Cheng Qingchong left the room only after her mother had retired for the night. Qin Yinan was no longer in the living room; the lights were off, but the television was on with its volume tuned down to its lowest, casting the hall in flickering lights.

  Since they were playing the part of a married couple, naturally, they had to sleep in the same room. Furthermore, Qin Yinan’s apartment only had three rooms and one living room. Two of the rooms were designed as bedrooms while the remaining one had been repurposed into a study. Mrs. Cheng had used one of the two bedrooms, so only the main bedroom remained.

  The light in the study was off, so Cheng Qingchong knew that Qin Yinan was in the main bedroom. She struggled for a long time at the door before pushing the door lightly open and walking in.

  Qin Yinan had probably just taken a bath because his hair was still dripping with water. He was leaning against the headboard, looking through a document. When he heard the door open, he raised his eyes slightly to glance at the door.

  Cheng Qingchong lowered her eyes in a hurry before their gaze met. She closed the door carefully, and with a step that was as light as possible, she moved toward the bathroom. When Cheng Qingchong finished her nightly routine and came out of the bathroom, Qin Yinan was still busy with his work.

  Afraid that she might disturb him, she took the hair-dryer and slunk out the bathroom. She stood in the kitchen that was furthest from his bedroom to dry her hair.

  When Cheng Qingchong returned to the bedroom, Qin Yinan was no longer holding the document but a laptop. In the crook between his neck and shoulder sat a cell phone. As he talked on the phone, he kept typing on the keyboard. From the conversation, Cheng Qingchong got an idea that he was sending an email.

  She placed the hair-dryer back in the bathroom cupboard and started combing her hair in front of the mirror. When she was done, she slid noiselessly into the bedroom, deposited herself on the sofa and focused her attention to her phone. She tried to be as non-obstructive as she could be.

  The bedroom was quiet other than Qin Yinan’s typing and the occasional speech by the man as he responded to the caller on the other end of the phone. His words were soft and wrapped themselves warmly like a blanket around Cheng Qingchong’s heart.

  Cheng Qingchong, who was reading on her phone, slowly moved her attention to follow Qin Yinan’s voice. Eventually, she stole a look at the man through the mirror in the room.

  Ten minutes later, Qin Yinan hung up. Afraid that he might discover she was watching him, Cheng Qingchong quickly lowered her gaze back to her phone. Qin Yinan typed for about one minute on his laptop before he suddenly stopped.

  The silence in the room became increasingly awkward. Qin Yinan raised his eyes off the laptop to look at the clock. It was already 11 pm. He then turned to look at the woman who seemed to have frozen on the sofa, and several seconds later, he closed his laptop, got out of bed, and headed into the bathroom. When he came out, he turned off the lights. It seemed like he was going to sleep already.

  As the bedroom light dimmed, Cheng Qingchong came to. She raised her head and turned towards the shadow of a man in the room, asking, "Finished with work?"

  Without Mrs. Cheng, the gentleness and kindness she had witnessed that afternoon had completely disappeared. He grunted in response.

  Cheng Qingchong gripped her phone several times She thought about it and finally decided to say something that had been on her mind the whole day.

  "Thank you."

  Even though it was merely a show, one that had no authenticity, she still owed him her thanks. At least, he had lessened the worry in her mother’s heart, making her believe that she had found a good husband and was leading a great life.