From filing the report to leaving the police station, it took more than two hours in total.
Jiang Wan sent a message to He Yingtong, then turned off her phone and quietly lifted her head to look at the starry sky above.
Wen Jin came back carrying lots of chocolates and candy from a convenience store, placing them into Jiang Wan’s hands.
“Why did you buy me so much chocolate?” Jiang Wan accepted it, belatedly realizing she should say thank you.
The officer handling the case thought the two of them were boyfriend and girlfriend. He advised Wen Jin to comfort Jiang Wan when they got home. Wen Jin frowned and asked, “How do I comfort her?” The officer stared at him with a wide-eyed look that all but screamed ‘This guy must have gotten a girlfriend just by his looks.’ Then the officer listed a few tricks for coaxing girlfriends and passed them on to Wen Jin.
The first trick was to buy sweets, like chocolates and candies.
Wen Jin pointed back at the police station. “That officer just told me to buy these. He said it would make you a little happier.”
Jiang Wan tore open a piece of chocolate and stuffed it into her mouth.
The cloying sweetness spread through her mouth.
Looking up at the sky, the corners of her lips finally curved into a rare smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. That’ll be twenty-five.”
Jiang Wan: “……”
She pulled out her wallet and handed him twenty-five.
But she couldn’t help sneaking glances at him.
Wen Jin was very tall. Under the streetlamp, his shadow stretched long. His eyes drooped slightly, the hollows beneath them pronounced. His eyelashes were long and thick, casting a shadow beneath his eyes.
Half his face was hidden in darkness, his jawline sharp, his Adam’s apple prominent when he lifted his head.
He looked normal.
He could make her go out naked for the sake of a towel, yet also bring her to the police station at midnight.
He truly was a strange man.
Wen Jin drove her back. At the entryway, Jiang Wan thanked him several more times before heading into the bathroom to wash up.
Wen Jin also followed into the bathroom to wash up.
It was the first time the two of them stood side by side at the sink, brushing their teeth.
Jiang Wan thought… it felt weird.
After she finished, she went toward her room.
Unexpectedly, Wen Jin followed as well.
“You have something to say?” She stopped and turned around to ask.
“He said you need company, and that I should stay with you.” Wen Jin raised his wrist to check the time. “There are still three hours left. Are you going to sleep? I’ll get a pillow.”
Jiang Wan: “……”
Wen Jin wasn’t joking. He brought a pillow over and placed it on Jiang Wan’s bed.
Then he started taking off his clothes.
“Wait a second…” Jiang Wan was a bit stunned. “You… you’re sleeping in my bed?”
Wen Jin nodded.
That officer had also warned him that they were worried Jiang Wan might have suicidal thoughts, and asked Wen Jin to watch her closely at all times.
Of course, Wen Jin couldn’t tell Jiang Wan that.
He stripped down to just his underwear and got into her blanket.
Jiang Wan stared the entire time. She was certain Wen Jin wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but the sight still shocked her.
“Wen Jin…” Jiang Wan didn’t even dare look at the bed as she spoke, her voice tight. “We’re not that kind of relationship. We can’t sleep in the same bed, you know that, right?”
“I know.”
“Then you—”
Before Jiang Wan could finish, Wen Jin interrupted, “Come up. He said with me here, you’ll forget that nightmare.”
Those words so easily convinced Jiang Wan.
She only hesitated a moment before changing into pajamas in the dark, then carefully climbed into bed, keeping a person’s width of distance between them.
The silence settled into the air.
Jiang Wan’s heart grew strangely calm. She gently closed her eyes. Beside her, she could hear the man’s soft, even breathing.
Listening to that sound, she slowly drifted into sleep.
In the latter half of the night, she had a nightmare.
In her dream, Wei Jiyuan pinned her down, tearing at her clothes, his large hand groping at her chest. The force was so vivid, so real, it hardly felt like a dream at all.
She jolted awake, gasping for breath.
Her body trembled violently.
Wen Jin sat up. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Wan curled up in the blanket, her voice shaking.
“Can you… hold me?”