I looked down at the bed sheet, not speaking, with a burning fire of discomfort in my heart. But he came, with a strong presence, and the entire room seemed to be filled with his breath. I vowed that if he blamed me, I would storm out of the door on the spot.

  A few seconds later, I heard his hoarse voice: "Have you had dinner?"

  I raised my eyes and looked at him. He was standing in the dim light, his expression a bit blurry, but he didn't seem to be angry. I said: "Not eaten yet." My voice was even softer than his.

  "Go eat," he said, "I'll wait for you outside." After finishing speaking, he opened the door from the other side and went out. I stared at the door that had been closed by him, and suddenly felt a sense of confusion in my heart.

  But within five minutes, I still put on the prettiest short skirt and came out of the room. At that time, he was leaning against the gate of the inn, with a cigarette in his hand, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. It's just my favorite man's look. Seeing me coming, he lowered his head and took another puff, then pinched the cigarette with one hand, and we walked out along the small alley outside the inn, one after the other.

  It was already past eight, the surroundings were quiet, the village streetlights were tall and bright, and there were crickets chirping in the grass. We walked quietly for a while, he had finished one cigarette and lit another. The silence made my heart tremble.

  I couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't you go stay at Professor's house?"

  He said: "Not very convenient."

  I said: "Oh, have you visited them then?"

  "Not yet. Haven't you eaten yet?"

  He said this without pausing and then fell silent. I didn't say anything either.

  We walked together on the rural road, and there were still a few restaurants by the side of the road. Wu Yu said: "Choose one." I didn't hesitate, I chose one with the most customers, and casually said: "When choosing what to eat, the most important thing is to see that there aren't many people inside. It's already eight o'clock now, this restaurant still has several tables of guests, so it must be relatively delicious." After finishing speaking, I led the way in, looked around, then turned back, only to find him slightly lowering his head, his bangs covering his forehead, but with a hint of gentle smile at the corner of his mouth.

  I turned my face away and didn't look at him, my mood was up and down.

  We sat down in the corner, and he handed me the menu. I ordered a few dishes, asking for his preferences, which he answered one by one with a calm demeanor, slowly finishing the cigarette in his hand. I didn't realize when I relaxed, but when I noticed, my mouth was already slightly curved upwards. I think we should be considered basically reconciled.

  As friends.

  Who wants to be friends with him.

  I just want to get him in my hands.

  When the dishes were served, he said: "Call Shen Shiyan and see if you can get the detailed information of the arson case at Professor Chen's house?" I understood his intention and said: "Okay, I'll try." But after flipping through my phone for half a day, I couldn't find Shen Shiyan's mobile number.

  "Huh, how come I couldn't find it? I clearly saved it," I said. "It's probably a phone glitch or maybe I accidentally deleted it that time. Let me look again. I definitely made so many calls before."

  Wu Yu had a cup of tea in his hand, but he stopped and didn't drink it.

  "How could the call records be gone? This phone is broken..." I muttered. Wu Yu suddenly raised his eyes and stared at me, his gaze as cold as frost.

  My heart skipped a beat, and I felt bewildered.

  Just then, a round of applause erupted in the small shop. We both looked up to see the chubby male owner standing in the center of the shop, beaming with a smile, saying: "Today is July 15th, 2017, my son's full moon day, beer is free, everything is 20% off, thank you everyone for taking care of business!" The shop erupted into another round of applause, everyone was laughing, some people probably lived nearby and knew the owner, chatting with him and toasting him.

  I watched, and for a moment I forgot what was on hand, couldn't help but laugh too, saying: "80% off, really lucky. Do we want to go toast and congratulate?"

  Turning back, I saw that Ou Yu's face had no smile at all, and was even shrouded in gloom. I realized something was wrong with him and asked: "What's wrong?"

  Wu stared at me, in a sea of noise and laughter, staring at me tightly.

  "What did he just say today's date was?" Wu Yu's voice was slow and somewhat hoarse.

  I was taken aback, thinking he wanted to confirm the date or had forgotten something important, and looked down at my phone's time, saying: "Today is the 15th."

  Wu Yu didn't say a word, he lifted his head and looked at the TV hanging on the wall, which was playing the news. The date and time were also displayed below the news. I followed his gaze and took a look as well. Then he turned back to me again.

  I don't know how to describe the look in his eyes. It was a dazed and confused gaze, mixed with intense shock, realization, and dull pain. Amidst this bustling city, in an ordinary corner of the world, there were only the two of us, staring at each other like that. Finally, I clearly discerned that his eyes had risen with pity, pity for me. Deep, faintly painful, as if wanting to drown me.

  I don't know what he means, but I have a vague feeling that something is off. I look at my own hands clenched into fists on the table. I'm getting a little scared, scared of the new truth his sharp eyes seem to see, scared of what he's about to reveal.

  "Tan Jiao..." he said, "didn't you notice anything out of place at all?"