Chapter 14

The afternoon felt like it was dragging on unbearably like never before.

Caleb found himself unable to focus on anything; he didn't even feel like watching the recreational room's surveillance footage. Every few minutes, he couldn't help but glance over at Marcus, who was leisurely engrossed in a comic book.

The reason for Caleb's frustration was simple—this was the second time he had failed to make headway, just like last time when Marcus had teased him with his eyelashes.

Marcus could immediately spot the flaws in Caleb's words, whereas Caleb took until dinnertime to realize there was an issue with Marcus' comments. It was a bitter pill to swallow, even worse than losing an argument.

As the hour hand inched toward two o'clock, the inmates in the library gradually began to leave. But Marcus, absorbed in his comic book, remained seated in his usual spot by the window, unmoving even when the library was empty.

"Inmate 1017," Caleb finally broke the silence, unable to hold out any longer. "Are you coming over or not?"

Marcus looked up at Caleb with a faint smile. He placed the comic book back on the shelf and moved to sit next to him.

Without any hesitation, he met Caleb's gaze and said, "Officer Johnson, you've been looking at me quite intensely today."

"Are you hiding something from me?" Caleb asked, cutting straight to the point, not giving Marcus a chance to prepare.

The question was clearly probing, and Caleb didn't expect Marcus to be straightforward. He only wanted to gauge the other man's reaction.

However, to Caleb's surprise, Marcus paused for a moment before answering, "Yes."

"What?" Caleb frowned, feeling his tension rise.

Marcus slowly parted his lips, as if deliberately dragging out the suspense.

After a brief pause, he said, "I think you look great in your uniform."

That was it?

Caleb was momentarily stunned before he realized that Marcus was just playing around with him again.

"Marcus, do I look that easy to mess with?" he asked with a serious look, struggling to suppress his irritation.

"No," Marcus replied earnestly. "I've seen you handle a baton—you're quite formidable. Who would dare mess with you?"

Compared to Marcus, Caleb's approach to handling situations seemed minor. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but it felt as if Marcus was deliberately pushing his buttons, skirting the edge of provoking him.

Marcus smoothly changed the subject, "By the way, Officer Johnson, how did your date go?"

"It was fine," Caleb responded briefly, then shifted back to the topic at hand, "Last time, you asked if I was heading to the city. How did you know I don't live there?"

"Did I?" Marcus asked, his expression unchanged.

Caleb hadn't expected Marcus to deny it outright. It was his own fault for not handling the situation better. Otherwise, Marcus wouldn't have had the chance to play dumb.

"You did." Caleb fixed his gaze on Marcus. "You asked me if I was heading to the city for fun."

"Oh, that," Marcus replied casually. "Don't you go back to the city after work?"

There was a clear difference between going back to the city and heading into it for fun, but it would take a lot of effort to explain that logic.

Caleb suddenly realized that no matter what he said, Marcus could always claim that Caleb was overthinking it. This situation was unlike when Caleb claimed he didn't know if Marcus was guilty of malicious short-selling, which had a clear flaw.

The current situation felt like Marcus was deliberately teasing him, showing just enough to frustrate Caleb without giving him a clear answer. It was extremely annoying.

Since Caleb was unable to get a clear answer from any of his probing, he finally asked the question he had been holding onto all weekend, "Do you or do you not know where I live?"

"Where do you live?" Marcus asked curiously. "Is it very close to my place?"

Caleb nearly lost his composure and confessed everything.

He was tempted to shout, "Yes, I live right across from you and often watch you!"

But his rationality managed to pull him back from the edge, and he quickly regained his usual calm demeanor.

"No," Caleb said coldly. "I live in the city."

Since he couldn't get a clear answer, he decided it was better not to ask. He wasn't sure if Marcus was pretending to be clueless, but if he was, Caleb would play along.

"Really?" Marcus touched his chin, looking puzzled. "Officer Johnson, how do you know that living in the city means you don't live near me?"

The implication was clear—How did Caleb know where Marcus lived?

Caleb blinked, and after his mind was cleared, he felt a sharp pang of realization. He had once again let slip more information than he intended. He had said they didn't live near each other, but the problem was, he could only judge that if he knew where Marcus lived.

"Officer Johnson, you really are…" Marcus said with a sigh, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Caleb shot a piercing look at Marcus, his eyes as sharp as knives. He was determined to act as if he knew nothing if Marcus pressed further.

Marcus leaned closer, their shoulders brushing together.

He tilted his head and whispered in Caleb's ear, "Cute in a dumb way."

After that, Marcus straightened up, casually grabbing the mouse and turning his attention to stock market trends.

Caleb stared at Marcus in disbelief.

No one had called him cute since middle school. Also, although his grades weren't stellar, they were solidly above average. No one had ever called him dumb to his face. For a moment, Caleb wondered if he really had some sort of intellectual deficiency.

Impossible.

Marcus must be the one who wasn't normal.

"Move," Caleb said, rising to his feet and glaring down at Marcus with veins bulging on his forehead.

"What's the matter?" Marcus asked.

"I need to see the warden."

Caleb couldn't understand.

Why should he waste his time reading to Marcus when he didn't owe him anything?

Seemingly understanding Caleb's intent, Marcus pulled his hand away from the mouse and let it rest casually on his leg.

"Go ahead."

"Get out of the way."

Caleb's work area was fan-shaped with only one exit, located on Marcus' side. If he didn't move, Caleb would have to step over him.

"I'm not stopping you."

Marcus' words and actions indicated that he wasn't budging.

Caleb didn't want to waste time on this trivial matter. After a moment's hesitation, he lifted one leg and stepped over Marcus.

Caleb's movement was as smooth as jumping over a hurdle. However, as his front leg touched down, he suddenly remembered he couldn't leave Marcus alone with the computer. He needed to make sure the computer went into sleep mode.

With that thought, he turned back and pressed the standby key on the keyboard. Now, his lower body was unsteady, and his upper body was awkwardly positioned. As he tried to stand up straight after pressing the key, his body wobbled uncontrollably.

He swore he could have adjusted his balance himself. But Marcus raised a hand and steadied his lower back, which only disrupted his equilibrium further.

By the time he realized it, Caleb had ended up seated firmly on Marcus' lap.

This position was all wrong.

Caleb's tendency to analyze others stemmed from his uncontrollable imagination. It was a condition somewhat akin to obsessive-compulsive disorder—like a person who might not want to wash their hands but still felt compelled to turn on the faucet.

It was the same for Caleb. Despite his efforts to clear his mind, he couldn't help but conjure up a series of highly inappropriate, vividly detailed images. He even found himself mentally undressing Marcus.

That couldn't continue.

Caleb's rational mind chastised him—he wasn't a pervert.

He bit his tongue, trying to force out the unseemly thoughts from his mind. But just as he was about to get off Marcus' lap, footsteps echoed from the library door.

Caleb looked up and saw Hector standing there, stunned.

"You two…"

At that moment, Caleb felt like burying himself in the ground.

"Don't misunderstand." Caleb quickly scrambled off Marcus' lap. "It's not what it looks like."

"Is it not…?"

Hector's gaze fell to Caleb's waist, where Marcus' hand was still resting on his lower back.

"Get your hand off me," Caleb snapped, brushing Marcus' arm away.

Marcus' expression was one of innocent surprise, as if to say, "You're the one who sat down on me in the first place."

"What do you want?" Caleb asked, moving to the library door to speak with Hector.

"Just wanted to talk." Hector's expression remained conflicted. "I understand your interest in that type of person, but could you at least close the door?"

Caleb was exasperated. "How many times do I have to say it? There's nothing going on between us."

"No wonder Felix said you weren't interested in him. He does lack a certain appeal," Hector mused. "But Marcus is still an inmate. Is this really okay?"

"First of all," Caleb stressed, "what you saw was a misunderstanding. There's really nothing going on between us. Second, so what if he's an inmate? Your sweet Lucas is an inmate too, isn't he?"

"That's not the same," Hector replied. "Lucas is dumb, but his nature isn't bad."

"How can you judge whether Marcus' nature is bad or not?"

When Hector gave him that peculiar look again, Caleb suddenly realized that he was only digging himself into a deeper hole. Deciding not to argue further, he waved his hand and headed toward the stairs.

"I have business with the warden. We'll talk later."

When Caleb arrived at Victor's office, the older man was intently focused on his computer screen, as if he couldn't bear to look away for a second.

He glanced quickly at Caleb before turning back to the screen. "Caleb, my stocks have been doing quite well lately."

So, he was looking at the stock market.

Caleb was puzzled. Why was Victor talking about stocks out of the blue?

Before he could ask, Victor continued, "Just now, Marcus called me on the extension and said you no longer want to help him with his reading."

The office desk in the library had an extension phone, which Marcus often used to make stock trading suggestions to Victor. Caleb hadn't anticipated Marcus would take the initiative like this.

A bad premonition crept into his mind, but he still protested, "Yes, I don't want to get too close to an inmate."

"If an inmate wants to learn, our prison should support that," Victor said. "Have someone take your place if you don't want to do it."

Caleb sighed in relief.

Marcus was under the jurisdiction of Block 3's supervisor, Ethan Smith. So, Caleb could just hand him over to Ethan.

"However," Victor suddenly changed his tone. "Your replacement also needs to be approved by Marcus, since it's for him."

Caleb was speechless.

It turned out he had made the trip for nothing.

Caleb returned to the library with a blank expression.

Marcus seemed to have known the outcome in advance and said with a hint of regret, "It's two-thirty, Officer Johnson."

Half an hour had passed quickly. They had only chatted for a bit, and with Caleb's brief departure, the afternoon reading time had gone in no time.

Marcus stood up. "See you tomorrow, Officer Johnson."

He left the library with the correctional officer who was waiting outside.

Caleb sat back down in his office chair. The library had returned to its usual quietness, which helped calm his agitated mood.

Just then, Caleb's gaze fell on the mouse on his desk. He was very sensitive to the placement of items in his workspace. He clearly remembered that the mouse was positioned differently before he left, closer to where he was sitting.

Pressing the "Enter" key, he saw that the computer remained locked. Normally, no one could have accessed a locked computer. But the mouse's position was definitely different. This meant that after Caleb left…

Marcus had used his computer.