Chapter 77: On his knees.

The restaurant had changed since the couple last visited. What had been a simple seaside eatery with bamboo chairs and lanterns now stretched boldly into the waves. A deck stretched out over the tide, its tables built so low that diners could dip their feet into the water while they ate.

Mo Xia immediately abandoned them for the table with Weijun’s men and Liwu’s sisters. Somehow, they had formed a friendship close enough to dine out after work hours without the couple!

“How are they here?” Liwu asked Weijun, her eyes narrowing. “And how did this place change so fast?”

Weijun smiled faintly, the weight of her ultimatum still lingered in his expression. “I told Cross to make us a reservation and he invited Xixi. Xifeng is very…mmm…” he tried to figure out the best word to describe a woman with the personality of an unstoppable hurricane.

“Forceful.” Liwu laughed. “Let me guess, she took over the plan and invited herself, making Xixi almost seem like the third wheel.”

The same teenage waitress that had worked on them the last time stopped. She smiled as she gestured for them to sit at the table for two they had reserved near the deck. Liwu slipped off her boots reluctantly, her toes curling as the cool water touched her skin.

“You said those things about your sister, not me.” Weijun said with ease as he rolled up his trousers and took off his shoes and socks before sitting down and allowing the waves to wash over his feet.

For a moment, the scene was almost idyllic: lanterns swaying above, the scent of grilled fish drifting from an expanded kitchen that was still under construction.

The waitress scrolled her hand over the tablet. “I remember you guys.” She blushed. “We have a picture of the junior city master lunging into the sea at the entrance. Did you see it?”

Liwu chuckled while Weijun grimaced. Decisively, he belted out his order, “Give us the sea food combo. Grilled, fried and steamed. Add rice of course and as for drinks, the house special like last time.” He glanced at Liwu. “Anything else?”

She shook her head, tuning out the sound of Xifeng’s laughter. “This is already too much.” Her eyes softened when she met his. She wanted this dinner to be as normal as much as he did. Of course, that required putting the events of the evening behind them.

The waitress departed, leaving them with the sea.

Weijun leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Do you want me to apologize for my perceived overstepping today?”

Liwu’s pen, still tucked into her pocket, pressed against her side like a reminder of her job. “Not perceived. You overstepped your authority,” she said evenly. “The bureau is not under your jurisdiction. You cannot order SOB detectives as if they are your city hall staff.”

Weijun’s jaw tightened. “Nine children, Liwu. Nine. Do you expect me to sit back and let this continue happening?”

“I expect you to respect the law,” she countered. “If we abandon procedure, we may fail to prosecute. If officers of the law don’t follow the law, they become the very people they are fighting. We become criminals with systems and badges. Then, who protects ordinary people from our kind?”

The waves lapped harder against the deck, as if echoing their clash. Liwu’s voice was steady, but inside she felt the pull of two loyalties: to justice because she had to follow the law and to reckless desire to do as Weijun suggested. The earlier the case was closed, the better. But she knew his urgency was for the image of the city as much as it was for justice.

It was born of fear and fear could be as dangerous as corruption.

Weijun sighed. “I am sorry,” he wanted to end it here. Not because he was a believer in procedure but because she would win in the end. Unless, he ordered ordinary police officers to arrest the girl.

But what would that accomplish?

Liwu allowed herself a small smile. “I hope that apology means it won’t happen again.”

Weijun shook his head. “I make no promises, but I can promise to lighten up. Next time, I will talk to you personally. I believe that we will be able to find balance.”

The food arrived, steaming and fragrant. Crab shells were bright red, gleaming as if they had been given a bath in butter. Prawns curled in neat rows, the snapper lay whole, its skin crisped to perfection. Liwu started to drool. Rice bowls clinked onto the table, and then salad bowls and soup. The tension eased into appetite.

“Enjoy.” The waitress said, with a chuckle.

They ate in silence, the sound of cracking shells and clattering chopsticks filling the space. They were so taken im by the food that they missed to see Xifeng joining the house band on the beach, on a small stage near the bon fire. The sound of her violin seemed to make dinner even sweeter.

Liwu reached for a piece of snapper, playfully kicking at the water. Drops splashed on Weijun’s legs, but he didn’t care. Suddenly, she jerked back with a sharp cry. A fish, bold and unseen, had darted up and bitten her foot. The pain was quick, startling, more insult than injury.

[+500 points: Bitten by a fish.]

“Of course.” Liwu muttered through clenched feet.

Mo Xia suddenly appeared at Weijun’s side with a first aid bag. Weijun walked towards Liwu and got on his knees. As he lifted her foot gently, someone started cheering, drawing the attention of diners who made the same assumption: a marriage proposal!

“Say yes, say yes.” They screamed.

“No.” Liwu raised her voice, looking towards the table with the most enthusiastic couple.

The restaurant started to quieten down.

“It’s a skin bite and shallow.” Weijun told her. His hands were steady, practiced as he wrapped the cloth around her ankle. The lantern light caught his face, and Liwu’s heart skipped a beat.

She patted her chest and pulled her leg back.

“Hold still,” he murmured. “I carry a bag with a first aid box and all sorts of medicines because you are prone to injury. Perhaps fate decided that since I have one year of training as an EMT, I might as well marry a woman that needed to be cared for.”

Liwu’s breath caught. The tenderness of his words and softness of his words clashed with the arrogance he exuded when he made her job and life difficult. She wanted to kick him away but at the same time, to accept his kind gesture.

“Did you have to kneel?” She muttered. “People are looking.”

“Let them,” Weijun said firmly, “Right now, I am just your husband. If they want, they can take another picture and hang it at the entrance of the restaurant.”

The words struck harder than the bite. She looked down at him, at the man who commanded rooms yet knelt on a deck with seawater soaking his trousers, binding her wound with such gentleness. The air between them shifted–still tense, but threaded with tenderness, like a storm breaking into rain.

Weijun rose, returning to his seat. “See, the world had not ended just because I touched your big foot.”

Liwu gasped.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep