Chapter 20

Two months ago, Geng Qiuqiu had never gotten into shipping any couples, whether real people or fictional characters.

But ever since finishing her college entrance exams, egged on by her classmates and lured in by the internet, she had discovered a treasure trove of delicious ships—ones that were just too good not to devour!

The youthful passion of boys in anime, destined soulmates!

The life-and-death bonds in novels, lives entrusted to one another!

Celeb couples born from onscreen chemistry, secretly dropping sugar off-camera!

Heavens.

In just those two months, she had shipped twelve pairs, tumbling through fan sites while blessing their marriages, hollering under every mpreg fanfic, “Leopard and Cat Cat, step it up—I’m about to be born already!” She had made an outstanding contribution to the wedding industry and the nation’s birth rate.

Yet despite her love for shipping, Geng Qiuqiu had never joined an organized fan group, attended a con, or sought out fellow shippers.

Well, that was all changing now!

Someone had literally crashed right into her!

Without much hesitation, Geng Qiuqiu accepted the invitation. Her shipping brain was in overdrive—she even fantasized that the other person might actually be Qian Xingzhi himself and nearly blurted out questions to confirm it.

Fortunately, reason won out over her shipping delusions, and she held her tongue.

Once she joined the group, though, she immediately dove into the inviter’s profile, hunting for evidence.

Their avatar was a beautiful little dog, clearly not a golden retriever, and Geng Qiuqiu didn’t recognize the breed.

But since it was a dog like Qian Xingzhi’s avatar, she mentally awarded them a point.

Their age was listed as 115, current location: Iceland.

That matched Qian Xingzhi’s public persona perfectly—another point.

A red flag hung on their background image.

Perfect for Shen Li! Loyalty to the flag—yet another point!

Then Geng Qiuqiu opened their posts and saw the cosplay photos, selfies, shots from organizing other shipping events, and a whole collection of pics with various cosplayers. There were also photos from chasing stars at offline meetups, begging for autographs and merch. It was all clearly the same girl…

Geng Qiuqiu’s shipping dreams shattered into dust.

Nothing could crush her heart quite like this.

Even so, she threw herself enthusiastically into the group’s activities—recruiting members, forming subgroups, building teams. Before she knew it, her overheated brain from all the excitement was starting to feel warm, her little face flushed bright red. The happiness bubbling in her chest was utterly incomparable.

“What are you giggling about now, little one?”

Lin Jie sliced off a huge wedge of watermelon, skewered it with a spoon, and handed it to Geng Qiuqiu.

Geng Qiuqiu waved her hands bashfully, declining at first before thanking her profusely. A shy smile lit up her face. “Thanks, Sister Lin!”

Lin Jie had a pretty good idea that the girl was probably fangirling over something related to Shen Li and Qian Xingzhi again. She smiled helplessly. “That’s enough of that. Whether they get remarried or not is still up in the air. Especially in front of your Uncle Shen—don’t put him on the spot too much. Whatever happens, we’ll respect his choice.”

Geng Qiuqiu nodded in a daze, then quickly closed the webpage. She chirped obediently, “Got it.”

“I’m heading out soon. Make yourself something to eat from the fridge—everything in there’s fair game.”

“Huh?” Geng Qiuqiu blinked. “Aren’t you on night shift, Sis?”

Lin Jie’s theft case had wrapped up, so things weren’t too hectic. But yesterday, Shen Li had called about that incident. She’d reviewed the PDF and realized it was no small matter—a major case with significant public impact and media buzz.

If they botched it, the social fallout could be disastrous.

She’d texted her boss right away, who told her to file the case immediately and start the investigation at top speed.

That morning, Qian Xingzhi had reached out too. He had no stream scheduled, so he could bring the victim in to cooperate. For a public prosecution case like this, victims couldn’t go straight to court—they had to report to the police first, who would then file charges, investigate, and gather evidence.

Qian Xingzhi’s PDF had essentially done some preliminary legwork for them, compiling key facts about the crime. But its authenticity still needed verification by the relevant departments.

While Geng Qiuqiu was lost in sweet fantasies of “Uncle Shen and Ex-Husband Bro on a variety show because they desperately want to remarry,” Lin Jie couldn’t bring herself to burst her bubble. After all, who didn’t have youthful dreams that shattered step by step against the harsh truths of the world?

Only after the illusions broke could one see reality clearly.

–

After receiving Qian Xingzhi’s PDF the night before, Shen Li felt like he had a cat stuffed in his pocket—one that kept scratching and licking at him. Even in his dreams, he imagined the program group’s director rewarding him for waking up first: handing back his phone so he could transfer the files to his iPad. While everyone else slaved away at daytime challenges, he’d be cozy in bed, sneaking peeks at the case details.

No helping it.

A major case with a solid chain of clues was fatally irresistible to a detective who loved police work.

But once awake, Shen Li knew the rules were the rules. As someone who had once upheld them, he couldn’t be the first to break them.

And so it went.

On the second day of filming, Shen Li cracked his eyes open and glanced habitually at the clock on the wall.

Around now, Lin Jie should have filed the case.

An hour later, Qian Xingzhi should be at the station with the victim and witnesses, assisting the investigation.

Nearly noon—if the team wasn’t swamped, leadership might have assigned a lead detective by now.

If things went smoothly, in a few more hours, the suspects could be in custody.

“Shen Li, spacing out or what?”

Shen Li was lost in thought, having slipped onto an empty balcony. He was using the railing for support, starting his daily rehab exercises, when Kris and Lin Xu strolled over, chatting and laughing. Kris greeted him warmly.

Shen Li nodded back politely. “Eaten yet, you two?”

It was classic introvert small talk—the go-to filler when words failed.

Unfortunately, the pair seemed just as introverted. The blonde beauty replied, “We have. You?”

Shen Li gave Kris an awkward smile. “Me too.”

Lin Xu let out a soft scoff, but that was it. “Heh, look at you two—making chit-chat out of nothing. Gotta be that awkward?”

Kris grabbed a rattan chair and plopped down behind Shen Li. She looked bright and innocent, her skin glowing white and translucent in the sunlight, elegant and captivating like a Persian cat. “Sorry, I just saw two handsome guys and got all nervous.”

Shen Li arched a brow, quietly observing Kris—the one he hadn’t interacted much with yesterday. He noted her movements, habits, expressions, and demeanor.

In just a few seconds, curiosity got the better of him. “You’re still in school?”

“Whoa, how’d you guess!” Kris’s eyes widened in mild surprise. She covered her pale pink lips with her ornate manicured nails and whispered, “But can we talk about that? Wouldn’t it be better if we both pretended not to know?”

Lin Xu sat down too, looking ready for a long chat. “What’s the big deal? The activity revealing professions is probably coming up in the next few days anyway.”

Shen Li’s rehab was derailed, so he took a seat as well.

The two kept chatting.

“Word on the street is today’s the day for voting on the ‘celeb ex-couples.’ What do you guys think in the comments section?”

Kris’s phrasing was a bit off, but her Chinese was solid. Lin Xu seemed to have a soft spot for her—no one could resist a blonde bombshell—so he answered with his usual “witty” flair.

“What do I think? I think from a standing position—it’s not like there are many options. Just you, Shen Li, Li Weiwei, and Jiang Nan. Two are a pair, the other two are exes of the observation room folks. Not a ton of combos there.”

“Mm-hmm,” Kris said with childlike innocence. “So guess: Am I one?”

Shen Li smiled silently, watching them.

Lin Xu pinched his thumb, middle finger, and ring finger like a fortune-teller calculating fate.

Then he slapped his thigh with a smack!

“Definitely you! Yesterday, Shen Li and Li Weiwei got debunked—they’re not a pair. You barely talked to the other three, so yep.”

Kris smiled and raised a brow, clearly agreeing.

Shen Li found the logic sound too, so he stayed quiet, content as wallpaper while they bantered.

Lin Xu pressed on. “That leaves the three of you. First, rule out Shen Li—he’s way too straight-laced for the entertainment world wife-and-bro-in-law vibe. Right, Shen Li?”

Caught off guard yet somehow not surprised, Shen Li’s lashes fluttered in faint alarm. He reached for his tea to play it cool and took a shallow sip.

“Ah,” he replied noncommittally.

Lin Xu, on a roll, continued to Kris. “So Shen Li and Jiang Nan are the pair—they even hung out last night, no doubt. Li Weiwei’s got some lesbian vibes, maybe dated a top actress. As for you…”

Lin Xu paused, drawing a breath as he mentally ran through all eight observation room guests.

Kris leaned in expectantly. “Me and who? No cameras here—say whatever.”

“I think you and Qian Xingzhi match best!”

The words hit, and Shen Li nearly choked, his teacup wobbling. “Cough cough cough…”

He stifled the coughs, his ears turning beet red.

“Whoa, you okay?”

Lin Xu looked concerned. Shen Li waved it off frantically, trying to minimize his presence. He turned his refined, handsome profile away from their stares.

“I’m fine. You two keep going,” Shen Li said.

Kris’s gaze lingered meaningfully on his face but said nothing.

Instead, she smiled mildly at Lin Xu. “I don’t know if you’re right about the others, but you’re wrong about me.”

“Wrong? You’re not with Qian Xingzhi?”

Lin Xu scratched his head, thinking back. “I saw the hot searches while showering yesterday. He totally gives off ‘been there’ vibes—wait!”

His voice spiked, eyes bulging, cracking a bit. “No way—it’s him and Li Weiwei?”

Kris let out an “Ah?” of her own. She glanced again at Shen Li, who was drinking his tea with his head bowed, then smiled at Lin Xu. “My gosh, you’re so straight…”

Lin Xu blinked. “Huh?”

Kris just shook her head, smiling without a word.

At that moment, Shen Li had already picked up his teacup and quietly risen to his feet. He planned to slip away from the battlefield before the flames of war could reach his side.

But Lin Xu suddenly whipped his head around and fixed his gaze on Shen Li.

Shen Li’s tall, upright figure was now slightly hunched over. His eyes were downcast, his earlobes faintly red, and one foot was already stepping out onto the balcony—

Only for Lin Xu to call out mercilessly and stop him.

“Hey, Shen Li, don’t go!” Lin Xu said. “Come judge this for us. Am I straight? Be honest—doesn’t Qian Xingzhi look like a perfect match for a domineering beauty like Li Weiwei?”

Shen Li: …?

You’re asking me?

The instant he was called out, Shen Li straightened his back. His shoulders hunched slightly, however, and his long brows furrowed in cold dissatisfaction as he shot Lin Xu a glance. He looked utterly aloof.

Even the corners of his mouth tugged downward.

Not amused.