Chapter 4 : Are You Spying on Me?

In the afternoon, his boss, Mr. Miller, called to check on him, asking how serious his injuries were. Adrian didn''t know what Albert had said earlier, so he just replied that it was nothing serious and agreed with whatever Mr. Miller said.

Mr. Miller then mentioned that the recent bust of the cross-state child trafficking ring was a major achievement, and the higher-ups wanted to commend him. He told Adrian to rest and not worry about work. Hearing Adrian not mention his injuries at all, Mr. Miller was very moved and directly gave him a week off!

After hanging up the phone, Adrian was left speechless: "..."

Usually, he couldn''t even get a day off, and now it was like they were giving it away for free?

Albert was sitting on the couch, half-watching financial news. Seeing Adrian''s puzzled expression, he turned his head and scolded him, "This is for the best. Take these days to rest properly. Seeing those dark circles under your eyes makes me angry."

Adrian shot him a cold glance. "What? Can''t stand it? Want Mr. Jones to beat me up again?"

Albert awkwardly rubbed his nose. "...No more beating, no more. I''ll take care of you, okay?"

Ignoring him, Adrian took out his phone and checked the group chat. Although there were only seven people, the screen was filled with messages:

"Mr. Brown, take care! Get well soon! [Coffee]"

"Brother Brown, we heard from Mr. Miller. Which hospital are you in? Are you okay?! [Heart] [Heart] [Heart] Yesterday, you looked really pale. Brother Brown, rest well! Don''t worry about the work report, Little Eight will handle it!"

"You''re Little Eight [Eye Roll]. Brother Brown, don''t worry, we''ll wait for your return!"

"Mr. Brown, keep a low profile! Don''t let the nurses chase you to the office like last time!"

"Mr. Brown, you can take my number, 137***."

After scanning through the messages, Adrian replied with a simple "Mm."

After a moment, he sent a big red envelope, and the group chat erupted in excitement.

Not long after, the doorbell rang.

The young man at the door looked very young. Blake Davis, seeing who opened the door, furrowed his brows slightly but quickly returned to normal and greeted politely, "Hello, Mr. Brown."

Adrian had seen him a few times; he was Albert''s secretary, Blake.

Blake stepped into the living room, looking a bit anxious. "Bro, what happened? Is it serious?"

Albert waved his bandaged hand. "Austin and his big mouth... Where''s Bradley Rodriguez?"

"He''s here, Bradley is downstairs."

Albert had some matters to attend to in the afternoon. Before leaving, he told Adrian, "If you''re tired, take a nap. I''ll bring dinner tonight."

After Albert left, Adrian took a cup of coffee and walked to the window. The cold outside was fading, and a faint mist formed around the edges of the glass.

A matte black Maybach was parked downstairs. A man in a black shirt leaned against the door, smoking. Adrian found him familiar. When he realized, he thought, isn''t that Albert''s aura? About seventy to eighty percent similar.

The man saw Albert, stubbed out his cigarette, and said a few words. At one point, he even looked up towards the window.

By the time Albert returned, it was just before eight in the evening.

The black and white marble dining table was meticulously designed, and if you paid attention, it was a niche brand from Sweden. When Blake took out the seventh takeout box and placed it neatly, Adrian''s temple twitched, and he finally couldn''t hold back.

"Why did you buy so much food for just three people? Didn''t your teacher ever tell you that wasting is shameful?"

Albert immediately shot a glare to the side. "Blake, who told you to order so much? Didn''t your teacher ever tell you that wasting is shameful?"

Blake: "…??"

But under his brother''s gaze, Blake chose to take the blame. "I''ll be more careful next time, bro."

The private restaurant looked exquisite, and even the takeout maintained an excellent taste. As soon as the lid of the Golden Millet Stewed Sea Cucumber was opened, the aroma filled the room. It was the dish Adrian had praised last time.

However...

Adrian''s gaze fell on the wooden chair.

Ignoring his silent hint, Albert calmly placed a soft cushion on the chair for him.

Adrian was furious and wanted to throw the cushion at the instigator''s face.

Meanwhile, Blake kept his head down, focusing on setting the table.

During the meal, Albert noticed Adrian''s lack of appetite. Ignoring his frantic hints, Albert continued to put food on his plate, occasionally giving orders. "Eating so little, planning to become immortal? Eat this bamboo shoot, finish this bowl of soup."

The gentle and clean young man kept his eyes on his food, focusing on eating.

Adrian gave in.

The dinner ended with a particularly strange atmosphere, and both of the big shots were left wounded. Blake dutifully cleaned up the table.

After dinner, Adrian stood on the semi-open balcony, looking down at the brightly lit traffic below. In the fading winter, it looked like clusters of newly ignited flames in the city''s veins.

Albert brought a coat and draped it over Adrian''s shoulders. Just as he took out a pack of cigarettes, Adrian snatched one first.

Adrian''s bad temper showed at this moment. When he didn''t want to smell smoke, no one could light up. But when he wanted to smoke, you had to light it for him.

Albert helplessly lit the cigarette and held it out to him.

Unexpectedly, Adrian didn''t take it. He slightly lowered his head and lit his cigarette from Albert''s. The bright ember from the cigarette illuminated his pale face with a small patch of orange light, making it hard for Albert to look away.

After just one puff, Adrian couldn''t help but frown. He always smoked a specific brand of thin menthol cigarettes, Ventara.

The cigarettes in Albert''s pocket were ones he had taken from Bradley that afternoon. He said, "Should I go get yours?"

"No need," Adrian replied, looking at him. "Does your hand still hurt? You shouldn''t have shown off."

In the morning, it seemed like Albert had hit him hard, but after applying medicine, the swelling went down, and there wasn''t even a scratch. Compared to the wound on Albert''s palm, it seemed insignificant.

Albert knew that his lover''s bad mood all evening was because of this. He said, "I won''t show off anymore. When I do, you get worried, and in the end, I''m the one who suffers."

Holding the cigarette between his long fingers, Adrian flicked the ash.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Albert, I was serious about what I said this morning."

"We''ve been trying to make this work for so long. You know my temper. I can''t just wait for you. Every relationship should be equal and respectful. I can ignore your business matters, but if you, as my partner, keep disappearing for a month at a time, then it''s better if you just disappear now."

Adrian''s voice was as cold as his demeanor, but Albert was panicking inside.

"No, no, no—baby, isn''t my apology sincere enough?"

Albert quickly raised his injured hand in front of Adrian, hoping for some sympathy. But his lover, already annoyed by his actions that afternoon, just gave him a cold look, and he quickly put his hand down.

"Hey... how about you take a belt and whip me now? Didn''t I tell you before I left...?"

"...No more explanations. My fault, my fault. I promise I won''t disappear again, okay? I''ll answer your calls first, reply to your messages first, even report to you when I go to the bathroom. Whoever''s late by a second is a loser...!"

"Aren''t you cops all about reforming and starting anew?"

Albert immediately spoke up, "I request the organization to give me a chance to correct my mistakes!"

Albert''s deep-set, handsome features could appear harsh when angry, but at this moment, as he put aside his pride to appease Adrian, he looked more like a carefree young master who feared his partner.

Adrian looked at Albert, his eyes dark and intense, like a winter night. After a moment, Adrian turned his head and said, "This is the last time."

Albert let out a long breath, "…The last time, the last time!"

Being with a cop meant admitting mistakes felt like an interrogation. Albert wanted to lighten the mood and reached into his pocket for a cigarette, only to realize it was on the windowsill in front of him.

"And also," Adrian continued.

Albert''s hand trembled as he tried to light his cigarette, the flame flickering out.

"How do you know when I''m home or what I''m doing?" Adrian''s sharp eyes narrowed. "Are you having me watched?"

"………"

Albert felt there was no point in lighting the cigarette now. The truth was out, or maybe he never intended to hide it. Brian Martinez and his team would show up at the right time, giving a heads-up was a form of respect.

"You cops love using such heavy words. What do you mean by ''watching''? Trust between us doesn''t need surveillance. It''s just… protection."

Seeing his lover admit it directly, Adrian was indeed angry, "Albert, do you remember I''m a cop? What could happen to me that you need to have people follow me?!"

"So what if you''re a cop? Cops don''t need protection?" Albert''s tone turned cold, suddenly getting angry. "And what do you mean ''what could happen''? Wasn''t the lesson from last time enough? Do I need to remind you?"

Adrian''s questioning was cut off. It was last year, not long after they got together. One night, Adrian was working late, and Albert picked him up for a late-night snack. Little did they know, a group of drug addicts had been following Adrian for days. He was so busy with a case that he didn''t notice.

The group had several syringes filled with dark blood, shouting that Adrian had caught their boss and would pay for it.

Adrian''s combat skills were worth mentioning. He became the head of the major crimes unit at a young age, thanks to his extraordinary and powerful mind. Though tall and lean, he was like a sharp blade in a sheath, relying on explosive power and keen observation to find and exploit weaknesses.

But when faced with overwhelming numbers or absolute strength, his advantages disappeared. This was why he was defenseless when Albert decided to teach him a lesson.

Albert returned from a phone call to find his beloved being held down by some thugs, a syringe nearly piercing his neck. Albert''s eyes turned red with rage, and he kicked one of them, breaking his ribs.

Fortunately, they were at Summit Restaurant, a place where street justice prevailed, and no one called the police. In the end, the troublemakers were on the ground, and Blake arrived with his team.

Adrian didn''t have time to take the thugs to the police station before Albert dragged him to the hospital. Luckily, the needle hadn''t pierced him. That night, Albert''s presence in the hospital corridor was terrifying.

Adrian never knew how that incident was resolved, but he never saw those people again.

So, it did happen. Adrian''s anger subsided. He had been careless, and the consequences could have been dire, but…

"Albert… that was just an accident."

As expected, mentioning it brought out the thorn in Albert''s heart. His earlier gentle demeanor vanished.

"I don''t care about accidents. I care that you can''t have any accidents. I''ll make sure they keep their distance. No one will interfere with you at work."

"What about when I''m out? I''m a detective, I can''t just sit in the office all day reading files."

"Albert! How dare you...!"

Albert lifted his eyelids and gave him a cold glance. Adrian''s throat tightened, and he changed his words at the last moment.

"...I''m a detective! Do you expect someone to follow me around when I''m investigating a case? Am I investigating them or are they investigating me? Don''t you think it''s ridiculous, I..."

But Albert''s expression had already turned impatient, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.

"You know this won''t change, even if you get beaten up."

Adrian''s face turned a mix of emotions, unable to tell if he was angry or embarrassed. Ever since he discovered that Albert had people following him, he knew Albert wouldn''t easily call them off. He thought he could use the beating as leverage to make demands, since Albert had always been indulgent with him, especially when he was hurt. But he didn''t expect Albert to be so uncompromising on this matter.