Liu Xie remembered that Liu Anran had left behind a security setup that provided a sufficient sense of safety.
There was surveillance on the door.
As the mistress of this little nest, Liu Xie naturally had the right to view the footage.
And so, she curled up on the sofa, hugging a nearby teddy bear as she began to check the surveillance feed on her phone.
It showed a person dressed in plain clothes and wearing a mask who indeed placed a delivery bag at her door before turning and hurrying away.
There wasn’t a single soul in the hallway, making the sound of the doorbell from a moment ago seem even more jarring in hindsight.
But here was the problem.
She hadn’t ordered any food.
Even though her thoughts had been a chaotic mess and she had been in a daze after sleeping for half an hour, Liu Xie still clearly remembered that she hadn’t ordered any takeout.
This was because she intended to wait for Liu Anran to return so they could eat together. She still felt that a single meal and a heart-to-heart talk could resolve all their misunderstandings. She still believed Liu Anran would come back.
It was an expectation that bordered on obsession.
So, if she hadn’t ordered it, who did?
Liu Xie thought about it for a moment and eventually opened the door.
The hallway was still empty, and few of the other units were occupied.
She looked down at the delivery bag on the ground.
Just by looking at it, she couldn’t tell what kind of food it was, nor could she know if it was sweet or spicy.
Liu Xie picked up the delivery bag.
She turned it over and over but couldn’t find a delivery slip on it. Naturally, she had no way of knowing if it had been delivered to the wrong address or if someone had intentionally sent it here.
She didn’t know.
Perhaps someone had just made a mistake.
Her nose twitched slightly. Liu Xie felt as if she could smell the aroma through the packaging, even though the food was encased in a classic, low-quality black plastic takeout container.
It looked like one of those cheap group-buy meals where the ingredients might have touched the kitchen floor.
This wasn’t her delivery; she shouldn’t take it.
But she was truly hungry now, so hungry that her stomach ached.
Thus, the “peerlessly brilliant” Liu Xie dashed back into the living room with the door still open. After a bit of rummaging, she finally found a twenty-yuan bill and weighed it down with a one-yuan coin at the doorstep.
She would consider this her payment.
Thinking this, Liu Xie carried the delivery inside with a clear conscience and closed the door.
Now she needed to enjoy this meal that had fallen from the sky. If someone came looking for their food later, she would simply play the part of a perfect crime where the evidence had disappeared.
She had paid for it, and she wasn’t taking the money back. If someone else swiped the cash in the meantime, it was their lack of character that was to blame, not her—the person who had paid.
The more she thought about it, the more her mind was at ease. Liu Xie had already pried open the plastic lid of the container.
Fried eggs with tomato sauce on rice.
Liu Xie felt she had overpaid with twenty yuan; this thing was worth nine yuan at most.
But it didn’t matter. Those destined for greatness do not fret over trifles.
It was just as she had suddenly realized when she smelled the food: she could eat this now and then eat another meal whenever Liu Anran returned. It wouldn’t affect anything.
On the contrary, if she didn’t eat and waited until he returned to eat together, she might be so busy wolfing down food like a starving ghost that she would miss the opportunity to properly comfort him.
Fortunately, her “great wisdom” had dawned on her in time; otherwise, it would have been too late by the time she made a grave mistake.
Liu Xie once again marveled at her own brilliance.
She looked at the meal and sat at the table alone.
If there was only this one portion, she would be willing to split it with Liu Anran. Then, the two of them could eat and chat until everything was cleared up, until Liu Anran told her his true stance.
At this moment, her mind began to wander uncontrollably again.
Who would buy such a delivery in the middle of the night and even put in the wrong address, allowing her to enjoy this delicious meal?
She couldn’t figure it out.
But as it turned out, such things were rarely gifts from nature. Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch.
***
“Hello, President Liu?”
“It’s me. How did it go?”
Liu Anran was sitting in an extremely simple, small room.
There were no redundant colors, only black and white.
A white desk, a white bed, a black computer, and Liu Anran dressed in all black.
The light from the computer screen hit Liu Anran’s face. He was still as indifferent and cold as ever, though there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
“It’s done. I placed the delivery at the door as per your instructions and wasn’t spotted by anyone.”
“Very good.” Liu Anran was not stingy with his praise. “Consider this errand as overtime. You’ll be paid double your usual rate.”
“Thank you, President Liu!”
Liu Anran didn’t care to hear the rest of the gratitude and simply hung up.
He knew Liu Xie would be worried about him. He also knew that even with Liu Xie’s brain, she would surely figure out that he might return to the little nest that belonged solely to the two of them.
He also knew that Liu Xie was likely not taking very good care of herself.
He had told Liu Xie that there was a camera on the front door, but he hadn’t told her that there were cameras inside the house as well.
In other words, every single move Liu Xie had made since entering the door was being broadcast on the phone screen sitting next to Liu Anran.
Liu Xie’s stomach had been hurting from hunger, and she had taken a nap in between. He needed to precisely control the timing so that when she woke up, his assistant would deliver a hot dinner disguised as a random delivery for her to eat.
This task wasn’t difficult for him. What was difficult was that he couldn’t go himself.
He was afraid that if he walked to that door, he wouldn’t be able to bear leaving. If that happened, all the effort he had put in until now would be wasted.
He just needed to endure a little while longer. Just a little bit more would be enough.
Liu Anran took a deep breath, glancing at the enclosed small room he was in, then back at Liu Xie, who was currently eating.
Liu Xie’s initial guess had been correct; he didn’t seem like the type of person who lived a refined life. The place he usually stayed was definitely chosen for the convenience of his work.
Like this place—it was very close to the company and had only a bed, a desk, and a chair. Simply put, it was just a small room.
When Liu Anran finished work, this was where he truly came, not to that warm, well-kept little home.
That home was something he had prepared—carefully prepared—only for the purpose of living together with Liu Xie.
If he lived there alone, he would feel very lonely, just like Liu Xie felt right now.
Liu Anran took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
“Hello?” He placed a call.
The voice of Liu’s father came from the other end of the line: “You two, sigh…”