Chương 52: Getting Engaged Next Month

Follow the pen of the author's father, a master swordsman, on an adventure in Cola Novels titled "You're just a locksmith! What are you catching at the start?"

Su Wan parked her car on the second basement level of the mall.

The engine was turned off, and the car became quiet, with only the faint metallic contraction of the engine as it cooled down.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, the sound of the metal buckle snapping open being particularly crisp in the quiet car.

Lin Zhou also unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the car door handle.

Su Wan suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a minute, get off the bus first and wait for me in front of the bus."

Lin Zhou's hand stopped on the doorknob.

"What's wrong?"

"Start with the details."

Su Wan pushed open the car door and got out.

She stood at the back of the car and waited, watching Lin Zhou get out of the passenger seat and walk to the front of the car.

Then she walked over, reached out, and very naturally took his arm.

Her movements were fluid, as decisive as when she set up the police cordon at the crime scene.

Lin Zhou's arm stiffened for a moment.

Su Wan's hand was wrapped around his arm, her fingers gently resting on the inside of his forearm.

He could feel the pressure of her fingers through the sleeve of her down jacket.

She looked up at him, a natural curve at the corners of her mouth.

"Let's go."

"What are you doing?"

Lin Zhou's arm was still slightly stiff, but there was no resistance in his tone; it was more like someone confirming something that was beyond his area of expertise.

"Let me make this clear first, I perform, I don't sell my body."

Su Wan spat.

It's not the angry kind of "pfft," it's the kind of "pfft" that makes you laugh but you don't want to.

She turned her head away, and the small mole on her earlobe was faintly visible under the parking lot lights.

Then she turned back, her expression returning to its usual calm and collected state.

However, there was a very light red layer on the tip of his ear, which was almost invisible under the fluorescent lights of the parking lot.

"What nonsense are you talking about? This is tactical cover. My mom is upstairs, and your mom is upstairs too. They're probably already sitting in the private room."

She emphasized the word "private room".

"If you don't act convincingly now, what if they see you through the window? My mom is a retired teacher, and her eyesight is 2. 0. I don't know how good your mom's eyesight is, but she recognizes your blue down jacket."

Lin Zhou thought of the expression on his mother's face when she could recognize his back even from three floors away.

He nodded.

"Understood, tactical cover."

Su Wan straightened her arm around Su Wan's shoulder again.

She paused, then added, "Don't overthink it."

Her voice was a half-tone softer than before, as if she were stating a fact that only she knew.

"I didn't think too much about it."

"Then let's go."

The two walked toward the elevator.

Su Wan linked arms with him, and their strides automatically synchronized after about ten steps.

Even after entering the elevator, she didn't let go of her hand. As the elevator doors closed, the stainless steel walls reflected the shadows of the two people.

She looked up and watched the floor numbers jump one by one.

The elevator reached the third floor, the doors opened, and a huge atrium greeted us. Sunlight poured down from the glass dome, reflecting off the off-white tiles.

There weren't many people in the mall. A few young mothers pushing strollers were sitting in the rest area, and a couple was queuing in front of a milk tea shop.

An old pop song was playing on the radio, the volume turned down low, as if afraid of disturbing someone.

The Hunan restaurant is located at the very back of the third floor. There are two potted money trees at the entrance, and the glass is covered with the words "New-style Hunan cuisine, authentic Hunan flavor" in large red characters.

Meanwhile, three middle-aged men were standing next to the glass railing on the third floor.

Lin Zhou's father was wearing a dark blue jacket, zipped up to his chest, with his hands behind his back.

Lin Zhou's mother stood to the side, wearing a purple down jacket, holding her phone in her hand, her eyes fixed on the elevator entrance.

Su Wan's mother stood opposite them—in her early forties, wearing a camel-colored coat, with slightly wavy hair and gold-rimmed glasses.

Her posture was very upright, unlike the typical hunchback of retired teachers; instead, her shoulders were spread back and her back was very straight.

"Look at that—" Lin Zhou's mother suddenly pointed in the direction of the escalator on the second floor.

The other two people looked in the direction she was pointing.

On the second-floor escalator, a young man in a blue down jacket and a girl in a dark gray hoodie were standing side by side.

The girl's hand was wrapped in the young man's arm, the posture very natural.

The two were not very close, about a fist's distance apart. The girl was tilting her head slightly as she spoke, and the young man lowered his head to listen.

There was an inexplicable understanding between the two of them—not the clingy kind of lovey-dovey kind.

Instead, it's a more understated and natural understanding.

Like two people who have known each other for a long time and are used to being together.

Su Wan's mother pushed up her glasses.

"Wanwan told me that he is a man of few words but honest. She said they met at a barbecue restaurant. Wanwan was drinking alone when he came over to chat her up. Usually, Wanwan ignores anyone who tries to talk to her, but I don't know why she let him sit down that day."

"That's because Lin Zhou is honest."

"He's just too honest. He only makes a pittance from locksmithing. I told him to take the civil service exam, but he wouldn't. What kind of future does locksmithing have?"

Su Wan's mother did not respond to this.

She looked at the young couple on the second floor.

Lin Zhou was listening to Su Wan speak with his head slightly lowered. Su Wan's hand was still in the crook of his arm, and her fingers were lightly resting on his sleeve.

"To meet at a barbecue restaurant and then bump into each other at a blind date table, what an incredible coincidence!"

She paused for a moment.

"Wanwan is too busy with work and never talks to me about her love life, but when she called me this morning, I could tell she was quite happy."

She turned to look at Lin Zhou's parents.

"A locksmith and a policeman seem like an unlikely pairing, but when you see them standing there, it just feels comfortable. That's probably what it means to have two good things together."

Lin Zhou's father stood to the side with his hands behind his back, without saying a word.

He stared at the young couple on the second floor for a long time before speaking. His voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered was sincere.

"The way that girl linked arms with him shows that she trusts him. I know Lin Zhou well; he has never let anyone link arms with him since he was a child."

Hearing this, Su Wan's mother nodded, then turned back to look at the young couple on the second floor, her gaze now holding a deeper meaning.

It wasn't scrutiny, but the kind of entrustment that says, "I'm entrusting my daughter to you."

Three middle-aged people stood by the glass railing, watching the two young people on the second floor walk up step by step, already discussing their engagement date and the prospect of having grandchildren.

Lin Zhou's mother suddenly clapped her hands.

"I think the eighth day of next month will be an auspicious day."

She took out her phone and started flipping through the calendar.

"We're getting engaged. We'll get married before the Lunar New Year. What do you think?"