You're just a locksmith! What are you doing catching swindlers at the start?

"Brother Zhou didn't say anything, but Brother Zhou won."

"The lock-picking master saved Brother Zhou with just one sentence."

"He brought me here"—these five words ended a misunderstanding.

"I'm going to have insomnia tonight because of that white tank top."

She mistook a policeman who came to deliver a locksmith's item for an undercover officer who was there to make a purchase.

She even winked at him.

"She even called out, 'Sis! We have guests!'"

He even lowered his voice and said, "I understand."

"I can't do it anymore."

Old Zhou finally moved. He raised the enamel mug to his lips and took a sip of tea. The tea was completely cold. After finishing it, he put the mug down and glanced at Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou looked at him.

Old Zhou opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Then he gave up.

He simply picked up the enamel mug and took another sip of the herbal tea.

Footsteps echoed down the stairs.

It wasn't the sound of white halter-neck high heels, but the sound of footsteps on a carpet.

The dark green velvet skirt first appeared at the corner of the stairs, then the waist, then the shoulders, and then that face in her early thirties.

The pearl earrings were still dangling gently on my earlobes, just like yesterday.

The proprietress came downstairs, saw Lin Zhou, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly. Then she saw Old Zhou next to Lin Zhou.

She paused for a moment.

That moment was so brief that if Lin Zhou hadn't been watching, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.

Then she continued walking down, a smile that was neither humble nor arrogant on her face.

"You're here?" she asked, looking at Lin Zhou.

"Come and change the lock cylinder."

She nodded.

Then he turned to Lao Zhou, nodded slightly, and that was his way of greeting him.

There was no flattery, no nervousness, and none of the blunder that happened earlier with the white tank top.

It's just one person nodding to another.

The proprietress didn't say anything more.

She turned and walked toward the stairs, her velvet skirt trailing on the steps.

"Come up, the lock is upstairs."

Lin Zhou followed behind her.

After taking two steps, he turned back and glanced at Old Zhou.

Old Zhou stood in the hall, holding an enamel mug.

The woman in the white tank top came down the stairs and stood at the top, her face still flushed.

When she saw Lao Zhou, her lips twitched, she quickly looked away, walked to the sofa, sat down, and picked up her phone.

This time I didn't hold the phone upside down.

But she turned off the screen.

It just kept swiping on the black screen.

Old Zhou watched her swipe across the black screen.

Then he took his enamel mug and sat down on the sofa in the lobby.

He sat very upright, his back ramrod straight, with the enamel cup on his lap, the steam no longer rising from it.

He looked toward the stairs, his expression suggesting he was waiting for someone to change the lock, or perhaps guarding some kind of order.

Comments flooded in.

"Brother Zhou is sitting in the lobby."

"He neither went up nor left."

He was sitting in the lobby, holding an enamel mug.

"Brother Zhou is telling this store through his very presence: I am a policeman, I am here."

"He doesn't crack down on prostitution, but he doesn't leave either."

"This is a silent form of protection."

"It's also a silent warning."

"Brother Zhou: I'll watch if you operate normally. I'll also watch if you don't operate normally."

"The enamel mug is Zhou Ge's true self."

"As long as the cup is there, the person is there."

Lin Zhou walked up the stairs.

The dark green skirt swayed gently in front of her, and her pearl earrings swayed slightly with her steps.

When you reach the end of the second-floor corridor, the full-length mirror is still in the same spot.

The proprietress reached out and touched the edge of the mirror.

Click.

The mirror popped open, revealing a downward staircase behind it.

The warm yellow motion sensor light turned on.

She went downstairs first.

Lin Zhou followed behind.

The hidden door slowly closed behind them.

Lin Zhou followed her down the stairs.

The basement room is the same as yesterday.

A dark solid wood desk, a leather swivel chair, and a half-person-high safe stand in the corner.

The white porcelain cup on the table is the same one from yesterday, and the lipstick stain on the rim has been washed away.

The table lamp was on, casting a halo of light on the table.

Lin Zhou squatted down and placed the tool bag at his feet.

The keyhole of the safe was in the same place as yesterday, with a few fresh scratches on the edge, left when he unlocked it yesterday.

He took the new lock cylinder out of his bag.

It's bronze-yellow and a size smaller than the original.

Wrapped in oil paper, it gleamed with a dull sheen under the light after being unwrapped.

The old lock cylinder was removed quickly.

Two screws and a spring clip; just push it out with your finger and it will come out.

He aligned the new lock cylinder with the correct position and slowly pushed it in.

The proprietress stood next to the desk, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

The dark green velvet skirt turned a deeper color under the warm yellow light, like aged wine.

The pearl earring swayed gently as she turned her head, reflecting the light from the lamp.

Aren't you curious?

She suddenly spoke.

"Why were we raided yesterday, but nothing happened today?"

Lin Zhou tightened the second screw.

The screwdriver spun around in his hand.

"Not curious."

The proprietress's arm twitched.

The pose of crossing the arms in front of the chest was changed from one angle, with the left hand now on top of the right.

She paused for a moment.

Her velvet skirt swept lightly across the carpet as she shifted her stance.

"Aren't you curious why that girl was released yesterday?"

Lin Zhou pushed the spring clip in.

My fingers pressed against the metal plate, feeling it click into the slot. "Not curious."

The viewers in the live chat started laughing.

"The Three-Second King: Not Curious"

"The word 'curiosity' doesn't exist in the dictionary of the Locksmith King."

"The landlady wanted to have a deeper conversation with him, but he just wanted to fix the lock."

"Sister: Don't you want to know the secret of this store?"

Lin Zhou: The lock cylinder has been replaced, it cost 300 yuan, thank you.

He didn't even look up.

The proprietress walked away from the desk.

She walked to the safe, squatted down, and watched Lin Zhou's movements.

As she squatted, her velvet skirt spread out on the dark red carpet.

Her wrist rested on her knee, and a thin silver chain watch hung down, its dial close to her calf.

"Aren't you curious about the purpose of this hidden door?"

Lin Zhou switched hands with the screwdriver. The last screw was screwed in, the metal meshing together with a soft creaking sound.

He put the screwdriver back into his tool bag.

"Not curious."

The proprietress fell completely silent.

She squatted next to the safe, her arms resting on her knees, her silver watch chain dangling down.

His lips were pursed, not out of anger, but in a choked silence.

The comments section was filled with laughter.

Hahahahahaha

"Owner: Aren't you curious? — Lin Zhou: No, I'm not curious."

"I prepared three topics, but they were all shut down by three 'not curious' responses."

"The social skills of the Three-Second King: Is the lock fixed? Yes. How much? Three hundred. Goodbye."

"The Locksmith: I'm only curious about locks. Nothing else."

"He didn't even pretend to be curious."

"His expression genuinely showed no curiosity."

"It's not an act, I genuinely don't want to know."

"This made the proprietress even more devastated."

"Sister: In my thirties, this is the first time I've met a man who isn't curious at all about my secret door."