After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 22

Shuyue, you are the only one I can trust.

“Sister Xuhua, Sister Xuhua… are you there?”

Inside the hollow, abandoned factory, a faint, flickering beam of light swept around following a slim, delicate figure.

The Dexing Factory had been the site of a horrific fire years ago caused by a machinery malfunction. Many people were burned alive inside, resulting in tens of millions in compensation paid to the victims’ families.

Not long after, another employee died a bizarre death while working the night shift. They were found lying stiffly on a machine table with blood leaking from their nose and mouth; by the time they were discovered, the lower half of their body had already been sucked into the machinery.

Some had witnessed the scene firsthand and were hospitalized from the shock; a few others developed mental health issues, wandering about and babbling nonsense.

They said the factory was haunted! They claimed the souls of those burned alive were trapped within, unable to leave, and that the restless, vengeful ghosts were seeking to claim the lives of the living…

The rumors were vivid and supernatural. Whether people believed them or not, a seed of dread had been firmly planted in everyone’s hearts. Slowly, the factory emptied out, and both investors and owners fled. Meanwhile, the neighboring garment dye factory thrived, benefiting from the lack of competition.

A biting, chilly wind squeezed through the broken steel windows from all directions, creating a sharp, whistling sound as it brushed against the metal. The moonlight was hazy and dim; inside the factory, weeds grew in profusion, and the chirping of insects abruptly ceased.

Tap, tap, tap…

The sound of footsteps echoed through the desolate Dexing Factory.

Accompanied by a female voice as thin as a mosquito’s hum, the girl’s eyes darted around in terror. It felt as if a hand might suddenly reach out from behind to grab her thin shoulder, or a cold, gleaming blade might plunge deep into her body.

The Dexing Factory had been abandoned for years, and the atmospheric pressure inside felt heavy. A gust of cold air sent goosebumps shivering across Qin Shuyue’s skin, prompting her to pull her long sleeves tighter around her arms.

Didn’t Wu Xuhua ask to meet her here? Why wasn’t she here yet!

The factory was pitch black with no electricity or light; she relied entirely on her phone’s small flashlight. But it was a drop in the bucket, barely illuminating the area directly in front of her. All around was an empty, black void, and a draft would blow behind her every so often.

The factory had at least three floors. The first floor was the most severely damaged by the fire; the machinery was warped and twisted into grotesque shapes, and there were even faint, human-shaped stains on the blackened concrete floor—grim reminders of those who had burned there. The wall plaster had peeled away, charred black by the inferno.

In such an environment, Qin Shuyue’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, threatening to leap out of her chest at any moment. She glanced back at the factory entrance; the dilapidated corrugated iron door hung crookedly against the wall, the opening in the middle resembling a bloody, gaping maw, screaming to swallow any intruder whole.

Qin Shuyue gripped her phone tightly, her palms slick with cold sweat. When the wind blew, it brought a chilling, icy sensation.

Suddenly, a faint metallic clink sounded from the darkness behind her. It was extremely subtle, nearly buried by the sound of the wind.

Qin Shuyue’s body went rigid, her nerves stretched taut like a wire. Any minute sound, no matter how small, became a sharp blade capable of easily snapping her final psychological defense.

Her mind went blank. She didn’t care anymore! She moved her trembling legs and immediately bolted toward the exit. Her legs felt weak; as she started to run, she stumbled violently, but she quickly steadied herself, her subconscious reaction driving her to escape!

Yet, for some reason, even though her eyes were fixed on the entrance and her pace was frantic, it felt as if she were moving further away from the exit.

“Hey!”

A shout suddenly erupted from ahead.

It was this sudden cry that snapped Qin Shuyue’s drifting consciousness back to reality. She came to her senses.

She realized she had somehow run out of the factory and was already some distance away. Moreover, the voice hadn’t come from in front of her—it was behind her.

Qin Shuyue looked up, saw no one, and turned around in a daze to see a puzzled Wu Xuhua.

It was Sister Xuhua!

Qin Shuyue’s eyes lit up with surprise. She had finally arrived! She quickly ran to Wu Xuhua’s side and gave her a wide smile.

“Sister Xuhua, I finally found you.”

However, Wu Xuhua’s expression was filled with anxiety. She grabbed Qin Shuyue and pulled her back into the factory, hiding behind a machine. After glancing around to ensure no one was there, she pulled a red bag from her pocket.

The red bag was filled with many hundred-yuan bills, along with various loose change—fifties, twenties, all sorts. Just as Qin Shuyue was wondering what Wu Xuhua meant by this, Wu Xuhua pulled out a blue bank card. The design on the card featured a bright golden tiger, looking quite endearing.

With a grim face, Wu Xuhua solemnly placed the card into Qin Shuyue’s palm. She spoke in a deep, serious tone: “Shuyue, this bank card contains my savings from running the shop over the years. It’s not much, about five hundred thousand.”

She paused, a flicker of a smile appearing on her face. “Didn’t I promise you that if you worked here for three months, I’d give you a share of the shop…”

“Sister Xuhua!” Qin Shuyue interrupted her urgently. “During those days when my mother was seriously injured and needed surgery, if you hadn’t helped me pay the surgical fees, I…”

“Now is not the time for this.” Wu Xuhua looked toward the exit in a panic. She patted Qin Shuyue’s palm and pressed the bank card firmly into her hand. “Only you can help me now.”

Her face showed a look of desperation, her eyes brimming with a plea. “This is all the savings I’ve gathered over the years… without it, I might as well die. Shuyue, you are the only person I trust. I can only feel at peace if this card is in your hands! I beg you, you must keep this card safe. It is my lifeblood! Shuyue, help me—do not give it to anyone!”

Wu Xuhua spoke at a rapid-fire pace, her words disjointed. She repeatedly glanced toward the door.

They were coming!

But Qin Shuyue was utterly confused. She had been mysteriously dragged into the factory and just as mysteriously handed a card. What on earth was going on?

Seeing Wu Xuhua about to stand up, Qin Shuyue quickly grabbed her arm. “Sister Xuhua, what exactly is happening?”

Wu Xuhua simply knit her brows tightly, her eyes constantly darting toward the outside. Qin Shuyue could faintly hear the sound of footsteps on the gravel path. They were coming from a distance, hurried at first, but then slowing down like wolves that had lost their target, beginning a roaming search.

“There’s no time! Shuyue, I can’t let them find you!”

Wu Xuhua reached out to remove Qin Shuyue’s hand from her arm and gave her a small smile. “When there’s a chance in the future, I will explain everything to you. Shuyue, I will remember this favor for a lifetime.”

With that, she ran out of the factory without looking back. Once outside, she stomped her feet heavily on the ground, intentionally making noise. The footsteps behind her immediately followed the sound, congregating and chasing in that direction.

Qin Shuyue didn’t know how long she stayed there alone, hiding behind the abandoned machinery. Relying on the faint moonlight filtering through the steel windows, she looked down again at the Year of the Tiger bank card.

Five hundred thousand.

Why would Wu Xuhua give something so important to her? And who were the people chasing her?

Qin Shuyue stared intently at the bank card. In an instant, she was almost certain that someone was trying to rob Wu Xuhua of her card. Wu Xuhua was alone with no one to rely on; if she hadn’t been truly desperate, she wouldn’t have called Qin Shuyue out in the middle of the night.

Why did those people want to steal her bank card? What had happened that Qin Shuyue didn’t know about?

“You’re saying the person who just ran out was Qin Shuyue?”

Gao Yin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I remember you don’t allow anyone in or out of your dormitory after eleven… I thought it was strange, so I came over to check.”

“She was running so fast, I thought it was some small-time thief who had stolen something of yours.”

Knowing it was Qin Shuyue, Gao Yin felt slightly more at ease, though not entirely. Although it was confirmed that Qin Shuyue wasn’t a spy sent from the old family estate, it couldn’t be guaranteed that she didn’t have her own hidden motives.

All of Zhu Lingyi’s previous roommates had been kicked out without exception. A greedy heart is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.

However, as he turned around, he saw Zhu Lingyi leaning back on the sofa with her eyes slowly closing. Zhu Lingyi, who was resting with her eyes shut, had an unusual flush on her face. It looked like someone who was drunk, but there were subtle differences.

As a connoisseur of alcohol, Gao Yin saw the abnormality in Zhu Lingyi immediately. He stroked his chin, his eyes scanning her flushed face. After staring at her for a few moments, he hissed, certain now: “This ‘drunkenness’ of yours… it doesn’t look right.”

Zhu Lingyi groaned; she indeed felt uncomfortable all over.

“She drugged me.”

She? Who?

Gao Yin’s mind felt like it was on a bungee jump, soaring high. He jumped up instantly, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. “She? Who? Qin Shuyue?!”

Recalling Qin Shuyue running like a rabbit—practically a blur—Gao Yin couldn’t help but connect that scene with Zhu Lingyi’s current state. He gaped, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

“Qin Shuyue drugged you? Drugged you for what? To sleep with you? Holy crap… wait, her? With that tiny frame? No… wait, hold on, I’ll go wake up Xu Lian…”

Gao Yin was receiving too much information at once; his brain was struggling to process it all. “Xu Lian is the smart one, I’ll go get him to analyze this…”

“It wasn’t her.”

Thinking of the culprit made her grit her teeth, the flush on her face deepening. But she had a splitting headache and no energy to spare for Qin Shuyue. She groaned, unbuttoning the top button of her shirt in discomfort.

“Don’t go.”

Zhu Lingyi said only those two words, and Gao Yin stopped in his tracks. He crumpled his face into a frown, sat back down, and asked, “If it wasn’t her, then it was the one you hired recently…”

Zhu Lingyi snapped her eyes open, a sharp and disgusted light flashing within them. Gao Yin took the hint and shut up.

She squinted at Gao Yin, her eyes carrying a hint of the drug-induced haze—a mix of sensuality and moisture. It was captivating.

Gao Yin closed his eyes, looking away. He didn’t know how many times he had seen Zhu Lingyi like this. Seeing her in such distress… Gao Yin felt some pity, but mostly a sense of helplessness.

“I just don’t get it. Why is it that they only drug you? I’ve never been drugged. Well, excluding stuff for ‘mood enhancement’ in bed.”

His tone at the end turned somewhat indignant.

Zhu Lingyi gave him a look of utter exasperation, her back teeth nearly grinding to dust.

“Drug you? Do you even need to be drugged? If a girl sweet-talks you for a few minutes, you can’t wait to jump into bed with her. You’re as eager as a dog in heat. Who would waste a drug on you?”

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