In that instant, Luo Qingmeng desperately wanted to die. Being toyed with like this was simply too painful.
She tried hard to push Qiu Shuxue away. If Qiu Shuxue weren’t so beautiful, she really would have felt utterly disgusted. But Qiu Shuxue was truly stunning—fair-skinned, with a snowy aura about her, an indescribable chill.
She was the complete opposite of Luo Qingmeng, who was like sunshine.
Qiu Shuxue evoked the cold, piercing snow of a winter day. Just looking at her face, one would think she was aloof and hard to approach.
But snow melted upon touching a fingertip—a bit of warmth, and it turned to water.
There was a line that fit her perfectly.
What was it? What was it?
Luo Qingmeng had read many books, and one phrase sprang to mind:
“It’s the snow falling onto the pages of a book amid a sweet evening dream.”
Luo Qingmeng felt deeply uncomfortable, and she asked herself why.
Why think such a thing? It was too bizarre.
The first time she had noticed Qiu Shuxue wasn’t at Li An’s house—it was at the store. She had always felt this woman looked familiar, and because she was so beautiful, Luo Qingmeng couldn’t help her curiosity.
But she never stared openly at Qiu Shuxue. She just quietly observed, noting what books she bought and how she lingered a few seconds while scanning. Later, seeing her at Li An’s house had surprised her.
Oh, she thought—no wonder she looked so familiar. She was Li An’s colleague.
When Luo Qingmeng saw her then, she hadn’t rushed over enthusiastically to chat or cozy up. In truth, faced with such people, she instinctively shied away, avoiding interaction whenever possible. She felt the gulf in their status; they would look down on her, and even meeting their eyes filled her with inferiority.
Her first impression of Qiu Shuxue was of porcelain-pale skin, like face cream blended with pearl powder in a bottle. Viewed against the light, Qiu Shuxue had curved her brows into a gentle smile at her, and Luo Qingmeng hadn’t known how to respond—she had simply stood there, dazed and foolish, before turning away.
Afterward, she had busied herself cooking in the kitchen. Qiu Shuxue had come over to help unprompted, passing her plates and washing vegetables, chatting enthusiastically and displaying a captivating way with words by showering her with praise.
Luo Qingmeng had felt terribly embarrassed. She had noticed Qiu Shuxue staring at her the whole time, but back then she had assumed it was just because the woman was kind and hadn’t dwelled on it. Now, in retrospect, Qiu Shuxue had clearly targeted her—she was a pervert.
She could let that slide, but this woman had even pinched her flesh.
Luo Qingmeng bit her lip, wanting to curse her out, but in the end, she let out a hum instead.
Qiu Shuxue immediately looked up at her. The hair at her temple was disheveled, and she asked, “Is it messed up?”
“No.”
Luo Qingmeng had no idea what she meant by that.
“Do you like it, Widow Sister?” Qiu Shuxue asked.
Qiu Shuxue’s fingers began to play tricks, pinching her outright and teasing her to admit if she liked it. Luo Qingmeng let out an “ah,” her voice laced with an involuntary lilt.
She felt like she was dying. She had been pinched and should have been furious, yet she didn’t hate it at all—she even craved those fingers.
Qiu Shuxue circled her fingers, pinching harder. It hurt so much that Luo Qingmeng thought she would go mad. Her eyes turned fully red, and she wanted to cry again. She held it back with effort, wanting to push her away but knowing she was no match for her. Any resistance would likely make things worse. With a voice thick with tears, she said, “Don’t do this… I’m really going to get angry.”
“Then, Sister, are you a widow?”
The woman actually asked that. Luo Qingmeng raised her hand, tempted to slap her. But gazing at that fair, silky-smooth face, she slowly clenched her fist and smashed it onto her shoulder instead.
After the blow, Luo Qingmeng stared at her soft hair. Her fingers unconsciously settled on Qiu Shuxue’s head, rubbing it twice. Qiu Shuxue froze.
Luo Qingmeng’s fingers trembled as she repeated, “Don’t do this.”
Qiu Shuxue stared at her the whole time, her gaze enchanted.
Afraid she would never stop, Luo Qingmeng slapped her face. Her palm tingled faintly, and her body shook slightly as she struck, terrified that Qiu Shuxue might hit back. When Qiu Shuxue reached out, she instantly raised her hand to shield her face.
Qiu Shuxue pulled her hand away, then lowered her head. Luo Qingmeng panted for breath, her lips flushed a vivid red. Qiu Shuxue leaned in, pressing lip to lip, and bit down hard—like sinking teeth into jelly or retaliating for that slap.
“No one’s ever slapped my face like that,” Qiu Shuxue said.
Her breath washed over Luo Qingmeng, who felt deeply wronged. People truly held grudges but forgot kindness—she had even stroked her head to comfort her, yet she only remembered the hit.
Luo Qingmeng had come here for revenge against Qiu Shuxue, only to end up served up on a platter.
She was truly going to be driven mad by Qiu Shuxue.
She was even more annoyed and regretful that she had ever come here to rent in the first place.
“You hit me, so… kiss me once and we’ll call it even,” Qiu Shuxue said.
“Qiu Shuxue, you’re going too far.” Luo Qingmeng turned her head away, refusing the kiss and trying to reason with her. “You’re the one who kept kissing me. I said no, but you did it anyway, so I slapped you. That’s completely unreasonable.”
“Did you say no?” Qiu Shuxue asked.
Luo Qingmeng started to nod, her lips parting to say it, but she swallowed the word back down. She actually hadn’t said no, or that it wasn’t allowed.
Luo Qingmeng opened her mouth, belatedly trying to mend the fold after the sheep was lost. “No.”
Qiu Shuxue pinched her chin, her breath coming in short gasps. “Sister, I think it’s fine.”
Then she kissed her directly.
Luo Qingmeng felt like she was going insane—what good was saying no?
As if hearing her thoughts, Qiu Shuxue said, “Because it’s sweeter this way.”
Luo Qingmeng huffed. What good was that… What good was any of it? She kept cursing her in her mind—pervert, pervert.
But this pervert really knew how to kiss. Luo Qingmeng braced her hand against the door.
She could only let her do as she pleased.
Finally, once Qiu Shuxue finished kissing her, Luo Qingmeng backed away. She didn’t grab the items and retreated into her room instead—tangling with Qiu Shuxue was too agonizing.
With a bang, she slammed the door shut tight.
Separated by a single door.
She heard Qiu Shuxue speak. “You haven’t taken the stuff yet.”
Luo Qingmeng didn’t dare go out now, didn’t dare take those things—she feared falling into another trap. She glanced at the door monitor, desperate to check the activity outside.
But this time, she didn’t dare press close. Her face burned unbearably…
She backed away, turned, and ran into the bathroom. She washed her face, then looked up into the mirror. Her entire face was flushed red. She crooked her fingers, cupped some water, and pressed it to her cheeks, trying to cool herself down.
It was too mortifying.
Luo Qingmeng didn’t rush to leave. She tidied up the bathroom items, fussing back and forth, before finally returning to the living room.
She took a deep breath and twisted the door open. Qiu Shuxue was no longer standing outside. She hurriedly carried the fruits inside; the coconut from Qiu Shuxue sat right on top. She picked it up and turned toward the kitchen.
Her mind was a chaotic mess.
Following the instructions on top, Luo Qingmeng opened the coconut. Soon, the scent of coconut water filled the air. She had originally planned only to cook her meal, but… she felt a spark of curiosity.
Qiu Shuxue had said she tasted milky sweet.
She couldn’t really blame herself for this—blame the coconut, with its straw stuck right in. She couldn’t resist and took a sip. The sweet coconut water filled her mouth; it had nothing to do with milk.
Qiu Shuxue was spouting nonsense.
Luo Qingmeng opened the fridge. The Sanhuang Chicken she had bought that day hadn’t been frozen. She planned to use it up soon—stew it or stir-fry it—otherwise, by month’s end, with all her bags and bundles, everything would spoil. She was exhausted from work every day as it was; skipping a treat like this would only make her feel worse.
She grabbed a knife, hoping to chop the chicken and vent her anger.
But the chicken was already cut into pieces. The auntie at the market had been so enthusiastic, assuming she lacked the strength to hack away with swift strokes.
Luo Qingmeng wielded the knife and chopped the larger chunks haphazardly, clanging away.
She was this close to slapping a label on them with Qiu Shuxue’s name.
She even hacked at the coconut, trying to imagine it as Qiu Shuxue and chopping it to smithereens. But the moment she raised the knife, she simply couldn’t bring it down.
After all, she… still didn’t want to kill anyone.
Qiu Shuxue’s offenses didn’t warrant death.
Luo Qingmeng steadied her emotions and got to cooking. Whether due to the appeal of good food or her growing tolerance for Qiu Shuxue’s harassment, her mood actually improved swiftly.
She put the chicken in the pot to boil and skimmed off the foam, then washed a few strawberries and popped one into her mouth. It was quite sweet—the boss had suddenly become generous. She didn’t eat too many, worried it would spoil her appetite for the chicken.
There was still leftover rice from the past few days in the rice cooker. She scooped it out, brushed the pan with oil, pressed the rice flat, and carefully fried it into a large slab of fried rice crust. It would pair perfectly with the coconut chicken later.
After nearly an hour, Luo Qingmeng changed into her pajamas and sat down to eat.
The aroma wafted quite far, especially when she lifted the pot lid—the neighbor could surely smell the chicken broth mingled with the subtle sweetness of coconut. Qiu Shuxue had also taken a shower and was sitting at the living room table, handling some files.
The scent made her stomach rumble with hunger.
She pulled out her phone to order coconut chicken for delivery.
But at the payment screen, she tapped cancel.
It would be better to eat next door—but would she open the door?
Qiu Shuxue opened her door and first checked the hallway monitor. She saw no one and heard nothing. But as she looked down, she spotted the item.
A takeout box sat at her doorstep.
Inside was coconut chicken stewed to a golden hue, topped with a small container of sauce that gave off a tantalizing mix of sesame oil and chili fragrance.
Oh, and the aroma of fried rice too.
On the side was half a large slab of fried rice crust.
