Perhaps due to the cold, he could hear the sound of her teeth chattering. Through the window, he saw that, when she returned, she was carrying a white plastic bag in her hand.
After she entered the house, she dropped the bag on the coffee table in the living. It landed with a plop as she ran into kitchen.
The water was already full-on boiling. He heard her switch off the fire, and following that was the swish of water being poured. Then, there was the sound of something rolling and something being cracked…
The cacophony of incoherent noises continued for a long time until he heard her footsteps coming from downstairs, which seemed to stop before his bedroom door.
He then heard a knock and her saying, "Mr. Su…"
Su Zhinian turned around and watched the door quietly through the glass window of the balcony before replying softly, "Yes?"
…
