Chương 50: "I'll come to you again if the lock breaks next time."

The comments section was filled with laughter.

"No organs accepted, hahaha! Three-Second King: The body is a collection of organs, so we don't accept organs. Is there anything that can't be explained using lock cylinder knowledge?!"

Just then.

Lin Zhou's phone suddenly vibrated.

He pulled it out of his pocket, and the name flashing on the screen made him raise an eyebrow.

Lin Zhou's heart skipped a beat.

He instinctively pressed the answer button, then walked out of the room, intending to find a quiet place to face what was to come.

The next second he froze completely.

His mother's signature loud voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Lin Zhou!! Where are you and Wanwan?! Your dad, Wanwan's mom, and I are already in the city!! Our two families are having a meal together! Bring Wanwan and come over now!!"

Lin Zhou held his phone, his entire being seemingly frozen in time.

His mother's voice was still buzzing in the receiver.

"Your dad, Wanwan's mom, and I have already arrived in the city."

He opened his mouth, a thought flashing through his mind: Su Wan's mother had also arrived. The two mothers had made contact within a single day and had already made their way to the city.

"mom," He kept his voice low and even, trying to mask his rapidly racing mind with a calm tone.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean by that?"

His mother's voice immediately rose half a tone, and the grievance in her tone, "I came all this way and this is your attitude," was already poised to burst forth.

"I came all this way just to say this? You've already met Wanwan, and I've talked to her mom too. What's wrong with our two families having a meal together? Did you not want to come again? And were you wearing that black down jacket again?"

"mom."

Lin Zhou interrupted her. He took a deep breath, and his shoulders slowly relaxed from their tension.

He knew that arguing with his mother would only lead to one outcome—she would go on and on about why he wasn't wearing a blue down jacket and how he had become so obedient as a child.

Rather than this, it's better to end things quickly.

"Okay. I'll come pick you up. Where should we eat?"

His mother's voice immediately switched from aggrieved mode to satisfied mode.

"That's more like it. We're at that shopping mall on Renmin Road, on the third floor, there's a Hunan restaurant, and I had Wanwan's mom book a private room."

Lin Zhou hung up the phone.

He looked down at his phone screen; the top entry in his call log was "Mom."

The call lasted a little over a minute.

He flipped through his contacts—Su Wan's number was saved under "Officer Su".

He dialed the number.

It rang about four times before being answered.

Su Wan's voice came through the receiver, tinged with a hint of doubt: "Lin Zhou?"

"My mom is here."

"Go pick up your mom when she arrives."

"And your mother."

The typewriter stopped.

"What?"

"Your mom is here too. My mom just called and said that my dad and his mom have arrived at Wanda Plaza and that both families want to have a meal together. She asked me to bring you along."

There was a silence on the other end of the phone for about three seconds.

Lin Zhou could hear Su Wan push the keyboard forward a little, and then hear her stand up—the chair wheel slid across the tiles.

"Explain yourself. Who arrived?"

"My mom, my dad, and your mom. The three of them, in one car, on the very first bus this morning. They're waiting for us at the Hunan restaurant on the fourth floor of Wanda Plaza."

Lin Zhou leaned against the utility pole, looking at the sunlight reflected off the glass curtain wall of the apartment building across the street.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

This time the silence lasted longer than last time. Then came the sound of Su Wan taking a deep breath, not in a panic, but the kind of deep breath one takes to calm oneself down before investigating a crime scene.

How did your mom get in touch with my mom?

Lin Zhou pressed his temple with his thumb.

"They probably talked on the phone yesterday and agreed to come together today. My mom mentioned before that she and your mom have been friends for decades."

"……yes."

Su Wan's voice carried a hint of resignation.

"My mom sent me a WeChat message asking about you. I told her you're a locksmith and a nice guy, but she didn't reply. I thought she was still angry—turns out she's already packing her bags."

Lin Zhou took the tool bag off his shoulder and placed it on the ground.

There was a cement block next to the utility pole, and he squatted on it, the hem of his down jacket dragging on the ground.

"What should we do?"

"What? What to do? See you."

"See?"

Lin Zhou almost stood up from the cement block.

"You said we met through a blind date and only lasted a day—and now you want to meet my parents?"

"What were you doing when your mom called me to dinner? Didn't you agree?"

Su Wan's tone returned to its usual calm.

"And my mom is coming too. If I say I'm not going now, my mom will ask me what I'm unhappy about. Your mom will ask me what I'm unhappy about. Then our phones will be ringing off the hook with calls from our respective mothers. And then they'll come again next weekend."

She paused for a moment, then said, "It's more complicated than you think right now."

Lin Zhou fell silent.

He remembered talking to Su Wan at Starbucks this morning about being pressured to get married.

She said she was only 24, and her mother had already started considering the option of remarriage.

He said he was also being pressured.

The two women thought they were helping each other cover for each other, but now that cover has been torn to shreds by the two mothers working together.

"How should I put it?"

"It was love at first sight. I'm satisfied with all aspects. We're currently in contact."

"What do you mean by 'conditions in all aspects'?"

"Stable job, decent income, and reliable character."

Su Wan's voice sounded like she was reading a file label, then she paused.

"You're a specially appointed technical consultant for the Municipal Public Security Bureau, that's something to mention. You just declined the position of auxiliary police officer yesterday, now you have an even bigger title."

"Police auxiliary technical advisor. Not a formal police rank."

Lin Zhou said.

"You can mention it; my mom will be happy."

"Then what are you going to say later? What are you going to say when your mother asks me about the situation?"

Su Wan twirled the pen, the pen shaft skillfully gliding between her fingers and the base of her thumb.

"You're quite an interesting person. You're very meticulous when unlocking doors and have helped me a lot. Also—she probably already knows about me getting drunk yesterday."

She paused for a moment, her voice carrying an undisguised embarrassment.

"Did you tell your mom?"

"No. But last night she said on the phone that I wasn't telling her anything, and she'll probably ask me in person today."

Lin Zhou switched hands with his phone, picked up his tool bag from the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and stood up.

"Let's make this clear first. When we met, I said it was love at first sight, and you said you were satisfied with everything. I suggested becoming a consultant, and you said it was fine. Your mother asked about my income, and I said it was okay. Your mother asked about my apartment, and I said it was rented. Your mother asked—"

"Lin Zhou," Su Wan interrupted him, "Where are you? Send me your address. I'll come pick you up."

"No need. I'll take a taxi myself."

"No need to refuse, I have a car."

Lin Zhou lifted the tool bag up.

He's a locksmith, and not only does he not have a car, but he also needs the woman to pick him up for blind dates.

But he didn't say it.