“You actually left just because I told you to? Why don’t I ever see you this tough in other situations?”
Seeing that Su Li hadn’t left, Chi Qingya became even more convinced this was just one of her little games—acting like she was leaving only to come back when called.
All it would take was a little gesture from her, and Su Li would return.
Besides, Su Li had probably realized she was in the wrong by now, which meant Chi Qingya had already achieved her goal.
Leave? As if it were that easy.
This place wasn’t some hotel Su Li could come and go from whenever she pleased.
“What exactly do you want?”
Su Li looked at Chi Qingya, her tone still calm.
She had seen Chi Qingya flip-flop more times than she could count, changing her mind as easily as changing faces.
Chi Qingya could change her entire stance multiple times just because of the taste of a meal.
This bit of arguing was nothing in comparison.
“What do I want? You stole my clothes. If you’re going to leave, you should at least wash them and return them to me, don’t you think?”
“And besides, I let you stay in my house for this whole time. Shouldn’t you pay me some rent?”
“Did you really think it would be that easy to just cut ties with me?”
Su Li fell silent. She looked at Chi Qingya and saw that she wasn’t joking.
But the clothes had been ones Chi Qingya had said she was going to throw out.
Su Li had only taken them because of that, and she’d been scolded for it endlessly.
She’d even ended up cleaning the entire apartment for a long time, and somehow the housework had all fallen onto her shoulders.
As for the rent…
Back when she first moved in with Chi Qingya, she’d been told not to worry about anything.
Chi Qingya had said she’d already paid for the rent.
She was told to treat this place like her own home.
Still, Chi Qingya wasn’t wrong—if she truly didn’t want anything to do with her anymore, it was best to settle everything clearly.
Otherwise, they’d just end up entangled again, wasting more time and energy.
She might as well stay one more night.
Su Li didn’t dwell on it.
After all, Chi Qingya had already tried to kick her out today.
Their relationship was already on the verge of breaking down.
These demands didn’t really mean much anymore.
Besides, even in marriages, most people couldn’t separate cleanly in the end—it always came down to petty calculations.
And even then, it still took time to fully cut ties.
Their relationship wasn’t even that deep.
Taking her in in the first place had just been a spur-of-the-moment decision on Chi Qingya’s part.
“If you want to leave, then pay me back the rent money I covered for you. Settle everything cleanly!”
Chi Qingya sat on the nearby sofa, looking at Su Li with certainty and a hint of a smile on her lips.
How could Su Li possibly afford to pay rent?
Leaving wasn’t going to be so easy.
And once she stayed here again, it would only get harder to leave in the future.
Chi Qingya still had plenty of things she wanted to do during this time.
As long as she made a move, Su Li would definitely give up on the idea of leaving and go back to being just like before—at her beck and call.
That was what Chi Qingya confidently believed.
But upon hearing her words, Su Li actually relaxed.
It was just the rent?
She made sure Chi Qingya wasn’t asking for anything else.
After all, Chi Qingya had helped her during her most desperate times.
A cup of water in the desert and a cup of water after getting out of it were two entirely different things.
Su Li felt she’d already done a lot in return by enduring everything quietly while living under someone else’s roof, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she owed something.
Since Chi Qingya brought up rent, then she would just go along with it.
Better to settle it now than deal with any more entanglements later.
Su Li had just reached for her wallet when she saw Chi Qingya slowly rise to her feet and glance at her.
Seeing Su Li still clutching that shabby old bag of hers, Chi Qingya’s eyes were full of contempt.
Still, she said, “I’m tired. I’m going to rest for the night. Whatever it is, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
With that, she turned and walked toward her room.
Su Li hadn’t really done anything wrong, but every time Chi Qingya saw her, she just wanted to scold her, to belittle her.
She couldn’t help but show her darkest side in front of Su Li.
It had to be Su Li’s face—there was something about it.
No matter how she treated her, Su Li never seemed hurt or upset!
And the more she acted like that, the more it felt like Su Li didn’t care about her at all!
Su Li had been spending less and less time at home lately.
When Su Li wasn’t around, she was stuck in the house with nothing but piles of garbage.
How could she possibly be in a good mood?
This was all Su Li’s fault.
Their relationship had gotten to this point because Su Li had brought it on herself.
If Su Li had done everything perfectly, what reason would she have to waste her breath criticizing her?
When Su Li first moved in, she’d promised to take good care of her, but what she was doing now was nothing like what she’d said!
The one who broke the promise first was Su Li—not her!
Chi Qingya glanced at Su Li again, who remained completely unbothered, just like always.
Instead, it was she herself—so angry she looked like a clown.
And the more it felt that way, the more frustrated she became.
Without saying anything else, Chi Qingya turned around and left.
She was planning to consult her girlfriends on what she should do next.
More heads were better than one.
That had to be better than sitting around overthinking by herself.
Su Li watched Chi Qingya’s back as she left, then slowly took off her bag.
It really was late now.
Just a while ago, Chi Qingya had been yelling at her to get out at one in the morning.
And now she’d opened the door and let her back in.
Su Li pulled out all the clothes from her bag—the ones Chi Qingya had planned to throw away and carried them into the bathroom to wash.
Since Chi Qingya wanted them back, she’d just clean them and return them.
Even if she ended up throwing them away again tomorrow, it had nothing to do with her.
Besides, if she was paying rent now, then she was no different from a regular tenant.
She wasn’t someone leeching off of anyone anymore.
As Su Li calmly scrubbed the clothes, she felt lighter than she had in a long time.
She hung the clean clothes out one by one on the balcony.
She didn’t know what would happen to them—whether they’d be thrown away or just hang there forever until Chi Qingya finally got rid of them.
Either way, they had nothing to do with her anymore.
As she passed by Chi Qingya’s room, she could still hear shouting from inside.
Who knew what had gotten under her skin this time—she was even more irritable than when she was playing games earlier.
She was cursing nonstop, switching up her insults with impressive variety—not a single one repeated.
Su Li didn’t pay any attention.
She lay down on her bed, feeling more comfortable than she had in a long time, like she had been reborn.