Chi Qingya’s heart pounded anxiously.
She was certain that her feelings would be conveyed to Su Li through this grilled fish.
Watching the phone recording her cooking scene beside her, Chi Qingya imagined Su Rui’s touched expression after watching the video.
At this very moment, she wished she could immediately rush to the school and hand the boiled fish she made directly to Su Li.
Considering that her opponent this time was the landlord, Chi Qingya gritted her teeth.
She still decided to splurge and order the same Sufulei and Starbucks she had bought for her bestie for Su Rui.
Drinking Starbucks for the first time ever, eating the carefully prepared boiled fish, and the specially purchased Sufulei, she no longer dared to wonder how happy Su Li must be.
By now, the kitchen was already a complete mess.
On the chopping board, fish scales and innards were scattered everywhere, with deep knife marks surrounding the board—silent evidence of Chi Qingya’s battle with the fish.
The spice bottles were toppled over, caps strewn across the floor, some of the condiments spilled on the countertop and even onto the ground.
The pot fared no better; the broth for the fish had long evaporated after countless boils, leaving behind a thick layer of scorched residue.
Bits of fish meat and vegetable fragments were stubbornly stuck to the pot’s bottom, emitting an unpleasant burnt smell.
On the floor, a mixture of water stains, grease, and spices blended together, making it easy to slip if one wasn’t careful.
The whole space was suffused with an atmosphere of chaos and disorder, as if it had just undergone a fierce battle.
But Chi Qingya didn’t feel flustered at all about the current situation.
Instead, she adeptly chose a cleaning lady.
Things she couldn’t tidy up herself, she would entrust to the cleaning lady.
Chi Qingya packed up the boiled fish she had meticulously prepared and quietly waited for the cleaning lady to finish tidying the kitchen.
She carefully placed the boiled fish into a small container, planning to bring it to school to watch Su Li eat it.
It wasn’t long before the cleaning lady arrived—the same one who had helped clean not long ago.
Sensing the cleaning lady’s gaze upon her, Chi Qingya remained silent. She could feel the suspicion in the cleaning lady’s eyes.
Apparently, the cleaning lady didn’t expect that the room, which had just been cleaned, would be left in such a state again.
The disciple’s skill was no longer comparable to before.
But Chi Qingya didn’t mind the cleaning lady’s look as much as she used to.
She now understood why, in novels, protagonists would undergo lengthy psychological changes after their first kill.
After successfully defeating the grass carp, she felt a murderous aura surrounding her, making her indifferent to others’ gazes.
The cleaning lady naturally didn’t pay attention to Chi Qingya’s eyes and simply asked,
“Just cleaning up the kitchen is enough?”
“Yes.”
Chi Qingya replied.
She watched as the cleaning lady got busy.
The lady glanced at the boiled fish Chi Qingya had carefully prepared on the table, hesitated, but finally remained silent.
Meanwhile, Yuan Chi nervously held her phone.
Su Rui still hadn’t accepted her friend request.
But it didn’t matter.
As long as she could deliver the boiled fish to Su Li’s hands, Su Li would surely be moved to tears.
Then, when the time came, she could casually mention the friend request, and Mǎ Su would definitely add her back.
Of course, Chi Qingya blamed all these matters on Su Li.
If it weren’t for Su Rui ignoring her, why would she have to endure all this?
She had spent a lot just to get the cleaning lady to help tidy the room and to hire workers to fix the drains.
Before, she didn’t have to order such expensive takeout for her besties.
She only needed Su Li to lend a hand cooking occasionally.
When she and Su Li made up, she was definitely going to have a proper talk with her.
But this time, she wouldn’t be stiff or harsh like before.
She would playfully pout while complaining about what she’d been through lately, what hardships she endured for Su Li.
Of course, she would also send Su Li the video of her first time cooking, so Su Rui would realize how hard she was trying now.
On Ginkgo Avenue, fan-shaped fallen leaves spiraled down at a rate of three per second, sunlight filtering through thin clouds turning the air into a translucent honey hue.
The ground was patterned with intermittent gold leaf-like streaks, each leaf edged with the platinum highlights unique to midday.
The mottled trunks of the Platanus trees steamed a scent mixing pine and decayed wood under the sunlight.
Chi Qingya spent a long time cooking and then watched the cleaning lady tidy up.
By the time she arrived at the classroom, the morning lessons had already ended, and students hurriedly headed toward the dining hall.
Chi Qingya took out her phone and checked the group chat with her besties.
They seemed unaware of her absence, gathering in threes and fives to eat.
The chat messages still paused at when they had just woken up, asking her to help bring food or save seats.
Chi Qingya sighed with relief, but before she could fully breathe out, a strange feeling surged inside her—a feeling not easy to describe and uncomfortable.
Had they not noticed that after she saved seats and prepared breakfast for them, she never came back?
Wouldn’t they at least ask how she was?
In the past, whenever Su Rui asked why she hadn’t gone home yet, she always felt a bit annoyed.
Now, with no one asking her what she was doing, she felt a kind of indescribable ache.
Chi Qingya knew Su Li’s sense of loss in this role, as if she were a dispensable shadow.
Their past connections seemed completely forgotten.
Chi Qingya recalled that when they were in the dormitory, Su Li always stayed close as she and An Hao slowly integrated into their new social circle, stirring feelings in An Hao’s heart that made Chi Qingya unsure how to deal with her.
She still remembered how good Su Li had been to her before.
For example, now, in Chi Qingya’s eyes, she had to hurry to the fish pond to cook and prepare the boiled fish to hand to Su Li.
Only then could Chi Qingya calm her restlessness.
She didn’t know where Su Li was now.
If Su Li had already finished eating, wouldn’t her feelings be wasted?
Chi Qingya immediately sent a message to Su Rui.
Fortunately, after checking two dining halls, she finally spotted Su Li.
Carefully, Chi Qingya brought the grilled fish she had prepared to Su Li’s side.
“Sorry, Su Li, I know I was wrong.”
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