“Did you use way more oil for the chicken cutlet this time? It looks so unhealthy!”
“And this stir-fried vegetable dish—so bland. Might as well go pull up a random weed from the field and eat that instead!”
“Are these green beans overcooked or what?”
“And this braised eggplant—way too much sauce. You think sauce is free or something?”
“The tomato and egg drop soup is nothing like last time. Don’t you know I like mine spicy?”
“Haven’t I told you before? When you’re doing something, you should do it properly and seriously. Don’t be half-hearted about it, or you’ll mess everything up.”
Chi Qingya complained, criticizing every single dish one by one.
Su Li didn’t try to explain herself. She simply said, “Got it.”
She kept her head down and quietly ate, though whether the food tasted good or not didn’t stir any feelings in her.
But sometimes she wondered—was there something wrong with her sense of taste?
Her cooking skills were excellent.
Back when she used to serve male clients, she was full of energy.
The clients would often be too exhausted to keep going, and a good meal helped them recover faster.
And once they recovered, they were more than happy to book another hour.
“Su Li, sometimes I honestly think you’re no different from a robot. No wonder no one else wanted to take you in. Only I was kind enough to offer you a place.”
The nagging in her ear went on and on.
Su Li just kept eating silently, then tossed her chopsticks on the table after she was done.
She pushed the scraps and leftovers toward Chi Qingya.
She felt a bit tired today and just wanted a shower and some rest.
Not so much exhausted as her body sending a signal—it was time to relax.
“You’re always leaving the house a mess. Don’t you ever clean up?”
“Every morning when I wake up, all I see is garbage everywhere. There’s not even a spot to step on.”
“I was kind enough to give you a place to live, and what do I get? You give me that cold face all day, don’t take care of me, and cook food that tastes like pig slop.”
“Do you even realize what kind of impact it has on a person to live in a filthy, disgusting environment like this?”
Her nagging was relentless, like a machine gun firing nonstop.
Su Li quietly began clearing the table and said,
“I understand. I’m a bit tired today. I’ll clean up in a little bit.”
She’d long gotten used to Chi Qingya’s sudden memory lapses, always blaming her for the mess she herself created.
“Tired? You’ve got the nerve to say you’re tired?”
“You’re never even around! I feed you well, give you a place to stay, you don’t have to do a single thing, and you still say you’re tired?”
“You’re out fooling around all day, never coming home, spending the whole day out playing, and still dare to say you’re tired?”
“If you’re tired, then what am I?”
“I’m out here busting my butt to support this household—don’t you think I’m tired?”
Seeing Su Li already cleaning up the table, Chi Qingya finally shook her head and sighed.
“It’s always the same. If I don’t say anything, you just won’t do it.”
“When will you finally do these things without me having to remind you?”
“Taking you in—someone who doesn’t care at all about the home—was honestly the decision I regret most in my life!”
With that, she turned and went back to her room.
Soon after, the sounds of games and rapid keyboard tapping came from inside.
Mixed in were strange, distorted curses from a voice changer.
Su Li dragged her tired body around, cleaning every corner until the place was spotless—even though she knew full well it’d be a mess again the moment she left the next day.
Bags of trash piled up beside her, each heavy and bulky.
Even though she hooked one or two on each finger, trying to take them all out at once, it was nearly impossible.
In the end, she had to make two trips.
And this… was just the amount of trash Chi Qingya created in a single day.
Even Su Li had no idea how she managed to generate so much garbage in just one day.
From the hallway came the occasional sounds of a couple fighting.
“I’m sorry, honey, I had to work late at the office today.”
“Work late, work late—you say that every day, but I don’t see your paycheck getting any bigger. Our kid’s about to start tutoring classes—three thousand yuan a month!”
Su Li recognized the voices—it was the middle-aged man who always sat in his car downstairs.
She didn’t pay any attention. She didn’t want to. She simply carried the garbage down the stairs.
She placed the bags that could be sold for scrap on top of the bins and sorted the rest of the trash into the proper containers one by one.
After she finished tidying everything up, Su Li returned home, planning to take a hot shower and think about her next job.
From the bathroom came the sound of music playing and someone softly humming along.
The wardrobe she had just organized was now a complete mess again.
Clothes were scattered all over the bed, and even Su Li couldn’t tell which ones had been worn and which hadn’t.
That was just how Chi Qingya was—she changed outfits at least once a day, sometimes two or three times.
Su Li stood still, staring at the chaotic wardrobe, and sighed.
Even though she felt nothing emotionally, her body still reacted instinctively.
Was it because in her previous life, she’d subconsciously developed these habits after seeing scenes like this?
She wasn’t sure.
Honestly, she just wanted to collapse on the couch and ignore it all.
But if she didn’t do something, Chi Qingya would come out of the shower and immediately start blaming her.
She could already imagine it—Chi Qingya yelling at her, furious, asking why she’d messed up her wardrobe.
She’d say she had taken Su Li out of kindness, only to be betrayed like this.
Even though Chi Qingya was the one who never cleaned up after herself, she always liked to tell others it was Su Li’s fault.
Su Li glanced over at the computer glowing softly in the corner and recalled what Chi Qingya had said during a game with others:
“My roommate who shares the place with me is so gross. Every time I get home, the room is a disaster.”
“I don’t even know how long I spend every day just cleaning up her trash.”
“What do you guys think I should do?”
Su Li started folding the clothes scattered on the bed, neatly placing them back in the wardrobe.
If you looked closely, some of the clothes were visibly wrinkled.
All those wrinkled pieces were the ones Chi Qingya had just taken off.
She folded those and placed them into a basin nearby.
Su Li didn’t feel bullied or wronged—just numb, going through the motions of tidying the room once more.
Then she sat down on the couch, waiting for Chi Qingya to finish her shower.
In the meantime, she picked up the wadded-up tissues on the couch and table and tossed them into the trash.