Chapter 22

Before returning home, Michael cleaned the car seat and floor mats in the parking lot, and formatted the car recorder.

Amanda was already home, just finished showering, drying her hair in the bathroom with a buzzing sound.

Michael threw the dirty clothes from his luggage into the washing machine, then entered the room and called out, "I'm back."

The buzzing stopped, and Amanda rushed out, opening her arms as if to throw herself at Michael: "Honey, you're finally back!"

She was dressed coolly in a camisole and shorts, her body lotion scented with roses.

In the past, Michael would mostly hug her and say some naughty things, but this time was different. He resisted her approach with his whole being, raising his arm abruptly to block her: "Don't come over."

Amanda's eyes widened in surprise: "Wh-what's wrong?"

Michael knew he had overreacted. He quickly adjusted his mood and smiled bitterly, "I'm dirty and smelly again. You just finished showering, don't get any smell on you."

"Oh, you're making such a big reaction, you scared me..." Amanda pretended to pinch her nose at the smell of smoke and sweat on him, "You really stink, go take a shower and then have soup."

"Okay."

Michael casually tossed the almost empty luggage into the cloakroom and grabbed a set of quick-drying clothes, heading for the bathroom.

Once the door closed, Amanda went to the cloakroom, opened Michael's luggage, and found a toiletry bag. She checked it and found nothing missing or extra.

She went to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, poured out the soup from the thermos, placed it on the dining table, then went to the washing machine to take out Michael's dirty clothes.

Except for one set that didn't smell much, the others didn't smell good, with a hint of fishiness.

But she didn't smell any unfamiliar perfume, which slightly reassured Amanda.

Tonight, Amanda's mother heard that Michael was out alone again and frowned, reminding her daughter to be more vigilant.

Her mother said that although Michael wasn't a big shot, he had grown up from childhood and knew his roots. However, a man in the business world couldn't avoid some worldly matters. She advised Amanda to accompany Michael more often when he went out, which could deter many temptations.

Amanda had traveled with Michael once before, and she really didn't like the environment of the port fishing village: simple conditions, crude villagers, and a noisy fish market only in the early morning.

So every time she had to go with him, she felt it was troublesome from the bottom of her heart.

Amanda solemnly assured her mother that Michael was very well-behaved and always informed her wherever he went.

Amanda's mother said she was too trusting, and quickly changed the subject to "marriage." She asked whether the couple had discussed this matter, considering Michael's age.

Amanda evaded the question with a few words.

She knew Michael had plans to propose.

Amanda hadn't asked about the specific preparations, but she hadn't planned to get married so soon. She wanted to study abroad for another year or two.

Also, if she married Michael, they would have to prepare for children soon after, which was not in her life plan.

Michael was indeed a suitable candidate for marriage, but their worlds didn't overlap much.

In Amanda's circle, the topics of discussion were usually about universities attended, countries studied in, and companies worked for—not about the price of fish maw in the last decade.

Amanda stuffed the clothes back into the washing machine, thinking about how to tell Michael not to mention marriage for now.

Michael finished his shower quickly and, coming out, saw the bowl of soup on the table. Amanda urged him to drink it before it cooled.

The slightly cooled soup had a layer of semi-congealed fat on top, which made Michael somewhat nauseous. Reluctant to refuse, he gulped down two big mouthfuls as if drinking Chinese medicine.

At that moment, he suddenly thought of the sandwich Emily had made, which was also lukewarm, yet he had enjoyed it immensely.

Amanda found a movie and asked Michael to watch it with her in the living room. However, Michael was exhausted, and the artistic and romantic content of the movie made him even more sleepy.

As the movie reached its emotional and touching scenes, Amanda was deeply moved. Suddenly, there was an annoying snoring sound beside her. She looked over and saw that Michael had already fallen asleep with his head tilted back, ruining the atmosphere completely.

Amanda sighed helplessly, poking her boyfriend's head with her index finger and muttering to herself as she picked up her phone.

She first opened Alipay, found Anderson's number, and sent a message asking, "Bro, what are you up to?"

There was no reply from there. She then opened Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and messaged another ambiguous contact in a different city with the same question.

—Nowadays, there are countless social platforms; there's no need to use text messages and QQ (Chinese messaging app) for chatting.

It seemed everyone was busy tonight, as no one responded to her messages. She lost interest in the movie and idly scrolled through her social media feed.

Suddenly, Amanda came across a post from Michael's sister fifteen minutes ago.

—Yezi posted a grid of nine photos, all dishes, saying it's a friend's newly opened restaurant. Tonight, a group of old friends came specially to support, and they were preparing to move on to Qing Bar for the next event.

Amanda's pupils trembled, unable to believe what she was seeing as she glanced at Michael, who was snoring loudly in his deep sleep.

Tonight, Yezi wasn't at home. Where had Michael just gone?

Her boyfriend's phone was on the low table. Amanda bit her lip and, without much consideration, gently picked up the phone.

During their courtship, they had set the same password on their phones— a combination of their birthdays: Michael's 919 plus her 118.

Amanda entered the password, only to see "Password incorrect" displayed immediately. She frowned, entered it again, still wrong.

Then she tried Michael's birthday and then hers separately, but it was still wrong.

Amanda was annoyed and immediately suspected Michael of wrongdoing.

She knelt on the sofa, thinking of holding the phone in front of Michael's face to see if facial recognition would work.

But it wouldn't work without opening his eyes. The more Amanda thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Just as she was about to wake Michael up, he suddenly opened his eyes!

Caught off guard, Amanda's heart jumped to her throat. Feeling guilty, she tried to put away the phone, but Michael grabbed her wrist tightly.

Michael was strong, and Amanda couldn't hold onto the phone due to the pain. She cried out, "It hurts!"

Michael slowly released his grip, as if only now recognizing who was in front of him. He furrowed his brow and asked, "What were you doing just now?"

Rubbing her wrist, Amanda didn't answer his question. Instead, her voice became aggrieved as she accused Michael of being "unfaithful": "When did you change the password on your phone? It's not our birthdays anymore..."

Michael narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze becoming sharper: "So you wanted to check my phone?"

"I-I..." Her eyes darted around, and Amanda felt even more aggrieved, "You've been so cold to me lately, so I..."

Although what Amanda said was true, Michael found her accusation amusing.

Bending down, he picked up his phone and, right in front of Amanda, entered "118919".

"The password has changed, but just the order. I changed it because a shop assistant once saw my old password," Michael explained.

Taking a leaf out of Amanda's previous playbook, he handed the phone to her, "If you don't trust me, just say so. Which app's chat records do you want to see? Messages? QQ? Alipay? Little Red Book? Nowadays, there are so many apps. Do you want to take a closer look?"

The male and female protagonists on TV crossed the bustling street, embracing passionately under the street lamp. Outside the TV screen, however, the atmosphere between the male and female leads was awkward. Despite being close, an invisible barrier seemed to separate them.

Michael handed Amanda's phone back to her and simultaneously retrieved Amanda's phone left on the single sofa.

With a tap, the phone screen lit up, displaying a notification from Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book). Although she couldn't see the specific message, the profile picture showed it was from a guy.

Tapping twice, Michael smirked mischievously, "Amanda, I'm open and honest. What about you? Did you change your phone password?"