novelraw Chapter 46: Cohabitation Life
Chapter 46: Cohabitation Life
By the time Lin Xun and Lu Caiyi arrived at the bungalow on the outskirts of the city, it was already midnight.
Looking at the courtyard and bungalow before him—identical in every detail to how they’d looked the night before—even the children’s doodles on the outer wall and the cracks in the old concrete faithfully restored—Lin Xun couldn’t help but admire the sheer skill of the Logistics Division. Those people were truly amazing.
The bungalow in the courtyard was a run-down, one-bedroom, one-living-room unit.
Lin Xun would be “cohabiting” here with Lu Caiyi for some time, until the New World organization contacted him.
During this period, he also had to carry out his secondary mission—recruiting Lu Caiyi into the Intelligence Division, as ordered by his lady boss.
Li Xingyue had only demanded results. The actual strategy for this counter-poaching operation was left entirely up to Lin Xun.
Clearly, earning a high salary wasn’t going to be easy.
Not only did he have to face a dangerous organization full of villains, he also had to outplay clever young ladies within his own ranks.
Bringing Lu Caiyi into the bungalow, Lin Xun turned on the lights. The interior decor and furnishings were even older and more outdated than his rental apartment.
The place resembled a budget motel room that went for 50 yuan a night.At this moment, Lu Caiyi had changed into a white short-sleeved top and a skirt. Her long hair was tied up in a high ponytail, making her look every bit the part of a freshly graduated, innocent college girl—and not just any girl, but one at campus beauty level.
The two of them sat on the sofa in the living room: one man, one woman, alone together in a house.
They had once been blind-date candidates; now they were also colleagues.
The atmosphere quietly took on a slightly ambiguous undertone.
“Xiao Bai, I’ve always been curious about something.”
“Xiao Bai” was Lu Caiyi’s codename for this mission.
Lu Caiyi blinked her large eyes, a little adorably dumbfounded. “Ask away~”
“By all logic, someone like you shouldn’t need to go on blind dates, right? How’d it end up that the two of us were matched as a couple?”
A girl like Lu Caiyi—beautiful, with a perfect figure and a great family background—how could she have possibly ended up needing a blind date to find a boyfriend? Lin Xun couldn’t wrap his head around it.
The white-clad girl looked a little shy, but answered softly, “When I was attending Public Security University, my parents didn’t allow me to date. But once I graduated and started working, they suddenly wanted me to get a boyfriend, and arranged blind dates for me.”
“I dodged them for a long time, but eventually I just couldn’t get out of it anymore. I figured I’d meet him and go through the motions—I even planned what I was going to say. But then…”
She stopped mid-sentence.
It was her first blind date, and she hadn’t even wanted to go. She’d already rehearsed a polite rejection. But then Lin Xun stood her up—she waited an hour for nothing.
Sure, she’d secretly felt a little relieved when he didn’t show, but still—she’d prepared to gently reject him, only to get rejected first. Her pride took a hit.
Lin Xun, meanwhile, was shocked by something else entirely:
Public Security University?
He’d assumed Lu Caiyi’s connection to the Public Security Bureau was due to her position in the Armed Division. He hadn’t realized this dainty, delicate girl was an actual graduate from the Public Security system—a bona fide female officer.
And now his boss had tasked him with… recruiting a female officer? That was kind of thrilling.
Wait—why did his brain just conjure up the video file titled “Female Investigator Demonstrates the 17 Uses of Handcuffs.AVI”?
Must be his readers’ imagination—nothing to do with him.
The white-clad girl noticed Lin Xun’s intense gaze and shyly lowered her head.
She knew very well how important this mission was. Even though Team Leader Wang had also assigned her a recruitment task, her most crucial, most urgent, most important duty was still to protect Lin Xun’s safety.
The New World operatives were lurking in the shadows. Who knew when they’d reach out to “the Engineer.”
If Lin Xun were ever exposed, she would stand in front of him no matter what.
But… but why was he staring at her like that?
“I… I’m going to take a shower first.”
Her thoughts a mess, her cheeks burning red, Lu Caiyi darted into the bathroom, locking the door behind her before leaning against it with a sigh of relief.
From the sofa, Lin Xun watched her flee like a frightened little deer.
Coming back to his senses, he rubbed his chin. “Comrade Xiaoqi’s makeup skills are insane… This is basically face-swapping. I stared at her all night and couldn’t find a single flaw.”
His thoughts drifted to spy movies, where agents put on synthetic masks and a bit of makeup to completely change their appearance.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom. The frosted glass on the door fogged up, and a faint, graceful silhouette could be seen within.
“Ack—vixen! Don’t you dare interrupt my cultivation!”
Lin Xun wrestled his mind back into place, suppressing impure thoughts.
He had more important things to do.
He averted his gaze, pulled out his phone, and resumed his writing work.
He still had 2,000 words to go for today’s 4,000-word goal. The grind was real…
Who knows how much time passed. Focused entirely on typing, Lin Xun suddenly felt a warm breath on the back of his neck.
He turned and saw the white-clad girl standing behind him. Fresh from the shower, her flushed cheeks were rosy and her hair was still dripping. She looked like a water lily just emerged from a spring.
In a soft, slightly shy voice, the girl asked.
“Um… how are we gonna sleep tonight?”
Lin Xun was stunned. He knew from the black silk boss lady that Lu Caiyi was trying to poach him to the Armed Division…
But he hadn’t expected her to throw down such a powerful card right off the bat.
Were female officers always this direct? Shouldn’t she at least start with a 3?
Who just tosses out a double joker on the first turn?!
Lin Xun was dazed by the double-joker combo.
[T/N: From a popular chinese card game called Fight the Landlord.]
Should he say yes now? Or take a shower first, then say yes?
It took a monumental effort for Lin Xun to politely refuse:
“Um… Xiao Bai…”
“Maybe we should take things step by step—build our relationship gradually. I mean, we used to be blind date partners, but now suddenly this… wouldn’t it be too rushed?”
As far as the counter-poaching mission was concerned, all he needed to do was recruit Lu Caiyi into the Intelligence Division.
Lin Xun was a performer, not a playboy. He had to have boundaries.
“I-I… that’s not what I meant!”
Lu Caiyi suddenly realized how her words could be misunderstood. Her face turned red as a tomato, and she wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and crawl in.
She covered her face with both hands, steam practically rising from her head. The water droplets in her hair were almost evaporating from the heat.
She immediately bolted and dashed into the bungalow’s one and only bedroom.
BANG!
The bedroom door slammed shut. Click—locked.
Lin Xun sat there, stunned.
What the hell just happened?
After a long moment, he finally pieced it together: Lu Caiyi had probably been asking who should sleep in the bedroom, since there was only one.
Well, too late now—she’d already claimed it. Guess he’d be sleeping on the couch.
“Sigh…” He shook his head and resumed his grand wordsmithing endeavor.
After a long writing session, he finished another chapter, hit “Publish,” and wrapped up his work for the night.
Just then, the bedroom door cracked open slightly. A slender hand emerged and expertly tossed a folded blanket onto the sofa.
Lin Xun looked at the blanket and grinned. He quickly washed up, turned off the lights, and lay down to sleep.