You're just a locksmith! What are you doing catching swindlers at the start?

Then he said.

"Both of them have ID cards, and she gave her consent. That's the rule. I'm a police officer, and I can't let people break the rules."

Lin Zhou held his phone.

He couldn't refute it.

He could only wait.

"So what do I do now?" he said.

Old Zhou's voice came through the receiver, his tone suddenly becoming very indifferent.

"Don't you have a place to stay? Just leave it there for her. Stop dawdling, you big man."

It's over.

Lin Zhou took the phone away from his ear.

The screen went dark.

He stood in the hotel lobby, looking at Su Wan, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa with her head tilted to one side.

Old Zhou's words echoed in my ears.

Don't you have a place to stay?

Put it there.

Dragging your feet.

He took a deep breath and put his phone back in his pocket.

He walked over to the sofa and helped Su Wan up again.

She draped her arm over his shoulder and rested her head on his collarbone.

"I'm leaving," he said.

Su Wan woke up.

I wasn't woken up by the alarm clock, but by a headache.

It felt like a small hammer was stuck in her temple, tapping her repeatedly, the rhythm synchronized with her heartbeat.

She lay there with her eyes closed for a while, her mind blank.

Then she noticed that the pillow smelled wrong.

It wasn't the scent of her own lavender laundry detergent; it was a lighter, powdery soap scent without any floral fragrance.

The bed sheets weren't even hers.

Her bed sheet was light gray cotton linen, while this bed sheet was dark blue pure cotton.

It's the kind that's been washed many times, and the edges are fuzzy.

She suddenly opened her eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling.

It was white, and there was no chandelier like in her room, only a very ordinary ceiling light.

The unfamiliar curtains were dark gray and had excellent light-blocking properties, allowing only a sliver of white light to filter through from the edges.

An unfamiliar bed, an unfamiliar wardrobe, an unfamiliar desk, on which sits a closed laptop and a half-empty bottle of mineral water.

She lifted the covers and glanced at herself.

The hoodie is still there, the jeans are still there, one sock is missing, and the other is still on my foot.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Then memories flooded back.

Barbecue restaurant.

beer.

She slammed her hand on the table.

She pointed at Lin Zhou and said he couldn't do it.

She vomited.

She asked Lin Zhou to call her Wanwan.

She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.

She pulled the blanket over her head.

She lay there with her eyes open in the darkness, her face burning from her ears to her forehead. She remembered every word she had said.

"No! I'm not drunk! I just want to talk!"

"You keep fish!"

"Don't you call me Su Wan? My mom always calls me Wanwan."

She buried herself in the unfamiliar pillow and let out a muffled groan.

He answered whatever she asked.

Why does she still let Lin Zhou call her Wanwan?

She lay down for a while until the fever on her face subsided a bit.

Then I lifted the covers and sat up.

My feet touched the floor, which was made of composite wood, dark in color, and looked a bit old.

She stood up.

My knees are a little weak; the effects of the alcohol haven't completely worn off yet.

She stood for a second, holding onto the edge of the bed.

Then I walked out of the bedroom.

The living room is not big.

The curtains were half drawn, and the morning sunlight streamed in from the other side, falling on the sofa.

The sofa was a gray fabric sofa, with a black blanket draped over the armrest.

There was a slight movement under the down jacket.

Lin Zhou peeked out from under the covers.

Her hair was sticking up, her eyes weren't fully open, and there was a mark from a sofa cushion on her face.

He was wearing a dark blue long-sleeved T-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a section of his forearm.

He saw Su Wan standing at the bedroom door.

Her short hair was a mess, her hoodie was wrinkled, and she was only wearing one sock.

He rubbed his eyes.

"woke up?"

Su Wan stood at the bedroom door.

Her hand was still holding onto the door frame.

The morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating her face and revealing the lingering effects of the alcohol.

Her lips moved slightly.

"This...is your home?"

Lin Zhou sat up from the sofa.

His down jacket slipped off his body, and he reached out to pick it up and draped it over the sofa armrest. "Yes."

Su Wan's gaze swept around the living room.

The small living room contained a gray fabric sofa, a coffee table, a simple bookshelf with several reference books on lock mechanics and a toolbox.

Several delivery boxes were piled up in the corner. A row of lock cylinders sat on the TV cabinet, arranged by size, ranging from door locks to car locks to combination locks—at least twenty of them. She looked away.

"Last night—"

Her voice was a little dry.

"I didn't cause you any trouble, did I?"

Lin Zhou stood up.

He picked up a bottle of mineral water from the coffee table and handed it over.

"It's alright. I threw up once, cried once, and couldn't be woken up at the hotel entrance. The front desk wouldn't let me check in."

Su Wan accepted the bottled water.

The bottle cap was unscrewed, and I'd already drunk half of it.

She tilted her head back and took a sip, her Adam's apple bobbing.

Then he put the bottle down and squeezed it between his fingers.

She remembered that last night, Lin Zhou had helped her at the hotel front desk.

She was still asking, "You dislike me too?", and he hadn't answered her yet.

Su Wan lowered her head and looked at her wrinkled hoodie.

She looked up at Lin Zhou. "How did I end up in your bed last night?"

Lin Zhou said.

"You're so drunk, I can't just leave you on the curb."

Su Wan looked at him.

Lin Zhou leaned against the TV cabinet, his hair sticking up, the mark from the sofa cushion on his face still lingering.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say "thank you," "sorry," and "I didn't mean to slam the table last night."

But only one sentence was spoken.

"You've forgotten what happened last night."

"I forgot," Lin Zhou said.

Su Wan stood at the bedroom door.

The foot, missing a sock, touched the floor, and the toes curled slightly.

His lips moved, and it seemed like there was something swirling in his throat, but in the end he only uttered two words.

"Thanks for last night."

Then she turned around and went into the bathroom to wash her face.

The lock clicked as the door closed.

Lin Zhou was still standing next to the sofa.

He glanced down at the sofa; the cushions had been pressed into the shape of a head.

He remembered helping her out of the taxi last night. When they went upstairs, she almost missed a step on the stairs. He grabbed her arm with one hand and unlocked the door with the other.

She was still asleep when she leaned on his shoulder and her fingers were on the door lock.

He put Su Wan on the bed, took off her shoes, and covered her with the blanket.

Then I went to the sofa.

I woke up once in the middle of the night and heard her turning over in the bedroom, muttering a few words, and then falling silent again.

Su Wan came out of the bathroom.

Her face was wet, and her hair was damp; she combed it back with her fingers.

There were a few drops of water on the collar of the sweatshirt.

She walked over to the coffee table.

She looked at the half-empty bottle of mineral water on the coffee table.

"So, did I say anything last night?"

Seeing his expression, Su Wan immediately added, "Never mind. Don't say anything more."

Lin Zhou swallowed the rest of his sentence along with his bottled water. Okay. I won't say anything more.

"Your bag is on the shoe rack. Your phone is inside, it's dead. The vomit on your clothes is in the bathroom, I rubbed it off for you, it's still wet." He paused here, "There's also a shirt, one button is missing. It's hanging next to the radiator. That one didn't have any vomit, it's just wrinkled."