The male college student living upstairs posted a private photo in the homeowners' group.

Beneath his sweat-soaked white shirt, his abs were faintly visible. His wrists were bound with a women's silk scarf and the pose was suggestive.

I didn't dare to look any longer and was about to log out when I suddenly remembered something.

The starry blue Dior scarf that bound his wrists was exactly the same as the one I had tied around my wife's neck this morning.

***

The photo was quickly taken down. At three in the morning, I was wide awake. Outside, thunder roared and rain pelted against the windows. Suddenly, I heard a woman’s heated breathing coming from above, faintly tinged with pleasure. My heart raced.

I opened the pinned chat in Whatsapp. Olive had sent three messages two hours earlier.

[I’m working late, I’m feeling tired. Miss you.]

[Are you asleep?]

[Good night.]

I shouldn’t have doubted, but the image of that familiar patterned scarf lingered in my mind.

I directly called Olive and to my surprise, she picked up instantly.

“Danny?”

Her clean and melodic voice sent a wave of warmth through me.

“I was woken up by the thunder and wanted to call you,” I said.

“Let’s stay on the line. You sleep and I’ll work.”

I felt relieved. Not wanting to disturb her late-night shift, I reminded her to take care of herself before hanging up.

The next morning, I walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see Olive, who should have been at the office.

I paused for a moment. “What are you doing back?”

She turned to me with a gentle smile. “I couldn’t bear to let you drive alone, so I came back. Plus, I wanted to make you some pumpkin porridge.”

The morning sunlight quietly streamed through the window, casting a gentle glow on her lips, where a faint dimple appeared.

While waiting for the elevator, I noticed the faint shadows under her eyes and my heart ached a little.

“My leg is healed, so I can drive myself. Next time, just rest at the office after your shift and don’t make an extra trip for me.”

The elevator arrived, stopping at our floor. Olive turned her face towards me, quickly planting a kiss on my cheek before whispering in my ear, “I know, but I just want to go to work with you.”

My ears tingled with warmth and I felt like I was back at eighteen. I remembered the girl in her school uniform, deliberately tying her shoelaces at my front door, pretending it was a coincidence.

When she got caught, her face turned bright red as she quietly said, “I just want to go to school with you.”

I took Olive’s hand as we stepped into the elevator, where the male college student from upstairs happened to be.

He was dressed in casual, simple clothes, wearing a slung backpack, silently leaning in the corner of the elevator while playing on his phone. His appearance was a stark contrast to the austere look from last night’s photo.

When we reached the first floor, he walked past us without a word. In that fleeting moment, something caught my eye. I looked up to see a circular pendant hanging from a necklace around his neck.

As we pulled up outside my office building, Olive turned to me and kissed me before I got out of the car. Her delicate fingers brushed my face. In that daze, something flickered in my mind and suddenly, clarity washed over me. It wasn’t the pendant.

The item hanging from the guy's necklace wasn't a pendant. It was the silver ring that Olive had lost a few months ago.

I smiled and waved goodbye to Olive. But as I turned to walk away from the car, a deep sense of dread washed over me. Even though I was surrounded by warm sunlight, it felt as though I had plunged into the depths of winter.

The woman I had been in love with for many years had cheated on me. It had been going on for at least a few months and I was completely unaware.

After finishing work, I asked my supervisor for a half-day off and took a taxi to the law firm where Olive worked. I wasn’t there to see her but to check on the car she had driven that morning.

Using the spare key, I unlocked the car and accessed the dashcam footage. The playback interface was clean, with only this morning’s recording left, unedited.

After dropping me off at the office, Olive had received a call. It was her friend, Rachel.

“Did you have a fight with your little wolf cub?”

“What's wrong?”

“He couldn't reach you, so he called me.”

Olive replied coolly, “He crossed the line. I warned him not to disturb Danny. This morning, when Danny and I were leaving, he deliberately showed up in front of us.”

Rachel sounded a bit frustrated. “What are you thinking? If you don’t want Danny to find out, why let your affair partner move into the apartment above you?”

Olive was silent for a moment before softly responding, “Danny hurt his leg before and needs help. I didn’t feel comfortable letting a stranger take care of him.”

Rachel sighed. “I don’t understand you. You’ve been through so much together, but now... never mind, just be careful.”

“Yeah, I know my limits.”

I called Olive to let her know that my college buddy Harry needed to talk and I’d be staying at his place tonight.

Olive offered to drop me off after work, but I declined.

There was a hint of hurt in her voice. “Why not? Do you no longer need me? I'll drop you off at his place and leave. I won’t interrupt your time.”

“I've already arranged it with Harry. He’s coming to pick me up.”

“Well, you have to come back early. I can’t sleep at night when you’re not beside me.”

A pang hit my chest and I fought back tears as I forced a smile and agreed.

Before getting out of the car, I hid a recording pen in Olive's car.

Olive’s car returned to the apartment complex at midnight. The passenger door opened and the guy I’d seen in the elevator that morning stepped out.

Olive extended her arms and gently wrapped them around his neck, tilting her face up to say something to him.

Suddenly, he pulled her tightly into his embrace, his hand cradling the back of her head. They leaned against the car door, kissing for a while before he lifted her effortlessly and carried her into the building.

I stood quietly in place, my heart feeling as though a hand was tightly gripping it, making it hard to breathe.

I opened the car door. Everything inside was impeccably normal. I found the recording pen I had hidden earlier that afternoon and pressed the play button.

Olive had called the guy after finishing work, asking him to wait at the school gate.

When he got into the car, she asked, “What do you want to eat later?”

His voice was clean as he replied, “I want to eat you.”

“I focus on driving; stop messing around.”

“Olive, I wore the underwear you gave me today. Do you want to see?”

Olive sounded a bit exasperated. “I’m driving!”

“Then just find a place to stop for a moment. Olive, I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

Olive didn’t reply.

Before long, the car came to a halt. Their voices, thick with desire, began to intertwine.

The guy mumbled, “I’m sorry, Olive. I promise I won’t show up in front of your husband again. You can’t ignore me from now on.”