Chi Qingya looked at the messy scene on the table, feeling her heart grow even more bitter.
The chaotic tabletop seemed no different from her chaotic life.
It wasn’t until a fruit fly buzzed near her that she snapped back to reality, waving her small hand to shoo it away.
It wasn’t as if she had met Su Li as soon as she moved out to live on her own.
How could she possibly not have the ability to live well by herself?
Before Su Li appeared, she had always worked hard to live on her own.
But ever since she met Su Li, her life had started to become a complete mess.
After taking a long breath of the decaying air, Chi Qingya decided to just place an order for a cleaning service on the Platform.
She browsed for a while and still chose the cheapest one.
In the past, Su Li would always clean the house spotless without saying a word, and it never took much time or effort.
Sometimes, Su Li would finish up before she could even finish a round of a Game.
Every time Su Li was done, her face was expressionless, as if she had just done something effortless and insignificant.
It really didn’t cost much, so Chi Qingya placed an order for an Auntie at 68 yuan per hour.
After placing the order, Chi Qingya still felt a bit of pain in her heart.
Sixty-eight yuan was already enough for her to eat for a whole day at School.
But if this Auntie was skilled, maybe it wouldn’t even take an hour to clean up?
After all, Su Li never took that long before.
Chi Qingya’s gaze swept around the room, and in the end, she quietly moved a little further away from the food-laden table.
She silently comforted herself in her heart, telling herself that spending money this time to tidy up the house spotlessly could be counted as her first time renting outside.
What she was tidying up wasn’t just the room, but also her already smoky, messy life.
She was about to welcome a new life that belonged to her!
If sixty-eight yuan could buy these services, it was absolutely worth every penny.
It wasn’t long before the Cleaning Lady knocked on the door.
“Sis, I’ll be counting on you to take care of things at home.”
At the door, hearing herself called “Sis,” the Cleaning Lady was a little embarrassed, but her eyes quickly scanned the room.
Her brows quickly furrowed as she took in the mess inside.
Even though she often went to clean up filthy and messy places, just stepping into this room gave her the feeling of walking into a restroom.
Or rather— the restroom might actually be cleaner than this room in front of her.
Three pairs of shoes lay toppled beside the shoe bench, one Red High Heel stuck into a takeout bag, oil stains smeared all over the imitation Marble Tile, and scattered greasy food littered the floor.
A Jasmine Tweed Jacket hung behind the door, stained with curry, its sleeve still stuck with a dried piece of Nori.
Crayfish Shells were piled into a small mountain, a few flies feasting on the sauce in the “shell crevices.”
A Milk Tea Cup lay on its side, brown liquid seeping along the tablecloth’s threads and dripping to the floor, even splashing out in concentric rings.
Chip crumbs glistened with oil in the creases of a Cushion, a piece of Lace Underwear draped over the TV Set-Top Box.
Wine stains spread from the Tea Table to the Carpet, blooming into dark purple patterns among the beige woolen threads.
In the corner of the Balcony, the Trash Can was overflowing with a sour stench, Snail Noodle Soup soaking through the garbage bag and leaving oily circles on the floor.
Half a Pizza had slid from its box behind the Curtain, its cheese strands dried into cobwebs on the Gauze Curtain.
For a moment, she even suspected this place had once been used as everyone’s Battlefield.
The Cleaning Lady looked at Chi Qingya, not understanding why the girl in front of her looked so neat and tidy, yet could be so unhygienic behind the scenes.
“Miss, there’s no way I can finish cleaning this place in one hour, I’ll have to charge extra.”
With a troubled expression, she looked at Chi Qingya and spoke.
She guessed the other party was a Student, but…
This job, she really couldn’t handle it; better to discuss the price in advance.
Otherwise, after all that effort, she might not even get thanks, and could even ruin her own reputation.
Some Students were easy to talk to, but some Students were especially difficult.
If she wasn’t careful, after working hard all day, she might even lose her job.
She had a Colleague who, because she hadn’t agreed on the price with a Student beforehand, ended up working hard and fast, only for the Student to complain that she finished too quickly and refused to pay the original fee.
After a long negotiation, her Colleague agreed to lower the price.
In the end, that Student even posted about her online, drawing criticism from others, and the Boss saw it and gave her a lecture.
The Cleaning Lady looked at Chi Qingya; although the girl looked well put together, anyone who could let their home get this filthy might not be so easy to get along with.
Though when she first came in, the girl had praised her youth and called her “Sis,” seeming quite polite.
But to be safe, she decided it was best to make things clear first.
“Look, Auntie, if you don’t want to do it, someone else will.”
“With an attitude like yours, why even work in cleaning? Might as well just go beg on the street.”
“I’ve already paid, and now you’re trying to jack up the price— do you think just because I’m a Student, I’m easy to bully?”
“Sixty yuan an hour, that’s almost the price of an eyebrow pencil, and you still don’t want to do a proper job. Aren’t you just picking on me because you think I’m a pushover?”
Chi Qingya’s cheeks flushed red as she looked at the Cleaning Lady standing in front of her, a nameless anger rising inside her.
“What right do you have to raise the price at the last minute and waste someone else’s time?”
“You wrote 60 yuan/h on the Platform, but now you’re suddenly charging more. Is it because you think I can’t find someone else to clean so late at night?”
“I placed the order ages ago, and you only just arrived. Now you don’t even want to do the job. Are you going to ask me to cover your transportation fee next?”
“At your age, how can you shamelessly pull such tricks?”
Hearing Chi Qingya’s accusations, the Cleaning Lady’s face also turned red, and she stood at the doorway, feeling at a loss.
Her breathing grew rapid, clearly unaccustomed to this kind of confrontation.
Just a moment ago, this was such a polite child— how could she suddenly say such harsh things?
She couldn’t quite understand.
After a long time, the Cleaning Lady finally managed to calm herself down.
Fortunately, she had already prepared herself when she first walked in and started recording in advance.
Otherwise, she might really be at a disadvantage now, so she said angrily:
“Miss, just because I do physical labor doesn’t mean I have no dignity. I really can’t take this job—you should find someone else.”
“Miss, your words are too insulting.”
“Who doesn’t come from a family of farmers three generations back? What you said is truly infuriating.”