Chương 36: What happened to you last night, kid?

Lin Zhou placed the now-cold Americano on the table.

The faint lipstick mark on the rim of the cup was pointing towards Su Wan.

The two people sat in a booth, about two fists apart.

She didn't look at him, and he didn't look at her either.

Her fingers swiped across the phone screen, which displayed the unfinished case file, but she hadn't turned the page in a long time.

He spun the coffee cup around, and then around again.

"Do you also look at cases on weekends?" Lin Zhou asked.

"Um."

"Not taking a break?"

"Rest means catching up on sleep." Su Wan turned off her phone screen and placed it on the table.

"What about you? Do you take orders on weekends?"

"Yes. There are a lot of locksmiths opening doors on weekends. Some people forget their keys when they go out, some lock themselves out of their homes, and some drink too much and don't know where they put their keys."

He said he was "drunk".

His voice unconsciously dropped half a tone.

Su Wan's lips twitched slightly.

It wasn't a laugh, but rather the involuntary reaction after being gently poked.

"How many locks did you open on your busiest day?"

"Eleven. From seven in the morning to ten at night. The furthest one was in the south of the city, which took forty minutes by electric bike. When I got there, I found that he didn't have his keys and the door was open. He thought the lock was broken, but it was just not closed properly."

"Did you receive the money?"

"Take it. Fifty for home delivery."

"Did he give it to you?"

"He gave it to me. He said, 'Master, you've come all this way, I'd feel bad not giving it to you.'"

Su Wan nodded.

She picked up the Americano in front of her—then put it down again, because she remembered that she had already given it to Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou pushed the untouched latte in front of him over.

I didn't drink this one.

Su Wan glanced at it and took it.

I took a sip.

The latte was sweeter than the Americano, and she licked her lips after finishing it.

"You said yesterday that you are the best locksmith."

Lin Zhou paused for a moment.

"That's my own opinion."

Su Wan looked at him.

I glanced at it for about two seconds.

No further questions were asked.

She lowered her head and continued drinking her latte.

Just then, Lin Zhou's phone vibrated.

Caller ID: Brother Zhou.

Lin Zhou glanced at Su Wan.

Su Wan also saw the name on the screen.

She held the latte in her hand without pausing, but lowered her eyelids.

She knows Brother Zhou.

Brother Zhou also knows her.

Everyone knows them.

Lin Zhou pressed the answer button and then switched to speakerphone.

There's nothing to hide.

Old Zhou's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hey kid, how's it going?"

Old Zhou's tone was different from usual. It wasn't the flat, businesslike tone he used in the interrogation room, nor the leisurely tone he used when he was holding an enamel mug in the car. There was a tacit understanding between men in his voice.

Lin Zhou gripped his phone. His premonition caught up with him in that instant. The difference between premonition and reality was less than a breath.

"What's wrong?" Lin Zhou asked.

Old Zhou chuckled. The laugh was low but clear, coming from the speakerphone and spreading throughout the Starbucks booths. (Author's note: This is a recommendation from the author's father, a member of a group of swordsmen. The author hopes you enjoy the story of "You're just a locksmith! What kind of adulterer are you catching at the start?" on Cola Novels.)

"What are you pretending for in front of Brother Zhou?" Old Zhou's voice still carried a hint of laughter.

"How did the blind date go? Has the girl arrived yet?"

Lin Zhou opened his mouth.

"We're here."

"That's good." Old Zhou seemed to have taken a sip of tea on the other end of the phone; you could hear him pick up his enamel cup and put it down again.

"How was last night?"

Lin Zhou leaned back in his chair. His gaze fell on his phone screen, where Lao Zhou's name was displayed in the center, the call time ticking away second by second.

"What's up?"

"Still pretending. Didn't you cover yourself with a blanket last night? Did you catch a cold? Your voice is hoarseer than usual." Old Zhou's laughter was even more pronounced. He must have been holding an enamel mug as he said this, the red characters "Outstanding People's Police Officer" on the lid pointing directly at the receiver. He probably didn't make this call from his office, but in the hallway or parking lot.

He probably thought his words were humorous and considerate—showing concern for Lin Zhou's sleep quality without being too blunt about what happened last night. He probably had no idea about something else entirely.

Lin Zhou held his phone. He wanted to interrupt Lao Zhou. But before he could even open his mouth, Su Wan had already spoken.

"cough."

She cleared her throat. Not an unconscious clearing, but a deliberate one. A polite, restrained clearing, yet instantly recognizable as "I'm here" in any context. Then she said—

"Brother Zhou, I'm right here too."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. The Starbucks background music was still playing, a slow guitar melody. The sound of steam rising from behind the counter could be heard. A bus drove past on the street, honking its horn. But there was silence on the other end of the phone.

The silence lasted for about two seconds. After two seconds, Lao Zhou's voice came through the speakerphone, his tone suddenly changing direction.

"crooked?"

His voice rose slightly. It wasn't that the signal was actually bad; he was faking it.

"Hello? -- My signal --" Then there was a beep. The call ended.

A busy tone came from the speakerphone, ringing for about three seconds. Then it automatically switched back to the dial pad.

Lin Zhou placed his phone on the table. The screen went dark. He looked at his reflection on the screen—his own face, his hair still sticking up, the sofa cushion imprint still visible on his face. Su Wan, sitting next to him, held a latte, the rim of the cup resting on her lips. Her expression was calm, but her ears were red. Not the flushed red of drunkenness, but a pale red that spread gradually upwards from her earlobes.

The live chat exploded.

"Brother Zhou, hahahahahahaha" Old Zhou: How's it going? Lin Zhou: What do you mean, how's it going? Old Zhou: Still pretending. Su Wan: Cough, I'm right here too. Old Zhou: Wait, wait, wait?

"That phone call was just like Zhou Ge's. He went from laughing to hanging up in just two seconds."

"What hasn't Brother Zhou seen at the police station? But when Su Wan said, 'I'm right here,' he pretended the signal was bad. He ran away."

"He's probably never hung up the phone so quickly in his entire life."

"Officer Su's words, 'I was right there too,' were frighteningly calm. But her ears turned red. She was more embarrassed than Lao Zhou, but she didn't run away."

"Because she's a police officer, and police officers don't run away."

"Three-Second King: I wanted to interrupt him, but my mouth couldn't keep up with my brain. Su Wan: I'm faster than you."

After Lao Zhou hung up the phone, the silence in the booth was like a cup of coffee that had gone cold—bitter, undrinkable, but you couldn't throw it away. Su Wan put down her latte. The bottom of the cup tapped softly on the table.

She turned her head and looked at Lin Zhou.

The faint redness on her ears hadn't faded yet, but her expression had already returned to the state she had when the police were taking her statement.

Calm down. Examine yourself. Then she spoke.

"What did Brother Zhou think you did to me?"

It is not a question.