The Live-In Alpha Only Wants To Inherit The Young Lady's Estate - Chapter 3

Realizing this, Zhu Qingjia was no longer angry. She sat straight down on the sofa, “I will not agree to this.”

She even took a mandarin orange and began to peel and eat it.

“Two million, three million, or how much do you want?” Gu Ruoling began to raise the stakes.

“You’ve already shown me your balance, so why go to all this trouble? Just give it all to me.” Zhu Qingjia tossed away the orange peel and bit into a segment, its juice bursting sweet and refreshing.

“Shameless. I couldn’t tell you were this greedy.”

“That’s right, I’m even greedier than you imagine. We are wives; I’m just waiting to inherit your estate.” Finishing the last segment, Zhu Qingjia said with deep meaning, “Once you die, I will be your primary legal heir. All your property will be mine. What is a mere million?”

Gu Ruoling was visibly infuriated, and now it was Zhu Qingjia’s turn to feel secretly vindicated.

Wasn’t it just about poking each other’s sore spots? Who didn’t know how to do that?

“I just won’t die! I’ll live to infuriate you!” Gu Ruoling snapped, coughing loudly right after. Her pale complexion flushed slightly from the exertion.

“You should take care of your body, old lady, lest you actually anger yourself to death first.” Zhu Qingjia looked at her with feigned concern. Familial with the layout, she quickly found the medical kit and took out the anti-inflammatory ointment for her.

Without needing to be reminded this time, Gu Ruoling took the initiative to apply the medicine herself. But since the wound was on her face and she couldn’t see it, she dabbled it on haphazardly, missing the mark completely.

The medicine wasn’t applied properly at all, yet the pain wasn’t lessened by a fraction.

Zhu Qingjia let out a soft sigh. Taking the cotton swab from her hand, she wiped the playful expression from her face and began gently applying the medicine to her wound.

She even blew softly on the injury to soothe it.

The faint, crisp scent of mandarin oranges still lingered on her. Squatting right in front of her, Gu Ruoling blinked. She could clearly see Zhu Qingjia’s serious expression and tender movements—completely different from the person who had just been trading barbs with her.

Once the medicine was applied, Gu Ruoling pursed her lips, fished a medical ice pack out of the kit, tossed it to her, and hurriedly fled into the bathroom.

Catching the item, Zhu Qingjia couldn’t help but chuckle. She does have a bit of a conscience after all.

Her own face did indeed need an ice compress.

Still, Gu Ruoling had struck her quite hard earlier. Zhu Qingjia wondered if she possessed that kind of strength when she was fully lucid; if so, she’d be quite suited for training in martial arts.

The two spent the rest of the day in relative peace. During dinner, when Zhu Qingjia placed a vegetable Gu Ruoling disliked into her bowl, Gu Ruoling was just about to flare up when Zhu Qingjia simply leaned forward, presenting her still-reddened right cheek.

Gu Ruoling’s fire died instantly. She obediently ate the vegetable.

Sometimes, being in the right was quite useful.

That night, it was again Zhu Qingjia who brought Gu Ruoling her medication. However, when she handed over the water, Gu Ruoling failed to grip it securely, spilling it all over the floor.

Zhu Qingjia told her to sit on the sofa first, then poured half of her own glass of water for her.

“The water is exactly the same, take your medicine first.” While Gu Ruoling took her pills, Zhu Qingjia found a cloth to wipe the floor dry.

Gu Ruoling watched as she knelt on the floor. As she leaned down, the hem of her shirt rode up, revealing a small strip of slender, pale waist, and further down, the curve of her hips raised by her posture.

Her proportions were stunning, making anyone who looked blush.

Gu Ruoling’s face burned fiercely, and she quickly turned her head away. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what marriage entailed, and she knew what Zhu Qingjia might eventually do with her.

But this was truly a bit much. They hadn’t even cultivated any feelings yet, and she was already using this opportunity to seduce her.

How shameless.

Such filthy intentions.

Yet, she couldn’t resist stealing another glance.

Zhu Qingjia remained entirely oblivious to Gu Ruoling’s thoughts. Her only focus was figuring out how to dry the floor as quickly as possible.

Once the floor was clean, Zhu Qingjia took the cloth to the bathroom and returned to retrieve Gu Ruoling’s medicine cup.

She always felt as though Auntie Li was carrying out some sort of mission; if she didn’t get this cup back, she would stand outside waiting indefinitely, leaving only after confirming that Gu Ruoling had taken her medicine.

A new week began with the same uninspiring classes. The schedule for Monday was packed; after the morning classes ended, she had to utilize her lunch break to finish a group assignment.

Her roommate, Jingjing, leaned over to look at the PowerPoint presentation she had made. “Awesome! Your efficiency is incredible. If this were handed to me, I probably wouldn’t squeeze it out until right before next week’s class.”

Another roommate, Xiaotong, also came over to look. “Truly awesome. But Qingjia, what have you been busy with lately? Why do you keep running off-campus, and you don’t even sleep in the dorms at night?”

Zhu Qingjia had thought about this question. She had considered using Gu Ruoling as an excuse directly, saying she had a girlfriend, which would naturally justify her living off-campus. But her roommates would inevitably get curious.

Thus, she fabricated a lie. “I found a part-time job as a live-in tutor. The child’s parents are quite busy and asked me to take extra care of her. The pay is quite good, so I took it. I’ll treat you all to dinner once I get paid.”

“A live-in tutor who stays the whole night? It’s not some new type of pyramid scheme, is it? Qingjia, don’t get sold out while you’re still counting money for them.”

“No, it’s a very high-end neighborhood, so it shouldn’t be the case.” Zhu Qingjia clicked save. “I’ll send the PPT to the group chat. Let me know if anything needs changing.”

“We can just fix minor issues ourselves. But Qingjia, you look completely non-threatening. I’m really afraid you’ll get conned. If anything happens, you must tell us immediately.”

Zhu Qingjia smiled, her eyes radiating warmth.

After finishing her two afternoon classes, it was already 4:20 PM. When she returned home, the atmosphere was noticeably tense, completely different from how it had been in the morning.

Failing to see Gu Ruoling in the garden or on the first floor, she headed up to the second floor.

The bedroom door was shut. She knocked, but no one answered. Zhu Qingjia silently counted to three.

Three, two, one.

Then she pushed the door open and walked in.

Gu Ruoling was inside the room, sitting by the window, staring blankly outside with an empty expression.

Auntie Zhang, who had been keeping her company, quietly withdrew upon seeing her arrival.

She is sad.

Zhu Qingjia felt it.

Emotions are a magical thing; sometimes they require no words or actions. You only need to look at someone once to know they are grieving.

Sorrowful flowers require gentle cultivation.

Zhu Qingjia closed the door and walked slowly toward her. “Did you eat well today? I had a lot of classes today, and you weren’t awake yet when I left this morning, so we didn’t get a chance to eat together.”

No one answered.

Zhu Qingjia stood by her side and noticed her eyelashes trembling slightly. “What’s wrong? Unhappy?”

Gu Ruoling sniffled. “How about… I give you all the money in my card.” She clutched her dress, crumpling the fabric tighter and tighter, as if crumpling her own broken heart—the kind that couldn’t be pieced back together no matter how hard she tried.

She had clearly tried her best.

“Did they treat you like they did yesterday?” Zhu Qingjia squatted down beside her and asked softly.

Gu Ruoling shook her head.

Because Zhu Qingjia had emphasized it yesterday, everyone had stopped treating her so roughly. Today was actually better than yesterday; she hadn’t experienced any uncontrollable episodes.

However, during the first hour or so after waking up this morning, her head had throbbed agonizingly, as if an electric drill were boring into it. The pain made her want to vomit, yet she could bring up nothing.

She had even felt a strong urge to smash her head against the wall—the kind of urge where she wanted to kill herself.

When that thought surfaced, Gu Ruoling had been frightened. She had thought about using death as a release, but she had never imagined doing it in such an undignified manner.

At that moment, she truly felt she had gone mad.

Gu Ruoling had pondered over it repeatedly before finding the courage to tell her.

Zhu Qingjia thought for a moment and asked, “Have you told anyone else?”

Gu Ruoling shook her head. “Only you. They only ever make me take medication.”

No one had noticed that Gu Ruoling was quietly beginning to depend on her. When had it started?

Perhaps from the moment she said, ‘If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t,’ or ‘If she likes it, let her have it,’ and ‘Don’t treat her roughly.’

And from the very first time she had held her tightly in her arms.

“Don’t worry, I’ll think of a way for you.” Zhu Qingjia stood up and rested her hand on her shoulder.

Gu Ruoling desperately wanted to turn her head to look, but she restrained herself. The warmth radiating from Zhu Qingjia’s palm onto her shoulder was much higher than her own body temperature.

She had never known that a person could possess such warmth.

She envied it; she craved it.

But Zhu Qingjia didn’t linger long. She withdrew her hand and went to the door to take the fruit platter Auntie Li had brought up.

“The cantaloupe is very sweet. Have a taste.”

“I don’t want to eat.” Gu Ruoling had no appetite.

“Then I’ll eat it.” Zhu Qingjia stood nearby, consuming piece after piece. The sweet aroma of the fruit continuously drifted toward Gu Ruoling’s nose.

She was so annoying, unable to even eat fruit quietly. “Stop eating, leave some for me.”

Zhu Qingjia was starting to find it a bit too sweet. Swallowing the piece in her mouth, she asked, “Didn’t you say you weren’t eating?”

“I want to eat it now.” Gu Ruoling looked up and glared at her.

“Alright, you’re truly hard to please.” Zhu Qingjia placed the fruit platter and the fork onto her lap, letting her hold it to eat.

“What are you doing?” Gu Ruoling looked at the platter on her lap, finding it hard to accept.

“This is convenient. You don’t have to waste energy holding it with your hands.”

“I don’t want to!” Gu Ruoling refused. “This isn’t ladylike at all.” It was rather crude.

Zhu Qingjia nodded. “So you’re a lady? I really couldn’t tell.” Just as Gu Ruoling was about to lose her temper, Zhu Qingjia softened her expression and called out gently, “Come along then, Ruoling, let’s sit by the table and eat.”

Gu Ruoling’s anger vanished instantly. She couldn’t handle Zhu Qingjia calling her name like that; it made her limbs go entirely weak.

When Gu Ruoling took her medicine that night, Zhu Qingjia used her phone to take a picture of the pills, planning to find time to visit a hospital.

But Gu Ruoling mentioned that these medications were originally prescribed by doctors and had been verified at other hospitals, so there shouldn’t be an issue.

Watching her drink the water, Zhu Qingjia adopted a serious tone. “Ruoling, tell me honestly, have you been taking psychiatric medications?” Her symptoms strongly resembled the side effects left behind by such drugs.

Gu Ruoling didn’t get angry. “I don’t have a mental illness, nor do I have a family history of it. I just have a bad temper.”

Her self-awareness was surprisingly clear.

Zhu Qingjia smiled. “I don’t think you have a bad temper. You just… haven’t grown up yet.”

Gu Ruoling froze. “Do I still have a chance to grow up? I don’t want to remain stuck at eighteen.” Every day she opened her eyes felt like borrowed time.

Zhu Qingjia hadn’t expected to touch upon her sorrow. According to the original novel, Gu Ruoling would live until she was twenty, passing away the day before her twentieth birthday.

When a life begins a countdown, words become heavy.

“How old are you?” Gu Ruoling asked.

“Twenty-one.”

“Twenty-one… three years older than me.” She desperately wanted to know what her own twenty-first year would look like. Gu Ruoling didn’t say it aloud; she only dared to quietly look forward to it.

“That’s right, you should be calling me ‘Sister’.”

Sure enough, Gu Ruoling was successfully distracted by her. “In your dreams.”

“Alright, it’s time for you to sleep.”

Tuesday brought another 8:00 AM class, but there was no second major lecture. When she returned home, Gu Ruoling was leaning against the bed. The vitality in her eyes was gone, her hair was a tangled mess, and the blankets were in total disarray—one look made it clear what had happened.

Zhu Qingjia sought out Auntie Li, asking why she still treated Gu Ruoling that way.

Auntie Li repeatedly emphasized how difficult it was for her, claiming it was all for the young mistress’s own good. She argued that if they didn’t restrain her and something happened, they couldn’t bear the responsibility. She added that if Zhu Qingjia wanted this to stop, she would have to accompany the young mistress whenever she had an episode.

But how could that be possible? Zhu Qingjia couldn’t simply skip her classes and stay home to accompany her constantly.

She merely wanted them to use a gentler approach, rather than treating Gu Ruoling like a criminal.

Gu Ruoling was already sensitive. Being treated this way meant that even if she didn’t have a mental illness now, she would eventually be driven into one.

Zhu Qingjia pursed her lips, remaining silent and showing no outward emotion.

However, she fiercely wanted to fire Auntie Li, even though she lacked the authority to do so.