Someone died in 401 on the fourth floor, and 402 moved out. By rights, an empty apartment shouldn't have its lights on.

As soon as the little girl finished speaking, Chen Huaqing, Mo Qianqian, and Xu Hua all ran outside; Chen Jing'an pulled Wei Chengying along to look.

At 7:13 p.m., every household had their lights on, except for Apartment 69, where lights were sparse—so few you could count them at a glance.

Everyone's gaze focused on the fourth floor. The bathroom window of 401 was indeed lit, and a vague silhouette was swaying inside.

Moxi's face drained of color in terror; she hid behind Xu Hua and let out a scream.

"A ghost—!"

The cry drew the attention of the elderly men and women strolling and chatting in the neighborhood; some turned to look.

At that moment the light in 401 suddenly went out, as if the glow they'd just seen had been nothing but an optical illusion.

Xu Hua instinctively put an arm around Mo Xixi's shoulders and told the curious old woman watching them, "It's nothing, she's talking nonsense."

The old woman saw she lived in Apartment 69, worried about catching bad luck, and hurried away.

Mo Xixi, still shaken, grabbed Xu Hua's arm and babbled, "Did you see her? Is she back? She's coming to get revenge on us, right? Xu Hua, I'm so scared— you'll protect me, won't you?"

Xu Hua hadn't expected her to expose their relationship in public; his expression froze instantly.

"Heh, so you two are an item after all."

Chen Huaqing seemed to have caught them in the act; the fear that had just welled up inside him was forcibly suppressed.

Chen Jing'an, as an onlooker, immediately composed a mental scenario of a four-way romance.

Chen Huaqing and Xu Hua were both lovers of Zhang Yuyan. Zhang had previously stolen Mo Xixi's boyfriend, which broke up their relationship. Mo Xixi nursed a grudge and got involved with Xu Hua; the two carried on an affair secretly, but were accidentally found out by Zhang Yuyan. To appease Zhang, Xu Hua intended to reveal his relationship with Mo, but Zhang wouldn't fall for it—she not only stripped him of his shares but cut him off completely. Left with nothing, Xu Hua, furious, teamed up with Mo Xixi and killed her.

All of the above were scenarios Chen Jing'an imagined; as for what actually happened, that remained unknown.

"Didn't you want ice cream? It'll still take about five minutes to walk there."

Someone lightly tickled the palm of Chen Jing'an's hand; she heard Wei Chengying's voice right by her ear, and her mind came back to the present.

"Mm, then let's go."

They passed by Mo Xixi, who glanced back at Chen Jing'an; Chen Jing'an happened to be looking at her too. Their gazes met in the air, then both hurriedly looked away.

Whether they continued arguing afterward, Chen Jing'an did not know.

She and Wei Chengying bought a big bag of ice cream; on the way home they polished off a chocolate popsicle. After showering at home she wanted to eat another, but Wei Chengying sent her back to the bedroom to cuddle on the excuse of needing to sleep.

Maybe too much happened today—Chen Jing'an seemed somewhat distracted.

She thought Mo Xixi had physically attacked Zhang Yuyan, then hooked up with Xu Hua — it's not hard to guess that was an act of revenge. What she didn't expect was that Xu Hua didn't occupy a high place in Zhang Yuyan's heart; even after finding out they were together, Zhang could coldly dump him and move on to a new lover. If she were Mo Xixi, would she be so mortified and shamed that she'd contemplate killing?

And Xu Hua — Zhang Yuyan had approached him first, giving him an inexplicable confidence, making him believe she couldn't live without him, yet he turned out to be the fool. He couldn't accept being left with neither person nor possessions, so he kept begging her to get back together, only to be shut out. A man's dignity trampled again and again — any normal person would snap, right?

And Chen Huaqing…

What was that threatening letter he mentioned? And for what reason did Zhang Yuyan abandon him?

One of the three of them must be lying.

Chen Jing'an was lost in thought when a sharp pain pricked her neck — Wei Chengying's teeth had bitten into her skin.

"If you get distracted again, I'll have to punish you."

Chen Jing'an could think of nothing else. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself to him.

The next morning, Chen Jing'an dragged her aching body up to make breakfast for Wei Chengying.

After he left for work, she got into the elevator as well, planning to head to the market early to buy groceries.

The elevator descended a short while and stopped at the 11th floor.

Chen Jing'an had never seen the occupant of the 11th floor; she watched the elevator doors about to open with curiosity.

A man in light blue jeans and a simple white T-shirt came into her view.

Chen Jing'an met the man's eyes and her heart almost stopped.

His irises were jet-black like onyx, giving off a faint, cold sheen; one look made them seem frozen.

Chen Jing'an forced herself to look down; the man acted as if he didn't recognize her, casually standing beside her.

The elevator continued down, the cramped enclosed space falling silent with nothing left but everyone's breathing.

Wei Chengying suddenly took Chen Jing'an's right hand, their fingers intertwining.

"Why are you sweating so much? Is it hot?"

"Mm, the elevator is a bit stuffy."

Chen Jing'an swallowed, startled to run into her ex-boyfriend here.

She had thought they would never see each other again until they died.

Long-sealed memories flashed through her mind like a lantern show, scene after scene.

She had fallen for Nie Yun at first sight when she started university, chased him for four years, finally won him over and became his girlfriend—only to be cruelly dumped in less than three months.

In Nie Yun's exact words: "If you insist on throwing yourself at me, don't talk to me about love—you don't deserve it."

Only then did Chen Jing'an wake from her stupor; it turned out that in his eyes she had always been a disposable plaything. The one he truly cherished was the white moonlight studying abroad, so when that white moonlight returned to the country he could walk away cleanly—he didn't even bother to say the word

"break up."

That bleak, painful period drained all the tears she had. She copied others by taking up smoking, drinking, and clubbing, trying to numb herself with these things.

But the more she sank, the more she loathed herself, and she even had thoughts of killing herself.

She always remembered that it was 3:35 in the morning; in a daze she went to the convenience store to buy a dozen beers, planning to wash down sleeping pills — it was Wei Chengying's appearance that saved her life.

She saw him standing in front of the well-stocked instant noodle shelf, his eyebrows knotted in indecision.

Out of goodwill, she recommended to him her favorite instant noodles.

Wei Chengying bought every pack of that brand in one go, and when his gaze landed on the beers in her hands, he smiled and asked, "I'll trade you a pack of noodles for a can of beer. How about it?"

Later they sat in the convenience store eating instant noodles and drinking beer together, chatting and having a great time.

At the time she thought this man's smile was like a beam of light shining into hell, pulling her out of the darkness.

After that, it followed naturally that they started dating.