After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 3

I should be the one apologizing; why are you saying sorry?

After tidying everything up, Qin Shuyue placed the first-aid kit sent over by Zhu Lingyi on the table and pulled out the chair to sit down. The seat was soft and springy; she leaned back comfortably, and a sensation of weightlessness instantly washed over her.

She suddenly bolted up from the seat. In an instant, a profound sense of unworthiness surged in her heart, striking her directly. She sighed silently to herself.

Standing up, she took the first-aid kit in her hands, carefully flicked the latch with her other hand, and slowly opened the lid.

“Ah!”

A large, black spider with dense, cluster-like eyes suddenly leaped onto her hand, gripping her wrist tightly. Qin Shuyue let out a shrill scream of terror and instinctively hurled the first-aid kit away!

But the moment she threw it, she regretted it. Fearing she would break the kit and have no money to pay for it, she scrambled forward to catch it, pulling it into her arms.

With a loud thud, Qin Shuyue’s forehead slammed violently against the corner of the bed. It tore open a large gash, and a mist of blood clouded her vision. Her sight went dark, and the world began to spin from the agonizing pain.

The piercing pain spread from her heart to her entire body. Qin Shuyue squeezed her eyes shut, gasping for breath in tremors to quell the agony. The throbbing pain in her forehead caused her to curl up involuntarily.

Downstairs, Zhu Lingyi heard Qin Shuyue’s scream and couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smirk. Then, silence followed.

Did she actually faint from a big spider…?

Thinking this, she immediately sat up from the plush sofa and took two steps at a time up to the second floor, heading toward Qin Shuyue’s room.

Since she was very young, Zhu Lingyi loved secretly playing pranks. Previously, every roommate who stayed with her had, without exception, been startled into a scream by the “surprises” she prepared. It was the same at home.

But it was boring. Even when the nannies and housekeepers were toyed with until their faces were a mess and their bodies reeked, their first reaction wasn’t anger. It was a smile.

In those moments, she felt strangely speechless. Zhu Lingyi still didn’t believe that a person could be trampled into the mud and not get angry. But the final results of her experiments forced her to give up. They truly weren’t angry. Or rather, they didn’t dare to be angry.

So, she turned her gaze toward the other members of her family. Her younger brother, Zhu Yi. Whenever he was provoked into a fit of rage by her pranks, she felt an indescribable satisfaction.

However, when she opened the door and saw the wreckage inside… she began to doubt if what she had done was even “human.”

Qin Shuyue was clutching her forehead in pain, her face contorted. Blood trickled through her fingers, yet she still held the first-aid kit tightly in her arms, cowering by the bedside. Shimmering tears welled up, but they stayed trapped in her eyes, refusing to fall.

Seeing Qin Shuyue reduced to such a state by her prank, Zhu Lingyi paused at the doorway, then slowly walked toward the spot where Qin Shuyue was huddled.

Zhu Lingyi tilted her head slightly, staring intently at the blood on the other woman’s forehead. She crouched down in front of Qin Shuyue, reaching out to pull her hand away to check the injury.

But the moment she raised her hand, a look of extreme terror shot through Qin Shuyue’s eyes.

“Don’t hit me!”

She hugged the first-aid kit and shrank even further back.

Zhu Lingyi froze in place, her hand stiffening in mid-air. What did this woman mean by those words?

She withdrew her hand, stood up, and quickly walked over to the rubber spider. Frustrated, she ran a hand through the back of her hair, then grabbed the rubber spider and tossed it in front of the girl.

The “spider” hit the floor, bounced, and lay there crookedly.

“It’s just a rubber spider. Is it really worth all this?”

Zhu Lingyi knitted her brows in displeasure, looking down at the huddled Qin Shuyue as if dissatisfied that her courage was no larger than a fingertip.

“…Sor… Sorry.”

A weak voice drifted from beside the bed. Zhu Lingyi heard those few words clearly. Her pupils contracted sharply, and she gave the woman a complex look.

“You really are interesting.”

Qin Shuyue managed a forced smile and stood up tremblingly by leaning against the bed. Her gaze remained lowered, fixed on the first-aid kit in her hands, never meeting Zhu Lingyi’s eyes.

Blood from her forehead went drip-drop onto the white kit. Seeing this, Zhu Lingyi’s brow twitched imperceptibly. Strangely, a wave of irritation rose in her heart again. She impatiently shoved her hands into her pockets and looked away.

She heard Qin Shuyue say softly, “It was my own carelessness. I’m a coward, so I hit the corner of the bed. It’s my fault.”

At these words, Zhu Lingyi’s frown deepened. She raised an eyebrow, let out an ambiguous cold snort, and turned to leave without staying in the room for another second.

Qin Shuyue managed a bitter smile. Only after Zhu Lingyi had walked far away did she dare to look up at her departing back. Her back was very straight; every step she took was elegant and full of strength.

Qin Shuyue lowered her head and remained silent for a long time, though no one knew what she was thinking.

She returned to the seat at the desk and stared expressionlessly at herself in the mirror; half of her face was reflected with bloodstains. Looking at her reflection, another struggling voice seemed to emerge in the mirror.

I just want to die. Why isn’t there more blood? Why… why is there only this little bit of blood!

She lowered her gaze calmly, took out iodine from the kit, and expertly disinfected and bandaged the wound. Then, she used a cloth to clean the blood off the bed corner and the floor.

After finishing all this, Qin Shuyue lost all her strength and slumped onto the floor.

She didn’t know how long she sat there in a daze until a strange female voice suddenly drifted up from downstairs. Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Qin Shuyue’s heart instinctively tightened with fear.

She got up and crept to the hallway, looking down. It was a girl about her age. The girl was refined, with large, sparkling eyes, a healthy complexion, and a faint smile always lingering at the corners of her mouth.

Her attire didn’t look like a student’s; she was dressed more like a cleaning lady, yet she wore a well-fitted suit that highlighted her figure. She wasn’t skin and bones, but lean and well-proportioned, with curves in all the right places.

A black gauze bow brooch was pinned to her chest, its edges delicately lined with white lace. Her lower outfit was a black skirt of appropriate length that accentuated the curve of her hips without being provocative. She wore a pair of playful black high heels with shiny black bows on the toes. As she stepped on the grey-white floor, they made a low, rhythmic da-da sound. It was an outfit that perfectly showcased feminine charm.

Just as Qin Shuyue was wondering who she was and trying to get a better look, she accidentally locked eyes with Zhu Lingyi, who was lying on the sofa playing with her phone.

Qin Shuyue immediately retracted her gaze and shrank back timidly. With her head down, she quickly walked down the stairs.

The other girl seemed to notice her too. She gave a soft “Eh?” and then asked Zhu Lingyi politely, “Miss Zhu, is this your new roommate for the semester?”

Zhu Lingyi sat up from the sofa and shifted her posture, tossing her phone aside carelessly. Her gaze narrowed slightly, scanning Qin Shuyue up and down twice before settling on the bandage on her forehead.

Zhu Lingyi didn’t answer the girl. The girl was used to this; she naturally turned back to Qin Shuyue, intending to give the new roommate a friendly greeting. Unexpectedly, Qin Shuyue kept her head lowered.

The girl’s hand-waving motion froze, and the polite, appropriate smile on her face seemed to stiffen. Just as she was caught in an awkward position, Zhu Lingyi suddenly spoke.

“I will transfer your salary to you on time.” Zhu Lingyi stood up and lightly brushed the girl’s shoulder. “Go back now.”

The girl’s face flushed. After saying “thank you” several times, she left happily.

Zhu Lingyi picked up her phone, opened a chat box, and without blinking, transferred 500 yuan to the girl.

“Five hundred yuan?” Qin Shuyue looked up and happened to see the transfer. She couldn’t help but gasp, seemingly shocked. She glanced toward the dining room and then asked in disbelief, “She made just one meal for you?”

What kind of meal was worth 500 yuan?? Qin Shuyue was stunned.

Zhu Lingyi, however, didn’t know what she was so surprised or suspicious about. She walked unhurriedly toward the dining room. Behind each seat stood a woman with a serene and respectful expression. The women wore makeup and looked to be in their early thirties. They wore quiet, peaceful smiles, eyes downcast, waiting silently.

As Zhu Lingyi walked toward a certain seat, the woman behind it keenly noticed and pulled the chair out to a perfect distance. She bowed slightly, her palm facing up toward the table, and said respectfully, “Miss Zhu, please enjoy your meal.”

Watching this, Qin Shuyue couldn’t help but rub her eyes. She had only seen this kind of scene in movies. She never expected it to actually happen right next to her.

Zhu Lingyi glanced at Qin Shuyue and elegantly pointed toward the food, signaling her. “Please sit, my new roommate.”

Qin Shuyue walked over in a state of panic. She chose a seat opposite Zhu Lingyi. When the kind-faced woman behind her was about to pull out the chair, Qin Shuyue rushed forward and grabbed the woman’s hand.

She was very anxious. “No, no need to trouble you!”

The woman first looked at Zhu Lingyi, seeing that she was preoccupied with enjoying her food and hadn’t even spared a glance. The woman released her hands, bowed to Zhu Lingyi, and quietly retreated. The other women waiting by the seats followed her and withdrew silently as well.

Qin Shuyue truly felt like she was dreaming. She pinched her thigh hard; aside from the pain making her see stars, reality remained unchanged. She resigned herself to it.

After elegantly chewing a piece of steak, Zhu Lingyi gently set down her knife and fork without making a single unseemly sound. Her inquisitive gaze, containing a hint of coldness, landed on Qin Shuyue.

“Do you want to be my catering management lady too?”

After such a long time, Qin Shuyue thought Zhu Lingyi had ignored her previous words, but she brought it up now. She looked up in a daze, crashing right into Zhu Lingyi’s gaze. That searing, sharp stare made her panic; under the table, her hands gripped her jeans so tightly she was about to poke a hole in them.

“I, I…”

At this critical moment, she stammered.

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