Home.
It should’ve been a warm, cozy place—a place where one could relax and ease their exhaustion.
But for Su Li, home had long since ceased to be a safe harbor.
Of course, that was because she had no emotions to begin with.
To her, home was more like a save point etched into her genetic code.
Beyond that, it held no meaning.
She sat on a bench in the park downstairs for a while before slowly heading upstairs.
Not because she resisted going home, but because every evening, when the sun dipped below the horizon,
she would often see uncles parking their cars downstairs, not getting out right away, just sitting inside for a while.
Observing the behavior of others helped her recover her emotions more quickly.
Not that Su Li ever intended to restore her emotions—that wasn’t something she felt obligated to do.
But understanding other people’s actions could help her better integrate into this world.
“Su Li, I’m talking to you! Are you even listening? Do you know how disrespectful you’re being?”
A complaining voice rang in her ears again.
Su Li looked at the girl standing in front of her, dressed in a cute dinosaur-patterned pajama set, with fair skin and long, flowing hair.
Amidst the surrounding mess, she looked like a white lotus blooming from the mud—completely out of place in the chaos.
Even her pajamas gave off a faint scent of laundry detergent.
Anyone seeing her for the first time would never guess she was a messy person.
Su Li had thought the same thing at first.
Her meeting with Chi Qingya hadn’t been a coincidence.
After all, they went to the same school—were even in the same class.
When she woke up in this world, she found herself napping at her desk.
The classroom around her was filled with laughter and the sound of students reading.
It had been a break between classes, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a group of students curiously watching her.
After one student informed her that the counselor was looking for her,
she gradually found out she and Chi Qingya were in the same class—and that she hadn’t even paid tuition for the semester.
The counselor urged her to contact her parents and settle the payment.
But she didn’t even have a home, let alone parents.
So, homeless, she just sat quietly in the classroom, waiting for everyone else to leave after school.
And that day, Chi Qingya just so happened to be on classroom duty.
The girl had a graceful, otherworldly presence, radiating youthful energy.
And her grades were outstanding—one of the top students in school.
That’s what Su Li learned after a day of observing her.
For that entire day, at least half the classroom conversations revolved around Chi Qingya.
The rest were about herself.
She could sense the subtle emotions in the glances people shot at Chi Qingya.
Even without emotions of her own, she could still identify what others were feeling.
Jealousy, envy, admiration, affection, possessiveness…
A swirling storm of emotions filled the classroom.
“Why aren’t you going home yet, Su Li?” Chi Qingya asked as she tried to close the windows and lock the door, noticing Su Li hadn’t moved.
“I don’t know where my home is… I don’t have one.”
The odd reply didn’t faze Chi Qingya in the slightest.
She simply looked a little confused, then said, “Well… do you want to come stay at my place?”
Bringing someone home wasn’t exactly a wise choice—usually it only led to complications.
Though she had once been the protagonist of a dating sim and had fielded many such invitations from girls,
in her current state—homeless, penniless—none of that mattered anymore.
In the end, she followed Chi Qingya to her current residence.
And she did everything she could to repay her.
Cleaning, doing laundry, cooking…
At first, she only intended to stay temporarily, but every night after that, Chi Qingya would invite her to stay again.
And so, Su Li ended up living there permanently… up to now.
They had shared sweet moments too.
They did all kinds of things together—casual touches, deliberate kisses, tender nights…
In the beginning, Chi Qingya even helped with housework.
But slowly, it all fell to Su Li.
Even Chi Qingya’s clothes, which she used to change every three days,
eventually turned into changing multiple times a day—whenever she felt like it.
As for the clothes she took off, they were tossed messily onto the bed long ago.
Su Li looked at Chi Qingya apologetically and said, “Sorry.”
She wasn’t sure if she actually felt sorry—maybe she did—but her response at the moment felt more like a pre-programmed reaction.
A script she followed whenever someone around her got angry.
There was always a chance the yelling would stop if she ran the program.
“You know I’m doing all this for your own good. People are made of iron, food is steel—it’s already past six. If you eat any later, it won’t digest well, and you’ll gain weight easily.”
Hearing the tone soften a bit, Su Li nodded, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
“Thank you.”
That, too, was something ingrained in her, like a line of code.
She’d met many clients who liked to play the role of a mentor.
In both her past life and this one, they’d offer advice from a place of supposed experience, telling her she had two working hands and legs and could find other ways to support herself.
That she didn’t need to work as an emotional therapist.
When someone shows concern, a smile and a simple “thank you” is always the safest response.
Sometimes, it even triggered a reaction like a bonus tip.
Before long, the food was ready, filling the air with the rich aroma of freshly cooked dishes.
Golden and crispy fried chicken cutlets shimmered under the light, their juicy interiors promising satisfaction in every bite.
Next to them sat a plate of stir-fried seasonal greens—vibrant, glistening, and seasoned lightly with oil and salt to preserve their fresh, crisp taste.
Another dish featured braised eggplant, tender and saturated with savory sauce—sweet, salty, rich in umami, each piece bursting with flavor.
Then there were the dry-fried green beans—slightly chewy on the outside, soft and juicy inside, the plump beans releasing a deep, earthy aroma paired with garlic and spice that lingered on the tongue.
And finally, a steaming bowl of tomato and egg drop soup.
The tangy sweetness of the tomato fused with the silky smoothness of the egg, spreading warmth from tongue to toes with every sip.
Though Su Li recognized the meal as delicious by normal standards, it failed to bring any joy to the person across from her.
Instead, she frowned, looking at the dishes with clear distaste.
“Su Li, were you spacing out while you were cooking?”