Busy until late at night, Lu Liang was ready to go to sleep.
Suddenly, he heard a faint sound of metal clashing—quiet yet irregular and piercing.
Living in a low-floor, thin-walled studio apartment had its conveniences, but it couldn't compare to a regular residential area in terms of sound insulation.
Moreover, most residents were young people, blasting music and dancing every day; partying until two or three in the morning was the norm.
Lu Liang initially didn't want to bother, even burying his head under the pillow, but he couldn't stand the incessant noise.
"Who on earth is it?" he grumbled as he got up and opened the door to find a long-haired girl with her back to him.
It was the end of March and Modu was still in single-digit temperatures. But she wore a short skirt, draped in a woolen coat, with white knee-high socks and a pair of Lolita platform shoes.
From the knee down, her legs were bare, unprotected against the early spring chill, and she didn't seem very old.
The girl was leaning her forehead against the door, repeatedly jabbing the keyhole with a key—this was the source of the noise.
Lu Liang sensed a strong scent of alcohol and frowned, "Can you keep it down? Do you think other people don't need to sleep?"
The girl turned around, visibly drunk, "Uncle, if alcohol tastes so bad, why do so many people like to drink it?"
She burped, and suddenly vomited all over the floor, filling the air with the smell of alcohol and a sour stench.
Lu Liang shouted in shock and quickly moved aside. Seeing the girl sway and about to fall, he hastily supported her.
No matter how pretty a girl was, seeing her vomit like this, he felt no attraction; his distaste was palpable, "Where's your phone? Call your friend to come clean this up."
The girl couldn't help vomiting again, rummaging through her bag while giggling foolishly, "I remembered now, I forgot to bring it."
"...Do you remember their number?"
"I don't remember~"
Lu Liang, irritated, didn't want to deal with this drunk mess.
He picked up the vomit-covered key from the ground, intending to help her open the door and then leave her in her room.
But he realized the key was broken inside the lock—no wonder she couldn't insert it earlier.
"Yo, how come this key is so short?"
The girl stared at the key, dazed, and felt her world spinning, gradually leaning more heavily against Lu Liang.
Lu Liang's foot slipped, and he sat down on the ground, his palms, elbows, and arms rubbing into the sticky vomit.
Looking at his palms, he trembled with rage and immediately called the police, asking the officers to take the girl away.
...
It was past six in the morning at Bridge Police Station.
"Officer, can't I leave yet?"
Lu Liang yawned, his face showing his exhaustion.
The officer thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully, "Lu Liang, you didn't accidentally touch any inappropriate places, did you?"
"That girl wouldn't accuse me of taking advantage of her, would she?" Lu Liang furrowed his brows.
"Don't misunderstand, she was too drunk to make sense. We just had to ask routinely," the officer quickly explained.
After all, these days, there were too many instances of people settling scores after the fact. It was better for Lu Liang if they investigated thoroughly.
"It's understandable," Lu Liang sighed in relief.
He answered whatever the officer asked.
After about fifteen minutes, he walked out of the interrogation room. The girl was sitting on a nearby chair, giving him a goofy, dry laugh.
Lu Liang gave her a cold glance but said nothing, waiting until the officer returned with the evidence.
Next time, he definitely wouldn't meddle in such messes again.
Trouble—he'd thought a simple phone call would resolve everything, not expecting to have to stay at the station for so long.
Fortunately, the apartment was quite new, and the surveillance footage was very clear.
"Li Manli, do you have any more doubts?"
After watching the surveillance multiple times, Li Manli saw that she was the one who had initiated contact with Lu Liang, even soiling half of his body with her spit.
Her face blushed, not knowing what to say.
"Apologize properly to him, he was just trying to help and ended up being hassled for most of the night," the police officer beside her reminded.
"Uncle, I'm really sorry," Li Manli said, bowing in apology upon hearing this.
"It's fine, I'll be leaving now."
Lu Liang, with a cold expression, wondered, was he that old to be called an uncle?
The police officer gave a wry smile and sighed, "Lu Liang, thank you for your cooperation with our work."
"Cooperating with the law is every citizen's duty," Lu Liang said with a smile as he left the police station.
Li Manli anxiously asked, "Officer, he lives right across from me, he won't cause me any trouble, right?"
"Go buy some fruit and apologize to him properly, he won't hold a grudge," the older police officer suggested semisolicitly.
The younger officer also comforted her, "Don't worry, if there is any issue, feel free to contact us anytime."
"Thank you," Li Manli hesitated for a long time before deciding to follow the officers' advice.
She had just moved in and didn't want to search for a new apartment again, so she bought a bag of fruit intending to apologize to Lu Liang.
But she hesitated for a long time, never daring to knock on the door.
Her mind raced with thoughts, what if he was a bad person, what if he harassed her?
It wasn't until she heard some rustling noises from inside that she was scared and just wanted to retreat to her own room.
Any thoughts of apologizing were instantly forgotten.
But then, she realized the keyhole was blocked.
Li Manli was so anxious she was almost in tears.
Suddenly, the door behind her opened.
Seeing Lu Liang step out of his room,
Li Manli forced a smile and waved, "Hello."
Lu Liang, expressionless, as if he hadn't seen her, walked straight to the elevator and left.
Li Manli sighed in relief, but her face showed displeasure as she glared intensely in the direction Lu Liang had left, muttering, "Miser."
Meanwhile, Lu Liang slowly made his way to the store.
"Lu, you finally arrived, Mr. Liu is furious," a young girl, still naive in appearance, said with a worried look.
She had started this job only last year, and during a time when she struggled to meet the minimum targets, Lu had given her a few clients, helping her close her first deal, for which she was very grateful.
"It's no big deal," Lu said nonchalantly as he arrived at his workstation, surprised to find his computer locked.
Zhou Xiaowen whispered, "Mr. Liu came in this morning and had Manager Wu lock your computer."
A voice from inside the room called out, "Xiaowen, you haven't closed a deal this month yet, no need to run after them."
Lu followed the sound, "Mr. Liu, you seem to be looking more and more like a person these days."
At this, the office erupted into muffled laughter, the comment implying that previously he wasn't quite like a person.
Liu Jianchun chastised sternly, "Lu Liang, it is working hours now, and you are no longer part of our company. Please leave."
Lu poured himself a cup of water, sat back at his desk, crossed his legs and said, "Mr. Liu, according to the rules, three days of absence counts as voluntary resignation. What day is it today? You want to fire me? Are you qualified?"
"You... you..."
Liu Jianchun, trembling with anger, strictly speaking, did not have the authority to fire Lu Liang.
Since Lu Liang was a long-time employee at Green View, had received sales champion awards several times, and was on a basic salary contract, unless he committed a severe infraction, firing him would require compensation according to the N+1 severance policy.