Chapter 086　 Maybe this was better.

  *

  Li Chengshi walked over to open the drawer of the nightstand on his side to look for a charging cable, only to find several medicine bottles rolling around inside. Picking them up, he saw they were all various types of sleeping aids. He looked at Su Xian.

  "Oh, lately... work has been busy. I was afraid not sleeping well would affect my performance, so I..."

  He frowned. "Stop taking these. They all have side effects. That dizzy spell you had today—it might have been because of these. I’m throwing them away for you."

  "Hey, no need." She still needed them tonight.

  But Li Chengshi ignored her, took all the medicine, and even closed the door for her as he left.

  The room felt even emptier. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the bed. When one is mentally and physically drained, the brain simply shuts down; she didn't even wash up before falling into a deep, uninterrupted sleep all night.

  *

  In the morning, Su Xian came downstairs wrapped in a bath towel. Seeing Li Chengshi in the kitchen making breakfast, she momentarily forgot the fact that they had broken up. She ran down the stairs joyfully, wanting to rush over and give him a back hug like she used to.

  Hearing the sound, he turned around. With a deadpan expression, he said, "Morning, sub-landlord."

  She woke up instantly, the joy on her face turning into awkwardness.

  "From now on, I’ll pay rent monthly and split the utilities and internet with you. But I will no longer be responsible for laundry, cooking, or cleaning."

  Setting boundaries so clearly? She remained silent.

  "Give me back my bank card, but you can transfer all the money currently in the account out."

  "It’s okay, you keep it."

  "Since you put it that way, I won't be polite then."

  Su Xian turned to go upstairs to get the card. He added one more thing behind her: "It’s not very decent to come out dressed like that. Pay more attention in the future."

  Closing her bedroom door, she let out a long sigh.

  *

  She changed into sportswear and brought the bank card down to the dining table.

  He brought out a single portion of breakfast and took the card. "Thanks."

  Su Xian went to the living room to do some simple stretching to loosen her joints. Only after Li Chengshi finished eating did she go over to open the fridge and pour herself a glass of milk.

  As he washed the dishes, he asked, "That's all you're eating?"

  "I’ll buy a sandwich at the convenience store when I get to the office."

  He didn't speak again. Su Xian was about to go upstairs to change but stopped to ask, "Do you still care about me?"

  "Don't overthink it. My mother taught me from a young age to be kind. Even if I find you disgusting, I don't have the heart to watch you go hungry."

  Disgusting?

  That word really stung.

  Su Xian lowered her head and left. She knew that the scene he witnessed must have hurt him deeply. Why did he come back? Surely not just for work. Perhaps after considering it for a while, he felt that her decision regarding the pregnancy could be forgiven, and he came back to try again. Of course, there was no way to verify that now. But after seeing that scene... feeling "disgusting" was probably normal, right?

  She didn't blame Zhao Nanfeng. In that ambiguous atmosphere, she truly had wavered.

  But maybe this was better?

  After all, she wasn't the kind of "good woman" meant for marriage and children, so she was fundamentally mismatched with Li Chengshi. Even if she had cleared her head before, she likely would have dragged things out if they had faced each other properly, resulting in mutual destruction.

  Now, a clean break. How wonderful.

  *

  They had agreed to alternate driving. It was his turn last night; this morning, it was Su Xian's.

  At the convenience store downstairs, she said she was going to buy a sandwich and told him to go up first. He turned toward the elevator hall without a word.

  Su Xian breathed a sigh of relief. Why go through this? If he was this determined, why did he still want to live with her?

  She could understand him continuing to work here because Zhao Nanfeng had given him a raise last year, and he truly couldn't get that amount elsewhere. But weren't there plenty of apartments?

  Her lease was renewed every two years. When he moved in, they had jokingly signed a sub-lease contract with signatures and seals, which was legally binding. She couldn't kick him out, because in Japan, as long as a tenant doesn't cause major issues, terminating a contract is nearly impossible. But living under the same roof with someone who finds you "disgusting" was truly oppressive.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  *

  Coming out of the convenience store, she ran into Zhao Nanfeng. He called her to a small nearby park and asked, "Any problems last night?"

  "No. He said I was disgusting and barely spoke to me."

  He took the convenience store bag from her hand and opened it. Seeing two sets of sandwiches, he asked, "Did you get one for me?"

  That was actually her breakfast and lunch, but she said, "Eat it if you want."

  He pulled her to sit on a bench by the flower bed, tore open both wrappers, and let Su Xian pick one. Halfway through, Su Xian lost her appetite and stared blankly at the remaining half. Seeing this, Zhao Nanfeng took it from her and tossed it into the trash along with the wrapper. "Don't force yourself if you're not hungry. Looking at you, you're in a bad mood, aren't you?"

  "How could I be in a good mood? It's all your fault."

  "Fine, it's my fault. If you're uncomfortable living there, you can move to my place."

  "Give it a rest."

  "Weren't we great last night? I don't believe you have no feeling for me."

  "I did last night. I don't now."

  He smiled. "It doesn't matter. In the future, I'll only have you, and you'll only have me. We'll take it slow."

  "No. I want to return to my previous state. No marriage, no kids, and no dating."

  "Then we can just 'play' purely for fun."

  "No, I’m done 'playing' too," she said dejectedly.

  *

  Zhao Nanfeng stood up, walked in front of her, and leaned down close to her face. Like an adult coaxing a child, he said with a smile, "Let me see who’s being such a quitter. Why shrink back into your turtle shell over such a little setback? Oh, it’s little girl Su Xian."

  Su Xian frowned with disdain. "Get away from me, you’re disgusting!"

  He straightened up and laughed. "See? You've said I'm disgusting more than once. I don't take it to heart at all."

  "How is that the same!" She rolled her eyes at him, but her heart felt significantly lighter.

  "Just bear with it for now. I think Li Chengshi is probably full of pent-up anger, so he's staying at your place on purpose to be an eyesore for us. But he’s a gentle person; he probably won't stay angry for long. When the time is right, I'll give him another raise so he can afford a nice apartment. He’ll move out eventually; after all, living there makes him miserable too."

  "Then don't get too close to me during this period, and be nicer to him so he calms down sooner."

  "I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s go. Get up there and work yourself to death for me."

  **

  Honda was thrilled to see Li Chengshi return. However, his old seat was now occupied by a newcomer named Shirakawa. Honda could only temporarily arrange a seat for him in the central workspace and told him to wait for Zhao Nanfeng and Su Xian to arrive for an arrangement.

  After waiting for about twenty minutes, Li Chengshi finally saw Zhao Nanfeng and Su Xian come up together.

  Buying a sandwich doesn't take that long, does it? Are they already flirting first thing in the morning? So annoying!

  Zhao Nanfeng thought for a moment and said, "Su Xian and Shirakawa are working well together, and it would probably be awkward for you two to partner up right now. You’ll stay here and work with Team Leader Tamazawa on budgeting."

  "Fine." For him, the most important thing now was to stabilize his job. Besides, he had mostly learned drafting; it was good to practice in a different field.

  Honda brought over the box of Li Chengshi's personal items that Su Xian had kept in the storage room. He checked through it and realized his cup was missing. He walked over to Su Xian’s workstation, and sure enough, it was on her desk. That day he had broken her cup, and Su Xian had been using his ever since.

  She picked up the cup. "I’ll go wash it for you."

  "I’ll wash it myself."

  **