Han Jingnian raised his head and stared at the ceiling lights for a while before changing his shoes and walking into the house.

The living room, spanning nearly 100 square meters, was empty and lifeless. At a glance, there was no sign of any activity.

He didn’t linger in the living room and headed straight to the bedroom. Upon opening the door, he was met with darkness. He turned on the lights and quickly scanned the bedroom. The two-meter-wide bed was neat and tidy, a pillow from the sofa lay on the floor, a glass on the coffee table held half a glass of water, and a window in the balcony was half open. Everything appeared just as it had when he left home in the afternoon.

Han Jingnian furrowed his brows slightly, then headed to the bathroom. After that, he checked the dressing room, the guest room, the study, the dining room, the kitchen, and every corner of the 300-square-meter house. It was only then that he realized she hadn’t come back home.

But… Han Zhijin had already returned. Why hadn’t she come back? Could it be that she was still on her way?

Han Jingnian opened the refrigerator and found rows of Yakult bottles inside.

What is this? Does she usually drink these?

Han Jingnian hesitated for a moment, then opened a Yakult bottle. He slowly tore off the seal, sat on the living room sofa, and patiently drank it while waiting.

After finishing one bottle, the door remained unopened, and there were no signs of her return.

He stared fixedly at the door for a while, then went to the dining room and brought a row of Yakult bottles.

When he had arranged the empty bottles in front of him, Xia Wan’an still hadn’t returned home. He turned his head to check the time on the wall; it was almost 2 a.m.

With a stern expression, Han Jingnian couldn’t hold back any longer and took out his phone.

He opened his contact list, found her phone number, and stared at the screen for a moment. Finally, he selected Han Zhijin’s number and dialed it.

The call was answered instantly, and Han Zhijin’s voice sounded tired and weak. “Uncle, are you calling to check on me? I’m in the middle of a wall-sitting punishment. If you don’t believe me, you can video call me…”

“Where is she?” Han Jingnian ignored Han Zhijin’s voice and asked directly.

“Who?” Han Zhijin was puzzled.

“You know who,” Han Jingnian said in a cold tone, enunciating each word.

Han Zhijin shivered. “Uncle, please don’t make me say it. Just tell me directly what you want me to say, and I’ll say it as it is…”

Han Jingnian impatiently interrupted her. “Han Zhijin, where is she? You’re back, so why hasn’t she returned home yet?”

“Oh, you mean Auntie?” Han Zhijin changed her tune. “Auntie is not coming home tonight. Didn’t she tell you?”

This single sentence made Han Jingnian’s expression turn as cold as ice, as if it could drip water.

On the other end of the phone, Han Zhijin, completely oblivious to the dangerous atmosphere, continued speaking. “Auntie is with her friends. You know her friends, right? Tonight, Auntie is staying at her friend’s place. They bought a lot of beer. Auntie said she wants to be the best drinker in the whole BJ…”

“…”

Han Jingnian remained silent.

Han Zhijin asked, “Uncle, do you have any other business? If not, can I discuss something with you? Can we reduce the time for this wall-sitting punishment a little?”

“Twenty hours!”

Han Jingnian didn’t wait for Han Zhijin to finish speaking. With a dark face, he threw out five words that contained a warning, and hung up the phone.

Han Jingnian tossed his phone onto the table and headed for a shower.

Afterward, he lay on the bed and closed his eyes to sleep.

The bedroom was very quiet, and the warm sleep-inducing lamp at the head of the bed cast a particularly cozy atmosphere over the room.

He lay motionless on the bed, seemingly fast asleep.

However, half an hour later, he turned over. Fifteen minutes later, he turned over again. Ten minutes later, he threw the pillow on the floor. Five minutes later, he uncovered the blanket and went to the bathroom. After lying down again, three minutes later, he began to toss and turn constantly. After so many times that he lost count, he suddenly sat up and grabbed his phone.

His first thought was to call her friends. However, after unlocking the phone screen, he realized that he didn’t know who her friends were.

Han Zhijin had asked him on the phone earlier if he knew her friends, right?

At that time, he didn’t think much of it, but now, these words felt like a thief had stolen his heart when he wasn’t paying attention, making him feel somewhat anxious.

He only remembered that she had two close female friends, but as for their last names, first names, where they lived, or what they looked like, he knew nothing about them, not a single impression.

She was his wife, a girl he had brought home two years ago. Her name was Xia Wan’an, and that was about it. Apart from that… nothing.

After thinking for a while, Han Jingnian reluctantly tapped the screen of his phone and found Xia Wan’an’s number.

…

At Song Youman’s house.

Ai Jiang’s phone kept vibrating in her pocket, and she quietly declined the calls several times, but soon another call came in.

After this had happened several times, she couldn’t hold back anymore and said to Xia Wan’an and Song Youman, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Xia Wan’an and Song Youman replied one after the other.

Ai Jiang stood up obediently, lowered her head, and went to the bathroom.

She closed the door and took out her phone, glanced at the incoming call, and answered it. Without waiting for the person on the other end to speak, she said, “He Che, how many times have I told you not to call me when I’m with my wealthy friends? What could possibly happen? They all have cars, and it’s BJ; there’s no need for you to worry so much… I have no problem with you, but one of them just went through a breakup, and I didn’t want to upset them by telling them I have a boyfriend… Okay, okay, I won’t say anymore for now…”

After hanging up the phone, Ai Jiang added He Che’s number to her blacklist. Then, she washed her hands and pretended to have used the bathroom before leaving.

Xia Wan’an and Song Youman, who had no idea what Ai Jiang had been doing in the bathroom, greeted her back and invited her to continue drinking.

The three girls didn’t have much alcohol tolerance, and by the time they were surrounded by empty bottles, they were all pretty drunk.

After getting drunk, Song Youman sang random songs, Ai Jiang laughed silly while hugging an empty bottle, and Xia Wan’an, holding the blanket for Song Youman’s pet cat, ignored the cat’s resentful glares and curled up on the blanket. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

Not long after she had just closed her eyes, her phone rang.

Xia Wan’an took out her phone, her vision blurred from the alcohol. She couldn’t quite make out the caller ID but answered the call anyway. “Hello?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Yawning, Xia Wan’an was about to say “hello” again when she heard a male voice on the line. “Where’s the water card for the house?”

“Uh…” Under the influence of alcohol and drowsiness, Xia Wan’an’s brain had completely ceased normal functioning. She mumbled, “Wait until I remember and I’ll tell you in a dream.”

After saying that, Xia Wan’an hung up the phone with a snap.