Su Man was not the sort to wallow in defeat. She picked herself up quickly and smiled. “That’s true — you have to try before you know whether you can or can’t.”

Lu Yuwen watched her bounce back so swiftly and found himself charmed all over again.

How could someone like this exist? Her negative feelings came and went as quickly as the tide — she lived simply and authentically. He honestly didn’t know how the Su family had managed to raise a daughter like her…

Well. They’d raised her beautifully.

He studied her expression and said slowly: “Now that your mind is made up, why not start working toward your goal bit by bit? You want to become a detective — have you ever tried to understand what life actually looks like behind that profession?”

“I have thought about it,” Su Man said, looking at him with wide, rather innocent eyes. “I submitted an application to my superiors asking for an internship transfer to that department, but my parents used their connections to block it completely — I never got a single opportunity.”

Lu Yuwen asked again: “Have you watched films or read books related to the field?”

Su Man thought for a moment. “Mm… I’ve seen a few detective-type movies, and I’ve watched some crime investigation dramas — but they felt a bit exaggerated, so I couldn’t get through them…”

“There’s one crime film I think you might like,” Lu Yuwen said. “After we finish eating — do you want to watch it together?”

Su Man paused, hesitant. “At a cinema?”

It felt like the sort of thing only people who were close would do together.

“No need — it’s a fairly well-known film, it should be available on most streaming platforms,” Lu Yuwen said in an easy, unhurried tone, dispelling the last of her hesitation. “It’s under two hours long. It follows a young detective just starting out, and your situation actually has some things in common with the story. What do you think — want to give it a watch? I can revisit it too.”

Su Man had no reason to refuse. She nodded quickly. “Sure.”

They came to an agreement, and the atmosphere between them grew even warmer.

After finishing the pasta, Su Man waved Lu Yuwen off and cleared the table herself. Lu Yuwen went to the living room, picked up the remote control, and began figuring out the Su family’s large smart TV.

By the time Su Man came out of the kitchen, she found the living room dim — the doors and windows had all been closed, the curtains drawn shut, and in the darkness the television screen blazed with a bright, inviting light, frozen on the film’s opening frame.

Lu Yuwen was sitting on one end of the sofa. He lightly patted the cushion beside him, smiling. “Setting the mood — to help you get into the story.”

Su Man burst out laughing.

She thought Lu Yuwen was so entertaining — and so wonderfully attentive. You could see it in the pasta: that meticulous, considered way he did things. And now for a simple movie, he’d arranged the environment like this…

Su Man walked over, smiling, and sat down.

Lu Yuwen pressed play, and the film’s opening music instantly wrapped around them both.

He held out the remote toward her, leaning in slightly, his voice dropping low: “Is this volume alright?”

She startled — at this distance, they were a little too close for comfort. On instinct she wanted to shift away, but then she caught Lu Yuwen looking at her with a puzzled expression.

“…” Su Man was quiet for a moment, then took the remote, schooling her expression. “The volume is just right.”

Lu Yuwen gave her a small smile, then turned to face the screen, attention fixed on the film.

Her chest loosened. She couldn’t help feeling that her reaction just now had been ridiculous. Compared to seats at a cinema, pressed right up against each other, the space between her and Lu Yuwen right now was perfectly normal.

It was probably just the darkness of the room — that was what had made her feel, for that one instant, a subtle, ambiguous warmth.

Su Man quietly reflected on herself…

Lu Yuwen said softly: “Look — the main character just appeared.”

His manner was that of someone genuinely absorbed in the film.

Su Man quickly cleared her mind of all its stray, tangled thoughts, fixed her eyes on the television screen, and slowly began to let herself be drawn into the story…