Lu Jinnian waited till the bathroom doors were close before bringing the plate of cake downstairs. He passed the cake over to Madam Chen before heading out.
The night breeze blew comfortably against him. Instinctively, he touched his pockets for his box of cigarettes. He took a stick out and brought it to his mouth, but just when he was about to light it up, he remembered the words that Qiao Anhao had said to him in the hospital: Smoking is bad for health, you should quit.
He paused for a while before removing the stick he held in his mouth. He stuffed it back into the cigarette box and hesitated once more. Walking over to the trash bin at the side, he threw in both the entire box of cigarettes and the lighter.
He was out for about ten minutes, and after calming his heart, he turned and re-entered the house.