The lonely night was moonless. Thick fog and dark clouds pressed down on the small town, fine rain falling like velvet, pattering down. In the narrow alley, the only streetlamp flickered, and flying ants crashed into it without hesitation.

The boy’s hair was damp, his eyelashes beaded with water. His skin was pale, and the light in his eyes had been extinguished.

Everything felt unreal.

She couldn’t remember what she was feeling at the time.

She only remembered.

Ryan Grant’s voice was hoarse as he called her one last time: “Evan Carter.”

Then he lowered his eyes and mocked himself: “I’m not that bad, am I?”

She also remembered.

He broke his pride, seeing himself as filth that others would avoid like the plague.

“Don’t worry,” he smiled, “I won’t bother you anymore.”

-

Ever since he spilled wine on a customer, Jason Turner had felt uneasy all night. He worked carefully, afraid of making the same mistake again and reigniting the boss’s recently cooled anger.

After the customers at this table left, he went over to clean up.

As he collected the glasses, Jason Turner pulled the clipboard, and a few red bills tucked underneath slid out.

He froze.

Then he noticed a bracelet had fallen under the soft chair.

Jason Turner reached down to pick it up, his expression heavy as he walked back to the bar. He pushed the tray inside and said to the blond bartender, “Little Scott, a customer at K11 left something behind.”

Scott Miller took it and looked up, saying, “By the way, that jacket you just brought over—I thought it looked a lot like Ryan’s.”

“Ah, I don’t know, they said it was found in the restroom.” Thinking of the money, Jason Turner scratched his head. “Bro, Ryan just told me this table was on the house, but the refund money, K11 didn’t take it. Should I tell him?”

Scott Miller glanced at him. “Go confess.”

“……” Jason Turner was stunned, feeling the need to explain, “Bro, it’s not that I want to keep the money, it’s just that K11 didn’t take it. I told her several times.”

Taking a clear bag for the bracelet, Scott Miller laughed, “Ryan isn’t that reasonable.”

“……”

That’s true.

Even so, when Jason Turner went upstairs to find Ryan Grant, he couldn’t help but make a last-ditch effort.

He’d seen Ryan Grant at the bar all night, but didn’t know when he’d gone up to the second floor. Now, he was sitting in the innermost booth, his expression calm.

It was unclear if he’d listened to Jason Turner’s explanation.

Ryan Grant said nothing, idly playing with the clear glass in his hand.

The atmosphere was almost oppressive.

Jason Turner braced himself and tried to ease the tension: “This might not be payment for the drinks, I just heard those two customers talking…”

At this point, he suddenly realized what he was about to say was off, and stammered, “But it was pretty noisy around, I couldn’t hear clearly, so I’m not really sure… it’s just…”

Meeting Ryan Grant’s cold gaze, Jason Turner shivered, and his words suddenly flowed: “I heard the customer’s friend ask her if she came to this bar to see you, Ryan, and she said no.”

Ryan Grant’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Jason Turner: “Then, she said, it was… it was to hire…”

Ryan Grant: “……”

Ryan Grant: “?”

“So this might be your… payment for services…”

“……”

Chapter 3

It was even colder outside than when she’d arrived.

The only sweater that could keep her warm was soaked through, so she put it in a bag. Standing at her door, Evan Carter felt like her body was no longer her own. She opened the door and, out of habit, glanced across the hall.

At this hour, the man across the hall probably wasn’t back yet.

Usually, it was two or three in the morning—when she was already deep asleep—that he would pass by her door with a smile, knocking on her door twice with ill intent. The knocks were heavy, like thunder in the dead of night.

Then he’d go back to his own apartment.

He never did anything else.

It was infuriating, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Evan Carter had told the landlord about this several times, but it seemed to have no effect.

After locking the door, Evan Carter boiled a kettle of water and sent a WeChat message to Samuel Clark: [Home now.]

Samuel Clark lived far from Shang’an Yuan and was still on the subway: [So fast? I still have a few stops to go.]

Samuel Clark: [Hey.]

Samuel Clark: [Just now, when the wind blew, I thought again about Ryan Grant’s behavior tonight.]

Samuel Clark: [Do you think Ryan Grant was worried you’d be cold, so he gave you his jacket? But he was too embarrassed to say so, so he made up that excuse.]

Evan Carter pulled out a change of clothes from the wardrobe. Seeing this message, she paused: [Say something reasonable.]

Samuel Clark: [?]

Samuel Clark: [How is that not reasonable!!!]

Evan Carter: [He was there to solve a problem.]

Evan Carter: [So he was probably afraid I’d get sick from the cold and try to get him to pay my medical bills.]

Samuel Clark: [……]

Samuel Clark: [Then why didn’t he just have someone else give you a jacket?]

Evan Carter: [On a cold night like this, that’s not so easy.]

Samuel Clark: [?]

Evan Carter reminded: [Maybe he couldn’t borrow one.]

Samuel Clark: [……]

Just then, a low battery warning popped up.