LWDC Chapter 204

Chapter 204: I Owe You a Sentence

Chapter 204: I Owe You a Sentence

Chapter 204: I Owe You a Sentence

Leaving behind the prince and his lover, along with the special task force ship of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ning Fei ascended into the vast starry sky with the first batch of space pirates from Planet Pulan.

Duan Yunhong was finally brought out of the solitary confinement cell again by Ning Fei, directly to the so-called “key intelligence secret meeting location” – Ning Fei’s personal room.

To put it formally, a confidential discussion place was needed, and there was no place more private than the sheriff’s room on the entire ship. To put it informally… the officers who witnessed Ning Fei bringing someone in all had expressions of doubt, contemplation, and indescribable complexity.

Clearly, they didn’t understand what Ning Fei was trying to do with this typical violation of regulations, but they didn’t question him, and Ning Fei didn’t care what they thought.

Duan Yunhong cared even less. He originally only wanted to have a “private chat” with Ning Fei, so it didn’t matter where they were. After following the man through twists and turns for a long time, he finally entered a place that wasn’t large but was obviously a living residence, and he almost immediately realized where he was.

“Officer Ning,” Duan Yunhong looked back at the room’s owner, knowingly asking, “Where have you brought me?”

“My room.” Ning Fei didn’t hide anything. After the door slid shut, he threw away the “leash” in his hand, passed him, and replied, “Didn’t you say you would only talk in a room without surveillance?”

Duan Yunhong watched him walk to the sofa, turn around, and sit down. The hand that wanted to take off his hat was itching again.

This time, his hands were cuffed in front of him.

“Speak,” Ning Fei leaned back on the sofa, his eyes under the brim of his hat looking at the man’s face, “What is this ‘key intelligence’ that you claim will never disappoint me?”

Duan Yunhong, though cuffed, didn’t have the despondency of a prisoner. He simply said, “Before that, I have two questions to confirm.”

“What?”

“First,” the man lowered his eyes to meet Ning Fei’s gaze, “Olen doesn’t seem to recognize you. Why don’t you acknowledge each other?”

“…” Ning Fei didn’t expect his first question to be so off-topic. He wanted to play a little longer, so he replied, “That’s confidential.”

“Then tell me, is your goal the same as his?” Duan Yunhong pressed, “If it is, you can have it. If it’s him, no way. I’ll sabotage him. You don’t acknowledge him anyway, so just pretend you didn’t see it.”

“Who the hell wants you to let me?” Ning Fei scoffed, “You’re going to sabotage him? You’re going to jail. How can you sabotage a ‘Royal Secretary and Minister of Internal Affairs’?”

Duan Yunhong couldn’t help but laugh again when he said that long title.

“Without you meddling, I would have thrown him onto a trash planet on the edge of the galaxy to fend for himself. How could he have had the chance to play the clown there?” As he spoke, the man took two steps forward and finally did what he had been wanting to do all along.

He grabbed the brim and yanked off Sheriff Ning’s hat.

“You…!”

Just as Ning Fei was about to explode, Duan Yunhong tossed the chain he had thrown away earlier into his hand: “Alright, you can play however you want.”

Ning Fei: “…Huh?”

“I have no intelligence at all. I just tricked you here to talk. Didn’t you say you wanted to punish me? Punish me then.” Duan Yunhong bent down and looked at him, “You’re wearing my locating mark, which is clearly telling me that you want to keep locating my world and treat me like an ATM for harvesting luck, right? Fine, I accept it. But next time, you have to come faster. Only you can pick up this bargain. I’m not interested in letting other ‘debt of fate’ collectors get the benefits.”

Ning Fei rubbed the end of the chain in his hand, meaningfully saying, “You think I’m using your locating mark to keep going to your world and then demand that you work for me for free?”

“Who knows? Even if you weren’t like that originally, you might deliberately do it to force me to back down.” Duan Yunhong calmly replied, “Unfortunately, my tolerance is a little higher than you think.”

“Is that so?” Ning Fei raised an eyebrow and tugged on the chain, “Kneel.”

Duan Yunhong really knelt.

Or rather, he had long expected Ning Fei to play this card. After delaying until now, Duan Yunhong no longer had any psychological burden. As for the man’s kneeling posture…

Ning Fei: “Why are you kneeling like that?”

“Isn’t that what you used to ask for?” Duan Yunhong replied frankly, “And you brought me to your room and asked me to kneel in that tone, isn’t that what you meant?”

Ning Fei: …

He was speechless. Restraints plus knees spread apart and kneeling, it was indeed his XP. He couldn’t deny that he put so many shackles on Duan Yunhong, and that he yanked the chain and laid hands on him, indeed because he had that intention. But right now, he had more important things to say. Duan Yunhong wanted to floor it and go full speed as soon as he arrived, leaving Ning Fei speechless.

“What, now you’re the one who keeps bringing the topic to the gutter?” Ning Fei stepped on Duan Yunhong’s knee with his boot and said, “If I were really doing a mission as this sheriff, would I have brought a kidnapper to my private room under everyone’s eyes? Am I sick? Making things difficult for myself?”

Hearing this, Duan Yunhong looked up at him, vaguely sensing something, but he wasn’t sure.

“You mean…”

“I mean, I’m going to ask you a question now.” Ning Fei retracted his foot, leaned forward, and made eye contact with Duan Yunhong at close range, “You only have one chance to answer. If I’m not satisfied… you won’t have another chance.”

His tone was light, but Duan Yunhong heard the deeper meaning in it, and his expression became serious.

The man said, “Ask.”

Ning Fei stared at him and slowly said, “If you become my colleague, will we go on missions separately, or will we have to work together?”

Duan Yunhong was stunned to hear this.

He had never expected Ning Fei to put this question first. Duan Yunhong couldn’t help but subconsciously analyze why Ning Fei was asking this question, and what his standard answer was. And whether Ning Fei’s question style contained any hint that he didn’t really want to work and wanted to be together all the time…

“Hey, snap out of it!” Ning Fei raised his hand and patted Duan Yunhong’s face, coldly saying, “You’re not trying to guess what answer I want, are you? Don’t think, choose one of the two, just say your own thoughts, say your first reaction!”

Duan Yunhong looked into his eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, and slowly replied, “…You make it sound easy, how can I not think? I only have one chance, only a 50% chance of getting it right. This is what I’ve been waiting for, I don’t want to lose everything because of one choice.”

“…” For some reason, Ning Fei suddenly felt that whether he answered correctly or not didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Even though he had already made up his mind that as long as Duan Yunhong gave the wrong answer, everything would be over. But when it really came to the moment before Duan Yunhong answered, when he really saw Duan Yunhong hesitating and unable to decide in order to guess the 50% chance, Ning Fei couldn’t help but have a thought.

Even if he chose not to be together, so what?

If I say I want to be together, I’ll just use his locating mark. Can he resist?

Always waiting for him to make concessions for himself, but not taking the initiative to fight for it, it’s really not like him. Now that I’m here, am I going to leave empty-handed?

Thinking of this, Ning Fei didn’t emphasize anything about answering correctly or incorrectly. He simply said, “It’s useless for you to guess. I don’t want to see if you understand me, but to see your honesty.”

Duan Yunhong was stunned: “You mean… I’ve already been judged to have lost?”

Ning Fei wanted to see sincerity, but Duan Yunhong had been hesitating and not giving an answer, which was contrary to Ning Fei’s idea, wasn’t it?

“If I say yes, what will you do?” Ning Fei raised an eyebrow, took off the brooch that Duan Yunhong had personally given him, and flipped it between his fingers, “Are you still not willing to give an answer?”

Duan Yunhong couldn’t help but follow the brooch with his eyes, as if Ning Fei was about to return it to his hand at any moment.

“…Alright, I’ll give you an answer.” Duan Yunhong lowered his eyes, but quickly raised them again to meet Ning Fei’s gaze, “Since it’s already too late, then I’ll say whatever I want. For me, there’s really no other possibility to your question –

“I’ve already asked to become your colleague, how can I let you go to different worlds to work?”

Hearing this answer, Ning Fei thought, “As expected,” and suddenly realized that a stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground.

He subconsciously asked, “Are you sure? You said I’m very controlling. Spending a long time with someone like that, your patience might not be as good as you think.”

“Why are you assuming things about me? I won’t even assume whether I will change in the future.” Duan Yunhong raised an eyebrow, “I want an identity, but not the identity of a ‘Bureau member.’ I don’t care about that. If we don’t work together, if we go to different worlds and miss each other by three or five years every time… oh, according to your ability, it’s usually two or three years, but that’s enough for you to have fun. If you want, I know best how quickly you can hook up with people.”

Ning Fei raised an eyebrow: “Don’t forget that’s how we hooked up too.”

“Yes. So I consider myself a ‘lesson from the past’ and can’t let it happen to someone else.” Duan Yunhong said righteously, “You’re very controlling, and coincidentally, I’m also very territorial. I don’t want to let you go beyond my reach.”

“Tsk, aren’t you quite talkative now?” Ning Fei leaned closer to him, “Then what were you hesitating about for so long? If I didn’t agree to be partners, would you have just accepted it?”

Duan Yunhong said, “I’d accept it first, then try to twist it around.”

“…Hmph, a very selfish answer, but indeed that’s more like your style.” Ning Fei tossed the brooch, “Then I have a second question, oh no, it’s a warning.”

“What?”

“If we… have a falling out in the future, I will hunt you down, target you, and unscrupulously scheme against you.” Ning Fei stopped tossing the brooch, “Even so, are you willing?”

“There’s nothing unwilling about it. In fact, if something happens in the future, I’d rather you target me.” Duan Yunhong paused and confirmed, “However, both of your questions are based on the same premise. So can I assume… you’re going to give me a response?”

Ning Fei didn’t answer immediately.

The two stared at each other in silence, as if they had exchanged a thousand words, or as if there was nothing to say. After a few seconds, Ning Fei threw the brooch in his hand toward Duan Yunhong—

Duan Yunhong subconsciously caught it.

Holding the brooch in his hand, the man reacted, frowned, looked at the brooch, and then looked at Ning Fei: “What does this mean?”

The locating mark was the most important and almost the only external connection between the two. Every time the two separated, as long as Ning Fei still had this thing, Duan Yunhong would at least have a sustenance in his heart. Now that Ning Fei suddenly returned it, Duan Yunhong didn’t want to arbitrarily determine the meaning of this action. Or rather, he refused to believe that it meant “disconnecting.”

“What ‘what does this mean?’ Hahaha, you have such cowardly moments too!” Ning Fei suddenly burst out laughing, completely different from his previous serious and deliberately difficult state. He relaxed, and he was also happy. Even though Duan Yunhong hadn’t figured it out yet, he could read Ning Fei’s state and understand that he had misunderstood. But even so, Duan Yunhong still wanted to put his hand on Ning Fei’s knee and stare at him.

“Make it clear.” The man squeezed Ning Fei’s knee, “I want you to say it clearly.”

“You’re really smart.” Ning Fei patted his hand away, his tone teasing, “You clearly grasped the key points long ago, but you’re just being foolish, not thinking of the real reason.”

“…What?”

“Why didn’t I acknowledge Olen?” Ning Fei raised an eyebrow, “Are you stupid? Even if the members of the Bureau don’t all know each other, as long as they’re on the same mission, I and he will definitely be told each other’s identities.”

“I know, that’s why I have questions.” Duan Yunhong replied, “Then according to you… you’re not on the same mission?”

Ning Fei patted his face: “Finally got it right.”

“Then what is your mission?”

“What, you want to help me?”

“Either help you or make trouble for you, choose one.”

“Tsk, immediately getting arrogant, Duan Yunhong.” Ning Fei raised his foot and stepped on the man’s thigh, “Sit down.”

Duan Yunhong didn’t understand what this was all about, but he knelt down as he was told. Actually, his legs were already a little numb from kneeling, but he could still bear it, so he didn’t mention it.

However, Ning Fei stood up, stepped forward, and sat down.

Face to face, the weight on his legs increased sharply. Duan Yunhong’s feelings… can only be described as painful and joyful.

He tried to raise his cuffed hands, put them over Ning Fei’s head, and then stopped at his lower back. Ning Fei didn’t resist, well, the proportion of joy was even greater.

Ning Fei took the brooch back and then fastened it to Duan Yunhong’s chest.

“Lopang Empire capital time 10:18.” Ning Fei glanced at his communicator and said leisurely, “You’re under arrest, Duan Yunhong.”

“This posture?” Duan Yunhong’s hands finally touched the uniform belt, and the scene he had imagined before was already churning in his mind, “Are you sure, who is arresting whom?”

“I represent the Time and Space Administration, arresting you.”

“…” Duan Yunhong was stunned, and then looked down at the brooch.

“You only realized it now, it’s too late.” Ning Fei patted Duan Yunhong’s chest along with the brooch, “When you put it on, you were locked by the Bureau. Today, I will forcibly take you away from this world. I’m not here to urge traversers to repay their debts, but to collect you, you bandit!”

Duan Yunhong realized it in two seconds, and then suddenly pulled Ning Fei down.

“…Is it what I think it is?” He confirmed, “Is it what I think it is?!”

Ning Fei hummed and laughed, “Is your brain completely gone, still asking? Then I’ll say ‘no.'”

“Then it’s ‘yes.'” Duan Yunhong replied quickly, “You just admitted that you want to be with me!”

“It’s working together on missions!”

“No difference.” Duan Yunhong’s brain suddenly came to life, or rather, his instinct made him seize this opportunity. Even if his reason hadn’t analyzed the actual situation one hundred percent, he had to strike first: “Do I still owe you a sentence? I won’t be stubborn about this, I…”

Ning Fei didn’t know why, but he raised his hand to cover his mouth: “Damn, don’t be so cheesy!”

“…Love you.”

Muffled voice, muffled words, but incomparably clear.

Ning Fei obviously froze, and it wasn’t until Duan Yunhong kissed his palm that he quickly put down his hand.

Duan Yunhong stared at him: “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Ning Fei seemed to be scalded by his gaze, turned his eyes away, but there was nowhere to escape. In Duan Yunhong’s increasingly close and questioning eyes, Ning Fei finally gave up: “Yes, yes, yes.”

“What?”

Ning Fei put his arms around his neck, closed his eyes, and leaned in: “I… I’ve already pulled you into my room, hurry up! I’m leaving today!”

Duan Yunhong: “…”

Duan Yunhong: “…Get off first, my legs are numb.”

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