Light Against Shadows

Chapter 35

Yunlan took Wei home. The ride was silent but not uncomfortable, and every time Yunlan stole a glance in his direction, he saw that Wei was smiling at him. Every single time. He wondered if his heart would be able to take it.

He drove to the parking lot and stopped the car.

"Remember to take a leave from work. Starting tomorrow, I want you to follow this case with me."

Wei's face turned serious. "We'll find a way. Don't worry, I hate to think of you in danger."

"That's my job, you know."

Yunlan meant to say that as a cop there would always be a certain degree of danger involved, but it didn't seem to calm Wei. On the contrary, there was now a sad smile and a frown on his face. Yunlan didn't like it, so he leaned down and planted a kiss on his lips.

Wei immediately grabbed him by the arm to pull him closer and the kiss got longer, but there was a need in it that wasn't there before.

"Ehi, you'll see me again, you know," Yunlan joked, but somewhere in him, something felt weird.

"I have something to do tonight. Can I see you tomorrow?" Wei asked.

"Actually you must. I told you, I want you to work with me on this."

"Right." Wei had a small, weak smile on his face and he pecked him on the lips once more before getting out of the car.

"See you tomorrow, then." Wei waved at him while Yunlan watched him disappear through the building's back entrance.

There was nothing for him to do here, at this point. Yunlan knew he should just go, he also wanted to stop at the station to check if there was anything new - knowing perfectly well that if that was the case, someone would have called to inform him.

It was his duty to go back anyway, and yet he stayed still. Something was bothering him but he wasn't sure what it was. Wei had seemed sincere when he said that he was busy tonight, but he also seemed... secretive.

Yunlan frowned when that word popped into his mind. Was Wei hiding something? What did he want to do?

He pondered on the matter for a while, replaying their last minutes together, searching his brain for any clue as to what was troubling him so much.

The kiss was one thing. That sad smile was another. Why did Wei look sad? Had Yunlan done something wrong? Everything seemed to be going well between them, Yunlan had even opened up to him, had talked about his feelings. He still felt a bit uneasy about that, but he didn't regret it.

He analysed everything that had happened. Unlike himself, Wei showed his emotions in his smile and his eyes. No, Yunlan felt sure that Wei had enjoyed their time together as much as he did. Even if his own face was harder to read, Yunlan felt confident that his feelings had clearly transpired while they had sex that afternoon, and in the car Wei had been smiling.

It had to be something else. Wei's expression had changed after he had mentioned the case again. Maybe he shouldn't have talked about work so soon? But he had to, it was important, and Wei knew it too.

He thought of their last kiss. Was Wei worried about him? That seemed plausible, but didn't explain the sudden sadness. He had been in danger before, what had changed?

He would always be in danger, it was part of his job, but he had to admit that this time around he was very much like a fish out of water. He needed Wei's help to solve this. Would Wei think that he was just trying to use him?

Yunlan discarded that thought at once, it didn't feel right. Wei didn't strike him as the easily offended type. He gave out an aura of seriousness, he was much more like it to take it way too far. After all, a lot depended on Wei's help. The only progress so far had been related to Wei one way or another.