The summer daylight always comes earlier than usual. Even though the curtains in the room remained tightly closed, faint light still found its way through the gaps, giving the dark room a bit of visibility.
Even though it was already morning, Bai Cheng was still curled up under the blanket, showing no intention of getting up. She lay on her side, holding the corner of her pillow with her left hand, frowning slightly, her breathing so slow and shallow that it was barely noticeable.
This was the first month and one day since Bai Cheng had shut herself in her room. It was also the first month since her fiancé, Lu Heng’s funeral. Ever since she locked herself in, Bai Cheng had lost all sense of time. To her, daytime was just a slightly brighter night, and nighttime was just a dimmer day. Everything had lost its meaning. She could often hear voices chatting outside the window, children playing, cats meowing, and birds chirping, but to Bai Cheng, none of it had anything to do with her.
She had become part of the silent furniture in the room, a specimen frozen in this beautiful world.
Bai Cheng remained curled up in bed, with silent tears sliding from the corners of her eyes, soaking the pillow.
Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table began to vibrate, its lonely yet slightly aggressive sound breaking the silence of the room. Bai Cheng ignored it. Ever since the funeral, she had rejected all calls and visits. Perhaps her parents had explained things to their relatives and friends because the calls had become fewer, replaced by occasional text messages of concern. So when today’s unknown caller appeared out of the blue, Bai Cheng thought if she ignored it, the person on the other end would hang up soon. Just as she expected, the phone vibrated for a while before falling silent once again.
Bai Cheng let out a soft sigh. But just a few seconds later, the vibration resumed, buzzing persistently. Bai Cheng waited a bit longer, but the phone didn’t seem like it would stop on its own. With a sigh, she turned over and reached out for the phone. It was an unfamiliar landline number. Without thinking, Bai Cheng directly declined the call.
“A landline? Definitely a scam call,” Bai Cheng thought.
Just as she was about to place the phone back on the bedside table, she noticed a few glaring red dots on the screen. They were all missed calls and unread messages from the past month. Bai Cheng paused, then clicked into the unread messages. Instantly, the message screen was flooded with unread red dots. She was about to click into them when the phone vibrated again, and an unknown mobile number appeared on the screen. Bai Cheng pressed the answer button, clearing her throat in an attempt to make her voice sound less weak and hoarse.
“Hello? Who is this?”
A deep, magnetic male voice full of authority came from the other end, “Hello, is this Miss Bai Cheng? This is Captain Luo Tian from the City Public Security Bureau.”
“Hello, yes, I’m Bai Cheng.”
“Miss Bai, the reason I’m calling is to inform you that we’ve found Mr. Lu Heng’s phone, and we’ve recovered the data. Since you came to the station during Mr. Lu’s case to give a statement, we’re contacting you to retrieve Mr. Lu’s belongings.”
“His phone?” Bai Cheng’s memory was a bit hazy.
“Yes, the phone that the perpetrator took from Mr. Lu. We’ve found it and restored all the data. You can come by to collect it whenever you’re free.”
Scenes from the day Lu Heng was murdered flashed through Bai Cheng’s mind, jogging her memory.
“Alright, I’ll come get it this afternoon.”
“No need to rush. You can come anytime in the next few days. Just inform the officers that you’re here to collect Mr. Lu’s belongings.”
“Okay, but I’d like to get it back as soon as possible.”
“Understood. Feel free to drop by anytime. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”
“Thank you, goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
The moment Bai Cheng hung up the phone, a flood of painful memories and overwhelming grief washed over her, paralyzing her. She started crying uncontrollably, her sobs loud and drawn-out, tightly gripping the corner of her pillow until her knuckles turned white.
It’s hard to tell how long she cried, but when Bai Cheng finally awoke from her tears, the light outside had dimmed into a dull gray. She sat up in bed and took a long, deep breath before slowly dragging herself out of bed. She walked to the window and, for the first time in a month, pulled the curtains open. Even though it was the twilight of the evening, she still found the light a bit glaring. She stood by the window for a while, her eyes gradually adjusting to the soft dusk light. The sky was cloudy and vast, the thick clouds blocking the golden glow of the setting sun, leaving only faint traces of orange. People occasionally walked by on the road outside her apartment complex. They all seemed to resemble Lu Heng, yet at the same time, they looked nothing like him.
Bai Cheng felt her eyes stinging. She rubbed her eyelids, only to realize her face was still wet with tears.
She wiped them away, then went downstairs and said to her mother, “Mom, can you come with me to the police station to pick up Lu Heng’s belongings tomorrow?”
