Chapter 19 Part 1

Unable to escape, Luo Qingmeng could only stay.

In the morning, Qiu Shuxue called a housekeeping service. When the housekeeper saw the mess on the floor, her expression grew complicated in an instant. Luo Qingmeng shook her head right away and pointed at Qiu Shuxue. “This isn’t my house,” she said.

The housekeeper seemed to assume they had been up to some wild youthful antics, and she gave them a very complicated look before getting back to work.

Luo Qingmeng grumbled at Qiu Shuxue. “If you’d bought a cake, the auntie would’ve figured it out, and this wouldn’t have happened.”

Qiu Shuxue thought for a moment and asked, “Do you want to eat one?”

Luo Qingmeng actually felt a bit tempted. “Not really. I don’t love sweets anyway.”

Luo Qingmeng had a sharp memory for money. After the housekeeper left, she immediately reminded Qiu Shuxue, “Make sure you get Li An to pay for it.”

They’d called two housekeepers in total. Qiu Shuxue took out her phone to message Li An. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Should we call another one to tidy up your place too?”

Luo Qingmeng usually kept her own home spotless. She wasn’t born to slave away—if there were blessings to enjoy, why not take them? In the afternoon, another housekeeper arrived, and Luo Qingmeng opened the door to let her in.

With both apartments cleaned spotless, everything looked refreshing wherever she looked. Luo Qingmeng asked, “Do the people at your company all hate Li An?”

“I told you last time. With his qualifications, he has no edge at our company—especially in our department. He’s just getting on in years, and no one wants him. His looks are nothing special, his salary’s nothing to write home about, and he’s always unkempt.” Qiu Shuxue heated two cups of milk tea. She took a sip from hers and handed one to Luo Qingmeng. “Some of the low-paid interns in the department fall for scams pretty easily.”

Luo Qingmeng felt like she was being shaded. Back then, she’d genuinely thought Li An was great—a real gentleman with a stable job and good income. You couldn’t find one even if you searched with a lantern. Fortunately, Qiu Shuxue’s next words turned it around. “The main thing is, that guy’s too sleazy. Even after you messed with him yesterday, he still took advantage of a bunch of girls.”

“Huh?” Luo Qingmeng looked puzzled.

“Once word gets out, he’ll lose all face. Everyone from top to bottom will think he was fooling around at my place—with all our colleagues there—and carelessly got hold of some chili oil, only to reap what he sowed.”

Oh, right.

Luo Qingmeng nodded vigorously.

She had done a good deed.

Praised like this by Qiu Shuxue, Luo Qingmeng didn’t go home. She stayed at Qiu Shuxue’s place to hang out some more.

In between, with nothing better to do, Luo Qingmeng watched Qiu Shuxue’s pristine kitchen. She went in and cooked a meal. Luo Qingmeng had sworn to the heavens countless times that she’d never cook for anyone but herself again. But seeing the stars practically sparkling in Qiu Shuxue’s eyes, she couldn’t hold back. She showed off her culinary skills, whipping up dish after dish until the table was laden full.

“Thank you, sis.” Qiu Shuxue smiled as she said it. She was clearly delighted, as if today were her birthday instead.

All of a sudden, Luo Qingmeng felt a surge of empathy. She loved birthdays too and usually celebrated them herself. From childhood to now, no one had ever made a big deal of her. Only on her birthday did she feel special—like she had a moment that truly belonged to her.

Watching Qiu Shuxue gratefully digging into the meal with her chopsticks, she thought that yeah, you really needed a cake to set the mood.

“Let’s eat.” Luo Qingmeng picked up some food with her chopsticks, and Qiu Shuxue hummed in agreement.

Unlike those stinky men, Qiu Shuxue loved doing housework with Luo Qingmeng. While Luo Qingmeng cooked, she insisted on hovering nearby—tying on her apron, washing veggies, passing plates. She didn’t even use the dishwasher; she rolled up her sleeves and washed everything by hand. She always seemed in high spirits.

After dinner and brushing their teeth, Qiu Shuxue went wild again and wanted to fool around. Luo Qingmeng shoved her away, pretending to be furious. Qiu Shuxue could only sigh. About twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Qiu Shuxue went to answer it, and in came a cake.

Qiu Shuxue carried the cake over. “Did you send this, sis?”

Luo Qingmeng was sitting on a cushion behind the coffee table, her back against the sofa. She shook her head. “Nope.”

“Oh? Then why does the cake say ‘Happy Birthday, Luo Qingmeng’?”

“No way. Did the shop get it wrong?” Luo Qingmeng grabbed her phone right away.

Qiu Shuxue’s eyebrows twitched slightly. She looked at her with eyes as gentle as water, though the joy bubbling underneath was impossible to hide.

Luo Qingmeng had a sharp tongue, but a soft heart. Wait, no—her lips were soft too. Qiu Shuxue walked over, squatted down, and planted a quick kiss on Luo Qingmeng’s lips. Luo Qingmeng froze for a moment, then elbowed her away. “I didn’t send it anyway.”

Qiu Shuxue kissed her again, this time fully capturing her lips. Luo Qingmeng frowned but didn’t resist. Once Qiu Shuxue had tasted her lips, she started unpacking the cake.

The cake was beautiful—a main pink princess cake surrounded by five little rose cupcakes, all exquisite and lovely.

The chocolate plaque even read: “Qiu Shuxue, Get Rich Quick.”

Qiu Shuxue gripped the cake knife for ages without cutting. Luo Qingmeng glanced at her. “What are you doing now?”

“I can’t bear to cut it.” Qiu Shuxue hesitated.

“You’re acting like no one’s ever celebrated your birthday. All those people who came over yesterday—what, were they invisible?”

Qiu Shuxue pursed her lips. “But no one brought me a cake.”

Luo Qingmeng blinked, puzzled.

“They all showed up, but no one actually gave me a cake. It was all just going through the motions. No one really thought my birthday was worth celebrating or wanted to give me sincere wishes.” Qiu Shuxue said, “You get it, right? Without the ceremony, it’s not really a holiday.”

Luo Qingmeng got it.

She was big on rituals herself. If someone was supposed to celebrate a holiday with her but just rushed in and out—saying they’d come to keep her company but bailing quick—then they might as well not bother. It wasn’t sincere.

Luo Qingmeng grabbed her wrist and sliced into the cake. “It’s not like there’s only one birthday. We can get another next time.”

Qiu Shuxue nodded. “You’re right. There will be more.”

Luo Qingmeng grumbled, “You really are such a kid.”

She must have been hallucinating last night, thinking Qiu Shuxue acted like a big sister. Qiu Shuxue was immature as hell. Luo Qingmeng got some frosting on her finger and smeared it right on Qiu Shuxue’s nose.

Qiu Shuxue cut her a slice, and the two of them sat on the floor cushions to eat. Qiu Shuxue asked, “Any movies you want to watch?”

Luo Qingmeng grabbed the remote and used the voice command. “Search for Animal Farm. That’s pretty good—we can watch that.”

The frosting melted sweetly on her tongue without being cloying, and the cake had fruit inside, soft and fluffy. Luo Qingmeng rarely ate cake. No one had splurged on one for her in her first eighteen years, and in the last ten, she hadn’t splurged on herself. This was her first proper cake purchase—and eating it with someone felt kinda awkward.

But it was worth it.

Maybe because she was in a good mood, a thought occurred to Luo Qingmeng. How the heck was Qiu Shuxue tangled up with Li An? That gross guy—how could she have fallen for him?

Could it be that she’d been young and an intern too, scammed just like Luo Qingmeng had been? Infatuated with him the way she was now infatuated with Luo Qingmeng?

This was getting complicated.

Luo Qingmeng was about to ask when Qiu Shuxue’s finger reached over. With frosting on the tip, she smeared it twice across Luo Qingmeng’s chest.

“Don’t waste it,” Luo Qingmeng scolded.

“Okay.”

Qiu Shuxue nodded and scooted closer. Her lips scooped up the frosting and licked it clean. By then, more than half the cake’s frosting had gone into Qiu Shuxue’s mouth. Luo Qingmeng started half-heartedly blocking with her hand. As they ate, she could taste sweetness on her own lips too. She pretended nothing was happening, just like that morning—holding back, lips pressed tight. This time she made progress: she didn’t cry.

She’d gone from a depressed ostrich to one that indulged a little.

Because she turned a blind eye, she soon ended up reverse-straddling Qiu Shuxue’s lap. Being held while they watched TV started feeling off.

Sigh.

This was bad.

But Luo Qingmeng loved it. That admiration for the strong kicked in again. To be precise, it wasn’t quite that—Qiu Shuxue was exceptional, but Luo Qingmeng had outgrown chasing excellence just for the thrill. Now it was the satisfaction of being pampered and adored by someone exceptional that hooked her. It made her melt with sweet contentment.

During their intimate moments, she could curse Qiu Shuxue out—say this was no good, that was no good—and Qiu Shuxue would just go along with it. When Qiu Shuxue asked if it felt good, she could nitpick and say it wasn’t quite right.

Basically, she called the shots.

Deep down, she knew she was the one being bullied, but she’d never truly hated it.

Luo Qingmeng hadn’t properly toured the apartment, but she’d been to every spot—and the window stood out most. She’d been pushed up against it several times.

Qiu Shuxue held her in her arms now, and Luo Qingmeng couldn’t even be bothered to resist anymore. They let Animal Farm play through three times before barely finishing it. The animals overthrew the pigs’ rule, and Luo Qingmeng pushed the clingy Qiu Shuxue away. In a low voice, she said, “That’s not how it goes. The book is different.”

Qiu Shuxue hummed, kissed her ear, and murmured sweetly, “I like you so much.”

No one could imagine just how captivating Luo Qingmeng’s charm was. She was like a large toy cradled in the palm of one’s hand, ready to be played with at will—yet unlike a mere toy, she responded with such obedience, such cuteness, and such mesmerizing allure.

Whenever Qiu Shuxue said to her, “Sister looks prettier like this,” Luo Qingmeng would obediently reply with an “oh” and do exactly as instructed. She was purely adorable, very much the wife-like type. Her eyes were always red-rimmed, as if she were on the verge of tears, looking so aggrieved that no one could bear it—they simply wanted to see her cry out loud. Qiu Shuxue always kissed her eyes.

Her voice was delightful too. She clenched her lips tightly at first, parting them just a little when she could no longer hold back, letting the sounds escape. Most devastating of all, her entire body radiated that same uniform shyness.