Chapter 247: Some Time With You

Zeyu reached the security room with the sound of metal striking metal coming through Jingwei’s tablet.

The man at the shutter had wedged something beside the lock and was hitting it with a hammer.

Each blow made the man holding the lamp turn his face away, but he kept the light steady while their companion watched the yard.

Jingwei brought the image onto the larger screen and opened the speaker controls.

Zeyu took the chair in front of them, still wearing the shirt Zhiyi had brushed against while they worked on the boat.

"Put the tools down and leave the loading yard," Zeyu said into the microphone. "That garage is private. You aren’t coming inside."

The hammer stopped halfway through another swing. Its owner straightened and looked up toward the camera, rain dripping from his chin.

The man with the lamp pulled it closer to his chest, lighting the underside of his face.

"We’re trying to get out of the rain," the man with the hammer called. "Open it, and we won’t have to damage anything."

Zeyu glanced at the covered passage beyond them.

They had walked through it to reach the garage, carrying tools they had brought for this purpose. He could see the dry strip of concrete beneath its roof, along with a bag they had left against the wall.

"You can leave through the passage behind you," Zeyu replied.

He kept his hand on the controls while the man shifted the hammer against his thigh. "Keep trying to break in, and I’ll use the defenses."

Jingwei opened the security panel beside the camera feed.

Zeyu checked the image it showed, making sure nobody else had entered the yard.

The three men stood close together beneath the shutter’s narrow overhang, with an open path behind them.

The man holding the lamp began backing away.

"Come on," the lamp holder said, pulling at his companion’s sleeve. "There are other places. I’m not getting hurt over a garage."

The man with the hammer shook him off and pointed toward the camera.

"They came in here with a truck full of supplies," he said. "You want to go back upstairs with nothing because somebody told you to?"

Zeyu recognized him then.

He had been standing near the service gate when they arrived, watching the mobile base pass through.

He knew there were people inside, knew the entrance belonged to someone, and had brought the tools anyway.

Jingwei remained beside the desk without reaching past him. Zeyu was grateful for that, although he barely had time to think about it before the man raised the hammer again.

The next blow landed beside the lock and Zeyu pressed the control.

A cloud burst beneath the overhang, catching all three men before they could turn.

The lamp fell and went dark in the water. Through the camera, Zeyu watched the man with the hammer stumble backward, dragging his sleeve across his eyes while his companions pushed past him toward the passage.

He followed them badly, striking his shoulder against the wall. When he reached for the lamp holder, the other man knocked his hand away and kept running.

Zeyu released the control and watched until the last man cleared the yard. The hammer lay beneath the shutter, slowly disappearing under the dirty water washing across the concrete.

"Save their faces," Zeyu told Jingwei. He moved the camera view to the passage, where the men had stopped beneath the roof. "If they come back with anyone else, I want to recognize them."

Jingwei began saving the footage while Zeyu checked the garage interior.

It was empty, the lift doors closed, and nothing had moved since they brought the vehicle upstairs.

He looked at the clear floor where the mobile base had stood that morning and felt glad they hadn’t waited another day.

Hanchuan arrived with Shichen a moment later. Zeyu turned toward them before either asked what had happened.

"They kept hitting the lock after I warned them," Zeyu explained. "I used the outside dispensers. They’ve left the yard, but they’re still under the passage roof."

Hanchuan studied the screen, then the close view of the shutter. He didn’t ask why Zeyu had acted without him.

"We’ll watch for anyone joining them," Hanchuan said. He pulled another chair toward the desk while Shichen checked the damage. "Go and wash. Qinghe’s putting dinner out."

Zeyu rose, leaving the controls with Jingwei.

He didn’t feel much like eating yet, but he could smell the food by the time he reached the kitchen. Qinghe stood at the stove with his sleeves pushed up, and Zhiyi was setting bowls around the table.

She looked at Zeyu as he passed, following him with her eyes until he stopped at the sink.

"Did they get through?" Zhiyi asked. She put down the last bowl and came to stand beside him while he washed the dust from his hands.

"No. They heard me and tried again anyway." Zeyu rinsed the soap away, remembering the man pointing toward the camera. "I wasn’t going to spend the evening asking them to stop."

Zhiyi handed him a towel, then waited while he dried his hands. She didn’t look frightened of him or search his face for regret. When he finished, she took the towel and hung it over the rail.

"You missed some," Zhiyi said, reaching toward his cheek. Her thumb brushed away a streak of dust he must have left there earlier, and Zeyu caught her hand before she lowered it.

For years, he had found reasons to touch her.

Passing her a controller, helping with a heavy box, sitting close while she worked through one of his puzzles.

He had asked for afternoons and accepted them happily, then gone to bed wishing he had been brave enough to ask for more.

He turned toward her, keeping her hand in his.

"I’d like you to come and sit with me after dinner," Zeyu said. "And I’d like to kiss you before we get interrupted again."

Zhiyi stepped closer, her free hand settling against his shirt.

"Then you should," Zhiyi replied, looking up at him. "Qinghe will need the sink soon."

Zeyu laughed as he bent toward her, and she was smiling when he kissed her. He slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her close enough that she didn’t have to stand on her toes. Behind them, a spoon tapped against a pot, but nobody called his name.

When he drew back, Zhiyi kept hold of his shirt.

"Bring your tea to my room afterward," Zeyu said softly. He brushed his thumb along her hand, watching her expression. "I want some time with you where nobody needs us to move."

Zhiyi nodded, then glanced toward the table as footsteps sounded in the corridor.

"Finish your dinner first," Zhiyi told him, her fingers tightening briefly against his shirt. "I don’t want you leaving halfway through our evening because you were too distracted to eat."