Lin Wushui as he wished moved into Zhang Xianyu’s home.
On ordinary days when Zhang Xianyu went to work, he stayed at home browsing Taobao shopping, or took the opportunity before Zhang Xianyu came back to handle his own matters.
When Zhang Xianyu returned, he would then work hard to act like a diligent, sensible housemate.
Grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, cleaning…all these trivial chores Lin always seemed to do with great enthusiasm.
But maybe he simply lacked talent, or was too used to a pampered life — in any case, after once again breaking a vegetable plate and burning the rice, Zhang Xianyu finally couldn’t take it anymore and sternly warned him to stay out of the kitchen.
Lin Wushui felt very wronged.
He had tried hard to learn, but household chores were really difficult!
Afraid Zhang Xianyu would dislike him because of this, Lin stood at the kitchen door with reddened eyes, pitifully watching the busy figure inside.
Zhang Xianyu, face cold, cleaned up the plate scraps, dumped out the burnt rice, and swiftly washed the rice cooker to cook again.
Over these few days living together, he had figured out a bit of Wushui’s personality.
Don’t be fooled by that cool, queen-like aura — she truly embodied that old saying “women are made of water.”
Her eyes turned red at the slightest thing, tears fell at the drop of a hat, like she had a faucet installed.
His initial guilt from the beginning of their cohabitation had long been completely worn away, leaving only cold indifference.
Moreover, he’d found the way to keep her in check.
Once the messy kitchen was tidied up again, Zhang Xianyu finally turned around and said,
“I picked up two packages for you on the way home, they’re on the shoe cabinet.”
Lin Wushui, whose face was full of grievance, instantly perked up, eyes no longer red, happily going to open her packages.
In just these few short days, Zhang Xianyu had already signed for countless packages on Wushui’s behalf.
Before, he had actually believed Wushui when she said she had no money, and hadn’t even had the heart to ask for rent or food expenses.
Who knew that in these days, Wushui’s packages came one after another — all kinds of dresses and cosmetics.
Even though Zhang Xianyu didn’t know luxury brands, just from the exquisite packaging he could tell these things were pricey.
GUCCI, La Mer, SK-II…probably worth several months of his rent and living expenses combined.
Whenever he thought of this, Zhang Xianyu felt nauseated enough to get stomach pains.
Why was he, a poor man, still subsidizing a little princess who clearly wasn’t short on money?
This world was really not friendly at all!
And this little princess apparently had a stomach of steel.
Three bowls of rice per meal, eating more than him — the month’s worth of rice was down to half a bag in just a week.
Zhang Xianyu’s thoughts churned secretly, while Lin Wushui was blissfully unaware, happily unboxing her packages.
Today brought two new dresses, both styles she’d carefully chosen following forum guides.
After changing into one, she sashayed out, winked at Zhang Xianyu and asked,
“Does it look good?”
“…It looks good.”
Zhang Xianyu’s mouth twitched.
Not wanting to look at this source of frustration any longer, he took advantage of her going back to change again to step out onto the balcony and make a call.
Tomorrow was his day off.
He’d said before that if his interview was successful he’d treat Zhang Shaoying to a meal, so now was a good time to call and see if he was free.
“Hello, Yu’er? What’s up?”
Zhang Shaoying was busy, clamped the phone between his shoulder and ear, continuing to look over his case files.
“Didn’t I say I’d treat you to a meal? I’m off tomorrow, seeing if you’re free to come over for dinner?”
“Sure, where at?”
Zhang Shaoying pinched the bridge of his nose, leaned back into the chair, and unconsciously relaxed his expression.
“At Changning Road here, Building 3, Room 204 in Zijing Garden. Call me when you’re here, I’ll come get you.”
Zhang Xianyu said with a smile.
“Where?”
Zhang Shaoying froze, abruptly sat up straight, eyes filled with suspicion.
“Building 3, Room 204 in Zijing Garden. What’s wrong?”
Zhang Xianyu keenly picked up that something was off.
“Why’d you end up living there?”
Zhang Shaoying felt a headache coming on.
Then again, Zijing Garden was indeed close to the convenience store, so it made sense Zhang Xianyu would look for a place there.
He let out a deep sigh and said,
“Forget it, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Hanging up, Zhang Xianyu returned to the living room, only to see Wushui wearing yet another new dress, spinning around in front of the mirror.
Having already labeled her a shopaholic, Zhang Xianyu now added narcissist to the list.
Seeing that Wushui seemed totally captivated by her own beauty, completely unaware of his presence, Zhang Xianyu had no choice but to speak first: “Tomorrow I have a friend coming over for dinner. Don’t say anything weird.”
If she pulled the same stunt as with Zheng Qiulin last time, Zhang Xianyu didn’t know how he’d face Zhang Shaoying.
Lin Wushui pouted and asked curiously,
“Who? Your girlfriend?”
“No, my childhood friend.”
Afraid she’d suddenly get mischievous again, Zhang Xianyu warned,
“He’s a police officer, pretty serious type.”
Lin Wushui gave a bored “oh,” then nodded her agreement.
The next morning, Zhang Xianyu went out early to buy groceries.
Lin Wushui was also up early and insisted on coming along.
Internally, Zhang Xianyu was extremely reluctant, but he could never resist Lin Wushui’s persistent pestering.
In the end, the two of them went downstairs together, enduring countless stares from passersby along the way.
Zhang Xianyu really wanted to cover his face — ever since the first time Wushui went out with him, the whole neighborhood seemed to know them, and somehow everyone just assumed they were a couple.
Zhang Xianyu couldn’t go around explaining to everyone that this wasn’t his girlfriend, just someone temporarily staying with him, so he could only muddle through and tacitly accept it.
Lin Wushui, on the other hand, appeared perfectly calm.
He had long been used to the spotlight.
Having held a position of power for so long, he naturally radiated an aura of unchallengeable authority around everyone except Zhang Xianyu.
Of course, when dressed in women’s clothes, it was more fitting to describe him as cold and noble.
Even wearing the simplest t-shirt and shorts, he looked like a star on the runway — perhaps even more so, with a certain indescribable charm.
Anyone who passed by couldn’t help taking an extra look.
They endured all kinds of looks — passionate, envious, curious — while buying groceries, and then Zhang Xianyu headed straight back without looking back.
Lin Wushui followed closely behind, hugging his snacks, and passersby couldn’t help sighing about how sweet this little couple seemed.
Once home, Zhang Xianyu went into the kitchen to prepare the meal, while Lin Wushui changed into an outfit more suitable for receiving guests, and for once quietly sat on the sofa watching TV.
A little after ten o’clock, the doorbell of apartment 204 rang.
Before Zhang Xianyu could come out to answer it, Lin Wushui was already enthusiastically opening the door.
Zhang Shaoying wasn’t visiting for the first time.
When the door opened and he saw a tall woman standing there, he froze for a moment.
He stepped back to check the apartment number — correct — then looked again at Lin Wushui’s beaming face and hesitantly asked: “I’m looking for Zhang Xianyu. And you are…?”
“You must be the friend Zhang Xianyu mentioned, right?”
Lin Wushui effortlessly assumed the air of the host, stepping aside to let him in.
“Zhang Xianyu is in the kitchen cooking. Have a seat for a bit.”
“And you are…?”
Zhang Shaoying glanced around, subtly sizing up the woman before him.
Years of being a criminal police officer had sharpened his instincts — at a glance he could tell this person didn’t belong to their social circle.
Based on Zhang Xianyu’s usual network, there was no way he’d know someone like this.
“Wushui.”
Lin Wushui’s brow furrowed slightly.
Zhang Shaoying thought he was being discreet, but to Lin Wushui it was like a child playing house.
Zhang Xianyu’s friend didn’t seem very friendly at all.
Lin Wushui’s expression cooled.
He sat down on the sofa, leaving a seat between them.
Neither spoke again, each lost in their own thoughts.
Zhang Xianyu came out carrying a finished dish.
Seeing the two sitting in silence, he thought it was just the awkwardness of unfamiliar people and laughed as he introduced them: “Zhang Shaoying, my childhood friend from the same village.”
“Wushui, a new friend, currently staying here.”
Zhang Shaoying gave a slight nod.
“Hello.”
Lin Wushui cast him a lazy glance and replied with a light “Hello.”
He had always only shown patience to people or things he was interested in.
Clearly, Zhang Shaoying wasn’t one of them.
On top of that, he’d acted so unfriendly at first meeting, Lin Wushui didn’t even bother pretending, practically writing I don’t welcome you across his face.
Zhang Shaoying also sensed the subtle tension, but only the oblivious Zhang Xianyu continued happily making introductions.
After that, he suddenly remembered there was still soup simmering on the stove, so he quickly said,
“There are drinks in the fridge, help yourselves,” and dashed back into the kitchen.
With Zhang Xianyu gone, Lin Wushui let out a cold snort, lazily leaned against the armrest, deliberately turned the TV volume up to max, and started playing Snake on his phone.
When the last dish, pork knuckle soup, was done, Zhang Xianyu brought out two beers, gave Lin Wushui a bottle of milk, and sat down cheerily.
“Come on, try it. Two of these dishes are new recipes I just learned.”
Lin Wushui glared at the milk, while Zhang Xianyu was already clinking glasses with Zhang Shaoying.
Having grown up in the same village, their relationship needed no words — as soon as they met, they were drinking and chatting away.
Lin Wushui couldn’t join in the conversation, so he kept finding little ways to remind them of his presence.
Sometimes he’d ask Zhang Xianyu to give him some food, other times he’d pester Zhang Xianyu for alcohol.
Zhang Xianyu wouldn’t bring him a new bottle — he insisted on pouring a glass from his own.
Zhang Xianyu was so used to giving in to his unreasonable demands by now that he simply fetched a disposable cup and poured him half a glass.
On the side, Zhang Shaoying watched this, frowning deeply.
His sharp eyes swept over Lin Wushui, feeling more and more that this woman clearly had ulterior motives.
“Yesterday on the phone, you said there was something wrong with this apartment?”
Zhang Xianyu suddenly asked, breaking into his thoughts.
Zhang Shaoying snapped back to reality.
“Remember I told you I was busy with a case? A family of four was murdered in their home, but the killer didn’t leave a single clue. That family used to live here. I’ve been running around for a month looking for leads.”
He sighed.
“Why did you move in here? I heard people say this place is haunted.”
“It was cheap.”
Zhang Xianyu answered honestly.
“Besides, I’m not afraid of ghosts. There really aren’t any leads on the killer?”
Talking about it gave Zhang Shaoying a headache.
Many people were whispering that this case wasn’t something human did, mainly because they couldn’t even establish a basic suspect profile.
“Whoever did it was very skilled. The police have already put out a reward for any clues.”
Zhang Xianyu latched onto the key point.
“A reward?”
“Yeah. If you can provide a clue that helps solve the case, it’s five thousand to thirty thousand yuan, depending on what it is.”
Zhang Xianyu’s eyes lit up, already turning over plans in his head.