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

"My mom."

She handed me the phone.

Lin Zhou took the call, took a deep breath, and pressed the answer button.

"Hello, is this Su Wan's mother? This is Lin Zhou. Yes, she's the one from today... yes, I'm her blind date. Hello, Auntie."

A woman's clear voice came from the other end of the phone.

Su Wan's mother spoke faster and asked more questions than Lin Zhou's mother, but her tone lacked the oppressive air of someone about to explode; instead, it conveyed a sense of curiosity.

"Xiao Lin! Wanwan told me! She said you're a locksmith? How long have you been picking locks?"

Lin Zhou looked up at Su Wan, who was standing against the wall beside him.

She was mouthing three words to him: Speak properly.

"Yes, Auntie, I'm a locksmith. I've been doing it for almost a month."

Su Wan leaned against the outer wall with her arms crossed.

She watched Lin Zhou talking to her mother on the phone, his tone a little more nervous than she had expected.

It wasn't the kind of nervousness that makes you unable to speak clearly, but the kind of nervousness that comes from earnestly answering every question.

He looked at her as he spoke, as if he were trying to find answers from her.

"My income is okay, enough to get by. The house is rented, it's not big, just a one-bedroom apartment. I don't own a car, I just ride an electric scooter."

Su Wan's mother asked something else on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, I sat in Starbucks with Su Wan all morning this morning. She drank an Americano and I drank a latte. She didn't eat anything, just drank coffee."

Su Wan's expression changed slightly.

She lowered her arms, which were crossed in front of her chest, and stood up a little straighter.

She looked at Lin Zhou.

He was still speaking earnestly into the phone, his tone completely natural, simply stating the facts.

"Auntie, I'll send you a photo in a bit."

Lin Zhou took Su Wan's phone from her and snapped a picture of her.

"Look, this is her now, just as beautiful as she looked to me this morning. Don't worry about her, she dressed warmly this morning, she brought a coat, and her sweatshirt is lined with fleece."

Lin Zhou handed the phone back to Su Wan.

"Okay. Goodbye, Auntie."

Su Wan took the phone.

She glanced down at the call duration on the screen, then put her phone back in her pocket.

He looked up at Lin Zhou.

The two stared at each other for a long time.

After a while, Lin Zhou's house appeared in front of them.

Lin Zhou stood downstairs, watching Old Zhou take the enamel mug out of the cup holder, unscrew the lid, and take a sip of cold tea.

The morning light filtered through the bare branches of the sycamore tree and fell on the shoulders of his blue down jacket.

"Brother Zhou, Officer Su, let's go upstairs for a cup of tea. We've been up to no good all morning."

Old Zhou screwed the enamel mug lid back on.

He glanced at Su Wan—Su Wan was still leaning against the wall, the hood of her dark gray hoodie draped over her back, her expression returning to its usual calm and collected demeanor.

Old Zhou had known her for three years and knew that her expression meant she wasn't rejecting him.

"Okay, sit down for a while."

The three people went upstairs.

One of the motion-activated lights in the hallway was on, but the other was broken.

Lin Zhou walked at the front, and when he reached the door of room 302, he took out his key from his pocket.

He felt something was wrong as soon as he inserted the key into the lock.

The sound of the latch opening was different from usual; it spun an extra half turn without opening.

His finger hovered over the key for a fraction of a second before he pushed open the door.

The living room curtains were drawn, and the morning light shone through the edges of the fabric onto the messy floor.

The cushions on the sofa were thrown on the floor, the shoe cabinet doors were wide open, all the drawers were pulled out, and the contents were scattered everywhere.

All the lock cylinders on the TV cabinet had vanished; only the smallest one on the far left remained, lying on the floor. (Read the full text for free, Chapter 42: You, a locksmith, got your house robbed?, link: [link missing]).

It rolled to the corner of the wall as if it had been swept by something.

The package was opened, and crumpled paper and foam were scattered all over the floor.

The bedroom door was open, the closet zipper was ripped open, and clothes were rummaged out and thrown on the bed, with several T-shirts and work pants piled up in a heap.

The live chat exploded instantly.

"Holy crap, the Wang family's house was robbed in three seconds. All the lock cylinders are gone. That whole row, from door locks to car locks to combination locks, there were at least twenty of them. That was his collection, and also his toolbox spare parts. They were all taken."

"The package was opened; those were lock cylinders he ordered online, still unopened. The thief was even more anxious than he was."

"Where's the locksmith's tool bag? Did he bring it today? Yes, he did. He just opened a safe in the evidence room, and the tool bag was slung over his shoulder. That's all his belongings on him, but the lock cylinders are all gone."

Lin Zhou stood in the middle of the living room.

His gaze swept from the shoe cabinet to the TV cabinet, from the TV cabinet to the sofa, and from the sofa to the delivery box.

"Holy shit! I've been robbed!"

He took out his phone, his finger already on the screen.

"I want to call the police—"

"cough."

A cough came from behind him.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of energy, carrying a calmness that came from being steeped in tea for twenty years.

Lin Zhou's finger stopped at the top of the screen. He turned around.

Old Zhou stood at the door, holding an enamel mug.

Su Wan stood beside him, her arms crossed over her chest. Neither of them spoke.

Old Zhou lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Su Wan leaned against the door frame, the natural curve of her lips slightly upturned—not a smile, but a knowing "go on" tone.

The living room was quiet for about two seconds.

"...I'm already at the police station."

Lin Zhou took the phone away from his ear and put it back in his pocket.

"right,"

Old Zhou placed the enamel mug on the shoe cabinet, where Su Wan's bag had originally been.

Yesterday, when she was drunk, her bag opened, and her police ID fell out. Lin Zhou picked it up and put it back. Now, that spot is occupied by an overturned shoebox.

"You can call the police. Xiao Su and I are at the scene. Come on, tell us what happened."

The comments section was filled with laughter.

"Complainant: Lin Zhou. Officers on duty: Officer Zhou and Officer Su. Location of incident: Lin Zhou's home. The three of them just returned from the police station. Officer Zhou took a statement on the spot. Officer Su conducted an on-site investigation. The fastest response time in history, zero delay."

"When Three-Second King pulled out his phone to call the police, his hand moved faster than he unlocked the door. Then he turned around and saw two policemen standing at his door, holding enamel cups and looking at him. His expression went from anger to blankness in just 0.1 seconds."

Su Wan walked into the living room.

She walked around the delivery boxes on the ground and went to the TV cabinet.

He crouched down and tapped the only surviving lock cylinder with his fingertip.

Then he stood up and walked to the window. The curtains were drawn.

She reached out and peeked through a corner. It was a professional habit; she could tell whether it was a security grille screw or an expansion bolt without even looking.

"The security bars are intact. There are no signs of forced entry on the door lock. How many locks did you use when you left?"

"Two locks. One is the main door lock, and the other is the security lock."

Su Wan nodded.

She walked to the door, squatted down, and looked at the keyhole.

He took his phone out of his pocket, turned on the flashlight, and shone the light on the edge of the keyhole.

There were no new scratches on the metal surface, no signs of the pins being pushed, and the inside of the lock cylinder was clean.

She stood up and put her phone away.

"Technical lock picking. Not forced entry. This person's technique is very clean; there are no scratches inside the lock cylinder."

She turned to look at Lin Zhou. "You said you have different models of lock cylinders in your row?"