When Zhou Mochen dropped her off that morning, he had taken a call and left immediately. Xu Su worried he had official business, so she was reluctant to contact him first.
She waited until two-thirty. Just as Xu Su started to worry that Zhou Mochen wouldn't be free in the afternoon and she would miss the bus back to Kang County, she received a text from him: Susu, I'm waiting for you downstairs.
She breathed a small sigh of relief, grabbed her packed luggage, and went downstairs with her backpack on.
The "downstairs" Zhou Mochen referred to was a spot some distance from the Xu Family's apartment. At home, both Chen Shulan and her husband were at work.
Xu Yang was on break from school, and for once, he hadn't gone out. He was sitting on the sofa watching TV. When he saw Xu Su about to leave with her bags, he didn't even glance away from the screen.
Xu Su acted as if he wasn't even there, not bothering to say a single word of greeting as she walked straight out the door.
~~
