Chapter 2586: Dear Detective Mr. 38

On the return carriage, Jin Chen spread out the notebook with only a few pages left on his knees, flipping through it page by page from the start.

His fingertips traced the time points, character relationships, and clue fragments, embedding the new information Zhu Lian provided into the original reasoning framework.

Upon returning to the round tube room, the night had grown deep.

Duo Xi had already fallen asleep, and downstairs was quiet.

Jin Chen tiptoed up to the second floor and pushed open the room door.

To his surprise, a dim lamp was actually lit in the room.

And A'er Rui Ke, who claimed to be going to the black market to handle an urgent matter and expected to be away for a long time, was standing by the window.

A'er Rui Ke seemed to have just finished showering, his black hair still damp, casually hanging over his forehead, wearing only loosely Jin Chen's sleep robe with the belt tied loosely, revealing his firm honey-colored chest.

He held a cup of water, gazing at the deep night outside the window, and turned his head at the sound of the door opening.

"A'er Rui Ke?" Jin Chen closed the door, a little surprised, "How did you come back?"

He had originally planned to go to the black market tonight to find someone.

Jin Chen had just turned around when A'er Rui Ke strode over and tightly embraced him, his grip strong, and immediately pressed his warm lips onto him.

As if trying to make up for the three days of separation, full of longing and desire.

Jin Chen responded, wrapping his arms around his firm waist and gently stroking his back.

They kissed while retreating in unison until Jin Chen pressed A'er Rui Ke onto the bed, lowering himself slowly, his palms ambiguously rubbing his chest and waist, then after parting their lips he kissed along the neck a few times before biting the ear and lightly licking behind it.

Only after noticing that A'er Rui Ke felt very comfortable from the kisses did Jin Chen slightly pull away,

Jin Chen brushed away the dark circles under A'er Rui Ke's eyes, feeling distressed, "Haven't you slept much these three days? Is the black market tricky? Have you encountered any danger?"

A'er Rui Ke buried his face in Jin Chen's neck, letting out a lazy hum full of weariness, "Hmm... still okay."

He lifted Jin Chen's hand, kissed the fingertips, then raised his head, his green eyes full of doubt, "Why have you been asking me lately if I'm hurt or if I've encountered danger?"

The excessive concern warmed his heart, but he also faintly felt something was off.

Jin Chen showed nothing on his face, thinking inwardly that in the original plot your death date was approaching, yet I still haven't found the real culprit.

He leaned in again, kissing A'er Rui Ke's slightly dry lips, pressing them, his voice softer, "I'm worried about you, afraid something might happen to you."

A'er Rui Ke obviously liked this, enjoying hearing Jin Chen say such straightforward words of affection.

He couldn't help but lean in to kiss him again; skin-to-skin contact and mingling breath could dispel all fatigue.

A'er Rui Ke enjoyed the lovers' intimacy, his lips still on Jin Chen's as he mumbled, "I heard... you went to interrogate Zhu Lian, any results?"

Jin Chen let out a soft sigh.

He adjusted his posture, pulling A'er Rui Ke into his embrace, his fingers deftly untying the sleep robe's sash, slipping inside to caress the warm, firm lines of his abdominal muscles.

He then recounted in detail the confrontation and frank talk with Zhu Lian earlier that day at the bookstore.

"Jin Chen felt troubled, 'Afterward I immediately went to A'erjia Zhuang Yuan and, beneath the abandoned rose trellis he mentioned, dug up that set of wine vessels used to hide poison.'"

"I also privately had a familiar physician verify it, and the residual toxin dosage roughly matched his purchase records."

"The real culprit probably isn't him."

A'er Rui Ke listened silently, lowering his green eyes.

"In three days, it will be Qiao Shuya·Kelai'en's execution day."

Jin Chen's brows furrowed tighter, "I know, Qiao Shuya is an important member of the Griffin Gang; he deserves death, but I must find the true killer."

This instead made A'er Rui Ke slightly surprised.

He gazed at Jin Chen's earnest brows and eyes, couldn't help leaning in to kiss the slightly furrowed space between his brows, his tone inquisitive.

"You seem to be more devoted to this case than I, the Detective Chief in charge, are?"

Jin Chen wanted to explain, but A'er Rui Ke truly didn't want to hear those grand principles.

He had just uttered a few words when A'er Rui Ke deliberately interrupted him with a kiss.

Repeating this three times, it was like playing a childish affectionate game.

Jin Chen: "……"

He helplessly smiled, reaching out to gently pinch A'er Rui Ke's cheek, "My love, do you really want to hear my case analysis, or are you just looking for an excuse to kiss me?"

"No, I don't want to hear those right now."

A'er Rui Ke openly admitted it, then clung to Jin Chen in a sticky embrace, kissing his neck back and forth until the anxiety from separation was slightly eased, then licked his lips his fill, preparing for deeper intimacy.

He reached to undo Jin Chen's shirt buttons, but Jin Chen caught his wrist, pulled it to his lips, and placed light kisses on the calloused knuckles.

A'er Rui Ke clicked his tongue impatiently, desire surging in his green eyes, yet he barely restrained himself.

"Fine, fine... what other doubts do you have? Speak up, I'll listen."

He wanted to see, what could be more important than what's right before him.

Jin Chen organized his thoughts, "Actually it's still the original question, the dosage of the toxin."

"Wen Sen Te's body contained only one toxin, with no other fatal injuries; the coroner initially judged it as poisoning, but Qiao Shuya's purchased amount wasn't enough to be lethal, and Zhu Lian didn't administer poison at all—so where did the extra dosage that killed Wen Sen Te come from?"

A'er Rui Ke narrowed his eyes, his green pupils constricting slightly in the darkness.

He stroked Jin Chen's neck, pondered a moment, then suddenly asked an apparently unrelated question.

"On the first day at the Zhuang Yuan, what was your first impression of Wen Sen Te according to others?"

Jin Chen thought, "He was highly regarded… a young master."

He suddenly seized the point, "Didn't Edgar the butler say that Wen Sen Te had a cold recently?"

"Exactly." A'er Rui Ke's lips curled in a meaningful arc.

"You have to take medicine for a cold."

Jin Chen suddenly realized, cupping A'er Rui Ke's face, "You mean the black orchid toxin itself might be insufficient in dosage, but it's highly likely to interact with whatever cold medicine Wen Sen Te was taking at the time, triggering the toxin and causing death."

A'er Rui Ke touched his cheek, curling his lips.

"Such a concealed method of killing—what do you think?"

Jin Chen couldn't help but admit, "Indeed…… if that's really the case, I just don't know whether it was an accident or someone did it on purpose."

"All right," A'erruike interrupted his reverie, obviously his patience had run out.

He propped himself up with his elbow, deliberately rubbing his full chest against Jin Chen's cheek, an obvious dissatisfied demand.

"Chen, we've been apart for three full days, and now all you think about is someone else's case—you don't think of me at all?"

Jin Chen's heart softened, he lowered his head and planted a possessive kiss on the tempting skin, "I miss you so much."

"That's about right."

A'erruike muttered, "Then you kiss."

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +5, total 98!】

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -5, total 35!】

——

Over the next few days, A'erruike became unusually clingy; whenever Jin Chen was home, he practically stuck to him all the time.

Sitting on the same Sofa, his arms had to be wrapped around Jin Chen's waist.

Even when reading, he had to put his feet on Jin Chen's legs.

Even when sleeping at night, he had to hold on tight, as if letting go would make Jin Chen disappear.

Jin Chen accepted it wholly, even enjoying it.

Fortunately, the little girl Duoxi seems to have found a new hobby these days.

The private bookstore she often visited, the amiable female shopkeeper happened to be an honorary professor of the College of Natural History at Bukegang University.

The two bonded over their shared love of botany, quickly becoming close friends despite the age gap; the Dean greatly appreciated Duoxi's intelligence and thirst for knowledge, encouraging her to apply for the university's preparatory class.

These days, Duoxi practically lived in the bookstore, voraciously reading the professional books recommended by the Dean, rarely returning home.

That morning.

The two were having a belated breakfast when A'erruike saw Jin Chen flipping through a notebook again; he suddenly gulped a mouthful of milk, leaned over without warning, and transferred the milk to Jin Chen's mouth.

This mischievous, playful kiss came suddenly, and it was somewhat fierce.

The milk hadn't been swallowed when it spilled from the corner of their pressed lips, dripping down onto Jin Chen's freshly changed clean shirt front, leaving a wet stain.

Jin Chen helplessly responded to the somewhat rowdy kiss; after A'erruike pulled back slightly, he flicked his tongue over the wet corner of his lips and, as a punishment, pinched A'erruike's full chest beneath his shirt.

A'erruike groaned in pain, but his green eyes flashed with a triumphant smile.