FRGL chapter 26

That night, Luo Hai slept better than he had expected.

In the past, whenever he suffered from pheromone rejection pain, he would barely get ten minutes of sleep all night. This time, though his sleep was fragmented, he still managed to get a few solid hours. By the time he opened his eyes again, daylight had already broken outside.

Sitting up in bed, he felt the soreness in his body gradually fading. His joints could finally move freely, and the wound on his palm had stopped bleeding.

He stretched out his hand, staring at the bandages wrapped around his palm. Slowly, he spread his fingers open, then clenched them into a fist.

The small knot at the end of the bandage shifted slightly with his movements. The person who had wrapped it was clearly skilled—the bandage was neither too tight nor too loose. It didn’t restrict his movements, yet it showed no signs of slipping.

He pulled open the curtains, and golden sunlight spilled onto the floor and bed sheets. Taking a syringe from the drawer, Luo Hai pushed the needle into his vein under the brilliant morning light.

The liquid inside shimmered in the sunlight, casting rippling reflections on the wall before gradually fading away.

After tidying up, Luo Hai stepped out of the room. Eugene was not in the apartment, but a steaming plate of egg fried rice sat on the dining table, its aroma enticing.

Just as he took out his phone, he noticed an unread message from Eugene.

[When I went downstairs to take out the trash, Mrs. Parsifal ran into me and is now forcing me to listen to her complain about how outrageous the pet hospital’s surgery fees are. I estimate I won’t be able to get away within the next twenty minutes. Breakfast is on the table. Eat up and head to work—you don’t have to wait for me.]

“…” Luo Hai put his phone down helplessly, pulled out a chair, and sat at the table to eat.

He really couldn’t understand Eugene’s thought process. If he didn’t want to chat, couldn’t he just find an excuse to leave? Did he really need to report something this trivial to him?

Besides, Luo Hai always left at a fixed time—why would he wait for him?

But just as he was about to scoop up a spoonful of rice, Luo Hai hesitated for a moment. Then, he went to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, and transferred half of the rice into it. He covered the remaining portion on the plate with plastic wrap before finally beginning to eat.

……

The temperature had dropped sharply over the past few days, and autumn had suddenly burst into the city. The cold morning wind mercilessly drilled into the collars of pedestrians, making people tighten their coats and quicken their pace.

After the previous hectic period, Luo Hai’s work had quieted down again over the past two days.

The number of Omega-related crimes had decreased, and most of the cases that did appear were routine—runaways on Offering Day, illegal immigration into the city, or people leaving home. Luo Hai could handle these cases with his eyes closed.

The coffee beans in his office were still not restocked, and since Colin was on leave, he had no choice but to go downstairs and buy terrible canned coffee from the vending machine.

Fortunately, by noon, the cold wind had weakened, and the sun had finally broken through the thick clouds. The warm light streamed through the glass windows of the prosecutor’s office building, bringing a trace of warmth to Luo Hai’s otherwise chilly office.

As usual, Eugene completely ignored all of his previous warnings and threats, persistently bombarding him with text messages during work hours.

[How’s your body feeling? Still in pain?]

[Did you sleep well last night? I heard you get up several times.]

[Mrs. Parsifal says she wants to get a Chihuahua. I can’t believe her. She’s going to drag every person and every pet in this neighborhood into hell.]

[How was the fried rice this morning? I modified the recipe, added more ingredients and seasoning. If I were still working at a restaurant, this fried rice would definitely be the top seller.]

Luo Hai stared at the screen, slowly reading through each message, and then replied with four words.

[Mm, it was good.]

At that moment, Eugene was lying idly on the windowsill with a copy of Crimes and Punishments in his hands, watching two stray cats fighting on the rooftop across the street. Just as the battle reached a climactic standoff, his phone suddenly buzzed.

Surprised, he swiped open the screen and saw that Luo Hai had actually replied.

Recently, as his frequency of texting increased, the esteemed prosecutor had gone from replying once every ten messages to once every twenty—until eventually, he simply ignored them all.

But today, Eugene had only sent a few texts and had already received a response—four whole words at that.

It was practically a miracle.

Eugene immediately replied:

[Really? Was it good? Then I’ll make it for you again next time.]

A few seconds later, Luo Hai actually responded again.

[Sure.]

Eugene immediately tossed aside the dull legal book, no longer caring about the outcome of the cat fight, and focused all his attention on his phone.

[How’s your body feeling? Did you sleep well last night? Did you catch a cold?]

This time, Eugene was already prepared for the possibility of being ignored again, but to his surprise, he received a reply not long after.

[I’m fine. Pretty good.]

Eugene looked at the four concise and precise words and couldn’t help but smile. This was just so Luo Hai—he didn’t even bother to add a single punctuation mark.

[Are you coming home for dinner? What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy the ingredients this afternoon.]

He typed the message smoothly. Ever since he got out of prison, he had asked this question almost every day without fail, though Luo Hai rarely responded. At this point, asking had become more of a habit than anything else.

But about two seconds later, Luo Hai actually replied.

[Squid ink seafood rice.]

Eugene froze for a moment, nearly jumping up from the windowsill.

This was the first time Luo Hai had so clearly expressed acceptance—both of him and his cooking. His fingers practically sparked as he typed.

[No problem!!! I’ll go buy the ingredients this afternoon!!!]

Not only did he add three exclamation marks, but he also attached an over-the-top happy puppy emoji, its excitement practically leaping off the screen.

Luo Hai himself didn’t even realize that the corners of his lips had lifted slightly. “Idiot.”

It was as if placing an order had pressed some sort of button in Eugene—he immediately fired off a barrage of messages.

[The restaurant I used to work at had seafood rice as one of its signature dishes. Just bringing out a plate of it would make the tables around start ordering too.]

[I haven’t made it in a while, but I’m sure I still got it. You’re in for a treat—get ready for a top-tier meal.]

[This is too crazy. Did the sun rise from the west today? Not only did you reply to my message, but you even placed an order. At this rate, will I see you in a maid outfit washing the dishes in a few days?]

Luo Hai: “…”

This bastard was as insufferable as ever—give him a little sunshine, and he’d shine; give him a little rain, and he’d flood the whole place.

Luo Hai nearly blocked his number on the spot, but his responsibilities didn’t allow him to do that.

He held back and held back again. Just as he was about to toss his phone into the drawer to spare himself the headache, the office window let out a faint noise. He instinctively looked up—and then froze.

…..

Eugene waited for a reply, but after a while, none came. He sighed in mild disappointment, picked up his book again, and glanced out the window.

Unfortunately, the two stray cats from earlier had long since disappeared—he had no idea who had won the fight in the end.

Just as he resigned himself to wasting the next few hours reading, his phone vibrated again.

He raised an eyebrow and picked it up. It was from Luo Hai—but the content was unexpected.

[I’ve adjusted your ankle monitor settings. Can you get to the prosecutor’s office building within ten minutes?]

Eugene blinked, suddenly snapping to full attention. His thumb immediately hovered over the call button—

Before he could press it, another message came in.

[Don’t call. Reply by text. Yes or no?]

Eugene responded almost instantly.

[Yes. What’s going on?]

As usual, Luo Hai didn’t offer much explanation. His reply was brief and clear.

[Good. Wear casual clothes, put on a mask, and try not to attract attention. My office is at the end of the right-hand corridor on the third floor. Get here as soon as possible.]

Every nerve in Eugene’s body tensed. He grabbed his coat from the sofa and rushed to the door.

Why the prosecutor’s office?

That building had the highest security and strictest defenses—what could possibly be happening there?

Or… was this all just an elaborate trap set by Luo Hai, waiting for him to step right in?

Impossible. He was under full surveillance by the prosecution office. If they wanted to do something to him, they wouldn’t need to go through this much trouble—they could just drag him out of the apartment directly.

On the way to the office, Eugene kept pulling out his phone, hesitating, then putting it back.

Luckily, the distance from Luo Hai’s apartment to the prosecutor’s office wasn’t far. With his hat and mask on, he kept his head down and managed to reach the third floor unnoticed, stopping in front of Luo Hai’s office door.

Eugene placed his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and swung the door open.

And then—

He saw Prosecutor Luo Hai, impeccably dressed in his suit, pressed tightly against the farthest corner of the office, looking visibly tense.

Across from him, a window was slightly open.

And sitting proudly on the windowsill, strutting around as if it owned the place—

Was a pigeon.

Eugene stared at the scene for three seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.