"I just wanted to know the truth."
Shi Lan gazed at Hao Fei with a serious expression and asked,
"Please help me this once."
After a long pause, Hao Fei sighed.
"Come back here in three days."
"I'll leave you with one last piece of advice: know your limits."
With the check in hand, Shi Lan returned to the car.
"Did you get everything sorted out?"
"Mm."
"Then let's go eat."
Zhang Guang slowly turned the car around and drove away from the bar.
"What do you want to eat? Something that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water—as long as it's not protected wildlife, you can eat whatever you want today."
"I want beef noodles."
"Beef noodles... That works too."
Shi Lan walked into the noodle shop she remembered, ordered two bowls of beef noodles and two servings of pan-fried dumplings, and paid first.
It was almost funny: she still hadn't spent all the money she'd made selling the diving suit.
While they ate, Zhang Guang glanced up at the Public Security Bureau across the street. He hadn't expected Shi Lan to pick this place.
As it happened, he'd come to this noodle shop plenty of times back when he was handling Shi Lan's case.
"Have you decided what you'll do next?"
Shi Lan shook her head. She had plenty to do, but she couldn't tell Zhang Guang about any of it. She couldn't drag uninvolved people into this again.
Zhang Guang said nothing more. Shi Lan had only just gotten out of prison; she would need some time to adjust.
"Want to go somewhere for fun?"
Shi Lan wasn't in the mood to go anywhere, so Zhang Guang drove straight home.
The car came to a slow stop outside