“Don’t touch me.” Jasmine removed his clothes and then her hands paused and then looked at him and
said tenderly, “Boyce.”
Boyce turned around but did not react.
Jasmine was speechless.
She frowned and stood next to the bed. She removed a sleeve with much difficulty and now Boyce’s
other arm was under his body. She had no strength to push him over.
What should she do?
Jasmine was flustered and did not know what to do. She could not let him sleep like that. He would be
uncomfortable. She knelt beside the bed and mustered all her strength to roll him over. Boyce was
frustrated and brushed her hand away. He said with disdain, “Don’t touch me.”
Jasmine froze and looked at him. It was the first time she saw him in a drunk state. She felt that it was
both amusing and frustrating.
“Sleep in this manner if you don’t want me to touch you. Don’t blame me if you ache all over tomorrow.”
Jasmine sniped back and then took a blanket from the cupboard to cover him.
Boyce stirred and then stretched out his hand and demanded, “Where’s my phone?”
“You’re drunk, what do you need your phone for?” Jasmine grabbed his hand and continued, “Rest
now.”
Boyce flung away her hand and persisted, “No, I need to make a call.”
Jasmine placed her hand on his forehead and asked, “Who do you need to call when you’re so drunk?”
“I miss her.” Boyce turned his back towards Jasmine.
People speak the truth when they were drunk. Jasmine felt happy that he missed her when he was
drunk. She took a damp hand towel and wiped his face and hands. She removed his shoes and socks
and covered his legs with the blanket. She then tidied the apartment and then took a shower and laid
down beside him. He was reeking of alcohol and Jasmine felt disgusted by that perhaps it was due to
her pregnancy that her sense of smell was more acute. She turned to face away from him and soon he
reached for her and hugged her with his leg over her. His leg was very heavy and Jasmine pushed it
away. Soon it was back over her and she could hardly sleep. She was very tired and took a blanket
with her to sleep in the sitting room.
Boyce woke up in the morning and saw that he was alone in bed. He went out of the room and saw
Jasmine sleeping on the sofa and asked, “Why are you sleeping here?”
Jasmine sat up, folded the blanket, and said, “Go and take a shower.”
Boyce stood in place and felt uneasy. What made Jasmine sleep on the sofa? Did he do anything to
upset her when he was drunk?
“Why did you sleep on the sofa?” Boyce asked again.
Jasmine was puzzled and said, “Do you intend to go to work in this state? It’s almost seven o’clock.
Quickly take a shower and change your clothes.”
Boyce looked at the time and he did not have much time to get ready for work. He quickly asked, “Did I
do anything last night to upset you?”
Jasmine now understood why he had been behaving strangely. He was worried that she was angry
with him.
She looked at the blanket in her hands and then walked over to him, smiled, and said, “No.”
She gently gave him a peck on his chin and said, “Go and have a shower.”
Boyce relaxed and heaved a sigh of relief. He then went to wash up and got ready for work.
Jasmine overslept and had not prepared breakfast. Jasmine dressed up neatly and then said, “Let’s get
a bite on our way out today.”
Boyce agreed and saw that Jasmine was going out and asked, “Where are you going?”
“To work,” Jasmine replied.
Boyce raised his eyebrow and asked, “Work? But you’re pregnant…”
“I can’t be doing anything. It’s just an internship.” Jasmine grabbed her bag and continued, “I was
already on leave for a couple of days. I need to go back to work today.”
She stepped out of the house and Boyce quickly said, “Wait for me. I’ll send you.”
Jasmine replied, “It’s nearby, no need…”
Boyce looked at her and said, “I’ll send you.”
Jasmine was speechless.
Boyce sent her to her workplace before going to work. He was busier now and Jasmine finished her
work earlier than him. As she entered the lift, a middle-aged man walked over with a box of apples.
When he saw that the doors were closing, he quickly yelled, “Wait…”
Jasmine quickly pressed the button for the doors to open. The man with the box of apples entered and
thanked Jasmine. Jasmine simply smiled in return.
Thereafter, he did not press any button for the level. It appeared that he was going to the same level as
Jasmine. Once they got off the lift, the man asked, “Are you living here?”
Jasmine nodded.
The man said, “Do you know Mr. Shawn?”
Jasmine looked at him for a couple of seconds and asked, “Why are you looking for him?”
The man appeared to be in his fifties and said, “Mr. Shawn had helped and I would like to express my
gratitude. I don’t have much money and so I brought some homegrown apples and would like to give
him a box.”
Jasmine said, “He would not accept any gifts from anyone.”
In Boyce’s current status, it was inappropriate for him to accept any gifts. Even if a box of apples
appeared to be harmless, nevertheless, it was inappropriate.
“I need to express my gratitude for his help.” The middle-aged man said and asked, “Do you know
him?”
Jasmine nodded.
“You’re his wife?” It was obvious that the middle-aged man knew at this point. He shoved the box of
apples to her and said, “A box of apples isn’t valuable, please accept these.”
Jasmine pushed back but the middle-aged man insisted and left.
Before the lift doors closed, he said to Jasmine, “Mr. Shawn is a good man.”
Jasmine smiled proudly.
Once the lift closed, Jasmine looked at the box of apples and decided not to throw them away. She
took the box of apples into the apartment and then placed the box on the dining table. She then called
Boyce and asked when he would be back. Boyce told her not to wait for him as he would be home late.
There was an old case that was handed over to him. This case had no progress for a year and that was
why it was given to him.
Although Officer Miller liked him, Boyce rose to this position due to his abilities because he had no
connections. Now this case was a double-edged sword. If he solved it, it may reaffirm his abilities.
However, if he did not, then some people might use his failure to remove him from the position.
That was why he had to put extra effort into cracking this case.
Jasmine cooked only enough for herself that night. She washed up after dinner and fell asleep. She
was groggy when Boyce came back. She knew that she had something to tell him but she could not
remember what it was.
Boyce laid on the bed and hugged her to sleep.
The next morning, Boyce received a call that appeared to be urgent. He told Jasmine to go to work on
her own and quickly left.
Just as Jasmine was taking the milk out of the refrigerator, she saw the apples on the dining table and
remembered what she wanted to tell Boyce. She had not eaten any apples for a while and walked over
to open the box for an apple.
As soon as she opened the box, there were no apples inside. Instead, the box was neatly stacked with
dollar bills.
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