FRGL chapter 27

Luo Hai was practically fused to the wall, as if trying to escape through it by sheer willpower. “Close the door and get in! And then hurry up and get rid of this stupid bird for me!”

Eugene was laughing so hard that tears came out. Between fits of laughter, he managed to squeeze out a few words. “So you had me rush over here for this? Seriously—after all these years… you’re still this afraid of birds?”

Luo Hai’s face was pale, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the wall were bulging, and he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, “If you know, then stop talking nonsense and hurry up!”

Eugene, still laughing, walked to the middle of the office and observed the pigeon with great interest.

The pigeon’s feathers were sleek and glossy, reflecting a beautiful shimmer under the sunlight. It looked like a trained homing pigeon, completely unafraid of people.

Eugene lazily leaned over Luo Hai’s desk and reached out to tease the pigeon. “What a beautiful little bird. How could you be afraid of it? Look, it’s so well-behaved, not scary at all—”

“Get. It. Out. Now!” Luo Hai raised his voice, emphasizing each word.

Eugene once again showed a look of pure delight. It wasn’t often that he got to witness the ever-dignified Prosecutor Luo Hai in such a pathetic state—he would be a fool not to enjoy this moment to the fullest.

“Don’t you have an assistant? Why didn’t you ask him to help?”

“He’s on leave,” Luo Hai took a deep breath.

“What about your colleagues?” Eugene stroked the pigeon’s feathers with glee. “Aren’t they just a few steps away from your office? Why don’t you call them in to help?”

The pigeon, seemingly enjoying Eugene’s touch, stretched its wings contentedly before stepping onto the palm of his hand.

Luo Hai’s scalp tingled. “I—”

“What’s wrong? Don’t want your colleagues to find out that the mighty and intimidating Iceberg Prosecutor is actually scared of a harmless little pigeon?” Eugene flashed a wicked grin and suddenly turned around, extending his hand forward.

The pigeon on his palm fluttered its wings.

Luo Hai instinctively recoiled, every hair on his body standing on end. He could no longer hold back and shouted, “Eugene Oddis!!”

Eugene burst into laughter, laughing so hard that his stomach started cramping. “Alright, alright, I won’t mess with you anymore. I’ll get rid of it now, okay? My god, that expression you just made—too priceless! I should’ve recorded it—”

As he spoke, Eugene cradled the pigeon and walked toward the window. Luo Hai let out a breath of relief, feeling the sweat soaking through his shirt.

“Seriously though, what’s so scary about a little pigeon?” Eugene chuckled while using his free hand to open the window. “It’s tiny, it’s not going to eat you, and it’s adorable.”

Luo Hai’s face darkened, and he glared at Eugene without a hint of politeness. “You know damn well why I’m afraid of birds.”

“Ohhh—” Eugene deliberately dragged out the syllable. “Wasn’t it because someone climbed a tree to sneak into someone’s yard and ended up kicking over a bird’s nest? Then got chased and pecked all the way home by the mama bird—”

“You—” Luo Hai’s breath hitched in his chest, but before he could come up with a sharp retort, his eyes widened. “Eugene! The pigeon! The pigeon!”

Eugene froze.

In the second he had used his left hand to open the window, the pigeon had flown off his right hand—not out the window, but directly toward Luo Hai.

And then—

The most feared, most ruthless, most revered Iceberg Prosecutor let out a cry so loud it echoed through the entire building.

What followed was complete chaos.

The startled pigeon flapped wildly around the office. Luo Hai, trying desperately to dodge, ended up crashing straight into Eugene, who was attempting to catch it.

Eugene grabbed Luo Hai’s coat from the chair and tried to use it to herd the pigeon, but the bird skillfully avoided him. After scattering documents and papers all over the office, the panicked pigeon finally chose the perfect landing spot—right on top of Luo Hai’s head.

The Iceberg Prosecutor truly froze like an iceberg this time.

Eugene, gripping the corners of the coat, spread his legs apart in a stance like a mother hen and cautiously approached. “Don’t move… don’t move… Good, good. No, this won’t work, you’re too tall. Can you squat down a little?”

Luo Hai’s eyes were wide with a mixture of barely contained fury and utter despair. “It’s on my—head! How am I supposed to squat?!”

“Just squat with it on your head!” Eugene was just as frantic. “Just do it!”

“I. Can’t. Do. That!” Luo Hai ground out through clenched teeth.

“If you don’t squat, how am I supposed to catch the bird?!” Eugene glared at him.

As they bickered pointlessly, the pigeon suddenly took off from Luo Hai’s head.

This time, Eugene didn’t miss his chance. He lunged forward, coat in hand, and trapped the pigeon inside it.

The bird struggled fiercely, its wings flapping and cooing in distress. Eugene, clutching the bundled-up coat like it was a ticking time bomb, sprinted to the window and flung it open.

The pigeon finally spread its wings and soared out, leaving behind a few stray feathers drifting gently to the floor.

Eugene let out a deep breath. Luo Hai visibly relaxed as well, his back sliding down the wall until he ended up sitting on the floor.

“Throw that coat away,” Luo Hai muttered hoarsely. “I’m never wearing it again in my life.”

Eugene tossed the coat onto the ground and couldn’t hold back his laughter as he looked at Luo Hai’s disheveled appearance.

“Stop laughing,” Luo Hai said irritably. “If you dare tell anyone about this, I’ll put a bullet through your head.”

Eugene’s laughter didn’t stop at the threat—if anything, it grew louder, turning into unrestrained, almost manic laughter.

He left the coat lying there, laughing so hard he couldn’t even stand straight. In the end, he simply plopped down onto the floor. “Your—your hair… the pigeon messed it up so bad… looks like you just crawled out of a bird’s nest—hahaha!”

Luo Hai glared at him furiously, unaware that his expression only made his messy hair look even more dramatic. Eugene laughed so hard he was nearly rolling on the floor.

The office was soon filled with scattered pigeon feathers and Eugene’s infectious laughter.

Even though he knew he shouldn’t, the corners of Luo Hai’s lips still twitched upward, and he let out a small chuckle. He quickly turned his face away, but it was too late to hide his amusement.

Just then, a knock came at the door, followed by Flock’s voice.

“What’s going on in there? What’s with all the noise?”

Luo Hai immediately wiped the smile off his face, shot Eugene a warning glare, and straightened his clothes before getting up from the floor. “Nothing, just—”

Before he could finish, Flock pushed the door open.

Eugene was still sitting on the floor, papers from the desk were scattered everywhere, and Luo Hai’s uniform coat was tossed carelessly to the ground right next to Eugene’s waist.

Flock’s expression darkened instantly. Behind him, Daina let out a small gasp, her face openly showing disgust.

“Shameless,” she muttered under her breath.

“I don’t care what the hell you two are doing, but can you keep it down?” Flock snapped. “Some of us are actually trying to work here.”

With that, he slammed the door shut—rather forcefully, at that. The heavy wooden door made a loud thud right in front of Luo Hai’s face.

Eugene’s smile gradually faded. He waited until the footsteps in the hallway grew distant before pushing himself off the floor.

Luo Hai’s face was once again cold and unreadable. He didn’t say a word, simply bent down, picked up the coat, threw it into the trash, and started gathering the scattered documents.

“Your colleagues always talk to you like that?” Eugene raised an eyebrow.

“It’s none of your business,” Luo Hai replied flatly.

“Seriously? You work late till eight or nine every night, they dump all the grunt work on you, and now they have the nerve to say they’re the ones working?” Eugene looked incredulous as he pointed toward the door.

“I don’t need a criminal to pity my work situation, thanks.” Luo Hai calmly stacked the scattered papers together, shook off the pigeon feathers, and put them back in order. “Besides, I’m not exactly the easiest person to get along with. Can’t really blame them for that.”

“You’re too damn nice, that’s the problem.” Eugene clicked his tongue. “Have I ever told you how I used to deal with being ostracized?”

Probably no one else in all of Nantes would have the guts to call this famously cold-blooded prosecutor “too nice.”

Luo Hai looked at him in amusement. “No, you haven’t.”

“Back when I was working finance for Manta Network, I got iced out by the whole department just because I brought lunch for an Omega janitor.” Eugene shrugged. “They left me out of team-building events, didn’t invite me to meetings, cut me off from all the resources—hell, I was getting calls in the middle of the night just to clean up their mess. You know how I handled it?”

“How?”

“The next morning, I brought a violin to work and played it from sunrise till sunset,” Eugene said in a conspiratorial whisper. “Anyone who told me to stop, I just said, ‘Oh? But you told me the team-building event was today, not yesterday. So I’m spending the whole day team-building with you.’”

Luo Hai let out a soft chuckle. He could picture Eugene doing something like that—could even imagine the smug grin on his face while playing.

“I almost feel bad for their ears,” Luo Hai said.

“Their ears were just fine, thank you very much. My violin playing is excellent,” Eugene retorted with exaggerated indignation. “We had a whole crowd gathering outside the building that day. People thought we were hosting a concert. Of course, I quit right after that—no point working with petty assholes. Your job is more stable, so quitting’s not really an option, but you can’t just let them walk all over you either…”

Luo Hai hummed absentmindedly, then tied up the trash bag, shut down his work computer, and grabbed his things.

Eugene blinked. “Wait… are you…”

“Leaving,” Luo Hai said simply, buttoning his shirt collar. “If they love work so much, they can finish it themselves.”