Chen Shi took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He remembered that Lin Dongxue was right-handed, meaning her fingerprint lock was probably done using the right index finger or thumb.

So, he slowly adjusted his position. Due to the change of position, Lin Dongxue slipped and her head fell on his leg as if it were a pillow. However, this position made it easier to pull off what he was about to do.

Chen Shi grabbed Lin Dongxue's right hand. Her slender fingers were as beautiful as white jade[1] Although her nails were never manicured, they were neatly trimmed and it was very comfortable to look at.

Picking up Lin Dongxue's cold little hand, Chen Shi pressed her thumb to the fingerprint lock, but nothing happened.

He tried her index finger and was frightened by the “doot” noise on the phone as it unlocked. He looked down at Lin Dongxue. She muttered a few words in her sleep but she didn’t wake up. Chen Shi's panicked heart calmed down and he went to look at Lin Dongxue’s WeChat.

It turned out that Tao Yueyue had played him for a fool. What she sent Lin Dongxue was not the photo from just now, but a cute photo of Moqiu.

“You little bastard!”

Chen Shi cursed and set the WeChat message to unread, locked the screen, wiped his fingerprints on the blanket, and shoved it back into Lin Dongxue's pocket.

Staying in the position the way they were wasn’t a permanent solution. Chen Shi slowly pushed the coffee table away. The coffee table had a glass base which looked good, but there was a disadvantage. When it was pushed, it would make a harsh noise.

Chen Shi pushed the coffee table bit by bit with his heart beating like a drum. Finally, he freed enough space to stand up.

He wrapped the blanket around Lin Dongxue's body and carefully held her up. Lin Dongxue was very light, almost like a feather. When he lifted her using the princess-hold, Chen Shi even thought that she was too thin. He needed to feed her more delicious food to keep her full.

Chen Shi very carefully carried Lin Dongxue into the second bedroom, put her on the bed, and pulled the quilt over her. Then, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt like he had accomplished his mission.

Unexpectedly, the door to the room was suddenly closed. The sound of someone locking the door came from the outside. Chen Shi touched his pocket. His keys and mobile phone were in the living room. It’s definitely that damn brat’s doing!

He rushed to the door and said towards the door, “Open the door and I’ll promise not to kill you!”

“Just stay with Sister Lin tonight. Why don't you tell her you like her?!” Tao Yueyue said. This damn brat knows everything.

“You need to get back here!!”

“Ah... I'm so sleepy. I’m off to sleep!”

Chen Shi sighed. What's happening? He turned back and the room was dark with only a little light coming in through the door gap. The light illuminated Lin Dongxue who was lying on the bed.

He sat down in the chair by the bed very depressed thinking. There was no other place to sleep in the room. The bed was only so big. If he slept on it, he would inevitably have physical contact with her.

He sat there in boredom before he finally decided to sleep. It was unrealistic to sit there all night, and it would be troublesome to need to go to the bathroom halfway through. Sleeping until dawn was the only feasible solution.

He put on another layer of clothes and climbed into Lin Dongxue's bed. Lin Dongxue was laying towards the window side. He was facing the ceiling and he could smell the scent of Lin Dongxue’s hair. There were numerous times where he wanted to turn over and hug her, but he restrained himself.

After thinking for a while, Lin Dongxue actually turned around and hugged him. Her face was really close to his.

Chen Shi couldn't restrain himself any longer. He gently pressed his lips against hers. Just when their lips touched, Lin Dongxue suddenly opened her eyes and her white cheeks flushed red. She already had a pair of rosy cheeks like little apples. After being flushed, they looked like two ripe apples.

Chen Shi was seduced by her cute look. He reached out and began to unbutton her clothes. Lin Dongxue covered her face with both hands but gave no sign of resistance.

Just before the indescribable things were about to happen, Chen Shi woke up. It turned out that it was just a dream, but the two had actually changed their positions during their deep sleep. Chen Shi was on his side and Lin Dongxue was facing him with her left hand on his shoulder.

Chen Shi looked at his watch through the glimmer of light coming from the door gap that faced the living room. It was already five o'clock. Not good. I need to find a way to leave.

He lightly picked up Lin Dongxue's arm, stood up quietly, walked to the door, and pulled the handle. He was surprised to find that Tao Yueyue had already unlocked the lock from the outside.

At 7:30, Lin Dongxue woke up on time and exclaimed “Ah!” She looked at the bed she was in and couldn't remember when she slept last night.

But what made her even more concerned was that she seemed to have dreamed of a person last night. At first, it seemed to be her brother, then he became the dad she had never met, and finally it became Chen Shi. The person in the dream was holding her very tenderly.

Thinking of this, her cheeks became flushed. She touched her cheeks and said to herself, “An inexplicable dream!”

That morning, they went to the bureau first as per usual. Then, the three of them split up. Chen Shi took Xu Xiaodong to the area they were at yesterday and dropped him off at the nearby police station. Chen Shi then went to find the man from yesterday.

The old uncle had just woken up and was walking around the neighborhood. Chen Shi invited him for breakfast and bought him cigarettes as if he was familiar with the man. Eventually, the old uncle promised to take Chen Shi to the old factory site.

When he got to the old site of Yutong Automobile Factory, the old man walked around with his hands behind his back and said, “I remember that the gate of the factory was three stories high. That word must have been around four stories high.”

“Which way did it face?”

“South. Fengshui was taken into account when the factory was built. It had to be facing south.”

Staring towards the emptiness on the south side, Chen Shi couldn't see why. He needed to figure out why. After saying goodbye to the man, he called Xu Xiaodong over. When he saw what Chen Shi was holding in his hands, Xu Xiaodong was surprised. “What’s that?”

“The ‘shi’ word. I also brought bamboo poles. Let’s restore what the young monk saw from the window 13 years ago... Ah yes, is there any progress on your side?”

“There is no progress. Of the missing people thirteen years ago, there aren’t any that meet our requirements.”

The word “shi” was made from plastic foam and had a very light texture. When the two cut off the bamboo poles and lifted the “shi” into the air, many residents came to stop and watch. Xu Xiaodong's face froze and said, “Brother Chen, everyone is watching this!”

“Just let them watch.”

An aunty came over and asked, “Young man, what are you doing? Putting a cross in the air, is it a funeral? You must speak to our neighborhood committee when you have a funeral.”

Chen Shi smiled. “No, no, we are investigating a case.” He made an action and Xu Xiaodong immediately showed his credentials to the aunty.

The aunty asked, “What case is being investigated? I have never seen a case investigated like this!”

“Aiya, don't ask. If we have to answer everyone, we won’t be able to finish this at night. Rest assured, we’ll leave as soon as we’re done. It won’t affect you.

Seeing that everyone around was mumbling about them, Xu Xiaodong whispered, “How embarrassing!”

After setting it up, Chen Shi instructed, “You guard here. I will go around and see what angle seems the most similar.”

“Fuck, I have to hold this up alone?”

“What are you afraid of? People here don't know you. As Li Yang had once said, ‘love to lose face[2]’.”

Xu Xiaodong looked around the crowd, his face was burning hot. He urged, “Hurry up and return!”

1. The author wrote about the white parts of scallions on it, but this seemed like a better representation of what they were trying to say.

2. “Shi” means “ten” and when written in Chinese, the character is the shape of a cross.