After finishing their meal, Lin Yue and Qin Yan walked around nearby for a while. Qin Yan bought a potted plant, and Lin Yue had wanted to buy one too.
But when she thought about Qing Jing, she didn’t even know how much longer she would be able to stay there, so she gave up.
Qin Yan noticed her disappointment and nudged her. “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yue said, “It’s still Qing Jing. If this keeps up, I might have to move out.”
Qin Yan replied, “If you want to move, then move. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Lin Yue pouted, wrapped her arm around Qin Yan’s, and said in a spoiled tone, “Waa… you’re too nice, but I can’t. I was the one who brought you here in the first place. How can I just leave you behind? Besides, I’m worried you’re too kind and will just keep giving in to her.”
Qin Yan said indifferently, “We’re not kids who have to go to the bathroom hand in hand anymore. We’re close because we were college roommates, but as adults, we’re busy with work, and we still have to deal with unpleasant things at home. I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m at school every day anyway; I just come back to sleep at night.”
Lin Yue nodded. “Let’s talk about it later. Rent here is so expensive. From my first year of college until now, I’ve only saved fifty thousand.”
Qin Yan said, “Doesn’t your company have employee housing? Why don’t you apply?”
Lin Yue frowned. “There is, but they’re all shared rooms—double or even four-person rooms. Single rooms are only for designated A-level staff or management. After what happened with Qing Jing, how could I possibly share with others? So I didn’t apply.”
“Take it slow,” Qin Yan said.
Lin Yue nodded and linked arms with Qin Yan as they entered the subway station. They chatted and laughed on their way back, but from a distance, they could already hear loud laughter and noise.
The two exchanged a glance, and Qin Yan used her key to open the door.
Inside, three or four men and women were holding drinks, shouting, laughing, and swearing. When they saw Lin Yue, they even waved at her to join them.
Lin Yue recognized them—they were all Qing Jing’s friends.
She looked at Qing Jing, her eyes filled with anger. They had agreed not to bring friends back after ten at night to avoid disturbing others. Now it was almost eleven, and they were still making noise. Weren’t they afraid of the neighbors complaining?
The kitchen floor was covered in dirty water and rotten vegetable leaves. The living room floor was littered with empty bottles. There was even a piece of clothing hanging on a plant. Everyone’s faces were flushed from drinking, and the entire room smelled unpleasant.
There was even a man and a woman smoking.
At that moment, there was a loud banging on the door.
“What’s wrong with you young people? I have children at home, and you woke them up! Sleeping all day and acting like ghosts at night—if this continues, I’ll call the police!”
Qin Yan hurried to open the door, bowing repeatedly and apologizing awkwardly.
Lin Yue’s temples throbbed. She couldn’t stand seeing Qin Yan cleaning up Qing Jing’s mess.
She walked straight up to Qing Jing, holding back the urge to hit her, and said through gritted teeth, “It’s almost eleven. Can you wrap this up?”
Qing Jing glanced at her indifferently. “Why do you care?”
“Don’t go too far. Qing Jing, did all your education go to waste? You’re not only disturbing your roommates but also the neighbors. Do you really want to bring the police here?”
Qing Jing sneered and suddenly raised her voice. “If you have the ability, go live in a luxury house! Living in this crappy place and still complaining about noise?”
The neighbor heard this and became furious, shouting that she would call the police.
Qin Yan quickly stopped her. As a teacher, she was good at calming people down. After repeatedly promising to resolve the issue within ten minutes, the neighbor finally left, still cursing.
“What kind of manners are those? And you call yourself a white-collar worker at a big company? You’re just a hooligan—no better than an illiterate housewife like me!”
Qing Jing had already been criticized by her boss at work, and hearing this pushed her over the edge. She immediately stood up to argue.
“What did you just say? Who do you think you are? How dare you compare yourself to me? All you do every day is stay home and take care of your kids—mmph… let go of me…”
Lin Yue grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. “Shut up. Isn’t this messy enough already?”
Qing Jing was 172 cm tall and slightly drunk. She struggled hard, and Lin Yue was no match for her. Within seconds, she broke free. At the same time, a small object fell to the floor with a sharp sound.
Lin Yue’s gaze focused. When she saw the silver USB drive on the ground, she picked it up in disbelief and looked at Qing Jing. “So, you took my USB drive from this morning’s meeting?”
Qing Jing looked a little guilty and sat back down at the table.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Seeing her still pretending, Lin Yue’s face turned cold. She went to the kitchen, filled a basin with water, and splashed it directly onto Qing Jing, soaking her completely.
The girls nearby screamed and backed away. Qing Jing seemed stunned by Lin Yue’s action and sobered up a bit.
Lin Yue threw the basin aside, slammed her hand on the table, and shouted, “Get out. All of you.”
The room instantly fell silent. The group looked at each other, then got up reluctantly and left.
Lin Yue looked down at Qing Jing. “Why did you do this?”
Qing Jing sneered. “You poured water on me. We’re even now.”
“Who the hell said we’re even? Qing Jing, what have you become? Have you ever thought that what you did could have cost me my job?”
Qing Jing didn’t even raise her eyelids. “So what? Aren’t you fine now?”
“So that makes up for your dirty tricks? If I killed you and said sorry, would that be enough? Besides, you haven’t even apologized.”
Qing Jing pressed her lips together tightly. Apologizing to Lin Yue? Impossible.
She looked up and met Lin Yue’s gaze. “Why are you being so dramatic? President He has always favored you anyway. Everyone knows President Zhao from Dachuang tried to poach you, but President He protected you and turned him down.”
Lin Yue frowned.
Why did Qing Jing know about this? And from her tone… did many people know?
Actually, Lin Yue misunderstood. Only Qing Jing knew. President Zhao of Dachuang had mentioned it jokingly to Wei Jia, and when Wei Jia joked about it with Zheng Yu, Qing Jing happened to overhear.
Lin Yue didn’t expect to reason with her anymore. She felt deeply disappointed. Because of a job, her friend had become jealous and suspicious of her.
Qin Yan also realized what had happened. She looked at Qing Jing and said, “Don’t you know Lin Yue’s situation? Sabotaging her work hurts her more than taking anything else. Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”
Qing Jing said nothing.
“Forget it, Qin Yan,” Lin Yue said, looking at Qing Jing. “Listen carefully. This is the last time I’ll let this go. If this happens again, don’t blame me for not holding back. I’ll start looking for a new place right now. From now on, we stay out of each other’s business.”
After saying that, Lin Yue calmly returned to her room.
Qin Yan sighed and went back to her room as well.