt his head about to explode.

He gave the young policewoman a furious glare, only to see the corners of Shen Xinyi’s lips curled in a triumphant, conspiratorial smile. She was doing this on purpose! Absolutely on purpose!

Though Shen Xinyi felt thoroughly vindicated, she knew she couldn’t let this drag on. Smiling sweetly, she slipped her arm through Xue Tian’ai’s, pressing her ample chest against his arm, and whispered coquettishly, “Honey, let’s go home~ We’ll talk there. I promise to make it up to you!”

Xue Tian’ai was about to say something, but Shen Xinyi discreetly pinched him hard on the arm, signaling him to hold his tongue.

Stifling a yelp of pain, Xue Tian’ai obediently kept quiet, letting Shen Xinyi lead him away from the scene and out of the crowd’s encirclement.

Arm in arm, Shen Xinyi led him through street after street, round and round, until finally they stopped in a deserted alley.

“Uh… Could you let go of me now? As nice as it feels to have your chest pressed against me, it’s still your chest, and honestly, it’s a little unnerving!” Xue Tian’ai muttered once he saw they were alone.

“What’s wrong, honey? Didn’t you say you wanted to touch it before? How about now—was it real or not?” Shen Xinyi kept her smiling, squinting eyes on him.

“The nerves in the arm and the hand are totally different! I can’t make a proper judgment!” Xue Tian’ai replied with mock seriousness, rubbing his arm against her soft chest.

Feeling his arm move, Shen Xinyi’s cheeks turned crimson. She called him a pervert and quickly released his arm.

“Officer, don’t tell me you’re actually interested in my body… Dragging me to this empty alley—are you planning to take advantage of me? I mean, I don’t mind outdoor fun, but I think a hotel bed would be much more comfortable. Trust me, I won’t disappoint you with my skills,” Xue Tian’ai spouted mischievously.

“Shut up!” Shen Xinyi’s face was now as red as a cooked crab. She’d wanted to embarrass Xue Tian’ai, but now, having calmed down, she realized how shameful her actions had been—calling him husband and clinging to his arm… What a humiliating play!

“Now, hands on your head and squat down, immediately!” Though burning with embarrassment, Shen Xinyi forced herself to maintain a tough front.

“Officer, are you a sadist?” Xue Tian’ai obediently squatted down.

“Shut up! Answer my questions properly!” Shen Xinyi fumed, wishing she could tear out his tongue. His mouth was just too outrageous.

“Understood, I promise to answer everything I know—my measurements, what’s between my legs, anything you want to know!” Xue Tian’ai replied with mock gravity. If she wanted to mess with him, he’d make sure to give as good as he got.

“Name!” she barked, suppressing her anger and ignoring his nonsense.

“Xue Tian’ai,” he answered truthfully.

“Occupation!” “Unemployed.”

“Occupation! Don’t test my patience!”

“I really am unemployed! Officer, I just got back to China—I don’t have a job yet!” Xue Tian’ai said honestly. He really was jobless, though if his work with the Wolfpack counted, he and this policewoman might be considered colleagues of a sort. But he couldn’t tell her that—after all, Sirius was a state secret, and as a mere junior policewoman, she wasn’t cleared for that information.

“An unemployed man can afford such expensive lingerie brands?” Shen Xinyi pointed to the delicate bag in his hand.

It was true. The lingerie he’d bought was a luxury brand. He’d spent almost all the money from Qin Mengxue’s bedside drawer on buying her lingerie, barely using any for his own clothes.

“Well, with my good looks, I’m bound to have a rich woman keeping me!” Xue Tian’ai, still squatting, puffed out his chest with pride.

Seeing his arrogant posture, Shen Xinyi was speechless. Yet she couldn’t help wondering—was he really just a pretty boy? But pretty boys usually had gym-built muscles, not these battle-hardened ones. Would someone like him really be a kept man?

“Just back from abroad? Don’t tell me you’re an illegal immigrant? Come with me to the station for questioning!”

“Come on, sis, you have such an imagination. Or did I smuggle myself into your bed? Why are you so fixated on me?”

“Because you keep staring at my chest!”

“Oh, come on, what’s wrong with looking a couple of times? You’ve got two assets there—am I not allowed to look? Is ogling now a crime in China?”

“I—!” Unable to retort, Shen Xinyi grew angry but couldn’t get out a word.

“See, I was right. Officer, if you really like my body so much, let’s just get a hotel room and settle this. I’ll even do it for free the first time, but if you want a repeat, I’ll have to charge you—though I’ll give you a discount!” Amused at her embarrassment, Xue Tian’ai began teasing her again.

“You… I…” Shen Xinyi was utterly flustered, her face completely red.

“Come on, if you want it, don’t be shy! I said the first time is free, but you’ll have to pay for the room—after all, I’m just an unemployed man with no money, and I have to offer my body for your benefit for free?”

Shen Xinyi felt her whole body growing hot from his words. Her thoughts slipping out of control, she suddenly drew her pistol and aimed it at Xue Tian’ai’s head. “If you keep spouting nonsense, I swear I’ll shoot you!”

In truth, she didn’t know why she’d pulled her gun so suddenly. She only sensed that if she didn’t do something, things would spiral beyond control.

Xue Tian’ai, staring down the barrel of a gun, immediately shed all traces of mischief. His face turned serious, and an aura of coldness began to emanate from him—until, remembering something, he forcibly suppressed it.

Guns were nothing new to Xue Tian’ai. Even before becoming Sirius or Phantom Butterfly, he’d been intimately familiar with most mainstream firearms. As a child, he could already handle the majority of guns on the market with ease.

Guns were as familiar to him as his own limbs. He was absolutely confident that, at this close range, he could dodge a bullet and subdue his opponent. But from the look of it, this little policewoman was just momentarily angry and meant no real harm.

“Do you realize that pointing a gun at someone’s head is not only rude, but also extremely dangerous? Didn’t your instructors at the academy teach you that?” Xue Tian’ai said lightly.

“Enough chatter! Unless I teach you a lesson today, I’m not worthy of my name!” Shen Xinyi, oblivious to his calm under the gun, flushed and barked at him, waving the pistol erratically.

Seeing her still out of control, Xue Tian’ai’s eyes flashed cold. If she kept playing around like this, things could get dangerous. Suddenly, he leapt up from his squat like lightning, lunged at Shen Xinyi, and grabbed her hand holding the gun.

The sudden move startled Shen Xinyi. Instinctively, she tried to pull the trigger, only to find she couldn’t—Xue Tian’ai had slipped his finger into the trigger guard, locking it in place.

“This won’t do—you can’t just reach for such a dangerous thing on impulse. Aren’t you afraid you might accidentally hurt someone?” With a slight twist of his hand, Xue Tian’ai wrenched the gun from her grasp.

The whole process took but a moment, so swift it bordered on unbelievable. By the time Shen Xinyi realized what had happened, the pistol was in Xue Tian’ai’s hand—and its dark muzzle was now aimed squarely at her head.

“Who are you, really? How could a pretty boy have these skills?” The gun pointed at her head, Shen Xinyi finally calmed down, even a little panicked.

“My identity isn’t important. Just don’t ever point one of these at my head again. You’re completely unreasonable!”

“If you didn’t keep flirting with me and teasing me, would I have done this?” Shen Xinyi retorted.

“If that’s the extent of your professionalism as a police officer, you’re in trouble. What if a criminal taunted you and you lost control? What if it affected a mission? Besides, you’re pretty—if I, as a man, looked at you twice out of instinct, is that a crime?”

“I…” Shen Xinyi was speechless. Everything he said sounded right.

“Remember, a police officer’s priority is to protect the people, not to point guns at them for no reason! True, I momentarily lost my head and ogled you, but I also helped you catch that thief! Instead of thanking me, you threaten me with a gun. I really dislike having one of those things pointed at me and being ordered around!”

“You’re just shameless!”

“Being shameless isn’t a crime! And besides, do shameless people look this good?”

“Yes—they do! You!” Shen Xinyi lifted her chin in a huff, only to realize what she’d said, her cheeks reddening. Had she just admitted he was good-looking?

Xue Tian’ai was also caught off guard by her words. He steadied himself and said, “This is the first time—I hope it’s also the last. Don’t ever point that thing at me again!”

“Tsk, tsk. Type 05 pistol—not bad,” Xue Tian’ai commented as he examined the gun. Then, with a flick of his wrist, there was a clatter and the Type 05 pistol was instantly reduced to a pile of parts.

Shen Xinyi was dumbfounded. Single-handed disassembly? That speed was probably faster than her academy instructors! Who was this man, really?

“You’d better not play with guns, Pleasant Goat,” Xue Tian’ai said lightly, tossing the parts at her feet before turning and leaving the empty alley.

Shen Xinyi stood there in a daze, watching his departing figure, her heart pounding and a strange, unfamiliar feeling welling up inside.

Wait, what did he just call me—Pleasant Goat?

Suddenly realizing, Shen Xinyi flushed with anger, her cheeks burning. “Bastard! How dare you peek at my underwear! Next time, I won’t let you off so easily!”