Blank Charge

“His  words were that he wanted to find that  beauty.” Zhang Rui seemed to suddenly realize that spreading rumors indiscriminately was inappropriate, so he changed to a more accurate statement.

Jin Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. “Wanting to find” doesn’t mean “being attracted to.” There might be many other reasons.

The masquerade party had been over for several days. If WangTai really wanted to find him as a lover, he wouldn’t have to wait that long, let alone considering that his secretary had just been arrested.

If WangTai really took an interest in Jin Zhou, how funny would that be?

“Let me ask my friend then.”

He casually made up an excuse to hang up the phone. Jin Zhou was about to discuss the matter with Yang Shiyu, but before he could speak, Yang Shiyu sitting across from him asked, “Who did WangTai take an interest in?”

“Me,” Jin Zhou put down his phone, “Your husband.”

Yang Shiyu: “…”

The usually indifferent man suddenly frowned, “Why do you attract so many bees so easily?”

“I’m so good looking and charming, what can I do?” Jin Zhou replied jokingly, then sighed lightly, his expression rarely serious, “To be precise, WangTai isn’t attracted to me, he wants to find me.”

“To find you?” Yang Shiyu furrowed his brows deeper, apparently understanding the implicit meaning in Jin Zhou’s words, “Are you saying he suspects something?”

“Let’s not talk about that for now.” Jin Zhou put the empty bowl in front of him aside, “He asked you to resign. How did you respond?”

Afraid of hearing a negative answer from Yang Shiyu, Jin Zhou added  “We made an agreement that you’re not allowed to resign.”

“Yeah,” Yang Shiyu nodded, “I told WangTai that that case is complicated, and the investigation will take a long time, so I’ll first gather information internally.”

“But this case won’t be handled within our jurisdiction,” Jin Zhou said, “Can this reason convince him?”

“This case is assigned to the Intermediate Court,” Yang Shiyu said, “I have acquaintances there who can provide information.”

“But if I were WangTai,” Jin Zhou paused, contemplating, and said, “If you voluntarily approach me when I happen to need your help, but then turn me down, I would definitely suspect you of foul play.”

“Perhaps,” Yang Shiyu retracted his elbow and leaned back in his chair, “What about you? Did Zhang Rui say why WangTai wants to find you?”

“He didn’t say,” Jin Zhou said, “But I can only think of three possibilities.”

“Which are?” Yang Shiyu lowered his gaze, pondered for a moment, then looked at Jin Zhou, “Do you think WangTai may have sensed that the smuggling of gold was being investigated, and the problem arose at the masquerade party?”

“That’s the first possibility,” Jin Zhou continued from Yang Shiyu’s words, “But compared to me, it’s obvious that you, as a judge, would be more suspicious. Does he really need to find me along with you?”

“It’s not entirely impossible,” Yang Shiyu touched his chin, his calm eyes behind the gold-framed glasses appearing exceptionally cool, “He might be investigating everyone present at the party.”

“There’s a second possibility,” Jin Zhou extended his right hand and raised two fingers. “He wants to use me to control you.”

“Because I didn’t resign immediately?” Yang Shiyu raised an eyebrow. “That possibility seems more likely.”

“Think about it,” Jin Zhou supported his chin with his hand. “How did he describe you last time at the party? ‘Usually so rational, but who knew he would be so crazy about a woman’.”

“So he wants to win you over,” Yang Shiyu continued. “To use you as some sort of leverage against me.”

“for sex, or even creating sex videos.” After finally being serious for a while, Jin Zhou became playful again. “We can also shoot that, me and you. Let’s call it ‘Bigger Than You Can Imagine.'”

“…,” Yang Shiyu took a deep breath, obviously not interested in entertaining Jin Zhou’s jokes. “What about the third possibility?”

“The third one is that Wei Jie reported my investigation to him, and he knows that I’m looking into him,” Jin Zhou became more composed. “He saw my photos and found me familiar. Then he recognized me from the party.”

“Unlikely,” Yang Shiyu frowned and shook his head. “You in women’s clothing are completely different from your usual self. He wouldn’t associate you with a cheongsam beauty. Besides, the lighting at the party was dim. I don’t think he recognized you.”

“What if I’m exceptionally stunning?” Jin Zhou pretended to contemplate. “Maybe I can find a better wife than you in him.”

“Feel free to go to him then,” Yang Shiyu responded indifferently. “I’ll also find someone more submissive.”

He originally wanted to see Yang Shiyu’s jealous reaction, but it only caused his jealousy to surge up . Jin Zhou shrugged his lips and said, “Or maybe Wei Jie doesn’t want to appear incompetent and didn’t mention me to WangTai.”

“Both possibilities are plausible,” Yang Shiyu said. “But based on the current timeline, the second possibility seems more likely.”

“If that’s the case, then you’re in more danger than me, Yang Shiyu.” Jin Zhou instantly lost his playful mood. “It means he already suspects you, and if you aren’t careful, he might think the smuggling investigation is your doing.”

“There’s only one thing left to do then,” Yang Shiyu suddenly said.

“I won’t let you quit,” Jin Zhou already knew what Yang Shiyu wanted to say. “Quitting and joining forces with him might be even more dangerous for you.”

Yang Shiyu lowered his gaze and fell silent.

Actually, Jin Zhou could tell that Yang Shiyu was originally looking forward to being promoted and gather enough capital to get close to WangTai.

Now he finally had a chance to approach WangTai, but Jin Zhou couldn’t let him.

Jin Zhou didn’t feel guilty at all. He just couldn’t watch as Yang Shiyu walk into a trap.

In the end, Yang Shiyu was avenging his parents. If in the process Yang Shiyu’s future was destroyed, Jin Zhou wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

“Let’s take it step by step,” Yang Shiyu compromised, exhaling and standing up to pick up the empty bowl, preparing to go to the kitchen to clean it.

But Jin Zhou called out to him, “Husband.”

Perhaps out of reflex, Yang Shiyu turned back to look at Jin Zhou and asked, “Hmm?”

“You already have me by your side,” Jin Zhou touched his satisfied belly, “and we have our child. Don’t get in trouble in the future.”

“Okay,” Yang Shiyu responded and continued walking towards the kitchen. “Clean up and wait for me in bed. Let’s have a whole football team, not just one.”

The next morning, Yang Shiyu went to work at the court, leaving Jin Zhou alone in bed for most of the day. He had originally planned to meet Liu Qian in person that day to discuss the case, but changed it last minute to a video call.

“Sis, do you remember how long Liu Yongchang was away that night?” Jin Zhou sat upright on the sofa, wearing a formal shirt on his upper body, but on his lower body, he was in pajamas.

“Not long, around ten minutes,” Liu Qian, who seemed to have gone over the details countless times, quickly provided an answer. “Liu Yongchang kept losing money to Wang Wu. We were thinking of leaving, but decided to recover some of our losses. Who knew he would end up being killed?”

“When Liu Yongchang came back, didn’t you notice the blood stain on his shoe?” Jin Zhou asked again.

“Our village was full of muddy ground, and it was night time. How could anyone see the bloodstains?”

“And the name change…”

Jin Zhou and Liu Qian talked for several hours, finally sorting out the case from start to finish.

“Zhouzi, is there any hope for Liu Yongchang to be released?” Liu Qian asked.

“Hard to say,” Jin Zhou shook his head. “I need to talk to the police officer who handled the case back then.”

Based on the current chain of evidence, the prosecutor’s office could either prosecute or not, both with valid reasons. 

Jin Zhou continued writing the defense argument until evening. He checked the time, and noticed Yang Shiyu would be home any minute.

That day, Yang Shiyu was to buy groceries and also cook. However, Jin Zhou had been waiting for a long time and couldn’t wait any longer. But just then he received a call from Yang Shiyu.

“pack your things now and leave my place.”

Yang Shiyu’s voice on the phone was low, not as calm as usual, but rather urgent.

“What’s wrong?” Jin Zhou instinctively closed his laptop, ready to pack his things as Yang Shiyu instructed.

“Zhuang Yu informed me someone has been following me,” Yang Shiyu continued, “It’s possible that they are WangTai’s people.”

“Damn it” Jin Zhou frowned involuntarily, speeding up his actions.

“He probably just wants to see if I’m acting suspiciously,” Yang Shiyu said.

After all, with this investigation, WangTai is deemed to suffer huge losses. He wouldn’t spare anyone who betrayed him.

“So that means you can’t be seen with me,” Jin Zhou took out a suitcase, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas, and stuffed the clothes in carelessly.

Back at his own place, Jin Zhou couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable.

Although their houses were not that different, Yang Shiyu’s house looked warmer and brighter.

In the lonely night, without the warmth of Yang Shiyu ,Jin Zhou could only lie alone in bed, tossing and turning.

He naturally wasn’t a clingy person, but for some reason, just one day of not sleeping next to Yang Shiyu, he felt so empty inside.

Knowing that Yang Shiyu had to go to work the next day, Jin Zhou couldn’t stop himself from wanting to talk to him.

He sent a message, but Yang Shiyu didn’t reply immediately.

Looking at the time, the busy judge should have already gone to sleep. Jin Zhou knew that his phone would be on silent, so he began bombarding him with messages.

[ Jin Zhou:, I miss you >_< ]

[ Jin Zhou: Can’t sleep, my ass is itching ]

[ Jin Zhou: You didn’t feed me enough last night ]

[ Jin Zhou: By the time you see these messages ]

[ Jin Zhou: It should already be morning ]

Ah, it’s so boring.

Jin Zhou opened the camera, unbuttoned his shirt on both sides, and took a picture of his chest.

[ Jin Zhou: look at what you did to me last night ]

Yang Shiyu still hadn’t responded. At first, Jin Zhou enjoyed teasing him, but later it became less exciting.

He finally sent a “Goodnight” and put his phone on the bedside table, trying to force himself to sleep.

He didn’t know how long it had passed, but he was finally on the verge of falling asleep when he suddenly heard the sound of the door lock being turned.

It was an extremely cautious opening sound, as if afraid of being heard. Jin Zhou immediately tensed his back.

Footsteps approached from beside the bedroom door, gradually getting closer to Jin Zhou’s bed.

He suddenly recalled Yang Shiyu saying he was being followed. Could it be that not only Yang Shiyu, but he was also being targeted by WangTai?

Immediately, Jin Zhou grabbed a corner of the pillow, turned over and swung it at the intruder behind him.

In the faint moonlight coming through the curtains, Jin Zhou could only see a vague figure. The pillow wasn’t very effective as a weapon, and the figure just used their arm to block it, completely unaffected, and then leaned over, pressing Jin Zhou onto the bed.

The familiar scent of laundry detergent suddenly entered his nostrils, and his tense nerves relaxed in an instant. “Yang Shiyu?!”

“You said your ass is itchy?” Yang Shiyu bit Jin Zhou’s earlobe, his lips carrying the coldness of the night. “I can fix that.”

The two of them were close enough now, and Jin Zhou finally saw that Yang Shiyu was dressed in all black, wearing a black baseball cap, looking like a thug. “Someone is tracking you, Yang Shiyu! How reckless are you walking by yourself at night?”

“I just couldn’t resist when you sent that picture” The honorable judge’s mouth once again uttered words that Jin Zhou termed as vulgar. “You are worth the risk.”