Chapter 79: Wanting to Embarrass Him

“Tonight, I’m sleeping in Brother Bai Zhu’s room.” Xiao Fen grabbed a pillow and his phone, slipped on his slippers, and walked out without looking back.

【Why be so distant?】

【What are you standing there for, Fang Yama? Hurry up and stop him!】

“Good.” Fang Si Ting got up as he spoke and helped him toss the bedsheet into the washing machine.

【I’m done with you. How could you agree to that?】

【Two men alone in the same room for a whole night—doesn’t that make you think?】

【I’m done with you. You’re doomed to lifelong solitude.】

Ten minutes later.

Xiao Fen lay stiffly on Fang Si Ting’s bed.

“Are you pretending to be a corpse?” Fang Si Ting was shirtless, wearing only pajama pants on his lower half. He tilted his head slightly to look at him, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

Xiao Fen lay flat on his back, hands neatly folded at his waist, the picture of perfect propriety.

【Hahaha…】

【In the end, he still obediently lay back down.】

【Tang Shen and Bai Zhu really know what’s up.】

【This is Fang Yama’s confidence—he’s not afraid at all.】

【Have you all noticed? Ever since Brother Fen moved in, Fang Yama’s dowdy pajamas haven’t appeared on him as a full set.】

【I’ve noticed for a while. I wonder if he’ll regret bringing those two sets. If he were outside, he’d probably buy a hundred or eighty sets on the spot for Brother Fen to appreciate and play with night after night.】

【Details on how to play with them?】

Xiao Fen touched his nose and rolled over, facing the wall as he lay down.

The dorm lights went out.

【Wait, why cut it off again? This isn’t just pure sleeping—it’s a key plot progression for the guests!】

【Today’s an exception, Program Crew. Have mercy and let us watch.】

【Extend it by one hour. Even half an hour would be fine.】

【Half an hour isn’t enough—Fang Yama hasn’t even finished.】

【I don’t care. Restricted scenes are already playing in my mind.】

The mattress dipped behind him, and soon an arm pressed against his back.

The dorm’s single bed was only about four feet wide. Fang Si Ting usually felt a bit cramped sleeping alone, and now with an extra person—no matter how slim—it was another man.

Turning over was difficult.

Xiao Fen rubbed his pillow. Besides his own scent, there was a strange yet familiar aroma at the tip of his nose, coming from the mattress and his back. It trapped him in the corner against the wall, enveloping him heavily.

It was all Fang Si Ting’s body scent—warm and dry, with a faint fragrance that put him at ease and gave him a sense of security.

Plus the shared scent of their body wash.

This wouldn’t do—he couldn’t sleep.

No, it wasn’t even that late. He never went to bed this early.

He had just shifted a little when the person behind him moved too, rolling over to face outward.

Xiao Fen looked at his knotted, solid back, craned his neck to glance at his face. In the darkness, his eyes were tightly shut, his features showing no expression at all.

He said softly, “Inspector Fang, could you hand me my phone?”

Fang Si Ting kept his eyes closed but still reached out to get it for him.

“Thanks.” Xiao Fen checked the time—sure enough, it was still early.

He dimmed the screen brightness and started mindlessly scrolling through irrelevant news. Less than two minutes later, he was yawning.

A while later, Fang Si Ting’s long, even breathing sounded by his ear.

He had finally fallen asleep.

Xiao Fen secretly let out a long breath of relief, easing the awkwardness in his heart. He turned off his phone, propped himself up with one hand on the bed, half-kneeled with one leg, and carefully swung his other leg over Fang Si Ting’s long leg. He reached out to place the phone back on the bedside table.

Just a little more…

The veins in his neck tensed. The knee he was kneeling on pushed up his body, and he flexibly supported himself above Fang Si Ting, finally setting the phone down.

The person beneath him suddenly rolled over, turning his face forward and lying flat.

Xiao Fen’s hand and foot on his side barely escaped, but he lost his balance entirely and fell onto Fang Si Ting. His cheek smashed solidly into the broad chest.

“…”

Xiao Fen closed his eyes and buried his annoyed face in the chest, not daring to look up.

Several excuses flashed through his mind as he thought about how to explain that it was an accident.

Sleepwalking? Half-asleep? Just grabbing something? Strike first—who told you to move around in your sleep!

Any explanation felt so embarrassing.

Anyway, he really wasn’t coveting his beauty, pinning him down in the middle of the night with ill intentions.

But… the muscles were so firm, so springy…

This feel—no, this face feel. He rubbed his cheek lightly against it and squinted comfortably.

The heat at his nose was dry and scorching. Up close, the fresh body scent was even stronger.

And even better.

How was every inch of skin and every muscle perfectly tuned to his tastes?

After a while with no sound from above, Fang Si Ting’s breathing remained long and steady.

Xiao Fen’s expression froze. He lifted his head and irritably patted the chest.

“Mm…” Fang Si Ting’s hand covered the spot that had been hit. His eyes stayed shut, but he couldn’t help laughing.

“Are you a plastic bag or something, pretending so well!” Xiao Fen laughed along.

Such a big person crashing onto him—even the deepest sleeper should wake up, let alone a pursuit team officer.

“You were faking sleep earlier too—you totally fooled me.” Xiao Fen grumbled, though he couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at his lips.

“No, I really fell asleep.” Fang Si Ting opened his eyes and said mildly.

“Yeah, right.” Xiao Fen shot back.

Gradually, he sensed a shift in Fang Si Ting’s gaze—something more.

A bit of oppressive force, a bit of aggression, a bit of danger, a bit of heat.

In the dim night, a pair of eyes coveted him with fervent, unabashed intensity.

Stripped of polite decorum, unbound by worldly norms, the most primal restlessness pulsed urgently through his veins with his erratic heartbeat.

The air grew stiflingly hot, like a powder keg ready to explode.

Only then did Xiao Fen realize: their four legs tangled together, chests and abdomens pressed close, him sprawled on top. This position was dangerous.

One hand slowly crept up his lower back, scorching his skin until it trembled.

“Get off.” Fang Si Ting’s low voice carried more tension than usual.

Xiao Fen smiled faintly, deliberately softening his tone in a coquettish drawl: “No.”

As he spoke, his two proper hands on the bed reached for the waist flesh on either side, pinching lightly—not too hard, not too soft.

Fang Si Ting’s breathing immediately grew heavier.

Xiao Fen leaned down, chest pressing against chest again, chin resting in the center of the other’s chest. His fox-like eyes brimmed with mischievous delight as he feigned innocence: “Inspector Fang, what’s wrong? You feel so hot.”

“Get off.” Fang Si Ting took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

This was… a bit too much.

Xiao Fen stretched the hand wreaking havoc at his waist overhead, hooked it around his neck, twisted his slender body upward, and pressed his cheek to his ear and neck. His hot breath sprayed freely into the hollow of his throat.

The corridor’s stark white light filtered dimly through the closed window, illuminating the outlines of their overlapping forms.

He smugly watched the neck before him elongate, muscles tensing rigidly, veins faintly bulging, as if desperate to escape but unable.

Their breaths intertwined, like a chaotic concerto—yet strangely harmonious.

Fang Si Ting was tense all over, wondering how to persuade him away, when his nerves suddenly twitched.

His body keenly sensed a wet, hot kiss landing on the pulse point at his neck.

As if an accidental brush from the movement—or deliberate.

“Ah, sorry.” Xiao Fen’s light, panicked voice rang out, sounding more like an invitation for him to take control, to make him fall.

The hand at his waist tightened slowly, pulling him closer, seamless.

Then, a puff of light, moist heat brushed his ear, laughter rolling in the throat: “Mr. Black Cat, what are you thinking right now?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he flipped him over entirely onto the mattress.

Xiao Fen lay beneath him, the corners of his eyes lifting playfully. He raised his gaze, body languid and relaxed, eyes hazy with mischief and triumph at his success. He watched contentedly as the breathing above grew heavier.

He wanted to see him embarrassed, out of control, turned into another version of himself.

Hotter than Fang Si Ting’s gaze was the palm at his lower back.

The rough fingertips and callused palm chafed his skin—painful, itchy, burning until he wanted to curl up.

Even in control, a tremor he couldn’t suppress flickered deep in his eyes.

He had never done this.

He didn’t know what to do.

But he wouldn’t lose in spirit.

“Now, this probably isn’t allowed, right?”

They had played enough.

They were filming the show, with the Program Crew monitoring. Cameras and earpieces aside, it clearly wasn’t time for anything private.

Fang Si Ting’s expression remained impassive. He steadied his breathing, his momentum dissipating, eyes reddened.

After a moment, he restrained himself and withdrew his hand.

Xiao Fen grabbed the hand at his waist, refusing to let it go. He lifted his chin defiantly.

“Stop messing around.” Fang Si Ting said coolly, gently prying his hand away and tugging up the slipped collar of his cow-print pajamas.

A flash of annoyance crossed Xiao Fen’s eyes. He should have worn his old man shirt tonight—instant shrinkage, but at least it showed more skin.

Fang Si Ting turned over, facing away again, and closed his eyes.

The back before him was silent as a mountain.

But Xiao Fen knew it was now a suppressed volcano.

How long could he hold out?

He thought with gleeful anticipation.

Even someone molded from his template had moments when he couldn’t control his emotions. It was truly amusing.

Xiao Fen comfortably lay back on the bed, nerves thrumming with excitement, unable to sleep.

He pressed against the cold wall. After a while, he finally felt a bit better.

Truly harming the enemy by a thousand, self-damage by eight hundred.

He mentally tallied another point against Inspector Fang.

————

When he woke up the next day, it was already noon. Xiao Fen rolled around on the bed, sighed in annoyance when he saw the time.

He had gone to bed so early last night, yet still slept until now. He didn’t even know when Fang Si Ting had left.

But this sleep had been truly comfortable.

He rubbed his cheek against the pillow—the tip of his nose full of Fang Si Ting’s scent.

No good.

He got up to take a cold shower in the bathroom and saw the walls and floor already wet with droplets. He couldn’t help chuckling.

His mood instantly improved.

Humming an unknown tune, he took a refreshing shower and leisurely strolled around the town.

The Pursuit Team was currently heatedly discussing him and the other criminal guests, so it wasn’t convenient for him to go.

The final two days passed blandly.

Through indirect inquiries, Xiao Fen was slightly surprised to learn that the spy had some brains. The intel he gave the Pursuit Team was half-true, half-false. Over the two days, Fang Si Ting led early departures and late returns, but not a single criminal guest was caught.

Xiao Fen knew some info on the other criminal guests but couldn’t possibly reveal it to Fang Si Ting.

After all, he wanted to escape via the highway too, to end this episode’s filming quickly.

Staying in this boring mountain backwater for half a month had worn his patience thin.

When Ou Yu had come to him before, they hid in the bathroom. When asked why there was no signal to act against them yet, he had explained this reason.

Ou Yu had been quite surprised then. “You’re just letting their betrayal slide?”

“That’s betrayal?” Xiao Fen found it funny. “It doesn’t even count as a scratch.”

“You see them that way?”

“Just a bunch of consumables.” Xiao Fen shrugged indifferently—that was his true attitude toward them.

Use them to divert the pursuit officers’ attention, shake off tails to catch Wu Lifu and Lu Jin.

Or accumulate points to escape smoothly via the highway, dispersing pursuit forces for his own getaway.

Who would care about people like that?

As noon approached, Xiao Fen and Ou Yu arrived at the bridgehead to wait.

Once the minute hand passed 12, they would dash across the bridge toward the highway. Saving even a little time counted.

The Program Crew dared give guests 24 hours to escape, calculating that no one could trek out of the mountains on foot in a day.

But after Ou Yu’s multi-day inquiries with the townsfolk, Xiao Fen’s planned route would get them out of Tengcha Town’s jurisdiction in three days, passing smoothly while dodging the pursuit officers.

Ou Yu was a bit nervous and checked the time—five minutes left.

“I’ve been working out, so my stamina should keep up with you.”

“Don’t be nervous. I calculated the time based on your stamina.” Xiao Fen chuckled helplessly.

“I know.” Ou Yu checked his backpack again, then suddenly looked up.

“Something feels too quiet.”

Even though Tengcha was always quiet after nine.

But tonight’s quiet carried a tense atmosphere.

“Vice Squad Officers.” Ou Yu mouthed the words and pointed to several intersections behind the bridge.

Xiao Fen nodded gravely.

According to the Program Crew’s rules, wasn’t the Pursuit Team supposed to hold off on chasing the criminals for 24 hours?

“What are they doing?” Ou Yu scanned their surroundings warily.

“It’s possible the Vice Squad Officers are staking out the intersections. It hasn’t hit 12 yet—if some criminal guests try to save a bit of time by coming early like us, they’ll catch them red-handed.” Xiao Fen said.

But he already had a faint bad premonition in his heart.

The Program Crew staff’s voice came through the earpiece.

“Teacher Xiao, sorry, but your Criminal Team has fewer than twenty people. You can’t take the highway.”

“How many exactly?” Xiao Fen glanced at his phone; only a few seconds remained until the deadline.

“On the final day, we won’t announce the number of guests or who got caught.”

Two people left versus nineteen made a world of difference.

Ou Yu received the message too.

The moment 12 hit, staff at the bridge set up barricades across the road, blocking their path.

Now, all that lay before them was the gloomy, damp, pitch-black Guiwu Forest, the rolling mountains, and sheer cliffs.

“Once we enter the forest, we split up to run. That boosts our odds.” Ou Yu knew he’d drag them down whether it was mountains or jungle.

“I’ll hold off on the forest for now.” Xiao Fen refused. “That’s the easiest route out of the four directions. Other criminal guests will pick the forest to play it safe, so the Vice Squad Officers will send more people there to hunt them down.”

The two whispered the whole way and finally parted at an intersection.

“Wait for me.”

“Don’t worry.” Ou Yu said.

Xiao Fen shouldered his backpack and hurried through the town toward the north.

The Program Crew gave the Criminal Team 24 hours to flee just to make the show more exciting.

Fang Si Ting excelled most at hunting fugitives.

With his sharp insight, he could pinpoint how long ago a suspect passed through, their current position, even what they were doing, from the slightest clues.

Pair that with Tang Shen, dubbed the “human encyclopedia” and “human microscope,” plus Fox Hunt Commando Team Captain Bai Zhu—a powerhouse alliance. Without giving the Criminal Team a day’s head start, they stood no chance.

Peng Xiaoxiao had packed her bags and jetted back home early with Qin Wensu.

This jungle chase was no place for them to shine.

Seeing Peng Xiaoxiao dash off so nimbly, Bai Zhu shook his head. He had no idea when they’d wrap filming.

He walked into the office with the files and said, “Boss, manpower’s been deployed.”

Fang Si Ting took the files and opened them; they showed the escape directions of the uncaught criminals.

The Program Crew said they couldn’t capture anyone for 24 hours, but nothing stopped them from laying groundwork ahead of time.

Though the Vice Squad Officers had to stay in town, he’d sent teams to lurk around the perimeter before 12, reporting immediately on who went which way.

“Out of the 11 criminals, 2 headed into Guiwu Forest, and 9 went into the mountains.” Bai Zhu knew what he wanted to hear and added, “Xiao Fen was the first to head into the mountains.”

Fang Si Ting was a bit surprised.

Normally, anyone would pick Guiwu Forest—plenty of flat ground there. Sure, it looked dim and spooky, but that was it. Unless they had special forces training, no one could outclimb them in the mountains.

But that made the pursuit easier.

“You take twenty people to the forest. Deputy Team Leader Tang and the rest of the Action Team come with me.”

This time, he’d catch him for sure!