My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Half an hour later, Xu Binchen arrived in front of Luo Ning's house with a bunch of uniformed workers plus a huge excavator machine behind him. Luo Ning, who opened the door, had his jaws directly dropped to the ground in awe and shock.

Xu Binchen lifted his eyes, a burning cigarette hung between his teeth, expressionless. Yet in Luo Ning's eyes, he looked extraordinarily suave and haughty at this moment. The kind with a halo shining behind his back. "Where is Qin Weizhe?"

Luo Ning shouted without turning around. "Detective Qin, the…the laborers are here!"

Qin Weizhe strode out leisurely and waved toward Xu Binchen. His smile was wide and cheerful. "Hello, brother. What's up? Your face is as ugly as usual, huh?"

Xu Binchen glowered. "Where's the area ought to be excavated?"

Even though it was almost midnight, the workers Xu Binchen brought with him were still as energetic as ever. For the first time, Luo Ning realized how formidable the power of money was. He stared at his house which was dismantled bit by bit and felt his whole body ache inside out.

He had just bought this house…hadn't even lived here for a week…

Dusts and debris flew all over the air as the excavator worked to dig a hole out of the floor. The neighbors came out to complain due to the loud noises and Qin Weizhe stepped out to mediate. With his handsome appearance and friendly smile, he was able to swoon anyone until they could no longer think straight. The fierce uncles and aunties who sought problems turned in a blink of an eye into amicable and friendly people, laughing and gossiping together with Old Qin.

Luo Ning stared at him, amazed. Seeing how there was no space to stand in the house, he moved outside and approached the smoking Xu Binchen. There were already two cigarette butts under his feet. The white smoke blurred his visage, making him look softer and more approachable. 

"Thank you for coming, Detective Xu." Luo Ning bowed politely. "And also, we are sorry to have called you late into the night."

Xu Binchen waved his hand, nonchalant. "Nah, I should pity you instead. I heard you have just moved here?"

Luo Ning's mouth twitched. He took back the sentence saying that Xu Binchen looked more approachable! He must have been too exhausted to think of that! Luo Ning covered his aching heart and looked up at him pitifully. "Do you really think there's some…thing buried underneath?"

Xu Binchen gave him a sympathetic glance, one that made Luo Ning want to burst into tears. "Don't you know Old Qin's nickname?" Seeing Luo Ning nod, he snorted softly. "Then why are you asking again? That guy's nose is more potent than a police dog, mind you."

Luo Ning: "…" Why is it so hard to have a proper conversation with him?!

"What are you two talking about?" Qin Weizhe suddenly slung his arms across Luo Ning's shoulder, the force dragging him back two steps until his back bumped against the man's chest. Luo Ning's heart skipped a beat and started to race faster afterward. Maybe he should thank the darkness for covering his reddening face.

Xu Binchen threw the cigarette in his mouth, took out a new one and flicked the lighter. His voice came out muffled. "Just praising your sharp intuition."

Luo Ning: "…" That wasn't what you said a moment ago!

Hearing Xu Binchen's words, Qin Weizhe fell silent. Sighing, he shook his head while his hand rubbed and pinched Luo Ning's ear as if comforting himself with the soft sensation. "I hope it's me who's too paranoid—eh?" Qin Weizhe leaned forward and sniffed the air around Xu Binchen, making the latter reveal a disgusted expression and took a few steps back. "You smelled of disinfectant. Did you come here from the hospital?"

Xu Binchen's face was deadpan. "No."

It was as if Qin Weizhe had found a new source of fun. He grinned mischievously, eyebrows hooking up and down. "Oh~ are you visiting that boy? I say ah you, why are you so generous toward your own rival—ugh!"

Xu Binchen moved with an unimaginable speed and punched Qin Weizhe on his gut, causing the man to bend over. His shoulders shook as he hugged his belly with both hands.

"Like you're better than me." Xu Binchen retorted.

"Detective Qin!" Luo Ning's face paled and he hastily went to support him. "Does it hurt a lot?!" He was so anxious seeing how Qin Weizhe trembled violently that he took no notice of the underlying meaning in Qin Weizhe's sentence, even glaring at Xu Binchen hatefully.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that he heard the sound of suppressed…laughter coming from the man he held onto.

Qin Weizhe couldn't hold it anymore and threw his head back, guffawing.

Luo Ning was dumbfounded. "You…are you okay?"

Qin Weizhe spent some time laughing to himself, tears sprung up his eyes, making the man's dark eyes covered in a layer of lustrous sheen. He glanced at Luo Ning mirthfully but his words were directed toward Xu Binchen. "Aiyah, see how badly you have frightened our Little Ning?"

Xu Binchen rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah, if you pretended for one more second, he would have brought a knife out and hacked me to pieces."

Luo Ning blushed deeply, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You…You're lying to me?!"

Qin Weizhe laughed again, his eyes curved into crescents. Seeing how Luo Ning was puffing his cheeks out angrily, he reached out and patted his head. "Alright, alright, it's my fault okay?" His tone was so soft and indulgent that Luo Ning's face reddened further, his anger dissipated in an instant.

"Do you have to dote on him so deeply like that? Qin Weizhe, are you raising a subordinate or a lover?" Xu Binchen's sharp remarks pierced through the pink bubbles surrounding the two and each of his words poked into Luo Ning's heart.

He subconsciously held his breath, waiting for Qin Weizhe's response. A subordinate or a lover? Sometimes, he also felt that Qin Weizhe was really kind and patient to him more than others, but he had always contributed it to him being the greenest and youngest members in the team. 

However, if Qin Weizhe didn't have that kind of feeling to him, then why did he kiss him? Then again, if Qin Weizhe liked him, why didn't he say anything to Luo Ning's confession?

Sighing, Qin Weizhe rubbed his neck. "You're really such an insensitive guy. It's no wonder that you have always been single. I pity your future girlfriend."

Xu Binchen only scoffed and turned to walk inside.

Qin Weizhe turned to Luo Ning, cocking his head toward the direction Xu Binchen walked in. "Come on. Let's keep up. Do you still feel dizzy?"

"No…" Luo Ning shook his head, dejected. He was itching to listen to Qin Weizhe's answer but in the end, the man dodged it just like that. Albeit disappointed, he could only chase after the two men and focus on the matter in hand.

The excavation went on swiftly and smoothly. A hole, large enough for two men to pass through, formed in Luo Ning's living room. He looked at his filthy sofa and unusable carpet and once again felt the urge to shed tears.

"How is it?" Xu Binchen crouched down and shouted.

"Boss! You—You should come down yourself ah!" The workers sounded frightened and panicked.

Luo Ning's heart skipped a beat and he clenched his fists subconsciously. 

At that moment, a warm touch fell upon his head, stroking his head. "Don't be afraid." Qin Weizhe said in passing and went forward to receive a flashlight from one of the workers. The excavators climbed up one by one, their faces drained in color. Xu Binchen frowned, rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a thick roll of one hundred yuans.

After receiving that huge amount of money, they left with ruddy faces after repeatedly stressing that Xu Binchen should call them again if he needed to, no matter how late it was.

Xu Binchen impatiently walked out to send them away, leaving Qin Weizhe and Luo Ning to stare at the black hole.

Qin Weizhe shone the flashlight down and looked around, his brows scrunching. "Old Xu, come here quickly!" Turning to Luo Ning, he said with an exceedingly solemn face. "If you can't bear it, don't follow us. Just Xu Binchen and I are enough."

How could Luo Ning ever let himself be left behind? Provoked Qin Weizhe's sentence, his fear dwindled and he stepped forward courageously. "I can! Let me come with you two!"

Luo Ning came closer to Qin Weizhe to see what the man was looking at. Even before he could see anything, a burst of unpleasant smell rushed into his nose. In an instant, nausea churned his stomach and he almost vomited right there and then. It's no wonder that the workers sported such a horrified face. W—What kind of horrible stench was this?!

Because the floor had just been torn apart, the smell took some time to travel out. He couldn't quite describe it. Very repulsive and disgusting, as if every foul stench in the world mixed into one. "I—I will go and grab some masks for us!" Luo Ning ran to his bedroom and took in large gulps of air.

"What is it?" Xu Binchen returned from outside and similarly, his brows also knitted deeply. His gaze on Qin Weizhe turned severe. "Blood. Rotten flesh."

Qin Weizhe added at the same time when Luo Ning came out with his face covered with three layers of masks. "Excrement, possibly human's. Cement. Moss. Animal carcasses. Heavy scent of rusts and steels."

Luo Ning halted in his steps, colors drained from his face. He only snapped out of his senses when Qin Weizhe turned to him. 

"Stay here and call our team members as well as Captain Jin. We might have stumbled into a major crime scene."

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A/N: Poor Luo Ning lol idk whether he's lucky or not to have his newly bought house to be a crime scene QAQ

Guys, we have almost reached our goal of 1k privi unlocks! If we can complete it this month then I will give a mass release on the first day of next month :))