Kick, kick, kick, the sound of rapid footsteps came from the stairs. Gu Qingcheng let out a cry and suddenly pushed Xu Siqi away.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of taking out a key and unlocking the door was heard in the corridor.
Xu Siqi checked the location and asked, "Mr. Bai, is that you?"
"Oh, it's me." Bai Jiuqing replied in the darkness.
"Come back so soon?"
"It seems like it's going to rain, so I won't go. It's good to read a book at home."
Between questions and answers, Bai Jiuqing opened the door and entered the room.
The stars in the sky were dim, and it was so hot that there was no wind. It was indeed a sign that heavy rain was coming.
"Qingcheng, what's wrong with you today? Why are you so quiet?" Xu Siqi took out the key and opened the door as he spoke.
After entering the house, Gu Qingcheng did not follow him.
Xu Siqi turned around and said, "Come in, what are you thinking about?"
Gu Qingcheng hesitated for a moment, then finally stepped in.
"What's wrong? Who made you unhappy?" Xu Siqi closed the door and gestured to hold Gu Qingcheng's hand.
Gu Qingcheng stayed silent for a while.
Feeling something was wrong, Xu Siqi stretched out his hand and pulled the light cord, and the room suddenly became bright.
When the lights came on, Gu Qingcheng's face turned red and she looked a little embarrassed. She said softly: "I am Gu Linglong."
Xu Siqi was stunned for a moment and quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's too dark in the corridor. I just thought..."
"Stop talking!" Gu Linglong turned around.
The two stood awkwardly for a while, and Xu Siqi said, "When did you come back?"
"I arrived in Shanghai at noon." Gu Linglong replied.
"oh……"
"I heard from Qingcheng that you live here, so I came."
"Is it going well in Hangzhou?"
"fine."
"Well, what kind of tea do you drink? Oh, by the way, you like coffee. Wait a moment, it will be ready soon."
"Do not bother."
"No trouble. You can sit wherever you like."
Xu Siqi went into the kitchen and rummaged around for coffee beans and a coffee pot, as well as a set of exquisite coffee tableware, which were all benefits given to detectives by the patrol room.
Gu Qingcheng doesn't like drinking coffee and has never used the coffee pot even once.
Usually when he was not at home, Xu Siqi would lock the doors and windows to prevent uninvited guests from breaking in. He entered the kitchen and opened the window.
"With so many people? How could they let him run away? They are just a bunch of trash!"
"That guy is very cunning..."
"Shut up. Get out!"
"yes."
Someone was arguing in Japanese in a low voice downstairs.
Xu Siqi's heart moved, and he gently pushed open the window screen, leaning forward slightly to peek down.
There are no street lights behind the apartment building? It is pitch dark downstairs, and only a few shadowy figures can be seen? They quickly disappear into the night.
Xu Siqi thought for a moment, then quickly walked out of the kitchen and said to Gu Linglong, "Will you sit down for a while? There are no sugar cubes at home. I'll go out and buy some."
Gu Linglong stood up: "No need really, it's too much trouble. Should I come today? I just wanted to..."
"Are you an honored guest? Be sure to treat them well. Soon, they will be sold across the street."
"……All right."
After coming out of the house, Xu Siqi walked toward the stairs. Just halfway, he suddenly heard the sound of a door closing at the end of the corridor.
He stopped, thought for a moment, then crossed the stairs and continued walking towards the end of the corridor.
Arriving at the door of Room 15, he reached out and knocked on the door.
After a while, someone in the room asked: "Who is it?"
"Oh, I'm Xu Siqi from Room 9." Xu Siqi replied.
The door creaked open? Zhang Liwei was holding a pair of chopsticks in his hand. It looked like he was having dinner? He said: "Inspector Xu, is there something wrong?"
Xu Siqi said: "We have guests at home, the coffee is almost ready, and we are running out of sugar. When I think about it, among these neighbors, you are the only one who can have it at home."
Zhang Liwei smiled and said: "You are so lucky. You just bought two cans of sugar cubes yesterday."
He turned around and said, "Xiaozhi, bring me a jar of sugar cubes."
Xiaozhi is Zhang Liwei's wife. She has no job. She does laundry, cooking and taking care of the children at home. She is considered a full-time wife.
"Inspector Xu, would you like to come in and sit for a while?" Xiaozhi said politely.
"No, there are guests at home. I will return this tomorrow." Xu Siqi raised the sugar cube jar in his hand.
Xiaozhi said: "There's no need to pay it back. We are all neighbors and it's right to help each other."
"You still have to pay it back. As the saying goes, if you borrow something, you have to pay it back. It's not difficult to borrow again. I won't disturb you two from eating. Let's close the door."
Xiaozhi said in surprise: "Oh, why is the corridor light broken?"
She turned to Zhang Liwei and said, "Liwei, you can borrow a ladder tomorrow. It only costs a few dollars to change a light bulb. It's so dark that it makes it inconvenient for everyone."
"The landlord said last time that there was a problem with the electric wires in the shed. He had to ask the management office to send someone to repair it. Changing the light bulbs didn't work either..." Zhang Liwei said as he closed the door.
Xu Siqi knew very well that those people the Japanese were looking for were unlikely to hide elsewhere, and Shenjiang Apartment was the most suitable hiding place.
After returning home and making coffee, Xu Siqi and Gu Linglong sat face to face across the coffee table.
"Linglong, you seem to have lost weight."
"Have it?"
"A little."
"Qingcheng said, I haven't changed at all, I'm still the same as when I left. It's just that some things have changed."
“…”
At this moment, Gu Linglong had calmed down. She glanced at Xu Siqi and said, "I know everything about you and Qingcheng."
"oh……"
"At first, I thought that there should be something between us..."
Gu Linglong was a little embarrassed to say it. She took a deep breath and said in English: "I thought the relationship between us was a boyfriend and girlfriend, but now it seems that I am just being sentimental."
"Linglong, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's just a misunderstanding, no need to say sorry."
"yes……"
"Yeah?"
“…”
"Or maybe someone has changed his mind?"
"Linglong, it's not what you think."
"You are lying!"
Xu Siqi explained: "When it comes to the good feelings between men and women, there was definitely some at the beginning. However, I later discovered that we were not suitable."
"What's not suitable?" Gu Linglong asked.
"character."
"character?"
"Yes. Maybe I prefer girls with cheerful personalities, like Qingcheng."
"Maybe? You're not sure yourself, are you?"
Xu Siqi sighed, looked at the aggressive Gu Linglong, and said: "Linglong, don't use small words. It's all over. We get along like friends. Isn't that great?"
Gu Linglong was dumbfounded for a while. The mental state of wanting to argue to the end seemed to have suddenly collapsed. She murmured: "You are right. It's all over. Why should I argue here..."