Chapter 164 - 130: Wang Chao: I have a plan, and I have a dream...

Chu Xi had two or three good friends.

But they hadn’t known each other for long—only about two months.

They were police officers she’d met in Zhaozhou.

Some of them even worked under Qian Hua in Linlan City.

They were all around the same age and had plenty to talk about... Of course, Chu Xi mostly listened while everyone else did the talking.

"Sigh, this case is finally wrapping up. I finally have time to get married!"

"You little rascal, how much time off are you getting?"

"As long as no new case—and especially not a major one—pops up after this one is closed, I can finally get married!"

In the office, several female officers in uniform were gathered together, chattering excitedly.

One of them, a woman about 1.6 meters tall with her long hair in a bun, an above-average figure, and fairly pale skin, spoke up.

The people around her looked on with envy.

Hearing this, Chu Xi tilted her head, her brow furrowed.

’Marriage?’

’What is that?’

’Oh, right. I think it’s some kind of certificate...’

’Right, I need to get a certificate to open my shop, too, and a business license and everything. I can’t open it without those!’

’But... a marriage certificate.’

’I’ve looked these up for cases before. The certificate binds one man and one woman together, and then... it doesn’t seem to have any other use?’

"Wedding candy! Where’s the wedding candy? Hand it over!"

A male officer suddenly popped up, heckling cheerfully from the back of the office.

"You want wedding candy? You’re not getting any younger! Twenty-eight and still no girlfriend!"

The group of female officers immediately ganged up on him, all talking at once.

"Don’t end up being a groomsman in your thirties!"

The male officer blushed beet red. He stammered something about how marrying late was still marrying, and being a groomsman at thirty was still being a groomsman—it was a sign of true friendship! The office erupted in laughter.

It wasn’t that police officers had a hard time finding a partner.

After all, in some provinces where civil service exams were a big deal, they were quite a catch.

The hard part was getting married. With this job, you could be on your wedding night, pants already off, and a single phone call could drag you right back to the station. The divorce rate was very high.

Since divorce was a real possibility, it was better to find someone you were less likely to divorce, which was why so many were older and single.

And also...

The female officers in front of him were all military veterans.

Female soldiers... their swearing ability...

No joke, a couple of sentences would make an innocent young man blush crimson.

A jaded old slicker would cover his face and flee after just a glance.

Seriously, no exaggeration.

Jokes like, "What’s wrong, can’t do your push-ups? Got a... in your way on the floor?" or "What’re you lookin’ at? See a... over there you want?"

The male officer knew that if he tried to retort, he’d be buried under a verbal assault in the next second.

However...

"Heh, the wedding candy’s been ready for a while!"

The female officer giggled and pulled a few bags of candy from her drawer.

"Whoa, this is the good stuff! Imported! Chocolate!"

"Come on, everyone take some. But don’t take too much, leave some for the captain and the others. This stuff cost me a fortune! I couldn’t afford many bags!"

"Thanks, Sister Zhang! If your guy doesn’t treat you right... actually, never mind. I don’t think he could win a fight against you."

"Sister Zhang is mighty! Make your husband get ready to make a baby at home!"

"When are you planning on having kids, you rascal?"

The men and women all joined in the good-natured teasing, accepting the candy and offering their blessings to celebrate her marriage.

Female officers generally had better marriage prospects than male officers, but she was a detective, not working at the DMV or the immigration bureau. Her divorce rate was also high, and finding someone you could entrust your life to was no easy feat.

Chu Xi accepted a few pieces of candy.

She unwrapped one, pursed her lips, and popped it into her mouth.

A delicate sweetness bloomed on her tongue and seemed to spread to her heart.

’It’s delicious.’

The recipe unconsciously began to form in her mind. Her brain was trying to deconstruct the candy’s composition!

After a moment of analysis, she put the candies away.

’It’s good. I’ll save it for Xu Huo.’

she thought.

Before long, however, the group’s conversation turned to her.

"So, Xiao Xi, when are you getting married?"

"Xiao Xi’s about 23, right? This is the perfect age to get married. Do you have any plans?"

"Right, right! Advisor Xu will be 24 after his birthday in a few months. You’re close in age, and the time you’ve spent together... Hiss... Weren’t you two middle school classmates?"

After discussing their own plans, the female officers turned to look at Chu Xi.

Chu Xi was a bit lost, her expression vacant.

"Marriage?"

Her withdrawn tendencies had eased slightly after middle school.

By high school, she could be said to appear normal on the surface.

She knew what marriage was, but she didn’t understand *why* people got married.

She knew about sex, but she couldn’t understand why people did it.

When two people are together, is there any difference between the feeling of holding hands and kissing?

No one had ever told her.

"Advisor Xu has never talked to you about it!?"

The female officer, Zhang Hui, stared with wide eyes.

"He has not," Chu Xi said, shaking her head.

Those three words fell, and everyone around her gasped.

"HISS~"

"So... have you two, you know...?" another female officer suddenly asked in a hushed voice.

"’You know’ what?" Chu Xi’s brow furrowed as she tilted her head.

"You know! *That*!"

"What *that*?"

"Judging by that reaction, they probably haven’t."

At this, the young officers were completely baffled by the couple’s situation.

"Seriously, what is the deal with you two?"

"You’re not getting married, you’re not... doing *it*, and you spend all your time together. So what exactly *do* you two do?"

someone asked, puzzled. Someone else corrected her, "Nonsense. They’re clearly *not* doing it."

"Don’t tell dirty jokes, there are other people around," that person whispered.

Then, a few of the women pulled Chu Xi into a corner, shielding themselves with a curtain so no one else could hear. Now they were alone.

"Well, when I wake up, I go wake him up. And when he wakes up, he wakes me up."

Chu Xi thought for a moment before speaking.

"If I’m hungry, I go cook. If he’s hungry, I go cook. If he isn’t hungry, I cook anyway and wait for him to get hungry. And after he finishes eating, I start preparing the next meal."