Early in the morning, Yu Hua turned the on TV to the news channel. To the background noise of the morning news, he tied on an apron and absent-mindedly chopped filling, rolled out dough, and made dumplings. 

You Zhengping hadn’t sent him word all night. Yu Hua was afraid of disturbing his work, so he hadn’t sent him a message. 

He didn’t know the scope of an auxiliary police officer’s work, but it was definitely against discipline to sneak looks at your messages while on duty. Yu Hua wanted to be an understanding and virtuous family member. He didn’t want to make trouble for You Zhengping. 

Though he’d worried about You Zhengping all night, Yu Hua was also somewhat glad that his husband had had to go work overtime last night. He wasn’t sure whether there was surveillance inside their home. It would be better if he knew what had happened after he’d left home, Yu Hua thought as he rolled out the dumpling wrappers. 

Just then, several human figures appeared in front of his eyes. Their leader was the handsome uncle who’d had a basketball contest with Zhen Li that day. He was taking the others to search the kitchen. 

Yu Hua reached out a hand, felt that the handsome uncle was only an image, and understood. 

This was “time replay,” one of Yu Hua’s sealed abilities. Like a surveillance playback, it would play back what had happened in a place, from the past few hours to the last several years, and only the person using the ability could see it. 

Because he’d wished so strongly to know what the Protectors had done in his house last night, Yu Hua had inadvertently unlocked yet another ability. 

Yu Hua rubbed his eyes feebly. His seal was like some knock-off product with no quality guarantee. 

Luckily, because the enormous power to support the operation of this ability was still sealed, Yu Hua could only see a playback of the last twenty-four hours. What he wanted to know was precisely what the Protectors had done yesterday, so he began to observe the Protectors’ movements. 

With a thought, Yu Hua adjusted the speed to 128 times faster, and the hours flashed by. 

Yu Hua watched Lian Yufan, using the handsome uncle’s face, remain silent the whole time, from beginning to end using gestures and glances to command his subordinates. These gestures must have been the Protectors’ specialized code. Yu Hua could only get a general idea. He couldn’t decipher it entirely. 

They searched everything and found a safe that Yu Hua had secretly hidden in a cabinet when the apartment was being decorated. Looking pleasantly surprised, the handsome uncle pried open the safe and photographed the calendar diary Yu Hua had hidden in the safe page by page. 

Then these people also found the phone Yu Hua had hidden. When Yu Hua saw the phone being taken away, he frowned faintly. 

When he had bought the phone and some costly household goods, he had in fact used the money in the System’s hidden account. The history of this money was unclear. There would be trouble if they investigated its source. Fortunately, Yu Hua had a cautious nature. Even using the System’s money, he still paid in cash. 

To confuse the Protectors, Yu Hua had even withdrawn some cash and put it in the safe. It wasn’t much, only enough to pay the mortgage for two months. 

When he had worked at his previous job, his year-end red packets were directly distributed in cash. He would also regularly put a portion of his bonuses into the safe in front of You Zhengping. Cash circulates in the market. It would be very difficult to investigate it. The Protectors wouldn’t be able to find the source of the funds used to buy the phone. 

The reason Yu Hua was displeased wasn’t that he was worried about them suspecting the funds. He was worried that they wouldn’t return the phone. Even though it was broken, it was still a present You Zhengping had given him. 

After taking these things, the handsome uncle and the others quickly cleaned up the apartment and left. They didn’t plant any listening devices or observation equipment. This gave Yu Hua a faint friendly feeling towards the Protection Organization. 

Yu Hua turned off the “time replay” and pondered as he folded dumplings. Apart from them unexpectedly not planting monitoring equipment in the apartment, everything was moving exactly according to Yu Hua’s plan. 

If the Protectors had already found the psychological consultation office, then there was only one method left to them. That was to stage a threat to his life and see whether he would use his abilities in a matter of life and death. If he didn’t, then he would be cleared of suspicion. 

While Yu Hua was pondering, the door of the apartment opened, and You Zhengping returned. 

As soon as he walked through the door, he smelled the aroma of meat filling. You Zhengping quietly walked into the kitchen and watched Yu Hua’s back as he made dumplings. Remembering the contents of the calendar, You Zhengping couldn’t resist hugging Yu Hua from behind. 

He knew about Yu Hua’s psychological state but couldn’t display it. He had to wait to consult the squad’s psychology expert after the investigation was over. There was nothing You Zhengping could do now, apart from hugging Yu Hua to give him warmth. 

Lian Yufan was forcing You Zhengping to take Yu Hua to perform a crisis test. Director Xiao had approved it. You Zhengping had protested for a whole night but in the end had still been overruled. 

If Yu Hua really did end up in danger, then even if it meant revealing his identity, You Zhengping would still protect him. 

“You’re back.” Yu Hua had already heard the sound of the door opening. Feeling You Zhengping hug him, he turned his head slightly, smiling warmly at his husband. 

You Zhengping went up slightly on tiptoe and kissed Yu Hua’s cheek, then buried his face against his sturdy back. Rubbing his face against Yu Hua’s back, he said, “I didn’t sleep all night again. I’m so tired.” 

“You’ve been working hard.” Yu Hua’s voice was somewhat stifled. “When my job picks up, will you resign? Go back to the subdistrict office to work, like before, nine to five, a healthy routine.” 

“Now that I’ve managed to transfer, I have to stick with it for a while. I got one of Cen Xiao’s relatives help me change jobs. If I resign too soon, it’ll be losing face for them,” You Zhengping said. 

Hearing Cen Xiao’s name, Yu Hua’s back muscles tensed. He quietly continued making dumplings. 

You Zhengping stroked Yu Hua’s back, acutely feeling the slight change. 

So it was true! Yu Hua became strained when he heard Cen Xiao’s name. What he’d written in his diary was true. He really was jealous of Cen Xiao! When he noticed this, You Zhengping was extremely pleased and surprised. 

Yu Hua always acted very calm. When Cen Xiao and the other underlings came as guests to their house, he would make a lot of good food to eat, and he had never raised any objections to You Zhengping’s friendship with them. You Zhengping had always thought his husband was very magnanimous, that he wouldn’t randomly get jealous or annoyed. But actually he could be jealous of people. 

Even though the person he was jealous of was that idiot Cen Xiao, You Zhengping was still extremely happy. 

He said deliberately, “If Cen Xiao hadn’t come to take over my shift this morning, I wouldn’t have been able to come back during the day.” 

“Really?” Yu Hua was like a calm black cat. His heart was full of surging waves, but on the surface he was unmoved. “Then we owe him thanks. The next time you go to work, I’ll make some extra snacks. Also, invite your friends over to eat when you have time.” 

You Zhengping poked Yu Hua’s back and felt that the muscles were even more tense. His exterior and interior were so inconsistent. 

“All right.” You Zhengping decided not to expose this matter, hiding his happiness in his heart, leaving it for himself to enjoy in private. 

Breakfast was finished in these warm and pleasant surroundings. You Zhengping ate with unusual satisfaction. After eating breakfast, Yu Hua had to go to work. 

He got dressed and straightened his tie in the mirror. Before leaving, Yu Hua asked, “Are you working overtime again tonight?” 

“No, I’m getting a day off in compensation,” You Zhengping said. 

He hesitated, then said, “Do you have Sunday off?” 

Yu Hua could have any day off he wanted now. He said, “The contract promises holidays and days off according to national law.” 

“Then let’s go on a date on Sunday,” You Zhengping said. “I feel like we’ve been apart too much lately, and our routines have been a mess. I want to get out and relax a little, just the two of us.” 

The “just the two of us” moved Yu Hua. From their blind date to their engagement, from their wedding to their honeymoon, Cen Xiao and the others had always come along (worried that You Zhengping’s special ability would get out of control and he would kill Yu Hua). Yu Hua had never experienced a date with just the two of them. 

“Fine,” he agreed reservedly. He opened the door. “See you tonight.” 

“See you tonight.” You Zhengping smiled brightly. 

When Yu Hua was gone, You Zhengping sprawled spreadeagled on the bed and closed his eyes unhappily. It wasn’t “just the two of them” at all. There would be a crowd of Protectors arranging a trap! 

—

When Yu Hua arrived at work, the office door was locked. Zhen Li hadn’t come to work. 

He opened the door and saw the window that Zhen Li hadn’t closed last night. In the sunlight, the desks were covered in dust. 

“We should hire a janitor,” Yu Hua said to himself. 

He liked to do housework and take care of You Zhengping, but he wasn’t going to clean the office. 

The office was around three-hundred meters square. Zhen Li hadn’t decorated. He had only arranged the desks. After assuming his post, Yu Hua had gone on a second-hand app and bought a desk, and the two of them were currently planning to make do with this wretched state until they had found a project that could earn (launder) money. Then they would decorate. 

There was a bathroom in the office. Yu Hua found a cleaning rag and was about to go into the bathroom to wet the rag and wipe the desk. 

As soon as he walked in the door, he saw Zhen Li, sitting tied up on the toilet seat with tape stuck over his mouth. Seeing Yu Hua, Zhen Li began to struggle fiercely. He breathed hard, and the tape over his mouth loosened a little. 

Seeing Zhen Li like this, Yu Hua’s expression was very calm. He quickly stepped back out of the restroom, got out his phone, and dialed 110. 

That was the choice of a normal person faced with his boss having been kidnapped. 

“Don’t move.” A dagger pressed against Yu Hua’s neck, right at his main artery. “Drop your phone. Don’t call the police.” 

Yu Hua was carrying the phone he had bought. Of course he didn’t care about it at all. He casually dropped it onto the floor. The call hadn’t gone out. 

“Hands on your head. Leave this place. Don’t ask anything, and don’t turn your head at all. You can’t see my face,” this man said, taking pains to change his voice. “After you leave, don’t come back. You’re fired. Go find a new job.” 

Yu Hua: “…” 

He could find a new job, but he still didn’t have his hundred million. 

He put his hands on his head, his mind revolving quickly, deliberating whether this man was a leveler or a Protector. If he was a leveler, then it was simple. He was so presumptuous; Yu Hua would just beat him to death. If he was a Protector, then this might be the crisis he had predicted. He had to act like an ordinary person the whole time. 

Yu Hua slowly walked towards the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that there was a birdcage behind the door with a parrot inside it. 

When had this parrot appeared? Had it been there when he had come in? Yu Hua’s alertness hadn’t fully recovered yet. He couldn’t be sure. 

The parrot stared fixedly at Yu Hua, as if it wanted to remember him. 

Last night, while the bill was being settled, he had used a makeup mirror to send Zhen Li a message, telling him to disfigure his face. That had been around 20:30. He had seen Zhen Li’s entirely unharmed face through the makeup mirror. 

Just now, Zhen Li, tied up in the bathroom, hadn’t had any signs of a beating on him. He had been brought here unconsciously or willingly. The important thing was, he hadn’t disfigured his face. 

When he’d seen him, Zhen Li had anxiously tried to blow away the tape, as if he had wanted to use language to convey some message to Yu Hua. His gaze had been sincere and unflinching. He hadn’t had the appearance of a traitor. 

Yu Hua had predicted that the Protectors would question Zhen Li. If this was a Protector, Zhen Li could have carried on according to their original plans. There would have been no need for him to be this panicked. 

In a flash, Yu Hua determined that this person was a leveler, and that Zhen Li hadn’t told him the fact that Yu Hua was the target of the System’s mission. 

The only question was, what was this parrot? 

Yu Hua stared at the parrot, opened his mouth, and voicelessly mouthed the word “collaboration.” 

“Collaboration! Collaboration!” the parrot said. 

“Wait,” the person behind him said, calling Yu Hua to a stop and aiming the dagger at his temple. “What collaboration are you talking about?” 

---

Author's Note

Yu Hua: Do I beat him to death? Or beat him to death? Or beat him to death? 

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