Starting the next day, the office was much emptier. Quite a few people had taken leave. The only time everyone was there was when the former director brought in a psychologist.
Before long, the weekend arrived.
Wu Ling and the others still hadn't contacted us. It seemed the matter of the teddy bear and Lina was still under investigation.
My younger sister came home on Friday. I made an excuse and told her I'd broken the cute doll, promising to buy her a new one later.
"Or should I buy you a bracelet? Or a new tablet?" I said right after apologizing.
Girls probably liked jewelry best. Electronics made pretty good gifts, too.
And both options were safe.
My sister stared at me in surprise. "Did you win the lottery?"
"No, I'm just apologizing."
She gave me another strange look. "No need. If it's broken, it's broken." She'd been a little disappointed a moment ago, but now she'd put the feeling aside. "I guessed something was up as soon as you asked me about it. Forget it. I'm not mad anymore."
I still felt a little guilty, but I was also relieved.
Since my sister didn't want an apology gift, I invited her to see a movie and get something to eat.
Our parents were pleased to see how close we were and that we were going out together.
On the way, my sister started complaining about her roommate.
"We went shopping before, and one of them was so annoying. When she shops for clothes, she has to visit every single store. She tried on a ton of things and didn't like any of them. Then after we'd gone all the way around, she said one of them was really nice and wanted to go back. We were exhausted. We