It was late by the time Chen Song returned home that night.
When he arrived, the house was silent. The only sounds were the tireless chirping of insects in the grass and cicadas in the trees.
The house was pitch black. Thinking his family was already asleep, Chen Song quietly filled a basin with water and gave himself a quick rinse outside.
Once he was done, he entered their room and felt his way toward the bed in the darkness. Suddenly, a voice spoke up. "Did they find the murderer?"
Chen Song jumped. "You're still awake? I thought you were all asleep."
"I have too much on my mind. The more I think, the more awake I feel. The more I try to sleep, the harder it is to drift off."
The room was relatively cool, but it still felt a bit stuffy to Chen Song. Since they were a long-married couple who had seen it all, he simply stripped down to his shorts and climbed into the mosquito netting.
