Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Qin Song held Zhang Qiong as they caught another two hours of sleep. Time finally ticked toward ten in the morning.

Zhang Qiong checked her delivery app. “The driver is only 500 meters away!”

Qin Song scrambled out of bed with practiced agility.

Zhang Qiong followed him, her heart thumping against her ribs in nervous anticipation.

Qin Song grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table and slipped it into his pocket.

“What are you doing? Put that down!” Zhang Qiong cried.

Years ago, her husband had nearly lost his life at a train station because of a momentary impulse. She was terrified of the same thing happening to Qin Song.

“I don’t plan on hurting him,” Qin Song said. “But I have to be prepared in case he tries to hurt us.”

Zhang Qiong checked her phone again. “128 meters.”

Qin Song opened the door and stood in the threshold, arms crossed, planted as firmly as a traffic cone.

In that moment, he inexplicably thought of Huang Yuanrui; she liked to stand like that too.

Zhang Qiong ran to the window and glanced down, just in time to see the delivery driver parking his electric scooter.

He was wearing a helmet and a black mask. His build was identical to the person from yesterday-it was him!

Zhang Qiong’s palms began to sweat. she walked to the door and hid behind Qin Song.

The numbers on the elevator display climbed steadily. Zhang Qiong’s heart was in her throat.

The elevator doors slid open, and the delivery driver stepped out, head down as he stared at his phone screen.

When he looked up, he jumped, startled by Qin Song standing in the doorway.

He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket, glanced at Qin Song a couple of times, and held out the food.

Qin Song didn’t reach for it. He just kept staring at him in silence.

As if sensing Qin Song’s hostility, the driver slowly set the food down at Qin Song’s feet and turned to leave.

“Stay right there,” Qin Song said.

The driver froze, then turned back to look at him.

Qin Song asked, “Where were you at two o’clock this morning?”

The driver looked at him with confusion. “What?”

He actually spoke!

Zhang Qiong blurted out, “You’re not deaf and mute?!”

The driver looked at her, equally confused. “Huh?”

“I’m asking you a question,” Qin Song pressed. “Where were you at two in the morning? Did you come to my door and knock?”

“I… two in the morning… no… why would I come to your place…” the driver stammered.

“You’re asking me?” Qin Song countered.

“This is ridiculous…”

With that, the driver turned to get back on the elevator. Qin Song moved fast, reaching out to yank him back from the elevator entrance. The man stumbled, nearly falling, before Qin Song slammed him against the wall.

Zhang Qiong quickly covered her mouth to keep from screaming.

“I’m asking you one more time!” Qin Song growled. “Did you come knocking on my door last night?”

The driver’s face was pressed against the wall, his arm pinned behind his back by Qin Song. He began to shout, “What are you doing?! I didn’t come here!”

“Prove it!” Qin Song demanded.

“Did you order food in the middle of the night? If you didn’t order anything, why would I be here? Can’t you just check the order times yourself?!”

“Don’t give me that delivery bullshit! My wife was home alone yesterday! You came knocking to deliver food in the afternoon, and you knocked loud as hell! You scared the life out of her! Then someone comes back in the middle of the night and starts banging on the door again! Who else am I supposed to suspect besides you?”

“You! You should worry about your wife and leave me alone! My kid was sick yesterday. I stopped taking orders at nine and went to the hospital!”

“And then what? You’re saying you didn’t come back after that?”

“Let go… I’m calling the police! Ah!”

“If anyone’s calling the cops, it’s going to be me!” Qin Song snapped. “Unless you can prove you weren’t here last night, we’re staying right like this. I’ve got all day!”

“Let go of me! I have proof!”

“What proof?”

“Photos!”

Qin Song looked back at Zhang Qiong. “Get his phone.”

Zhang Qiong shuffled out from behind Qin Song, trembling as she reached into the driver’s pocket and pulled out his phone.

“You’re robbing me!” the driver yelled.

“Passcode,” Qin Song ordered.

“Six ones!”

“Where are the photos?”

“Dammit, where else would they be but the gallery!”

Zhang Qiong opened the gallery. At the very bottom were several photos of a small child.

“Those ones at the bottom!” the driver shouted. “Check the timestamps yourself! My wife was on the night shift, so I was at the hospital with the kid. She was worried, so she made me take those and send them to her in the middle of the night!”

Zhang Qiong looked through the photos. One was taken at 1:50 AM, three at 2:14 AM, and two at 3:02 AM.

She looked at Qin Song. “It looks like he really was at the hospital then…”

The driver started shouting again. “Why do I even have to prove this to you? You people are savages! And now you know my passcode!”

Qin Song almost wanted to laugh. “With a passcode like that, it doesn’t really matter if we know it or not.”

“Can you let me go now? My next delivery is going to be late!”

Qin Song released him. The man winced, massaging his sore arm.

“But… why were you pretending to be deaf and mute?” Zhang Qiong asked.

The driver ripped off his mask, his face a mask of utter disbelief. “Is there something wrong with you two? When did I ever pretend to be deaf and mute?”

“You didn’t say anything yesterday, and you knocked so loudly…”

“I have social anxiety!” the driver snapped.