After Lin Dongxue fell asleep, Chen Shi took a shower and lay on the sofa.

Although it was a sofa, it was just like a bed when it was unfolded. Chen Shi had difficulty sleeping because he had something weighing on his heart.

He even had an impulse to tell Lin Qiupu who he was now, so that it wouldn’t be held against him, as if there was a sword of Damocles[1] looming above his head.

The phone next to him beeped, and when Chen Shi unlocked it, he saw Lin Dongxue’s message, saying, “Can't sleep? Would you like me to have a chat with you?”

For a while, Chen Shi felt the sweetness of those words, but after some thought, he decided that this was obviously not Lin Dongxue's style of talking.

So, he replied, “Little bastard, playing this trick again?” After typing it, he reconsidered and deleted it.

What if Lin Dongxue was really the one who sent it?

After much thought, he decided to confirm it for himself, so he went into Lin Dongxue's bedroom softly, and by the dim light from the living room, he saw Lin Dongxue sleeping with her back to him. The quilt had slipped down a little, exposing a shoulder like white jade.

Looking at the sleeping Lin Dongxue, Chen Shi felt a tender feeling in his heart that was also mixed with some sadness.

The time to say goodbye is coming, and this budding relationship will end with the revelation of his identity. He loved Lin Dongxue and hoped to spend a lifetime with her; until they had both gone grey, to recall life’s pain and happiness together.

Thinking of this, Chen Shi’s heart felt like it was being stabbed.

He closed the door silently and returned to the sofa.

Lin Dongxue, who had been waiting in bed for a long time, turned her head around in disbelief. The guy had just opened the door to have a look before leaving. Her own mobile phone still had that text message that she had just sent out , “Can't sleep? Would you like me to have a chat with you?”

Maybe he didn't want the relationship to develop too fast. Lin Dongxue felt Chen Shi's sincerity in his love towards her, and buried her face in the quilt, smiling foolishly.

The next morning, when Tao Yueyue was brushing her teeth, Chen Shi asked her, “Did you steal Elder Sister Lin's cell phone again last night and text me?”

Tao Yueyue looked at him in surprise and said with a frothy mouth, “I didn't!”

“Don't deny it! Stop playing with me. I was tricked by you last time!”

Tao Yueyue pulled a face at him disdainfully.

Chen Shi was prepared to reprimand her a little more when Lin Dongxue came out of the bedroom. So he went to prepare breakfast.

After Tao Yueyue went out, Chen Shi reflected on the incident and thought there was something wrong. Was it really Lin Dongxue's text message?

He lifted her head to look at Lin Dongxue. Lin Dongxue was eating oatmeal porridge earnestly, and looked back at him blankly.

Chen Shi said, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Very well, I'm used to it here.”

“What time did you fall asleep?”

“10:30? No, eleven o'clock!” Lin Dongxue quietly flushed.

Chen Shi remembered that the message was sent around half past ten, and from Lin Dongxue's words just now, she should have been the one who sent it. In other words, when he opened the door and stared at her back like an idiot, Lin Dongxue was actually awake!

Chen Shi felt extremely embarrassed. The whole atmosphere was filled with embarrassment. The two looked at each other in embarrassment for a long time. Lin Dongxue coughed, still red in the face. “Why did you open my bedroom door last night...”

“I went to see if you were asleep?”

“Oh!”

“What does this text mean?”

Lin Dongxue's face became even redder. She bit her lips for a long time and her gaze shifted from left to right. Then she said haltingly, “It's... I just meant to have a chat... I didn't ask you to come in... Ah, it's late. It's time to go to work!”

At the doorway of the city bureau, Lin Dongxue was preparing to get out of the car. Chen Shi suddenly stopped her and was about to kiss her cheek.

The two haven't publicly disclosed their relationship for the time being and had to be professional in front of others. This was their last chance to be intimate in the morning.

Just when the two were getting closer and closer, someone knocked on the window outside. It was Lin Qiupu. Lin Dongxue's face suddenly became red to her ears and Lin Qiupu asked, “What’s happening?”

Chen Shi explained, “Dongxue's seat belt was stuck. I was helping her to untie it!”

Lin Qiupu looked suspicious of them and said, “Don't stop here. It’ll affect others. Move away quickly.”

“Immediately.” Chen Shi said with a smile plastered onto his face.

When they rolled the window back up and were ready to continue what they were about to do, someone suddenly knocked on the window again. It turned out to be Xu Xiaodong. He exclaimed exaggeratedly, “The dessert shop across the road is having a buy one, get one free crepes sale!”

“Thank you, we’ve already eaten though.” Chen Shi said.

“Huh? What are you guys doing?”

“Dongxue's seat belt was stuck. So I was helping her out!”

“Oh... I’m telling you that you have to buy the vanilla flavour when you go. It’s so delicious…”

“Ok, we got it!”

Chen Shi rolled the window up again, andwas ready to continue once again with Lin Dongxue. When the two got close, Lin Dongxue smiled and said, “No one will come and bother us again, right?”

“Wouldn’t that be too much of a coincidence?”

While Chen Shi was about to kiss her, someone knocked on the window again. This time, it was Peng Sijue.

Chen Shi reluctantly rolled down the window, “What's the matter this time?”

“My car seems to have broken down. Can you come and take a look for me… What do you mean by ‘this time’?” Peng Sijue looked suspiciously at Lin Dongxue's blushing face.

“I’ll go after I’ve parked the car!”

“What are you guys doing?”

“Dongxue's seat belt was stuck. I was helping her out!”

After speaking, Chen Shi rolled up the window and said, “No one will disturb us this time, right?”

“Forget it, let’s just continue later...”

Before Lin Dongxue had finished speaking, Chen Shi kissed her lips. After the kiss, Lin Dongxue blushed, but didn't want to part with Chen Shi.

Chen Shi gently poked her forehead, “It’s okay, let's talk tonight!”

In the morning case conference, Chen Shi expressed his thoughts. Lin Qiupu felt like they were very constructive, and that they could investigate following his line of thought.

The dead driver was named Wang Zhangyou. He was registered under a moving company, but he mainly did long-distance freight transports. The two went to his company first and asked his colleagues whether Wang Zhangyou knew Wang Sunxu.

After asking around, a driver said, “I don't know about Wang Sunxu, but I heard him talk about Wang Sunlei. Are these two connected?”

“What happened with Wang Sunlei?”

“If I say anything, would you arrest me?”

“It depends on what you say...” Lin Dongxue was about to say but was stopped by Chen Shi with a gesture. Chen Shi said, “Just talk. We promise not to detain you.”

“The police should keep to their words. Of course, the thing was mainly done by Wang Zhangyou, and I just helped him out. During one of our winter dinners, he mentioned that a guy named Wang Sunlei had killed his wife. Although the police had already arrested Wang Sunlei, Wang Zhangyou still couldn't let this injustice go. Later, by coincidence, he learned that a driver's son and Wang Sunlei's brother were attending school together. So one night, he took a few people over to look for the child, smashed all the things in his house, and beat the kid badly... Of course, it was all done by Wang Zhangyou. I swear I didn’t do anything. Then I asked him if the other party would call the police. Wang Zhangyou said that he wouldn’t dare to call the police. He was the brother of a murderer. He had to pay for his older brother’s debts, and he got what he deserved. “

Lin Dongxue was stunned for a while. As expected, Wang Zhangyou's murder was premeditated.

1. Moral anecdote commonly referred to as "the Sword of Damocles”, an allusion to the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. Damocles was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, a 4th-century BC tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily. Please look at this cartoon depiction for a visual representation of what Chen Shi means. https://debtdigger.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1_hKzpfVdByKRwZUAH6j0ebg.jpeg