Zhou Ya let out a heavy breath and answered “okay.”

His strong arms tightened around Fang Long’s bottom, and he suddenly stood up, lifting her with him. Caught off balance, Fang Long quickly wrapped her legs around the man’s waist, and just as a startled cry escaped her, Zhou Ya’s kiss sealed her lips. The arms holding her were powerful and strong; Fang Long slowly let herself relax, giving herself over entirely to him.

The kiss grew more urgent, deeper, and Zhou Ya had already carried her to the master bedroom when the sound of Fang Long’s stomach growling interrupted the tender moment. Catching the scent of beef broth drifting from the kitchen, they remembered the stove was still on. The two exchanged a glance and burst out laughing at the same time.

Eating was without a doubt the most important matter in his household; everything else could wait.

After lunch, the two went to the supermarket. Actually, Zhou Ya had already stocked the new place quite thoroughly; Fang Long just planned to buy some toiletries, bath products, and sanitary pads, and could bring the rest over from home. At this stage she wasn’t thinking of moving out — Auntie’s health wasn’t good, and Fang Long couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her alone in the old house. She thought Zhou Ya probably felt the same way.

She’d gotten up early that morning and, having eaten well at lunch, felt a bit drowsy, so Zhou Ya drove her home first for a nap. After parking the van in the spot near home, Zhou Ya walked Fang Long back, planning to switch to the motorcycle to ride back to the stall.

As they reached downstairs, they happened to run into Ren Jianbai coming out of the building entrance. Ren Jianbai was in police uniform, which wasn’t unusual, but another officer, also in uniform, followed behind him. Both men stopped in their tracks upon seeing Zhou Ya.

Zhou Ya greeted Ren Jianbai familiarly: “Why are you back at this hour?”

Ren Jianbai opened his mouth, then closed it, unable to get a word out. Zhou Ya’s heart sank as he looked at the other officer — he’d been at the food stall for a late-night snack the night before too; Zhou Ya remembered his surname was Gao.

Zhou Ya nodded to him: “Officer Gao.”

Officer Gao’s tone was fairly polite: “Boss Zhou, we just went up to your place, you weren’t home. Old Bai was about to call you to ask where you were.”

Zhou Ya asked: “Is there something you need from me?”

“Shall we talk upstairs? No need to be too nervous, we’re just here early to get a sense of the situation.” Officer Gao didn’t make things too clear.

Zhou Ya glanced at Fang Long, signaling her to stay calm, then nodded.

Back home, Ma Huimin was standing by the phone about to make a call. The old woman had clearly just woken from her nap, still in her pajamas with a thin blanket draped over her shoulders. Seeing the four of them come in, she wasn’t sure how to react, stammering with the receiver in hand: “A-Ya, Long Long… why are you all back…”

Ren Jianbai stepped forward first to reassure her: “Auntie, look what a coincidence, we ran into them downstairs! I just told you, it’s nothing serious, just a small matter, we’re here to ask Zhou Ya about something, don’t worry.”

Zhou Ya walked up to Ma Huimin and said quietly: “Mom, it’s nothing, go rest in your room.”

He turned to Fang Long, who also looked tense, and said: “Fang Long, keep Mom company.”

Ma Huimin, not yet noticing the subtle change in her son’s words, spoke somewhat haltingly: “But, but…”

Fang Long forced a smile, coming over to support Ma Huimin’s arm, leaning in to whisper: “Don’t worry, Auntie. If it were really something serious, they’d have just taken Brother straight to the police station. Come on, I’ll walk you to your nap.”

Ma Huimin was still worried, but followed the young woman’s lead into the room.

Zhou Ya showed the two officers to the sofa. Ren Jianbai looked a bit awkward, and Officer Gao, understanding the situation between them, suggested: “Old Bai, why don’t you wait outside?”

Ren Jianbai scratched the back of his head vigorously: “Fine, fine, fine.” He shot Zhou Ya a sharp look and walked, familiar with the layout, out to the balcony.

Zhou Ya pulled over a dining chair and sat across from the sofa: “Can I ask now what happened?”

Officer Gao took out a small notebook and pen, his manner turning formal: “Zhou Ya, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know a man named Jiang Yao?”

Zhou Ya had guessed it was likely about this. He nodded: “I know him.”

“The night before last — the second day of the New Year — did you get into a conflict with Jiang Yao at ’88’?”

“Yes, I beat him up.” Zhou Ya didn’t hide anything, and asked, “Did something happen to Jiang Yao?”

Officer Gao finished writing, looked up at him for a few seconds, and said: “Jiang Yao’s family says that because of the beating you gave him, his mental state has been extremely poor these past two days. He vomited and passed out this morning, and his family sent him to the hospital and reported it to the police.”

Zhou Ya paused slightly: “Is his condition serious?”

“The external injuries are obvious. Internal injuries are still being checked — the specifics will need to wait for the hospital’s injury assessment to confirm.” Officer Gao continued questioning, “Why did you hit Jiang Yao that night?”

Zhou Ya answered: “Because he harassed Fang Long.”

“Who is Fang Long?”

Zhou Ya glanced toward his mother’s room: “The girl you just saw.”

Officer Gao followed his gaze and asked: “What’s your relationship with her?”

Zhou Ya paused for a few seconds, then said: “She counts as my sister.”

Officer Gao noted this down: “How did Jiang Yao harass her?”

“He maliciously humiliated her, said some very ugly things.”

“Did they know each other before?”

“Yes, they dated for a while.”

Officer Gao looked up at him: “I heard from Jiang Yao’s family that Jiang Yao and your cousin had some unpleasant conflicts before — one night the two of them even ended up at the police station.”

“That’s right.”

“So… would you say the two families have a prior grudge?”

“I won’t deny it, I do dislike him quite a bit.” Zhou Ya raised his eyes to meet Officer Gao’s directly, his voice neither servile nor arrogant. “I wouldn’t call it a grudge exactly, and yes, hitting him that night was impulsive, but if it happened again, I’d probably still do the same thing.”

Officer Gao nodded, asked a few more details, and Zhou Ya answered each one truthfully. He told Officer Gao that after leaving the KTV he’d gone straight home. Officer Gao asked as routine: “Can anyone confirm that for you?”

Zhou Ya fell silent. He remembered that night clearly, of course, but it wasn’t something easy to say out loud.

Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, Officer Gao asked again: “Is there anyone who can confirm that you went home after leaving ’88’ that night, and stayed home the whole time?”

With a creak, Fang Long walked out of the bedroom, raising her hand like a student answering a question in class: “Me, me, me, I can vouch for him.”

The afternoon sunlight draped over her, softening her features and outline, but her voice was clean and decisive, landing with weight.

Zhou Ya immediately stood up, his thick brows furrowing slightly: “Fang Long…”

Fang Long, having made sure Auntie’s door was properly closed, walked toward the sofa, keeping her voice low: “Officer, if this is about that night, I was there too, you can ask me.”

She’d coaxed Auntie into bed, then stayed pressed against the door eavesdropping, and had a rough idea of why the police had come. She recalled that night, laying it out clearly: “When we left, Jiang Yao could still walk back to the private room on his own. And besides us, there were a few servers there too — they asked Jiang Yao if he wanted them to call the police for help, and Jiang Yao refused himself. Officer, you can go ask at ’88.'”

“Alright.”

Officer Gao noted it all down one by one, then looked up at the man and woman before him. He’d seen them both at the food stall the night before; nothing had struck him as unusual then. But seeing them again now in broad daylight, he felt that the distance between them didn’t seem like what Ren Jianbai had described as “cousins.”

He studied them and asked: “So you two left together?”

Fang Long nodded: “I pulled Zhou Ya away with me. The lobby surveillance at ’88’ should have caught us. Then we stayed in the parking lot across from ’88’ for a good while — probably about half an hour, give or take. The security guard at that lot… might remember us too, he complained about our van being beat-up.”

Hearing this, Zhou Ya couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “I really am impressed with you… you sure hold a grudge.”

Fang Long elbowed him, slightly annoyed: “Be serious!”

Officer Gao cleared his throat twice: “And after that you went home, right?”

Fang Long answered quickly: “Yes, the whole night, the two of us stayed together, so I really can vouch for him.”

This sounded rather suggestive, and Officer Gao gave them a probing look.

Ren Jianbai, who had just come back from smoking on the balcony, stood behind them, his jaw dropping in astonishment: “Good lord, you two…?!”