A little after seven.
Su Yan's apartment complex.
Dong Xuebin found the building number and followed the address Meng Hanmei had given him upstairs. After confirming the apartment number was correct, he pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
"Coming, coming."
The one who opened the door was Su Yan's mom.
The moment Dong Xuebin saw her, he said, "Hello, Auntie."
Su's Mom looked at him suspiciously. "Who are you looking for?"
Dong Xuebin smiled. "I'm looking for Su Yan. We work at the same unit."
"You're Xiaoyan's colleague?" Su's Mom blinked. "How come I've never seen you before?"
Seeing how guarded she was, Dong Xuebin had no choice but to explain, "I only arrived a few days ago myself. I happened to be passing by your neighborhood, so I thought I'd come up and visit you two. Oh, and I didn't have time to buy anything, so I just picked up some seasonal fruit downstairs." He raised the plastic bag in his hand.
Since he had put it that way, Su's Mom could only acknowledge it with an "oh." After thinking it over, she found it hard to refuse him and opened the door to let him in. "Come in."
"Okay. Should I change my shoes?"
"Yes. The slippers are in the shoe cabinet. Just wear whichever pair you like," Su's Mom said.
Dong Xuebin changed his shoes and set the fruit down in the entryway. "Su Yan isn't here?"
"He's taking a shower. He should be out soon. Have a seat. Auntie won't fuss over you, all right?"
Su's Dad, who was in the living room, turned to look at him as well. After briefly greeting Dong Xuebin, he looked toward Su's Mom questioningly.
As Su's Mom walked over, she lowered her voice. "He says he's Xiaoyan's colleague. I'm guessing