She squatted down to change the other person’s shoes.
Xu Qingzhou felt like she had never waited on anyone like this in her entire life.
It seemed like her life was destined to be in this person’s hands.
What the hell was all this?
“Are you an idiot? Even though the weather’s warmed up a bit, you can’t just do this. Do you think your throat is made of gold or something? The kind that doesn’t fear wind or rain?”
Xu Qingzhou stood up, grabbed a towel from the bathroom, and handed it to her.
She then turned to the kitchen and brought over a cup of hot water, handing it to her.
“Didn’t you know where I live? Couldn’t you call me? Where’s your brain? Did it go on vacation?”
Xu Qingzhou didn’t idle around. She poured some cat food for Tangyuan.
She even gave the cat a couple of pets.
Her place wasn’t big, just eighty square meters.
It was the best house she could afford with her own money—most of it had gone toward buying the motorcycle.
No helping it; that was her one hobby.
She lived alone, the type where one person eating their fill meant the whole family was fed.
“I don’t think I have any pajamas that would fit you, but I do have a nightgown that’s pretty big. You should be able to wear it, right? Don’t complain—even if you do, it’s useless unless you want to go naked.”
Xu Qingzhou pulled her nightgown out of the closet.
Good thing it had already been through the wash; otherwise, it’d be even more embarrassing to hand it over.
She passed the water over and glanced at the weather outside.
It didn’t look like the rain would stop anytime soon.
“You… go take a shower. If your voice cracks during tomorrow’s recording, I’ll straight-up kill you, got it? Hurry up—what are you standing around for? Waiting for lightning to strike?”
“Mm, okay.”
Xie An could be just as bad as Fu Yanxi sometimes.
Few words, a bit cold.
But the two of them looked completely different. Fu Yanxi was model-level gorgeous.
Xie An had a delicate, flowing-water kind of beauty.
Their eyes were somewhat similar, though.
Both carried that same cold detachment.
But Xie An had a touch more gentleness.
It made sense—one was a dentist, the other a company heiress.
Their auras were bound to differ.
Xie An walked into the bathroom.
Xu Qingzhou went to the sofa and scooped up the now-full Tangyuan into her arms.
Tangyuan was pretty quiet too, meowing contentedly at her twice.
It even nuzzled into her embrace.
“Tangyuan, let me tell you, your mom is a total dummy.”
“It was raining, and she didn’t even know to go home. Couldn’t she pick you up tomorrow morning? Seriously, is she stupid? Like, super stupid?”
Even though she’d ended up cat-sitting Tangyuan for several extra days.
She’d done it willingly.
Tangyuan, as an orange tabby, had a perfectly normal build.
Not fat, not skinny.
Even though Xu Qingzhou had bought canned cat food, Tangyuan didn’t eat much.
It was like it was holding back.
No surprise—it was Xie An’s cat, just like its owner.
Once Tangyuan was picked up, her life would return to normal.
She hadn’t kept up with her dubbing work this week.
She’d missed out on a bunch of pocket money.
She was going to make Xie An pay for all of it.
Whether Xie An liked it or not?
She’d collect first and talk later.
After half an hour, Xie An finished her shower.
She emerged from the bathroom still wearing Xu Qingzhou’s long Garfield dress.
It was pretty childish, pretty ridiculous.
“When did you get back?”
“An hour ago.”
It was supposed to be a three- or four-day study trip, but it got extended to a week.
Everyone else was flying back tomorrow morning, but she wanted to see Xu Qingzhou tonight.
She’d brought a photo of Xu Qingzhou with her to soothe her longing.
But a photo wasn’t the same as the real thing.
So she’d booked the last flight back that evening and flew straight home.
It started raining as soon as she arrived.
She’d planned to buy an umbrella, but when she saw the photo Lin Shuyi sent of Xu Qingzhou laughing and joking with the pet store owner, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She didn’t even buy the umbrella and took a cab straight to Xu Qingzhou’s apartment.
She’d jogged over, not knowing exactly which floor Xu Qingzhou lived on.
Her phone had died too.
So she waited at the entrance, hoping to catch her.
Luckily, she did.
“So, are you taking Tangyuan now? Or tomorrow? Have you eaten? You look like you haven’t. What do you want? I’ll order delivery.”
Xu Qingzhou scrolled through the food delivery app on her phone.
Whatever she ordered, she’d make Xie An pay for it.
Count it toward the extra cat food costs.
Even close siblings settle accounts clearly—let alone an ex-girlfriend.
“I want the millet porridge you make.”
“What? Hold on, Xie An, I only tricked you into treating my teeth—that’s it. Do you have to get revenge like this? And why should I make you porridge? Did I owe you in a past life? No, this life—fine, porridge it is.”
Xu Qingzhou gritted her teeth. A girlfriend with zero sense of boundaries like this—probably the only one in the world.
Whatever, it was over. No need to get mad.
She really did owe her.
“Here, dry your own hair. I threw your clothes in the washer—don’t care if they’re expensive. You’re already at my place, and I’ve taken care of you this much. It’s not right for you to be picky.”
She shoved the hairdryer into Xie An’s hands.
No way was she blowing her hair for her.
Xu Qingzhou turned to the kitchen to make millet porridge for her highness.
To avoid any awkwardness, she planned to crash on the sofa.
At least that way she could sleep properly.
Who shares a bed with an ex-girlfriend like a normal person?
Xie An really was her ancestor.
No exaggeration—it was all payback for the sins of her youth.
“There, drink up. For your physical and mental health, I even threw in some goji berries.”
Xu Qingzhou set the millet porridge in front of her.
Xie An patted Tangyuan’s butt.
Tangyuan hopped onto Xu Qingzhou and sprawled out.
“You’re not drinking any?”
“I already ate with someone else.”
“Who?”
Xie An unconsciously gripped her wrist, trying to control her tone.
Was it that girl she didn’t know?
Back then, she’d had her dental skills, plus Xu Qingzhou needed money—that’s how they got together. But now Xu Qingzhou had money. She didn’t know what she could use to pull her back in, what advantages she still had.
“With who? Of course Chengzi and her little sister.”
Xu Qingzhou didn’t hide it—nothing wrong with saying.
But she noticed Xie An visibly relax, letting out a long breath.
Was there any need to be that tense?
If she’d known those two months dating Xie An back then would leave her hung up like this for years.
She might not have picked Xie An—maybe another dentist.
Spare herself the karma. Back then, she’d been straight-acting as a lesbian.
Logically, she’d stepped on every landmine for lesbians. She really didn’t know what Xie An saw in her.
Whatever it was, she could’ve changed it, right?
No need for nearly ten years of scheming.
Kinda scary.
Back then, she’d just thought the girl was easy to fool.
And she was—super gullible, super dumb.
The kind who didn’t even run home in the rain.
