After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 5

She finally looked up and looked at her.

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Lingyi was lying on the sofa like nothing had happened, her legs crossed one over the other, watching television with utter leisure.

It was as if nothing had occurred just moments ago.

On the television, the laughter of the audience rose and fell in waves. On stage, a clown performed with buffoonish antics; the onlookers clutched their stomachs in laughter, pointing and gesturing at the stage.

Yet, Zhu Lingyi did not laugh uproariously like the audience on the screen. To be precise, she wore no expression at all.

Wasn’t the point of watching a comedy just to have a laugh?

Zhu Lingyi, however, did not look particularly happy. She didn’t necessarily like comedies; she was merely passing the time.

It was unclear how much time had passed before Qin Shuyue finally managed to compose her emotions. She crawled up from the floor, maintaining that same shrinking, head-bowed posture as she walked over to stand before Zhu Lingyi.

Zhu Lingyi was intently immersed in the comedy, paying no heed to Qin Shuyue approaching her side.

Qin Shuyue stood beside her and said cautiously, “Miss Zhu, I… I can’t produce that much money to compensate for the vase right now, but I will work hard at part-time jobs, and the money I earn…”

“…Part-time jobs?”

Hearing this, Zhu Lingyi finally spared her a glance.

Her naked, profound gaze pierced straight into the depths of Qin Shuyue’s impoverished and barren eyes, as if seeking to devour what remained of her self-esteem.

Qin Shuyue looked away in a panic.

How could someone like Zhu Lingyi—born into wealth and never troubled by reality—understand the truth that money was hard-won? The aura of a superior’s lethargy and disdain that clung to Zhu Lingyi constantly enveloped the inferiority ingrained in Qin Shuyue’s bones.

Her gaze was clearly harmless; there wasn’t even a hint of contempt or disdain in her eyes. She simply watched Qin Shuyue calmly, yet that gaze felt as if it contained countless fine needles, penetrating every pore of Qin Shuyue’s body.

It made her ache and itch with an unbearable urge to flee this place—the faster, the better.

But everyone knew that even if she worked part-time jobs for a lifetime, she could never make up those twenty million. Though Zhu Lingyi had never explicitly demanded compensation for the vase, Qin Shuyue’s heart was always uneasy, always…

Qin Shuyue took a deep breath. “Miss Zhu, I, I…”

Zhu Lingyi raised a hand in a “stop” gesture, signaling that she didn’t need to continue.

“I said it: you stay here, or it’s thirty million. Do you understand?”

Then, she glanced at her wrist. The hour hand pointed at nine, and the minute hand at six. It was already nine-thirty.

“Miss Qin, I have an early class tomorrow. Please suit yourself.”

She stood up from the sofa and casually pointed a slender finger toward the television. With a simple command, the TV automatically shut off, not even requiring a remote.

Recalling how serious and earnest Zhu Lingyi had looked just now, Qin Shuyue asked nervously, “Then why did you just…”

“I was playing with you.”

Zhu Lingyi turned sideways and gave her a cold, indifferent look, as if Qin Shuyue were merely a toy she could use to pass the time whenever she pleased.

Hearing those words, Qin Shuyue’s hands clenched tightly beneath her sleeves.

Zhu Lingyi pointed her fingertip at Qin Shuyue’s arm. “Your arm… you should probably bandage it.”

After saying this, she turned, went upstairs, and entered her room.

In the silent night, the occasional chirp of a cicada punctuated the sweltering summer. A few wisps of mist swirled around the bright moon, making even the stars seem dim.

The wound on her arm seemed to have reopened; Qin Shuyue could feel the stickiness on her skin. The scent of blood reached her nose, and she felt a sudden wave of nausea. She crouched down half-way and gagged.

Suddenly, she remembered something and bolted upstairs.

Returning to her room, she unzipped her backpack and pulled out a document. On it, printed in black and white, were the words: “Dormitory Change Decision.”

She fixed her gaze on the line: “Yueqi Court, Four-Person Room, Accommodation Fee 1,400 Yuan.”

Qin Shuyue gripped the document tightly, suppressing the excitement in her heart.

The money for her mother’s hospitalization was secured! Tomorrow! Tomorrow she would find the counselor and ask her to help refund this 1,400 yuan accommodation fee!

The medical kit was still on the table, lying there quietly. Qin Shuyue paused. She slowly took off her clothes, took out the iodine and alcohol cotton balls, and gave her arm a simple bandaging. Then, clutching the document tightly to her chest, she fell into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, the document she had been holding so tightly had vanished.

Panic-stricken, Qin Shuyue bounded out of bed, frantically feeling around the sheets for her “hospitalization money.”

“Are you looking for this?”

A familiar, cool female voice drifted over. Qin Shuyue instinctively looked toward the sound.

Zhu Lingyi was dressed in a minimalist outfit, holding the document between two fingers while leaning languidly against the wardrobe. Her phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed as she watched the flustered Qin Shuyue, who was desperately pulling the quilt to cover her upper body.

“What?” Zhu Lingyi arched an eyebrow, lowering the hand holding the document and walking toward Qin Shuyue with a smile. “We are roommates. Is there anything roommates can’t be ‘candid’ about?”

Qin Shuyue only felt she was being presumptuous.

“Wait! Stop! Stop right there!”

Qin Shuyue frantically pulled the quilt around herself, wrapping it tightly until not a single gap remained. Zhu Lingyi’s lips curled slightly, but she didn’t stop her pace. Instead, Qin Shuyue dodged and hid like a startled rabbit.

“Miss Zhu!” Qin Shuyue cried out. Any further, and she really would be seen!

“You like… sleeping naked?” Zhu Lingyi raised an eyebrow, looking down at Qin Shuyue, whose face was as red as a monkey’s bottom. Helplessly, she let out a hum of breath from her nose and stopped her footsteps.

“I saw something fall on the floor when I passed by this morning.”

Zhu Lingyi held the “Dormitory Change Decision” out in mid-air, offering it to Qin Shuyue without any intention of making things difficult for her.

Qin Shuyue’s hands trembled as she took the document from Zhu Lingyi. She lowered her head and whispered, “Thank you.”

Zhu Lingyi nodded slightly, unconcerned. “It’s a small matter.”

Qin Shuyue peeked up at Zhu Lingyi, her mind racing with suspicion.

I clearly locked the door before going to sleep last night. If no one entered without permission, how did she see the document fall? And I’ve always been a still sleeper; how could I have knocked it onto the floor?

This led her to wonder if Zhu Lingyi had done it on purpose…

“What are you thinking about?” Zhu Lingyi looked down at Qin Shuyue, noticing her lashes trembling and her eyes darting back and forth.

Qin Shuyue shook her head. “I… I need to get up.”

Hearing that she needed to “get up,” Zhu Lingyi frowned slightly. “Get up? You have an early class too?” She glanced at her watch. “It’s only 6:30. Even for an early class, it’s not…”

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuyue was struck with a shock.

It was already 6:30!? She must have slept too comfortably! To the point that she forgot the time! She had truly slept her head off!

She bolted out of bed, grabbed her toothbrush and cup from her suitcase, and ran around the second floor like a madwoman until she finally found the “sign” for the bathroom and dashed inside.

Zhu Lingyi felt only a gust of wind pass her by, and then the girl was gone.

“?”

After Qin Shuyue emerged from the bathroom, she returned to the room and threw on her clothes, pants, and shoes in less than a minute. And then… she vanished in a flash.

She even forgot the “Dormitory Change Decision” on the bed.

By the time Zhu Lingyi realized what was happening, Qin Shuyue was already “ten kilometers” away.

“What kind of act is this now…” Zhu Lingyi walked to the second-floor railing with a head full of questions, looking down toward the first floor. Her gaze fixed on the door that had been violently opened and slammed by Qin Shuyue.

“Sister Yu, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“Sorry? Is sorry useful!?” Sister Yu sized up the girl in front of her.

Qin Shuyue was dressed in shabby clothes that weren’t worth a cent; she never said a word, like a bale of cotton—no matter how you hit or scolded her, she never talked back or hit back.

Thinking this, Sister Yu’s arrogance flared up, and like a tiger, she bared her fangs.

“I have so much to do in this kitchen! With one ‘sorry’ from you, how many buns does my shop lose out on? You’re just in the way; I really don’t know what I keep you here for! What are you standing there for? Go wrap the buns! I’m telling you, if you dare to be late again, don’t ever come back! There are plenty of poor, work-study students in this school!”

“You remember this well: if you don’t do it, or if you’re late, there are plenty of people who will do it and won’t be late. The school won’t lack for others!”

As she spoke, she curled her fingers and rapped her knuckles hard against Qin Shuyue’s forehead.

It hurt! The pain spread like snake venom to the tips of her toes. A wave of dizziness hit her, but she didn’t dare stop the work of wrapping buns. She hurriedly bowed and apologized again.

“Yes, yes… Sister Yu, I promise, I won’t be late, I really won’t be late again!”

Sister Yu pointed at her and continued to scold her viciously, spittle flying. As Qin Shuyue worked, the sharp, mean-spirited verbal abuse continued to ring in her ears.

The sound of the shouting drifted through the cafeteria windows, inadvertently catching the attention of a group of people.

A boy with a “micro-fringe” haircut was chewing on a beef bun from that very shop, his gaze drifting toward the bun stall. He asked the woman in front of him curiously, “Hey, Sister Zhu, what’s that bun shop arguing about?”

Zhu Lingyi didn’t seem to take it to heart. She was preoccupied with her congee, not sparing even a glance for the bun shop.

She raised her eyelids and gave him a lazy look before lowering her head to continue drinking her porridge.

Sitting next to the boy, another one with a buzz cut glanced in that direction. Softening the atmosphere, he said, “Seems like they’re scolding someone.” He looked at the boy beside him. “You should be the most familiar with scolding people.”

He was implying something. The boy with the fringe rolled his eyes.

“Get lost. I’m telling you, that’s because they’re stupid. If they ruin the product, shouldn’t they be scolded? Should the loss be on them? Can they even afford to pay? Anyway, as long as they aren’t fired, what’s wrong with a few words?”

He flipped his fringe and snorted. Then he took a resentful bite of his bun and swallowed it. Full of dissatisfaction, he asked Zhu Lingyi, who was sitting across from them, “Zhu Lingyi, you’re in a good mood today, dragging us to this ghost of a place for breakfast. I’ve never seen you eat in the cafeteria before.”

“Hey, did that person at your house stop making breakfast for you?” The boy looked at her with a face full of gossip.

Zhu Lingyi’s hand paused. She finally put down her bowl and gave him a cold look.

Seeing her expression, the buzz-cut boy, Xu Lian, quickly intervened. “Gao Yin, why are you poking your nose into Sister Zhu’s business? Besides, we’re almost done, and you still have four buns left. We aren’t waiting for you.”

Hearing this, Gao Yin began to stuff his face. “Xu Lian, you…!”

Xu Lian had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes; his brow carried a cold, heroic air that kept strangers at a distance. But the gold-rimmed glasses resting on his nose softened that sharpness, making him look refined, like a scholar.

The boy with the fringe, Gao Yin, had a high nose and eyes full of unbridled wildness—like a wild horse born untamable on the plains. And Zhu Lingyi was the reins on that horse.

She said coldly, “Gao Yin, since when are you a senior VIP at Zongsheng Bar? Does your father know?”

With those words, the untamable wild horse instantly turned into a kitten. He was about to say something, but Zhu Lingyi didn’t give him the chance.

“How many medical books have you memorized? Hmm? If your father knew you were spending his money fooling around and living it up outside, do you think you’d still have your legs?”

She then looked at the buzz-cut boy. “Xu Lian, I heard your sister is coming back soon?”

Xu Lian’s sister, Xu Mo. They had all grown up together, but Xu Mo had gone abroad for advanced studies, so they had been apart for a few years.

Xu Lian hummed in affirmation. Thinking of his sister, a look of great admiration appeared in his eyes. “Sister said she’ll come home for New Year’s this year.”

Zhu Lingyi was about to speak when Gao Yin suddenly pointed at the bun shop and cried out.

“Oh! Someone’s hitting her!”

Zhu Lingyi frowned slightly and looked up in that direction.

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