Facade of Love

My nerves were on edge, and at this moment, they reached their peak. | abruptly turned around, my face pale as | stared at Charlie. | was frozen in place with my body feeling numb.

He looked atwith an expression that revealed neither joy nor anger, scanning the room and then resting his gaze on the open cab| had been examining. He raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "You seem to like gold bars." | shook my head, realizing that | had been too nervous and had trespassed into someone's private space without permission. It was indeed impolite. | quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, | accidentally walked in here. | didn't take anything, really..." He curved his lips into a faint smile and said, "You can have anything you like here. Don't be nervous. I'm not angry." | pursed my lips, but I could not shake off the eerie feeling. As | looked around the room, | asked, "Do you... sleep here?" He was quite frank and nodded, saying, "I can't sleep well anywhere else. | find it comfortable here." With that, he took out a red sandalwood box from the caband handeda rectangular small box from inside it, saying, "A New Year's gift." | reached out and took it, casually glancing at the contents of the sandalwood box. There was a half-eaten piece of candy and a superhero mask. The mask looked somewhat familiar, but | could not recall where | had seen it before.

Without thinking too much, | looked at the rectangular box in my hand and asked him, "What is it?" He smiled gently and said, "Open it and see." Out of curiosity, | opened the box, and inside was an exquisitely crafted dagger. It was only ten centimeters long, with a sharp blade that gave the impression of being able to strike a fatal blow.

| was bewildered and looked up at him, asking, "A dagger?" He nodded and explained, "I've been carrying this dagger withfor many years. It's for self-defense and convenient to carry around. Keep it with you, and use it to protect yourself when needed." Receiving a dagger as a gift was a first for me. My tense mood relaxed slightly. | looked up at him and said, "It's the first tsomeone has givena dagger. Thank you. But | haven't had a chance to prepare a New Year's gift for you." He smiled and brushed it off, saying, "You've already givenquite a few gifts." Knowing that he was being polite, | did not insist. | could not help but glance at the strange bedroom again, especially at the guns on the shelf. | asked, "Are these part of your collection, or..." He calmly replied, "Both." I nodded, feeling a lingering fear in my heart. | did not want to stay here any longer.

| headed back up the stairs and returned to the cat's house.

It was getting dark outside, and the sky was overcast, hinting at the possibility of rain. | had been here for quite a while, and the recent incident leftfeeling uneasy.

| said my goodbyes to Charlie and prepared to leave.

Seeing that | was in a hurry to go, Charlie furrowed his brow slightly and suggested, "Why don't you stay for dinner before heading back?" I shook my head and forced a smile, saying, "There's a small family gathering tonight, and | need to go back to be with my mother." He did not insist and just asked Inch to drivehome.

On the way back, | was lost in thought, and Inch noticed. He asked, "Ms. Scott, is something bothering you?" | shook my head out of habit and replied, "It's nothing." While my emotions were in turmoil, my phone suddenly rang. It was Officer Jackson calling, and seeing his call somehow broughta sense of relief. | answered the phone, saying, "Hello, Officer Jackson?" Officer Jackson's voice cfrom the other end of the line, "Ms. Scott, do you have stnow? Can we meet in person?" | was somewhat surprised. At this time, outside was filled with the sound of firecrackers and fireworks lighting up the sky due to the festivities. Why would he want to meetnow? Hesitating, | asked, "Is there something important?" There was a pause on the other end of the line for a few seconds, then he said, "Yes, the photo of the person who killed Jack has been recovered by our technical department. It's not suitable to discuss this over the phone. I'd like to meet in person." Hearing this, | did not think too much and replied, "Alright, please sendthe address, and I'll cover immediately." He agreed and hung up the phone.

| did not know why, but | suddenly turned to Inch and asked, "Inch, how did you meet Mr. Yates?" Inch noticeably hesitated, looking at me, and asked, "Ms. Scott, why are you suddenly askingthis?" "Just curious." He smiled faintly and casually replied, "A few months ago, Mr. Yates got into an accident, and we happened to bump into each other." He brushed over the topic, and | did not press further, but an increasing sense of unease gnawed atwithout a clear reason.

As the car arrived in the bustling area, | suddenly said, "Please stop the car here. You should go back soon. Your mother is probably waiting for you to have dinner." Inch was puzzled by my decision to get out of the car before reaching home. He asked, "Is there something you want to buy, Ms. Scott? It's not easy to find a taxi right now. I can wait for you to finish shopping and then take you home." | shook my head and looked at him, saying, "No need. You go back first. I'll stroll around for a while, and I should be able to find a taxi later." He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, please take care of yourself."