Chapter 4
Chapter 4
After the man left, I searched the whole apartment and couldn’t find Tan Xi. The sliding door to the balcony was wide open, and my heart clenched.
Sure enough, she was out on the balcony, staring blankly down at the endless stream of traffic in the distance. Two dried tear tracks marked her cheeks, as if some soft-bodied creature had once crawled over them, leaving behind a filthy, wretched trail.
“Why would you do this to me?”
“What, are you angry?”
Of course I wasn’t going to drink the milk tea she’d made. I poured myself a glass of ice water instead, sipping it as I spoke, half to myself.
“How strange. I only treated you the way you treated me, and now you’re angry?”
“How is that the same?”
She spun around and screamed at me, shrill with disbelief. “I’ve had a crush on him for more than ten years, from when we were in school until now. My feelings have never changed!”
I smiled and raised a few fingers in front of her, one after another.
“First, don’t forget, he was only your crush. He wasn’t even your boyfriend, so I haven’t done anything immoral.”
“Second, you’re in no position to accuse me. The moment you started groveling after Old Yu, you lost that right.”
“Third, you’ve lived here long enough. It’s time for you to move out.”
“You…”
That was too much information for Tan Xi to process all at once. She choked, her face shifting between pale and ashen. She seemed still immersed in her role as the victim, yet she was forced to face the cruel reality in front of her.
I had no choice but to remind her that life was full of problems far more torturous than love.
Such as survival.
Seeing every emotion flash across her face, I added one last straw to her already unbearable burden. “Oh, right. It’d be even better if you could pay the rent you owe. This is a duplex penthouse in the city center. Market rent is eighty-five hundred a month. Since we’re sharing, I’ll count your portion as four thousand. Three years comes to four thousand times thirty-six.”
Under her unreadable gaze, I gave her the number.
“A total of one hundred forty-four thousand yuan.”
“Ruoqiang, are you insane?!”
I didn’t argue. I just scoffed. “Which one of us is insane, exactly?”
When she saw the mockery on my face, she finally dropped that pitiful, tragic act from a moment ago and turned away in anger. Her eyes, usually so warm and quick to smile, were dim now, their light gone. But I knew there was no kindness in them at this moment.
“Then how do you count the last three years, when I cooked and did laundry for you, working like a maid without complaint?!”
I laughed despite myself. “There’s a washing machine for clothes, and we basically order takeout for meals. Fine, let’s say I drank one cup of your milk tea every day. I’ll cut it in half for you and round it down. How’s that?”
Even then, it was still a massive sum of seventy thousand-money Tan Xi, who spent every paycheck as soon as she got it, could never possibly produce.
She clenched her jaw so tightly that it was a long while before she mumbled, “I can move out, but I don’t have any money to give you.”
“An IOU works too.”
“I won’t-”
“Then move out sooner.” I picked at my nails, pressing her step by step, not giving her any chance to think too deeply or chew it over. “As long as you’re gone by tomorrow, I’ll waive the rent.”
“Qu Ruoqiang!”
“I’m right here.”
In front of me, this woman measured me with the eyes of someone looking at a stranger for a long, long time.
“With a heart as cruel as yours, you’ll never find happiness.”