Is my roommate a caged bird? I'm stealing her away.

After sending the message, Zhou Suisui tossed her phone aside, sank into the soft sofa, and covered her eyes with her arms.

Stop being a flirt, Zhou Suisui. Stop being a flirt with Chen Boxu.

Then, she sat up, preparing to wash her face, brush her teeth, and go to bed. But then she remembered her things were still at the hotel, and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

She's clumsy; she always leaves something behind. Zhou Suisui picked up her phone and keys, pushed open the door, and went out.

At that moment, the black sedan had not gone far; it had simply stopped beside a quiet, tree-lined road on the outskirts of the community.

Chen Boxu sat in the back seat, a cigarette between his fingers, but he didn't light it. The car window was rolled down halfway, and the night wind rushed in, dispersing the stuffy air inside the car.

He gazed intently at the heavy night outside the window, his eyes filled with an unyielding darkness.

The driver carefully observed his expression through the rearview mirror, not daring to make a sound.

After a long while, Chen Boxu finally picked up his phone, unlocked the screen, and swiped through the contacts, stopping at Lin Xiao's name.

After a pause, he moved his finger away and finally dialed another number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Mr. Chen," came Eva's professional and steady voice.

"Next Wednesday night," Chen Boxu said, his voice unusually clear in the quiet carriage, "make room for me."

"Yes. Is there anything I can arrange for you?"

Chen Boxu remained silent for two seconds.

"No need," he said. "I'll arrange it myself."

He hung up the phone, tossed it aside, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and his thoughts suddenly drifted back to the past…

"Remember, there are only two kinds of women in the world."

"One type is like your mother's, who looks clean but needs to be kept in a cage to prevent others from getting her dirty."

"Another kind," the man in the memory looked up, gesturing for him to look at the woman being repeatedly forced to drink, "was born to be used. Dirty, but useful."

He suddenly opened his eyes, slowly crushing the unlit cigarette between his fingers in his palm.

Fine tobacco dust drifted silently through my fingers.

---

"Ms. Zhou, we haven't found your belongings yet. We will notify you as soon as we find them."

"No need, it's alright, it's not very important." Zhou Suisui smiled, turned around and walked out of the hotel.

Actually, the things she dropped weren't worth much money, and they were dispensable to her, but she wanted to come and get them today.

Zhou Suisui stood at the crossroads, somewhat bewildered.

Where to go? Back to the villa? It seems... it's still early.

A gaudy light shone from the signboard of a nearby karaoke bar, and muffled singing emanated from the speakers outside. She paused, then stepped inside.

We booked the largest and most expensive private room. The waiter asked how many people were in the room, and she said one. The waiter glanced at her but didn't say anything.

The door closed, and the soundproofing wasn't great; faint wails and howls from next door drifted in, but she didn't hate them; at least they made her feel like she wasn't alone.

She stared blankly at the microphone for a while before randomly pressing a few buttons on the touchscreen.

The music started; it was a very old Cantonese song with a somewhat melancholic melody. She didn't know much Cantonese, so she sang it haltingly and off-key.

But it doesn't matter, no one will listen anyway.

After finishing one song, they immediately moved on to the next. They sang all sorts of styles: popular love songs, trending internet hits, and even songs about the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

She sings well, but sometimes she simply shouts out the high notes.

She ordered a dozen beers, though she doesn't drink. She just felt she should have some today.

The icy liquid slid down my throat; it was so bitter and awful.

Who exactly likes her? Gradually, a flush of alcohol rose on Zhou Suisui's cheeks.

The screen flickered with light and shadow as she stared at the lyrics, singing one song after another until her throat was dry and sore, until her consciousness was somewhat hazy from the music and alcohol.

Her phone vibrated a few times in her bag, but she didn't look at it.

After an unknown amount of time, the waiter politely knocked on the door to remind her of the time. Zhou Suisui glanced at the time in the corner of the screen: 2:07 AM.

She put down the microphone, rubbed her throbbing temples, and got up to pay the bill.

When she stepped out of the KTV, the night breeze was even cooler. The streets were deserted, save for the streetlights and the occasional car speeding by. She stood by the roadside hailing a Didi (ride-hailing service), waiting for a long time before a car finally arrived.

Her voice was a little hoarse when she announced the last two digits of her license plate.

As the car started, she leaned against the window, watching the blurry city lights rushing past outside, and slowly closed her eyes.

The taxi drove smoothly through the night, the light and shadows from outside the window flickering on Zhou Suisui's face. She leaned back in her seat and took her phone out of her pocket.

The screen unlocked, and the glaring light made her squint.

There were several unread messages, dating back to around 10 p.m. and continuing intermittently until the early hours of the morning.

Liu Weiwei replied again after she replied:

[Okay, contact me when you wake up.]

Then came three WeChat transfer notifications. Two were for 20,000 yuan each, and one was for 10,000 yuan. There were no messages attached, and the sender was Chen Boxu.

The times were 10:30 PM, 11:15 PM, and 11:40 PM.

Zhou Suisui stared at the three lines of transfer records and that silent name for a long time.

Finally, she swiped her finger to the top of the screen. It was Su Wei.

The latest message was sent half an hour ago, and the tone was completely different from before, with a hint of ingratiation:

[Sui Sui, are you asleep? I was wrong about what happened during the day; I spoke too harshly. Don't take it to heart. As for next Saturday… do you think there's still a chance? I really have no other choice but to rely on you.]

Zhou Suisui's gaze lingered on the words "I'm counting on you" for a moment, her face expressionless.

She didn't reply to anyone; she simply turned off the screen and tossed her phone back into her pocket.

The car turned into Yunlan Mansion, where the villa stood in the night. She paid the fare, got out of the car, and pushed open the door.

In the living room, the pink doll was still lying on the sofa. Zhou Suisui walked over, reached out, and gently touched the doll's fluffy ears with her fingertips.

Then I pushed it further in to make room for myself and curled up on the sofa.

She stared at the ceiling for a while, then took out her phone and added a lot of things to her shopping cart on the shopping app. Some of them were things she had wanted before she met Chen Boxu.

I emptied my shopping cart in one go. So satisfying!

It's nice to have money.

The slight gloom in Zhou Suisui's heart was instantly dispelled by the joy of shopping. She felt much more relaxed.

I got up, went back to my room to wash up, and went to bed. Before going to sleep, I replied to all the messages. I sent Chen Boxu a thank-you emoji to his father.

Okay, that's it. Don't bother her anymore!

I replied to Weiwei: [I'll probably sleep in late today. I was on a shopping spree and didn't see your message. I just emptied my cart. So satisfying.]

[The plans I made yesterday to take you shopping have all been ruined. When are we going? Are we going today?]

---

Chen Boxu leaned back in the wide chair in his study, a cigarette between his fingers, the smoke rising slowly.

The phone vibrated on the table and the screen lit up.

He glanced at it.

It was a message from Zhou Suisui. Clicking on it, a cheeky cat holding a gold ingot popped up on the screen, accompanied by the words "Thank you, Dad."

Chen Boxu stared at the meme for a full half minute. The cigarette burned silently between his fingers, accumulating a long trail of ash.

He did not reply.

Simply place the phone screen down on the table.

---

Zhou Suisui was lying in bed, chatting casually with people on social media, when her old phone suddenly vibrated a few times.

She picked it up and swiped the screen. A notification popped up: [Your account has an abnormal transaction risk. To ensure the safety of your funds, your balance has been temporarily frozen. You can submit evidence to appeal for unfreezing.]

What the hell?! Where did this unusual transaction come from?!

She swiped the screen and saw unread messages. She opened them and found that Chen Boxu had transferred three more sums to her, all for the exact same amount.

Is he crazy? Is he trying to ruin her WeChat account?!