After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 17

Why is it that, for some reason, I inexplicably want to wait for you?

The call was answered quickly.

“Dr. Li,” Qin Shuyue said calmly.

Dr. Li got straight to the point. “You’ve arrived?”

Qin Shuyue gave a soft “mm” in response.

Over the phone, Dr. Li said directly, “Then go straight to the clinic to pay the fees, then come to Building C, Room 608, to see your mother.”

Qin Shuyue hung up the phone and first went to the clinic to line up for payment.

The familiar amount of 19,800 yuan was swiped from her bank account. Qin Shuyue stared at the receipt, her eyes devoid of even a trace of heartache for the money. She only feared that she was earning too little, that it wouldn’t be enough to treat her mother.

Having obtained the receipt, Qin Shuyue passed through Buildings A and B of the hospital and ran straight toward Building C.

“Mama…”

Qin Shuyue gripped the receipt tightly in her hand, a surge of excitement hidden deep in her heart. I’m coming to see you.

During the elevator ride, her heart beat extremely fast; there was the excitement of being lightheaded with joy, but also a sliver of secret sadness tucked away in a corner, unnoticed by others.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Qin Shuyue couldn’t wait to run toward Room 608. She quickly scanned the ward numbers on both sides of the corridor, counting silently in her head.

“607…”

“608!”

Just as she ran toward 608, she saw a familiar figure standing in front of the ward. The figure was tall and sturdy, wearing black-rimmed glasses, a blue silk-knit hat on his head, and a mask on his face as always. His hands were in his pockets, and his gaze was somewhat distant as he looked through the transparent glass window at the patient inside the ward hooked up to a ventilator.

The “da-da-da” sound of footsteps suddenly stopped. Dr. Li’s gaze did not move. With his hands thrust into the pockets of his white coat, he suddenly asked the girl beside him, who was a head shorter than him, “If your mother never wakes up, and her condition worsens, requiring even more money—what will you do?”

Without a moment’s consideration, Qin Shuyue answered him directly: “Save her.”

“As long as Mama can live, even if she never wakes up, I will save her.”

These words were spoken with extraordinary determination.

Dr. Li seemed to be won over by the young girl beside him. From three years ago, when she had frantically blocked her father from signing the application to withdraw treatment, to these past few years where she hadn’t missed a single treatment payment, even he—a man approaching forty—couldn’t help but admire her from the bottom of his heart.

Perhaps true affection existed in this world, but he had never encountered it. It wasn’t until he met Qin Shuyue that he truly understood the meaning of “blood is thicker than water” and sincere emotion. The mother’s unreserved sacrifice for her child, and the child’s unconditional return to the parent. It made him feel a sense of solemn respect for this girl who was only nineteen years old.

“Do you want to go in and see her?” Dr. Li asked relaxed, as he usually did.

Even though he knew the answer was the same every time, Dr. Li still asked out of habit. The answer he received was, as always, “No.”

Qin Shuyue shook her head. Standing on her tiptoes, she looked from afar through the glass of the ward at her mother lying on the sickbed. She looked around again.

“The air conditioning is on inside; will Mama be cold?” Her voice was soft and delicate, her eyes revealing her worry.

Dr. Li knew her concerns and replied, “She won’t be. The nurses who come for rounds pay attention to the patient’s condition. If the patient is cold or hot, they will adjust it accordingly.”

Having received Dr. Li’s guarantee and affirmation, Qin Shuyue finally felt at ease.

“Thank you.” She bowed sincerely to Dr. Li.

Dr. Li shook his head. “The person you should thank most is yourself.”

After leaving Airen Hospital, Qin Shuyue boarded the familiar No. 102 bus.

The scenery rotated, but the bus would always stop at the designated stations for a minute or so, waiting for passengers to board and disembark in an orderly fashion. It was a cycle, day after day. Just like Qin Shuyue’s dull and monotonous life, devoid of any joy.

“Next stop is Qianyang Road, passengers please…”

She picked up her canvas bag, stood up, and held onto the handrail, waiting patiently for the bus to come to a steady stop. After getting off, she hurried toward the barbecue restaurant across from the station.

“Boss Cai.”

Qin Shuyue glanced at her phone; it was 17:20, she was even forty minutes early.

Boss Cai was already accustomed to Qin Shuyue’s habit of arriving early. He pointed toward the back kitchen. “Go prep the vegetables, and the dishes in the sink—wash those while you’re at it.”

“Same old rule, I’ll count it as half an hour’s wages for you.”

Qin Shuyue stuffed her bag into the cabinet behind the front desk, then skillfully pulled out a work uniform and put it on. While dressing, she said, “Alright, Boss Cai.”

Her work generally started at 18:00 and lasted until closing at 23:00. Her main duties were in the back kitchen.

Originally, Boss Cai thought she looked good and wanted her to be a greeter, but Qin Shuyue was too shy. After a week, she had made no progress; she would even hide away, finding it difficult to communicate with people, let alone chat happily to bring in customers.

So, he had her do front-of-house work. Qin Shuyue had an excellent memory and could memorize the menu content fluently in less than an hour, but whenever a customer asked about a dish, she would stutter and couldn’t explain anything clearly.

Left with no choice, Boss Cai could only send her to work the front desk. But Qin Shuyue complained that the front desk wages were too low and suggested to Boss Cai that she work in the back kitchen.

That place, the back kitchen, was dirty and messy. The floor was covered in a layer of dishwater, with strangely colored detergent bubbles drifting freely. Let alone a young girl, even a rough man like himself cursed every day. But cursing was useless; when the shop got busy, who cared if the floor was wet or dry, clean or dirty? Getting the food out quickly so the customers didn’t get impatient was the only truth!

The cooks’ hands were flying as they stir-fried, and the dishwashing auntie’s hands were spinning with plates. But ever since Qin Shuyue arrived, everything seemed different.

The floor was clean at all times; there was no longer that dirty, green, bubbling dishwater. She could organize everything methodically—whether it was serving food, washing dishes, or preparing side dishes, she could actually manage it all. It was miraculous and an eye-opener for Boss Cai.

Qin Shuyue didn’t like to talk and was mostly very silent. While everyone else was grumbling and complaining openly or secretly, Qin Shuyue just went about her own work silently, never crying out about exhaustion or hardship.

Boss Cai had managed many employees, but he held her in particularly high regard. If it weren’t for the fact that Qin Shuyue was a student at a proper prestigious university, he would have wanted to train her to be the next store manager.

But Qin Shuyue, who was always working hard, had no idea about the boss’s thoughts. If she knew, she would probably… be very panicked and at a loss. Because no one had ever placed such great hope in her.

While Boss Cai was calculating in his mind, Qin Shuyue had already finished washing the dishes in the sink. She suddenly looked up and happened to meet Boss Cai’s gaze.

Qin Shuyue was suddenly flustered. She quickly checked herself all over, and when her eyes landed on the small dress she was wearing, she suddenly became agitated.

She waved her hands hurriedly to explain to Boss Cai, “Boss Cai, I—I know the shop rules, I—I didn’t mean to wear this here, I won’t do it next time…”

Boss Cai waved his hand dismissively. For someone who always followed the rules, an occasional lapse didn’t matter.

“Continue your work.” After saying that, Boss Cai went back to being busy.

Once six o’clock arrived, the number of people visibly increased. Shoulders rubbing, people coming and going. The shop quickly became busy, and the employees became mere blurs. Carrying trays, serving food, and tirelessly introducing the menu to customers. For a while, the atmosphere was noisy and bustling.

But all of this seemed to have nothing to do with Qin Shuyue. She kept her head down, busily working at the task at hand. Silently.

With a “click,” a soft sound of a door closing echoed in the sixth-floor apartment of Heqing Court. In the darkness, a pair of eyes coldly looked toward the doorway.

On the custom-made tablecloth, the food from the previous night was still laid out.

“So you finally decided to come back?” Zhu Lingyi spoke coldly, her tone full of displeasure.

When Qin Shuyue heard these words, she stood at the door woodenly, not knowing what Zhu Lingyi meant. In her ears, it took on a different meaning.

“Are you… going to kick me out?”

In fact, Qin Shuyue knew exactly where she stood. She knew she had offended Zhu Lingyi many times. Zhu Lingyi had grown up in the lap of luxury without any worries, and no one had ever had the courage to oppose or disobey her. Having left her several times, departing without saying goodbye, and ignoring her words… she must be disgusted with her to the extreme.

“The food on the table is what you didn’t finish that night.” Zhu Lingyi clapped her hands, and the living room lights instantly flickered on. Her gaze, however, went straight toward Qin Shuyue.

It carried a trace of annoyance. “I even brought that new item for you.”

Zhu Lingyi didn’t have an angry tone; her voice was very normal and very light—so light it was like a feather, making Qin Shuyue’s heart feel as if it might fly away with it.

She hid her exhaustion and curled her lips into a smile toward her. It was very submissive, very calm. There was even a sense of the “quiet years” being peaceful. She put down her canvas bag, took off her shoes, and walked quietly to the table.

But Zhu Lingyi hated it most when she smiled like that—not saying a word, not even offering a single shred of explanation. From last night until the early hours of today, she had been playing a disappearing act. And she, for some godforsaken reason, had actually waited for her until now.

Why did she deserve to be waited for? How did she dare let her sit here for a day and a night waiting for her return? No one had ever dared to make her wait; everyone treated her with the utmost respect, even spending three or four months in advance to learn her preferences for fear of provoking her.

Zhu Lingyi was practically about to explode with rage. Although it didn’t show on her face—one couldn’t tell she was angry at all—she was angry. Extremely annoyed. Over these dozen or so years, she had long learned to hide her temper. She wouldn’t let anyone guess her likes or dislikes. But she would express her anger in another way, as a warning to those fools who wanted to cross her red line.

In the next moment, Zhu Lingyi pointed at the packaged meal on the table that had already gone sour. Looking down at her from above, she commanded icily:

“Eat it.”

Qin Shuyue’s fingers curled slightly. Smelling the foul, fermented odor emanating from the meal box, she swallowed hard and spoke weakly.

“Miss Zhu…”

But Zhu Lingyi didn’t give her a chance to continue.

“Either you get the hell out right now, or…” Her gaze swept casually over the food and then settled on Qin Shuyue.

Her tone was freezing, “Eat it.”

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