After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 10

Taking You Out to Dinner

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Three polite raps sounded at the door. The strength was neither too heavy nor too light; noise of this degree would not make Zhu Lingyi feel irritable.

When the knocking began, Zhu Lingyi was lying on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, holding a foreign book entirely in English, reading with focused concentration.

At this moment, Qin Shuyue was standing at the door, her hand tightly clutching that dorm withdrawal decision which had been returned untouched. She was extremely restless and uneasy.

With a “creak,” the door opened from the inside.

A pair of familiar black leather shoes appeared before Qin Shuyue’s eyes.

The person opposite her leaned against the doorframe with arms crossed, her eyes harboring a trace of mischievous playfulness.

“What, is Eldest Miss Qin finally willing to come back?”

Qin Shuyue, however, remained indifferent to the mockery in her words, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

Blocked at the entrance, she avoided the question and asked, “Miss Zhu, may I come inside?”

“No.”

Zhu Lingyi lifted her chin slightly and let out a soft snort, looking quite arrogant.

Qin Shuyue’s heart sank.

She quickly looked up and glanced at Zhu Lingyi, who was leaning lazily by the door.

This woman… what exactly does she want to do!

“I heard you’re quite good at cooking?”

Zhu Lingyi suddenly asked this non-sequitur.

“What?”

Qin Shuyue froze for a moment.

Obviously, she hadn’t expected Zhu Lingyi to suddenly ask such a question.

How strange. What exactly was this woman up to?

“Answer me, do you know how to cook or not?”

Qin Shuyue tilted her head and thought for a moment. She replied softly, “I can do a bit, but it probably won’t be to your taste.”

“How will we know if you don’t make it?”

As she spoke, she naturally took hold of Qin Shuyue’s wrist and led her into the house.

The moment a temperature that didn’t belong to her brushed against her delicate, boneless skin, Qin Shuyue’s body instinctively flinched with great sensitivity.

The person behind her didn’t move her feet, which made Zhu Lingyi somewhat curious. She turned back only to see Qin Shuyue standing dazed on the spot, looking utterly bewildered.

Zhu Lingyi didn’t seem to notice anything. “What are you staying there for? Do you really want to be kicked out?”

These words jolted Qin Shuyue awake.

She cared deeply about this accommodation. If she could stay here long-term, it meant she could save a large amount of housing fees, and then she could continue paying for her mother’s medical treatment!

So she shook her head almost subconsciously. “No!”

“I’m coming in right now.”

Zhu Lingyi nodded, then pulled Qin Shuyue by the hand into the room.

Having her wrist held and being pulled into the house like that left Qin Shuyue feeling a bit dazed even after Zhu Lingyi let go.

Immediately after, Zhu Lingyi walked behind her, reached out, and took the room-change document from Qin Shuyue’s hand.

She glanced at it and then casually tossed the decision onto the sofa.

The document bounced once on the springy sofa before lying there steadily.

Next, she slowly rested her hands on Qin Shuyue’s shoulders, her gaze shifting toward the kitchen in front of her. She tilted her chin slightly to signal her.

Perhaps this was just an unintentional gesture by Zhu Lingyi, but Qin Shuyue shuddered again.

Noticing Qin Shuyue’s reaction, Zhu Lingyi raised an eyebrow slightly, leaned toward her ear, and asked, “…What’s wrong, Qin Shuyue?”

The distinct, cold fragrance from Zhu Lingyi’s body tightly entwined itself around every strand of Qin Shuyue’s hair and seeped into every inch of her skin.

Qin Shuyue’s mind suddenly recalled the… things… playing on the computer when she first saw Zhu Lingyi.

It felt as if a current of electricity was flowing through her inch by inch. Like a startled tabby cat, her fur stood on end, and she suddenly leaped forward.

After establishing a relatively safe distance from Zhu Lingyi, she turned back and forced a polite, distant smile, though she still kept her head down, avoiding eye contact.

A strand of hair tucked behind her ear fell to her shoulder. “Miss Zhu, do you wish for me to prepare dinner for you?”

Zhu Lingyi slowly lowered her hands from Qin Shuyue’s shoulders and tucked them into her pockets.

Qin Shuyue rarely looked people in the eye, so she naturally missed the flash of successful interest that flickered in Zhu Lingyi’s gaze.

“Naturally.” She gestured toward the kitchen.

“Begin.”

She gave a simple command.

Qin Shuyue nodded, the faint smile remaining on her lips.

She rolled up the sleeves of the blue-and-white striped shirt she was wearing—a shirt so old it had faded from washing. She turned to open the kitchen door.

But she had forgotten that tucked in her sleeve was the crumpled ball of paper those people had thrown onto her desk during class.

As she unconsciously rolled up her sleeves, the ball of paper slipped neatly out of her cuff and fell.

Qin Shuyue had turned back too quickly; by the time the paper hit the floor, the kitchen door was already halfway open.

In that momentary lapse of attention, Zhu Lingyi actually bent down and picked up the paper ball.

Just as Zhu Lingyi frowned slightly, intending to unfold the paper, Qin Shuyue’s voice suddenly spiked. She seemed like a completely different person as she urgently tried to stop her, screaming, “Don’t look!!”

In the next moment, Qin Shuyue reached out and lunged toward Zhu Lingyi as if her life depended on it.

In her eyes, there was only that ball of paper covered in black ink.

“Hey!”

Zhu Lingyi hadn’t expected Qin Shuyue to have such a massive reaction, lunging at her like a wild beast.

She retreated several steps, afraid of being knocked down by Qin Shuyue’s irrational state.

To prevent Qin Shuyue from continuing her relentless pursuit, she quickly recalled what had caused the abnormality and immediately said:

“Qin Shuyue, calm down.”

“I won’t look at it.”

These final words seemed to have a calming effect.

After hearing this, Qin Shuyue finally regained some of her senses and stopped lunging.

Coming to her senses and realizing her behavior had been too extreme, Qin Shuyue quickly apologized to Zhu Lingyi. “Miss Zhu, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…”

“Enough.”

Zhu Lingyi rubbed her forehead with some helplessness and then raised her hand to stop Qin Shuyue from bowing and apologizing.

“Now, go back to doing what you should be doing.”

Qin Shuyue’s half-bent waist straightened up, and she turned to enter the kitchen.

But after taking only two steps, she turned back to look at Zhu Lingyi.

“That paper…”

The ball of paper held in Zhu Lingyi’s palm had become even tighter due to the recent commotion, crumpled into a very solid mass.

Zhu Lingyi understood her meaning. In front of her, she threw the ball of paper into the kitchen trash can. It fell into the vast expanse of the bin, swallowed by the waste.

She spread her hands. “Can you be at ease now?”

Qin Shuyue suddenly looked up at Zhu Lingyi and gave her a very, very solemn and forceful nod.

“Thank you, Miss Zhu.”

Zhu Lingyi was caught off guard by this reaction. She froze for a moment, watching Qin Shuyue’s figure as she entered the kitchen with a sense of relief. She couldn’t help but show a confused expression.

Why did she say… thank you?

Had she done something so worthy of gratitude?

Was it just because she threw away a ball of paper that made her nervous?

Was there something written on that paper?

Something that couldn’t be seen by others?

But… had she seen it?

Before Zhu Lingyi could think it through, Qin Shuyue pulled open the kitchen door and poked her small head out.

“Excuse me, may I ask… where are the groceries?”

Zhu Lingyi suddenly looked at Qin Shuyue with an expression of realization and spread her hands. She shrugged quite innocently. “Ah! I forgot to buy groceries.”

A look of great regret appeared on her face.

“It seems we can only go out to eat.”

Qin Shuyue didn’t quite react. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Zhu Lingyi with complete confusion.

“Huh?”

“I said, we’re going out for dinner.”

Zhu Lingyi shook her head and walked to the living room sofa. The fourth sofa was piled with her belts.

She carefully selected a belt. The buckle was engraved with a very high-end yet simple pattern, surrounded by tiny, sparkling diamonds.

Each diamond was worth a fortune.

Qin Shuyue pulled down her sleeves and walked to Zhu Lingyi’s side, filled with bafflement.

“Haven’t you seen someone put on a belt before? You look so surprised.”

Zhu Lingyi glanced at her, then looked down to find the right hole on the belt to secure the buckle.

Then, with a light press of her thumb, she fastened the belt.

“Have you seen enough?”

Qin Shuyue snapped out of it and nodded. “Y-yes.”

“Why are you so distracted?” Zhu Lingyi tapped Qin Shuyue’s forehead with her index finger.

Qin Shuyue let out an “ah,” and as soon as she turned her head, she saw Zhu Lingyi’s hand was already on the doorknob.

She quickly spoke up and asked Zhu Lingyi, “Is it true?”

“What’s true?”

Zhu Lingyi was stunned by the nonsensical question.

“Are you really taking me?”

Qin Shuyue pointed her thin index finger at herself, still standing there dazed. Her eyes were full of disbelief, and her face couldn’t hide the surprise as she looked at Zhu Lingyi.

“With you… to have dinner together?”

“Have you never eaten with a roommate before? Why do you look so overwhelmed?”

“Is my invitation that surprising?”

After saying this, she gave a “hiss” sound.

“Well, it truly is…”

“…your honor.”

Qin Shuyue straightened her faded blue-and-white striped shirt, her heart already filled with joy.

Ever since the earth-shattering changes in her family, she had never received an invitation from anyone.

She hadn’t even spoken more than a single sentence to anyone.

The sudden invitation did indeed throw her into a bit of a panic for a moment.

Watching the flustered little person in front of her trying to tidy herself up, Zhu Lingyi suddenly thought this short little sprout was actually somewhat cute.

Zhu Lingyi was at least 178cm tall, while Qin Shuyue…

She estimated she was only about 160cm? Maybe a bit more?

“Wait—wait a minute!”

Qin Shuyue suddenly blurted out, her eyes shining with star-like brightness.

Zhu Lingyi was growing interested in this mysterious little thing.

She nodded. Her mood seemed quite good, and her tone softened.

She said to Qin Shuyue, “Go ahead.”

Having received permission, Qin Shuyue immediately turned around and scurried toward the second floor, heading straight for her room.

She pulled open her suitcase and wardrobe, rummaging through them to find clothes.

When she had looked down to tidy her clothes earlier, she suddenly felt they looked so old.

She should change into a better outfit to go to dinner with Zhu Lingyi.

Qin Shuyue buried her head in her suitcase and wardrobe, searching and searching. Finally, she found a dress she was satisfied with.

It was a very simple white floral dress.

Patterns of cherries and strawberries circled the little white dress, and the white lace trim was decorated with a small red bow, adding a bright splash of red to the pure white color.

She turned carefully in front of the mirror before finally walking out of the room satisfied, heading downstairs with great excitement.

Her happiness was almost overflowing.

And as Zhu Lingyi watched her look so happy, she couldn’t help but feel puzzled again.

Is she really this happy?

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