The padlock clicked open, and Eugene pushed the door wide, leading Luo Hai inside.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Luo Hai froze.
The entire yard was filled with osmanthus trees.
Right now, in full bloom, golden flowers covered every branch, drifting to the ground like a golden carpet.
A small tea table sat in the center, covered in a fine layer of fallen petals. On it, there was an unattended teacup, a few stray flowers floating in the gathered rainwater inside.
The rich fragrance of osmanthus filled the air, carried gently by the breeze. The trees swayed, and golden petals rained down, landing on Luo Hai’s shoulder.
“See? I wasn’t lying.” Eugene stood beside him, lips curving into a smile. “Great view, hidden, and something you’d love.”
Luo Hai’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. It was as if something was stuck in his throat, making it hard to speak.
Eugene strolled into the house, returning shortly with two packs of tea leaves. Leisurely, he set about boiling water, rinsing the tea set, and brewing tea. “This place has been empty for a while, so there’s dust everywhere. Luckily, most of the tea leaves didn’t go bad. Still drinkable.”
The scent of tea mixed with the osmanthus fragrance, intoxicatingly sweet.
“What is this place?” Luo Hai asked in a low voice, though he already had a strong guess.
“My house.” Eugene poured hot water into a teacup, swirling it before pouring it out. He smiled slowly. “Before I got arrested, I lived here. Listening to music, admiring the flowers… occasionally engaging in a little criminal activity.”
After Eugene’s arrest, the prosecution had tried to trace his whereabouts, hoping to uncover his residence or hideouts. But they found nothing.
Even Luo Hai had never expected—Eugene had been living right under their noses, in the city center, just one street away from the Nantes government building.
“Do you like it?” Eugene asked, pouring tea into a cup and placing it in front of him. “These saplings cost me a lot of money. At first, I had no experience with planting, so I lost two-thirds of them. The next year, I bought new ones and replanted. Eventually, they grew.”
Luo Hai was silent for a while before finally turning to look at him. “You realize that now that you’ve told me about this place, I’ll have to report it to the prosecution office and have it seized.”
“Of course.” Eugene took a sip of tea, still smiling. “But for that one moment—seeing the look on your face—it was worth it.”
He wasn’t unaware of the consequences.
It was precisely because he understood them that he had done it.
He had wrapped this place up like a gift, tied a bow on it, and handed it over to Luo Hai.
The weather was beautiful—clear skies, no clouds in sight.
A deep blue, just like the ocean of Fuba Port.
Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, golden osmanthus flowers swaying on the branches—just like the scenery he had dreamed of many years ago.
The fragrance of the flowers mixed with the scent of tea, along with a faint, almost imperceptible hint of juniper gin.
“Thank you,” Luo Hai said softly. “I really like it.”
…..
About two hours later, detectives and personnel from the prosecutor’s office arrived. Under Luo Hai’s command, they conducted a thorough inspection, meticulously cataloging every item in the house.
As for Eugene, being a major felon in this case and an overall nuisance for lingering around too much, he was handcuffed directly in the courtyard.
After an entire afternoon of investigation, the police uncovered a significant amount of items and information related to the Lightwing organization inside the house.
These included printed Lightwing pamphlets and banners, meeting records from gatherings held at this location, and an astonishing stockpile of weapons and explosive devices.
“I can hardly believe it… Oddis actually stashed this many weapons and explosives right in the city center,” Officer Fanny muttered while jotting down the confiscated items in her notebook, her voice filled with disbelief. “If this place hadn’t been found, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Lightwing could have flattened the entire government building with this arsenal!”
Luo Hai said nothing, merely watching as officers carried box after box of weapons out from the basement.
Fanny was right. If Eugene had wanted to, he could have launched an attack on the government building at any time. With just a single street between them and this stockpile of weapons and explosives, Lightwing could have easily demolished the entire building before anyone even had time to react.
In fact, judging by how long these weapons and explosives had been stored, Eugene had been capable of doing so for at least a year already.
The police and prosecutors at the scene all felt relieved, grateful for Luo Hai’s sharp instincts that led to the discovery of Oddis’ hideout before the worst could happen.
But only Luo Hai knew that he hadn’t uncovered anything himself—Eugene had handed it all to him.
But what did that mean?
What exactly was the Lightwing Society planning?
Why did they have so many weapons yet take no action?
Why would Eugene willingly abandon such a massive stockpile of resources? Why would he voluntarily reveal this place to Luo Hai?
Could all of this mean that…
Eugene had truly given up on the Lightwing Society?
“Speaking of which, I really didn’t expect him to be Eugene Oddis.” Fanny’s pen paused in her notebook as she stole a glance at Eugene, handcuffed in the courtyard. Lowering her voice, she said to Luo Hai, “When I saw you two at the restaurant last time, I already felt like there was something off about your relationship, but I never imagined it was this kind of ‘off’…”
Luo Hai didn’t respond. Instead, he walked straight toward Eugene.
The latter was leaning idly against an osmanthus tree, tilting his head back with his mouth open, hoping for a breeze to blow a few petals in.
“You’re just going to catch a caterpillar like that,” Luo Hai said.
“Ugh, can you not say such disgusting things?” Eugene shuddered and quickly shut his mouth. “When are you taking these handcuffs off? I’ve been standing here for two hours—my legs are going numb.”
“Once they finish moving everything out,” Luo Hai replied flatly. “Blame yourself for hiding too much explosive material.”
“It’s not that much. Most of it was just my personal belongings, okay?” Eugene chuckled, glancing toward the entrance.
By now, all the weapons had been cleared from the basement, and the boxes being carried out were full of his personal possessions.
One box contained books, another held daily necessities, and another was filled with musical instruments and ornaments.
Luo Hai watched as Eugene’s belongings were slowly carried out through the foyer, as if he were catching glimpses of Eugene’s life over the years.
“Ah, that speaker system—I remember it so well. I bought it shortly after I moved to Nantes. I barely had any money back then, but I gritted my teeth and spent a whole month’s salary on it. The sound was incredible, like being at a live concert. You can’t find something that good nowadays,” Eugene reminisced, watching his possessions get hauled away. “And those models and figurines—I had to camp out to get some of those…”
Luo Hai shot him a glance. “You collect models and figurines?”
“What, you look down on otakus?” Eugene crossed his arms. “These are the lifeblood of an otaku. I could sell them online for thousands right now. What a shame they’re getting locked up in the prosecutor’s office.”
Luo Hai rolled his eyes internally.
As if Eugene had any right to call himself an otaku—he was the least otaku-like person imaginable.
“Look, that’s the first cookbook I ever bought when I started learning to cook. A real classic. I’ve flipped through it so many times it’s practically falling apart—I still reference it all the time.” Eugene continued pointing out items. “Ah! Did you see that? That violin?”
Eugene tapped Luo Hai’s arm and pointed at a beautifully crafted violin in the last box being carried out.
Even covered in dust, its exquisite craftsmanship and fine lacquer made it clear that this was a top-tier instrument, the kind rarely seen even in the wealthiest parts of the city.
“I played that violin all day at my old company,” Eugene said with a smile. “Its tone is incredible, and it has amazing projection.”
“How much did it cost?” Luo Hai asked.
“Thirty, maybe forty thousand? I don’t really remember,” Eugene shrugged.
Luo Hai frowned. “You’re not even a professional violinist. Why buy something that expensive?”
“Well…” Eugene leaned back against the tree, gazing at the box with a faint smile. “Back then, I had only been in Nantes for a few years. I didn’t know you had become a prosecutor yet.”
Luo Hai was confused. He didn’t see the connection.
“Do you remember the wealthy guy who lived next to the orphanage? He always played the violin in his osmanthus-filled courtyard,” Eugene said, still smiling. “Back then, you used to get all worked up, saying that one day, you’d buy a house in Nantes, plant osmanthus trees, and play a ridiculously expensive violin in the courtyard.”
Luo Hai said nothing.
To be honest, he could no longer remember many details of his childhood, let alone whether he had really said something like that.
But he knew that if he had said it, it could only have been to Eugene. Because back then, the only one who looked at him with admiration, listened to him seriously without mocking him, was Eugene.
“So, I bought a house, planted osmanthus trees, and bought a very expensive violin. I thought that when I finally found you, I’d bring you here and play the violin for you.” Eugene smiled faintly. “If I had known back then that you had become a prosecutor, maybe I could have saved that money.”
Luo Hai didn’t respond. A few seconds later, he adjusted the collar of his shirt, walked past Eugene, and headed toward the officers moving the items.
“How’s the inventory going?” he asked Fanny.
“Just about done.” Fanny flipped through her notebook. “The weapons and explosives have all been recorded. The rest are just his personal belongings. Oddis sure had a rich private life—so much random stuff, some of it I don’t even understand…”
Luo Hai nodded toward the violin. “Did you record that one?”
“Not yet, almost.” Fanny glanced at her notes. “Just a few more minutes, and we’ll be finished.”
“Don’t record it yet.” Luo Hai took the violin from the box. “I’m taking this with me first.”
“Ohh.” Fanny gave him a knowing look and nodded. “No problem, no problem.”
Luo Hai walked toward Eugene, violin in hand. The latter leaned against the tree, watching him with an irrepressible smile in his eyes.
Expressionless, Luo Hai shoved the violin into Eugene’s hands. “Happy now?”
“Very happy,” Eugene murmured.
