After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 59.1

Let the wind blow her pure white long skirt, fluttering freely and to its heart’s content.

Following Zhu Lingyi’s words, Qin Shuyue’s gaze swept over to the open violin case placed beside Zhu Lingyi. Her pupils constricted, and a hint of anger appeared in her eyes as she looked at her.

“I didn’t give you permission to open my violin case.”

She was momentarily struck dumb; a flurry of rebukes cycled through her mind, but when she spoke, it came out as a quite spineless threat.

Zhu Lingyi’s brow arched slightly. She set down her notebook, her slender fingers lightly plucking a string; a crisp, pleasant sound drifted into Qin Shuyue’s ears. To her, however, it sounded particularly piercing, and her heart rose in her throat. This was her most precious treasure she couldn’t let it be ruined by her!

She rushed forward, intending to snatch the violin back from Zhu Lingyi. But Zhu Lingyi had no intention of engaging in a tug-of-war over the instrument. She lightly cradled the violin on her lap, pressed her palms against the sofa cushions, and leaned back against the backrest. She didn’t restrict the violin at all; she simply stared intently at Qin Shuyue.

Watching Qin Shuyue’s panicked expression, the corner of Zhu Lingyi’s mouth curled up slightly for a fleeting moment. She sat there composed, watching Qin Shuyue carefully hold the violin in her arms as if it were a rare night pearl from the deep sea.

Qin Shuyue checked it meticulously left and right, up and down, every angle and only after confirming the violin was unharmed did her racing heart slowly settle. Just as she wanted to test the tone and looked up for the bow, she found that Zhu Lingyi, as if seeing through her thoughts, was already playing with the bow in her hand.

Qin Shuyue reached out coldly toward her. “Give it to me. The bow isn’t a toy.”

Zhu Lingyi’s grip on the bow tightened, pulling it closer to her chest with an expression that clearly suggested she enjoyed the spectacle. She wasn’t going to give it up. Without the bow, even the most skilled player couldn’t make the music sing.

Looking at Zhu Lingyi’s condescending and cynical attitude, an anonymous fire rose in Qin Shuyue’s heart. This was clearly her property; why did she have to be the one to beg for its return? Why did she have to lower herself to ask her to give it back? How ridiculous.

But Qin Shuyue didn’t dare to truly confront her head-on. She swallowed hard, forcing her unspoken words back down. Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by Zhu Lingyi.

“Are you thinking that this is clearly your thing, yet you, the owner, have to humble yourself to beg me to return it to its rightful owner?”

It was the same logic as the lender being the grandson and the debtor being the boss. Qin Shuyue froze. She seriously suspected Zhu Lingyi had the power of mind-reading.

Zhu Lingyi let out a huff of laughter and shook her head, removing the gold-rimmed glasses that had no lenses. She set them casually beside her, stood up, and slowly walked toward Qin Shuyue.

A dark shadow eclipsed the light; Qin Shuyue’s vision went dark for a moment, and by the time she blinked, Zhu Lingyi was already standing before her.

When facing anyone, Qin Shuyue would always keep her head buried low, as if constantly trying to diminish her own presence so that no one would notice her it gave an impression of extreme lack of confidence. It was the same now. When Zhu Lingyi was sitting far away, Qin Shuyue could still occasionally glance at her, but now that she was only a few steps away, she shrunk back like a quail.

However, Zhu Lingyi said nothing. She simply raised the hand holding the bow and offered it to Qin Shuyue. Qin Shuyue took the bow, not quite understanding, and her hand fell back to her side. She unconsciously gripped the bow tightly, her fingertips turning white.

Zhu Lingyi cast a brief, calm glance downward, then turned and sat back on the sofa. She looked up at her, holding a wine glass and gesturing slightly toward her.

“Can you play ‘Moonlight’?”

The immense pressure in front of her vanished instantly, but before Qin Shuyue could even let out a sigh of relief, her heart skipped a beat again at those words. She watched Zhu Lingyi sitting leisurely on the sofa, her slender fingers resting on the glass, occasionally swirling the red wine eyes half-closed, looking very relaxed.

And she, herself, felt like a courtesan called upon by a guest to perform. Thinking of this, Qin Shuyue put down the violin and shook her head. “I can’t.”

This answer thoroughly dampened Zhu Lingyi’s spirits. She set the glass down with a ‘clunk.’ “Then what can you play?”

“Nothing at all,” Qin Shuyue replied.

As she spoke, she walked toward the case beside Zhu Lingyi. Just as she reached for it, she nearly collided with Zhu Lingyi.

“Is this what you’re going to perform for the Arts Festival?”

Qin Shuyue bent down to grab the violin case, while Zhu Lingyi crossed her legs and leisurely stared at her slender waist. As Qin Shuyue reached out, her waist twisted slightly. Although this gaze didn’t feel like the offensive leer of a pervert, it was certainly not well-intentioned.

Qin Shuyue quickly reclaimed the case, straightened up to escape Zhu Lingyi’s gaze, and packed the violin away. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she looked up and saw Zhu Lingyi frowning, staring intently at the violin in the case. Her expression suggested she had something to say, but in the end, she said nothing and got up to leave.

As Qin Shuyue crouched on the floor packing the violin and watched Zhu Lingyi’s retreating figure, she found herself quietly sighing in relief. For some reason, and she didn’t know when it started, she always felt inexplicably nervous whenever she saw Zhu Lingyi. Her heart would beat very fast, giving her an urgent desire to flee from wherever she was.

But Qin Shuyue would also get inexplicably angry. She was angry about why she was always so high and mighty, always standing at the highest point, scrutinizing her and everyone else like ants that could be crushed at any moment. She always seemed so indifferent and unconcerned.

But why did she help her on the second day they met? Why did she support her when she fainted and stay by her bedside when she woke up? Many things made no sense to Qin Shuyue at all. It was completely illogical, and she didn’t know where to begin reflecting.

Were they even close? Why help her so selflessly like a friend? Since when did they start becoming friends? She let out a soft sigh and withdrew her gaze. She didn’t understand.

She also didn’t dare hope to become friends with Zhu Lingyi. Qin Shuyue had a lot of self-awareness; her personality was strange, reclusive, and eccentric—sometimes even she couldn’t stand herself. A person with her personality was destined never to have a best friend.

After packing the violin, Qin Shuyue carried the bag up to the second floor, returned to her room, took a quick shower, and went to bed. But tonight was a sleepless one. Once in bed, with the lights out, facing the dark and lonely night, the moonlight from the floor-to-ceiling window cast a faint shadow by her bed.

Qin Shuyue turned over and stared quietly at the shadow, moving slightly toward it. She slowly reached out and placed her hand on her own hunched shoulder, staring at the shadow in the darkness. It vaguely seemed as if another silhouette appeared behind her head. Looking at the shadow on the ground, she murmured a name.

“Mama.”

A gust of wind blew, rustling the branches outside. The weather was turning cool, but closing the window made it stuffy, so she left it open. The wind blew through her hair, and even the shadow on the ground looked jagged and wild. The wind stopped, her dark hair fell, and the other shadow disappeared; Mama had left.

The hand on her shoulder dropped, but Qin Shuyue sat up and stared at the dark shadow on the floor for a long time. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right, as if looking for something, but eventually, her head went still.

With a “thud,” Qin Shuyue threw the pillow behind her with all her might, slamming it into the floor as if trying to break a hole through it. The pillow flew across the smooth floor with a “bang,” hitting the white wall and bouncing back. She sat quietly on the bed, her eyes cast downward, staring fixedly at the black shadow on the floor, her expression shrouded in gloom.

At the edge of the horizon, a morning sun slowly rose in the east, and the chill of the night vanished in an instant. Gradually, all things revived, and the sunflowers in the fields raised their heads to chase the sunlight.

Qin Shuyue woke up very early. She changed her clothes, slung the violin across her back, and quietly changed her shoes to head out. Her movements were so light they were barely loud enough to disturb anyone’s sleep.

Yet, Zhu Lingyi was startled awake. And as soon as she woke up, Jiang Feiwan who slept next door and was alerted by a linked electronic device also woke up. She opened her eyes abruptly and rushed to Zhu Lingyi’s room, barely having time to dress. She opened the door with a look of panic and swept the room with a wary gaze, her body slightly crouched in a combat stance.

But there was no one in the room except for Zhu Lingyi, who was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

“What was that sound?” Zhu Lingyi asked in a hoarse voice.

Jiang Feiwan immediately pulled out her tablet to check the surveillance. No one had been there all night, except for Qin Shuyue leaving the dorm two minutes ago. Jiang Feiwan’s heart settled slightly, and she put the tablet away. “It was Miss Qin. Two minutes ago, Miss Qin left with her violin bag.”

Zhu Lingyi shielded her eyes with her hand and gave a raspy “Mm.”

Jiang Feiwan looked at her with concern and asked, “Miss Zhu, there are still five hours before today’s classes. You can sleep a bit longer.”

But Zhu Lingyi sat up. “I can’t sleep anymore.”

Jiang Feiwan did not question Zhu Lingyi’s order. Since she couldn’t sleep, a good assistant needed to have the boss’s clothes ready. She picked out several items from the closet to coordinate Zhu Lingyi’s outfit for the day. Zhu Lingyi never liked overly bright or flashy clothes; her wardrobe was mostly black or white, all solid colors. Over the years, Jiang Feiwan had come to understand her preference for simplicity. It indeed suited her temperament.

After handing her the clothes, Jiang Feiwan stepped out and waited for a while. Zhu Lingyi pulled at the black tie tucked under her white shirt to adjust it, then opened the door and asked Jiang Feiwan, who was standing by the side, “Is breakfast ready?”

Jiang Feiwan was taken aback. It was only 6:30. Zhu Lingyi usually had a set wake-up time, and to ensure freshness, the maids usually started preparing breakfast thirty minutes before she got up. No one expected her to wake up suddenly today; breakfast wasn’t ready, and it would be too late to start now. She shook her head and answered truthfully, “Not yet.”

She was about to say she would go order it, but to her surprise, Zhu Lingyi waved her off. “Forget it.” Zhu Lingyi thought for a moment. “We’ll go to the cafeteria today.” After making this simple decision, she quickly washed up and walked out.

Jiang Feiwan wanted to follow, and Zhu Lingyi didn’t refuse. Usually, Gao Yin and Xu Lian would follow. However, it was still early; Gao Yin had likely just returned from a bar and fallen asleep, while Xu Lian would already be in the lab.

Walking to the cafeteria, Zhu Lingyi found a seat. Looking up, she could see the steamed bun stall. Seeing a slender figure busy at the stall, Zhu Lingyi dazed for a moment, thinking it was Qin Shuyue. She stared fixedly at the stall. Jiang Feiwan observed carefully and then walked over to the stall.

After saying something to the girl at the counter, the girl’s figure stiffened noticeably. She looked flustered, but seeing the visitor’s distinguished aura and authoritative manner, she briefly froze before lowering her head and heading to the back kitchen.

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