After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 50

If you don’t leave with me, who else could you possibly go with?

The man on the other end of the line remained silent.

Qin Shuyue didn’t know what to say either.

After a moment of silence, the voice on the other side finally asked, “Are you calling for money again?”

Qin Shuyue pinched the corner of her shirt awkwardly, pacing back and forth in her unease.

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. “Yes.”

The man let out a sigh. “Yueyue, you’re already twenty-one years old. You should be responsible for yourself now.”

“Don’t always reach out to the family for money. Papa has a family of his own, too. My son is going abroad for school next year…”

Click. Qin Shuyue hung up the phone.

Son, son, son!

Everything was about the son!

Wasn’t it just because they blamed her mother for not being able to give birth to a son? So he could just discard her mother, ignore her, all for the sake of his son!

Then what did her mother count for?

What did she even represent in that marriage?

To hell with his son!

Qin Shuyue clenched her fists and slammed them hard against the porcelain wall.

“To hell with it all!”

A stinging pain, dense as a thousand needles, crawled up her entire arm. As the acute pain hit her nerves, her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

The physical pain masked the ache in her heart. Tears traced down her delicate cheeks, falling drop by drop and staining the floor gray.

Her shoulders shook violently, but she gritted her teeth, refusing to let even half a sob escape.

She couldn’t cry.

She couldn’t collapse.

If she gave up, who would her mother have left?

Her grandmother was gone, her grandfather was dead; she was her mother’s only remaining connection to this world.

Her mother still had her.

Her mother still had her.

Crying was a sign of weakness.

She could not cry.

Qin Shuyue forced herself to swallow the sob stuck in her throat.

A low sigh echoed from the stairwell. Qin Shuyue whipped her head around, but she didn’t see anyone.

She froze for a moment, then hurriedly chased after the sound. Outside the stairwell, there was nothing but a long, lonely, empty corridor.

Perhaps her nerves were just too sensitive; perhaps she had misheard.

She stood at the entrance of the stairwell for a long time before finally gathering enough courage to return to Dr. Li’s office.

She wiped her face forcefully, ensuring there were no visible traces of her tears before pushing the door open.

The moment she entered, Dr. Li’s gaze fixed on her.

Qin Shuyue lowered her eyes in a panic, hiding her hands behind her back as she walked in timidly.

She sat on the stool and thought for a good while before saying, “Can we… wait a little longer?”

In the past three years, Dr. Li had heard Qin Shuyue say those words countless times.

Every time, he felt frustrated by her stubbornness, wanting to scold her for being so single-minded. And every time, he couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted, pitying her for having to shoulder so much at only twenty-one.

“How much are you short?” Dr. Li sighed and asked.

“Seven hundred,” Qin Shuyue answered truthfully. “Give me three days. In three days, I will definitely give it to you.”

“Do you think the hospital is a bank? That you can just negotiate and move the deadline back a few days when you can’t pay?”

Qin Shuyue clenched her fingers, so overwhelmed by embarrassment and shame that she wanted to bury her head in the ground.

If it were in the past, Dr. Li would have helped her without a second thought. It was only a few thousand yuan; it was nothing. But not this time.

He could help her once or twice, but he couldn’t help her for a lifetime.

Moreover, given her mother’s current condition, helping her now would actually be harming her.

Dr. Li lowered his head apologetically. “Qin Shuyue, give up.”

Qin Shuyue shook her head.

A faint smile slowly pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Dr. Li, I can’t give up.”

Her words were calm, as if they were the result of deep deliberation. Reluctance and persistence had collided, eventually blending into an obsession.

“If my mother dies, I won’t know how to live anymore… So, Dr. Li, I can’t give up.”

Dr. Li stared at her intently for a long time, eventually surrendering to the stubbornness in her eyes.

“Three days,” Dr. Li sighed. “Are you sure you can earn seven hundred yuan in three days?”

Qin Shuyue nodded with certainty.

“I can.”

Seeing her so insistent, Dr. Li didn’t say anything more.

He relented, but he had to ask, “After this hospitalization fee, the surgery costs 350,000. What will you do then?”

“I’ll find a way.”

“By relying on that unreliable father of yours?”

Qin Shuyue froze.

She looked up at Dr. Li.

Realizing he had let a slip of the tongue, Dr. Li quickly went silent.

“Three days it is. You still have a month to consider. If you decide to give up, my phone is always open.”

Qin Shuyue smiled. She didn’t answer, only saying, “Thank you.”

She picked up her bag and turned to leave. As she reached the door, Dr. Li suddenly asked, “Do you want to see your mother?”

Qin Shuyue’s footsteps faltered. Her back was to Dr. Li, so no one could see the expression on her face.

The sunlight fell, stretching her shadow exceptionally long. On the floor, the gray shadow’s lips parted and closed.

“No need.”

With that, she tilted her head back and glanced at the slightly piercing sun outside the glass window.

Across the building, she looked toward the inpatient department from a distance, wondering which of the square windows belonged to her mother’s room.

She didn’t have time for sorrow. Withdrawing her gaze, Qin Shuyue walked away with even firmer steps.

Sitting on the bus, she opened a part-time job app on her phone. She scrolled through page after page; either the hours weren’t right or she didn’t meet the requirements.

She swiped through the screen in frustration.

Finally, she found a place where the hours were suitable and she met the criteria.

Star Entertainment KTV.

It clashed slightly with her restaurant hours, but the pay was at least twice as high.

500 per hour, from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Four hours a night, three days on and one day off.

The day off was perfect for doing the accounts at the restaurant.

That was 2,000 a day, which meant 60,000 a month.

It was hard for Qin Shuyue not to be tempted.

Even if she couldn’t earn 350,000 all at once, if she took out a loan, she would have the means to pay it back.

After a moment’s thought, she clicked on the boss’s profile and sent a private message.

‘Hello, I’d like to ask about the specific job details.’

A message came back quickly.

“Hello, how old are you this year? Are you an adult? Could you send over a resume?”

Qin Shuyue sent her resume.

After about five or six minutes, the other side replied regretfully: “I’m sorry, Ms. Qin. Your resume is great, but we don’t need part-time staff at the moment. You’re welcome to come back during the winter break~”

Qin Shuyue’s heart sank instantly.

She pressed the power button on her phone and stared out the window with worry.

After a long time, she let out a silent sigh.

It was already dark.

The moonlight was shrouded beneath layers of thick clouds, unable to leak even a sliver of light.

The sky felt heavy, pressing down.

Pedestrians on the road were in a hurry, and there were very few cars in the street.

Even the insects in the grass had tucked their heads away to hide in their burrows.

Qin Shuyue’s hem brushed against the grass, stirring a slight breeze.

The streetlights tonight seemed exceptionally bright so bright they were piercing.

Qin Shuyue walked aimlessly down the street, not knowing where to go.

She didn’t want to go back to school; she didn’t want to see the faces of the people there.

But she didn’t know where else to go.

Go home?

The sight would only trigger painful memories; she didn’t want to go back there either.

Back to the dorm?

The “annoying person” was in the dorm; she didn’t want to go back to that either.

Should she ask to change dorms again?

Without a special reason, Teacher Chen wouldn’t dare offend Zhu Lingyi just for her sake.

Thinking about it, she gave up on the idea.

It was already eleven o’clock.

She checked her phone.

Since it was already late, she might as well be even later.

It would be best if she managed to truly infuriate Zhu Lingyi so she would kick her out.

Then she could leave room 601 in a perfectly logical way.

That’s what Qin Shuyue was thinking.

Time ticked by as Qin Shuyue walked along the silent street. Eventually, her legs grew tired, and she found a long bench by the road to sit down.

A tall streetlight stood diagonally across from the bench. Warm light hit the ground, radiating an orange glow, with a few stray sparks of light scattering near her toes.

The light ended abruptly, leaving her sitting alone in the cold night.

She stared at the light on the ground with a vacant, dull expression.

She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there. The early autumn breeze wasn’t yet biting; since Qin Shuyue was wearing long sleeves, the breeze felt refreshing and pleasant.

But Qin Shuyue’s heart could not find peace.

She was still short 700 yuan for the hospitalization fee.

But where could she earn that 700 yuan?

She covered her face in helplessness, yet she couldn’t shed a single tear.

She had brought this on herself.

What right did she have to cry?

“Tsk.”

A black shadow blocked the warm yellow light on the ground. The golden light wrapped around the figure, making her look like a goddess descending from heaven cloaked in light.

Goddesses were usually compassionate and gentle, carrying the fresh scent of flowers.

But the woman in front of her was cold and indifferent, carrying the chilling fragrance of jasmine.

Qin Shuyue was usually very sensitive to her surroundings, and since it was late at night, she was naturally even more alert.

She snapped her head up.

Suddenly, her eyes met a pair of deep, dark eyes.

Underneath that cold face was a mix of complex emotions; her brow was furrowed, and her expression was dark.

Qin Shuyue hadn’t seen clearly at first, but her instinct told her the person in front of her wasn’t dangerous.

She blinked to moisten her eyes and finally saw clearly who it was.

But the moment she realized, she lowered her head again. She hurriedly grabbed her canvas bag, stood up from the bench, and turned to run as if escaping for her life.

But the woman behind her took long strides and caught her in just two or three steps.

The woman grabbed her wrist, clicked her tongue in annoyance, and said coldly, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Where I go is none of your business.”

“Qin Shuyue, what exactly are you making a scene about?”

The newcomer accurately called out her name.

But a layer of goosebumps rose on Qin Shuyue’s skin.

“I…”

Qin Shuyue’s throat tightened.

“I want to go home.”

The woman holding her wrist asked, “Isn’t your home right here in the city? If you want to go back, then go. What are you doing staying here?”

“I’m not going back.”

The woman behind her clicked her tongue again.

She really couldn’t understand what was going on inside Qin Shuyue’s head.

“Then where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then come back to the dorm with me.”

No matter how much Qin Shuyue didn’t want to admit it, now that things had come to this, she had to face it: the person who had walked up to her and grabbed her wrist…

Was indeed Zhu Lingyi.

Qin Shuyue really felt as if she were possessed by a demon named Zhu Lingyi; she heard her name everywhere she went.

But Qin Shuyue didn’t want to go back.

She shook her head.

The woman behind her grew angry.

“If you don’t go back, where else can you go? To a hotel? Do you even have the money?”

At those words, Qin Shuyue’s pupils shrank, and she violently shook off Zhu Lingyi’s hand.

“Even if I go somewhere, I don’t need you to care!”

“You…”

Zhu Lingyi really didn’t know why Qin Shuyue was being so stubborn.

She had been in class all day and had just finished a meeting in the middle of the night. Seeing that Qin Shuyue was nowhere to be found, she had, for some inexplicable reason, sent someone to investigate and hurried over as soon as she got news.

Her heart had been in her throat, only settling down the moment she saw Qin Shuyue.

Zhu Lingyi simply couldn’t understand why she was so worried about her.

Whether she lived or died did it really have anything to do with her?

“Go back.”

Zhu Lingyi gave her a simple, stern command.

But Qin Shuyue hated it most when Zhu Lingyi spoke to her in that commanding tone.

It was as if she were naturally inferior to her, as if she had to obey her every word.

By what right?

She wasn’t her boss.

Why should she have to listen to her?

She wasn’t going to do it.

Qin Shuyue’s behavior thoroughly enraged Zhu Lingyi.

Seeing time wasting away second by second, Qin Shuyue might have time, but she didn’t have the patience.

Disregarding everything else, Zhu Lingyi made a gesture behind her. Instantly, a group of people poured out from two black sedans parked by the road.

Zhu Lingyi let go of her hand and turned toward the cars.

Without the restraint on her wrist, Qin Shuyue felt a strange sense of relief, but before she could fully relax, she was hoisted off the ground.

With a momentum that looked as if they were going to tear her apart, they rushed toward her. One person for each limb, they lifted Qin Shuyue like they were performing a “coffin dance” and stuffed her into the back seat.

Zhu Lingyi sat in the car and waited for her subordinates to get Qin Shuyue into the back before immediately hitting the door locks. No matter how much Qin Shuyue tried to open the door, she couldn’t get out.

Facing Qin Shuyue’s fury, Zhu Lingyi calmly directed the driver, “Back to the school.”

Qin Shuyue made a huge racket in the back seat, even spitefully kicking the genuine leather back of the passenger seat, leaving it covered in gray footprints.

“Let me out! This is illegal detention!”

“This young lady is taking her own roommate back to the dorm. It’s perfectly reasonable; what’s illegal about it?”

Zhu Lingyi rarely referred to herself that way.

But now, whether it was to show off in front of Qin Shuyue or something else, she sat with her arms crossed, raising an eyebrow playfully at the disgruntled, sulking Qin Shuyue beside her.

“Kick it. Keep kicking. If it gets dirty, this lady will just get a new one.”

Get a new one?

Qin Shuyue’s foot paused.

Just because a piece of leather got dirty, she’d change the whole car?

Heh.

She really was rich.

Qin Shuyue gave another kick out of spite.

“Wasteful. Zhu Lingyi, you’re truly shameful.”

Zhu Lingyi didn’t care; she gave a nonchalant “Mhm.”

“A big family, a big business, and vast assets—can’t help it.”

Zhu Lingyi emphasized those last few words.

Hearing that made Qin Shuyue’s teeth ache with envy.

She was worrying herself to death over 700 yuan.

And for a car worth millions, Zhu Lingyi wouldn’t even blink before replacing it.

Damn it, Qin Shuyue cursed inwardly.

She kicked again.

Zhu Lingyi watched this scene with her brow raised.

She figured Qin Shuyue was treating the car seat as her, kicking it to vent her anger.

Zhu Lingyi didn’t stop her.

Her schedule for tomorrow was packed; she needed to get back, wash up, and sleep.

As for the woman beside her…

Zhu Lingyi would just consider today an act of charity, a bit of good karma.