Su Li looked at the pile of clothes that Chi Qingya had angrily crumpled and thrown on the floor.
Many of them were things she’d bought with her own money when she first arrived in this world and started working.
Back then, she didn’t have much money on her, so she followed a coworker’s recommendation.
She had spent a long time reading reviews, comparing prices across stores, carefully picking them out before finally making her purchase.
Of course, among those clothes were also a few pieces Chi Qingya hadn’t wanted to wear and had planned to throw away—Su Li had picked them up, cleaned them, and worn them herself.
Just like how Chi Qingya had once thrown them away in disdain, she now tossed those same clothes on the floor again, filled with fury.
“Alright.”
Her voice was calm as she spoke, picking up the clothes from the floor, gently brushing off the dust, and placing them into her own bag.
She had rehearsed this moment countless times in her mind.
So when the time actually came, it all happened rather quickly. In just a short while, she had packed everything up.
Besides, there wasn’t much in this home that truly belonged to her—she could count all of it on one hand.
Even Su Li hadn’t expected that her own backpack could actually hold everything she had in this house.
She slung the backpack onto her shoulders, took one last look at the room she had briefly called home, and prepared to leave.
“Thank you for taking care of me during this time.”
She spoke softly, and under Chi Qingya’s gaze, slowly walked toward the door.
Her footsteps grew fainter and fainter, light and distant, and before long, the soft scent unique to Su Li disappeared completely.
A sudden sense of panic welled up in Chi Qingya’s heart for no reason.
Wasn’t Su Li supposed to beg her to let her stay?
Why was she leaving just like that?
She had only wanted to vent her anger on Su Li, and maybe use the “abandoned cat” effect to make Su Li more obedient and docile.
She hadn’t expected Su Li to actually take the opportunity and walk away.
If she didn’t do something now, would Su Li really leave for good?
Because Su Li had been there, Chi Qingya had forgotten what it was like to live alone.
She was actually incredibly content with their current life.
So… she couldn’t just let Su Li go!
Chi Qingya was just about to make a move when she heard the sound of the door closing.
Her heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle, tightening involuntarily.
Through the peephole, she could see the hallway light turn on.
But Su Li hadn’t walked away.
Instead, she sat down on the stairs in the hallway, the glow of her phone screen illuminating her face—her expression was hard to make out.
Chi Qingya tiptoed and peered out, feeling slightly relieved inside.
Su Li had left her, but she was still just a homeless stray.
Even if she worked during her spare time and weekends, her monthly income was barely enough to keep her fed.
Not to mention that the first thing she’d done after earning money was to try and repay the tuition Chi Qingya had once helped her pay.
Right now, Su Li didn’t have enough money to rent a place of her own.
In the end, she would come crawling back, tail between her legs, begging to be taken in again.
Who else but her would be kind enough to take Su Li in?
She had just gotten a little upset, and Su Li had already thrown a tantrum.
Chi Qingya leaned closer to the peephole, staring at Su Li playing on her phone, guessing that she must be agonizing over where she was going to live.
Maybe she was even feeling guilty and regretful after seeing how expensive rent was everywhere.
The corners of her lips curled slightly upward, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft hum.
She even started silently counting down in her head, wondering how long it would take before Su Li came knocking on the door to apologize for what she’d done and ask to be taken back.
Her phone had already started vibrating nonstop the moment she walked back into the room.
Su Li sat on the stairs in the hallway, looking at the stream of messages from Xiao Yuyu, feeling a little overwhelmed.
The messages had already exceeded 99+, with a string of missed calls, countless question marks, and an endless flow of worried texts that left her helpless.
She had clearly told Xiao Yuyu she had something to do, but for some reason, the girl had imagined all sorts of dramatic scenarios, even suggesting she might call the police out of concern.
She had even said that if Su Li didn’t reply, she would report it to the authorities—there was no need to be afraid.
Su Li remained completely calm, simply picking out a few key messages to reply to.
But as soon as she responded, her phone started vibrating nonstop again.
By the time she finished replying to everything Xiao Yuyu had sent earlier, the message count had once again reached 99+.
She glanced through them briefly—most were just Xiao Yuyu asking why she wasn’t replying and why she was ignoring her questions.
To avoid the hassle of scrolling back through chat logs, Su Li decided to answer Xiao Yuyu’s earlier questions first.
After all, whether she replied to the most recent ones or those from a few minutes ago, Xiao Yuyu would still ask why she hadn’t responded to the other.
Since she had to answer all the questions anyway, Su Li chose the most convenient route.
Looking at the latest voice messages, Su Li converted the ones that could be transcribed into text and replied briefly.
As for the unclear ones, she put on her headphones and listened to the distorted voice from the voice changer, replying to each one patiently.
Xiao Yuyu was fairly easy to placate.
A few repeated cries of “baby,” paired with apologies and a bit of acting cute, and she would forgive Su Li—and even show concern for her.
It took quite a while for Su Li to explain what had happened and to apologize repeatedly.
Eventually, Xiao Yuyu forgave her.
Only when the chat log finally showed “Baby, good night” did their conversation come to an end.
Then Su Li returned to the task she hadn’t finished today: looking for a place to rent.
Through the peephole, Chi Qingya watched Su Li’s every move.
Her ear occasionally pressed against the door, listening in on Su Li’s conversation with the other person.
The repeated “baby”s drifting into her ears made her quietly clench her fists, brimming with anger.
But soon, Chi Qingya calmed down.
She realized that someone else had set their sights on the dog she had picked out.
Someone wanted to take her dog and make it their own.
Now that she was no longer Su Li’s only option, there was a real possibility that Su Li might actually leave.
The first thing she needed to do now was to stabilize Su Li—then take her time making the next move.
Su Li definitely liked her.
This was just some little trick of hers—playing hard to get!
As long as she curled her finger, Su Li would surely come running, obedient as ever.
And so, with a creak, the door slowly opened.
Chi Qingya stood inside the apartment, looking down at Su Li, who was still sitting on the stairs.
“Good thing you haven’t left yet.”
“You think you can just take my stuff and leave like that? Not so easy.”