"Oh right, you said you forgot your keys today. Do you remember where you left them?" Wang Shen snapped out of his reverie and changed the subject.
Xu Xiaolin took a sip of coffee, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Generally, I keep my keys in my bag. Since I didn't find them in my bag, they must be at home. Maybe I was in such a rush when I left today that I forgot to bring them."
Just as Xu Xiaolin finished speaking, her phone rang. She took out her phone and glanced at the message. Upon seeing it, the lingering sadness on her face seemed to vanish instantly.
Wang Shen observed Xu Xiaolin's expression and tentatively asked, "Is it news from Lin Su?"
After hearing Wang Shen's words, Xu Xiaolin looked up at him and nodded shyly. "He asked me when I was going back."
Liang Zichen, who had been engrossed in his meal, suddenly looked up at Xu Xiaolin after hearing her answer and exclaimed, "Wow, you two are already living together!"
After hearing Liang Zichen's words, Xu Xiaolin reached out and smacked Liang Zichen on the head. "You little brat, what nonsense are you talking about? We're not living together. Besides, what era are we living in? Even if we were, so what?"
Wang Shen kept a close eye on Xu Xiaolin's expression and listened to her answer. After Xu Xiaolin finished speaking, before Wang Shen could even reply, Liang Zichen continued, "Then why was he at your house?"
Xu Xiaolin reached out to pat Liang Zichen's head again, but Liang Zichen nimbly dodged it. "Because I gave him my house key. But we don't live together!" Xu Xiaolin spoke softly, but her words were extremely clear.
Wang Shen, who had been on the verge of saying something, no longer wanted to. Looking at Xu Xiaolin, he said, "Since Lin Su is urging me, I'll take you back first."
"You can go back to your seats. I can just take a taxi home myself," Xu Xiaolin said, glancing at Liang Zichen, who was wolfing down his food.
Wang Shen glanced at Liang Zichen, following Xu Xiaolin's gaze. Liang Zichen looked at Wang Shen, immediately wiped his mouth with a tissue, and said, "It's so late, why are we still sitting here? It's Captain Wang's car, might as well hitch a ride." After saying that, Liang Zichen immediately stood up from his chair.
Xu Xiaolin nodded and said, "Let's go then. I'll pay for today's meal." After saying that, Xu Xiaolin walked to the cashier and paid the bill.
The car started up again in the night and soon arrived at Xu Xiaolin's residential area.
“Beautiful writer, your neighborhood isn’t much worse than Qi Huan’s.” Liang Zichen stared at the brightly lit neighborhood outside the car window and glanced at the security guard who was saluting them.
Xu Xiaolin smiled and said, "It's still a little bit lacking."
Following Xu Xiaolin's instructions, Wang Shen parked the car in the parking space. Wang Shen got out of the car first, then opened the car door for Xu Xiaolin and helped her out.
Wang Shen helped Xu Xiaolin walk a few steps when Xu Xiaolin turned back to look at Wang Shen and said, "You guys go back first. We're already at the elevator. I can go up by myself."
"It's alright, we're already at the elevator, let me help you up. A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal; further injury would be a loss for our readers." Wang Shen said with a smile as he continued to help Xu Xiaolin walk forward.
However, Xu Xiaolin stood still and said, "Wang Shen, are you stupid? I injured my foot, not my leg."
"Beautiful writer, please grant our Captain Wang's wish. He rarely has the chance to play the hero and save the damsel in distress. Oh! No! Could it be!" Suddenly, Liang Zichen's expression became exaggerated, and he clapped his hands several times.
Xu Xiaolin seemed startled and looked at Liang Zichen in surprise, saying, "What are you doing! You're going to scare me to death!"
"Beautiful writer, you wouldn't be keeping a mistress in a 'golden house' so that there's something in the house that we can't see, would you?" After saying that, Liang Zichen looked at Xu Xiaolin and chuckled maliciously.
"Pah!" Xu Xiaolin rolled her eyes at Liang Zichen, then sighed. "Fine, since you're so interested in our boudoir, let's go up and take a look."
Wang Shen helped Xu Xiaolin up, while Liang Zichen quickly pressed the elevator button. Xu Xiaolin lived on the fifteenth floor, and the elevator arrived in no time. Xu Xiaolin reached her door, glanced at Wang Shen, and said, "I think I forgot all my keys at home today, so..."
Wang Shen nodded and then pressed the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened. Lin Su, dressed in casual clothes, appeared before Wang Shen.
Wang Shen greeted Lin Su with a smile. Lin Su seemed somewhat surprised by Wang Shen's appearance, and was momentarily taken aback.
"Hello, Writer Lin." Wang Shen greeted Lin Su again.
"Hello, Officer Wang." Lin Su finally realized what was happening.
Xu Xiaolin glanced at Wang Shen, broke free from his grasp, and snuggled into Lin Su's arms. Xu Xiaolin smiled and said, "Alright, you've completed your mission of escorting the beauty, so I won't keep you for dinner."
"Ah~" Before Wang Shen could react, Liang Zichen exclaimed in surprise and said, "Beautiful writer, we went through so much trouble to safely bring you back to writer Lin's arms, aren't you going to invite us in for a drink of water?"
"You..." Xu Xiaolin pretended to be angry and glanced at Liang Zichen, intending to retort.
Before Xu Xiaolin could say anything, Liang Zichen spoke up again, "Writer Lin, you shouldn't mind if we go in and sit for a while, right?"
Liang Zichen suddenly turned his question to Lin Su, catching Lin Su off guard. After recovering, Lin Su glanced at Xu Xiaolin beside him, then forced a smile and said, "Of course I don't mind, of course I don't mind."
Liang Zichen smiled, then stepped aside and walked into Xu Xiaolin's house. "Beautiful writer, would you like to take off your shoes?" Liang Zichen asked Xu Xiaolin.
"No need, just make yourself at home." Xu Xiaolin sighed, then sat down on the sofa with Lin Su's help.
Wang Shen finally entered Xu Xiaolin's house and immediately noticed a pair of men's sneakers in the shoe cabinet by the door. Without a doubt, these sneakers belonged to Lin Su. But something was strange; Lin Su was a renowned novelist, so the places he frequented should have been relatively clean. Yet, these sneakers were covered in mud.
Wang Shen glanced down at his shoes; the black uppers were covered in mud. He thought back to the surroundings of the alley. Right, a section of the alley seemed to be under repair. Given the recent bad weather, walking along that road would definitely have resulted in him getting quite muddy.
"Captain Wang, what are you standing there for? Come in and sit down," Xu Xiaolin urged when she saw Wang Shen standing at the door in a daze.
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