Chapter 111: Critique (3.3)

“Wait a moment!” Although Yang Danny frowned slightly, she took it in stride and soon stood to the side with a smile, as if nothing had happened. To her, this was just the usual quarrel between Ye Qian and Long Fei. In fact, for this pair of sworn enemies, a day without a fight would feel quite strange to Yang Danny.

Long Fei kicked the door—his own door—but held back from kicking too hard; otherwise, with a loud bang, the door would have flown open.

“You damn girl!” Long Fei cursed.

Since his own door wouldn’t open, the door of unit 802 suddenly swung open, and an elderly lady stepped out. Seeing Long Fei and Yang Danny standing gloomily in the hallway, she immediately complained, “Why all the noise? Don’t people want to watch TV? It’s so annoying!”

Then, with a bang, she slammed the door shut again.

Long Fei was baffled. “Who’s she talking about?”

Yang Danny shrugged and pointed at Long Fei.

“It’s all Ye Qian’s fault, that damn girl!” Long Fei cursed again, but lowered his voice. He didn’t want the old lady to come out lecturing him again—this was too absurd.

After waiting a full five minutes with no sign of Ye Qian opening the door, Long Fei grew impatient and rang the doorbell once more. This time, he resolved that if Ye Qian still didn’t open, he would keep ringing without stop. If she wanted to annoy him, he could make her just as miserable. Besides, the bell’s sound wasn’t loud enough for others outside to hear clearly.

What frustrated Long Fei was that as soon as he pressed the doorbell, the door inside suddenly slammed open. The door was pushed open so fiercely that if Long Fei hadn’t dodged quickly, his nose would surely have been knocked crooked.

Long Fei glared angrily at Ye Qian, but she just smiled brightly, ignoring him and instead waving cheerfully at Yang Danny. “Ah, Sister Danny, I’m really sorry! I didn’t know you were coming. Had I known, I would’ve come to open the door sooner!”

This girl seemed to have suddenly become clever. Even forced into rivalry with Yang Danny, she didn’t want the conflict to escalate too fiercely. Smiling warmly at Yang Danny to win her over, she simultaneously launched a covert offensive.

Yang Danny smiled faintly but said nothing. Yet she clearly understood Ye Qian’s intentions. Without hesitation, she stepped inside, and Long Fei had no choice but to follow.

Being ignored like that left Long Fei very displeased. He sat down on the sofa and immediately took a confrontational stance, clearing his throat twice and adopting a serious expression.

“Ye Qian, didn’t you say you were taking a shower? Why haven’t you even changed your clothes?” Long Fei asked coldly, glancing toward the trash bin in the living room, which was piled high with empty sunflower seed shells. Clearly, Long Fei’s suspicion was correct—Ye Qian had been snacking on seeds earlier.

Ye Qian paused, then chuckled. “I did take a shower, but I had no other clothes to change into, so I just put these back on!”

Long Fei pointed toward a suitcase in the corner of the living room. “What’s that?”

Ye Qian quickly replied, “Oh, that’s the luggage I pulled in just now. I’m planning to stay here for a while.”

“Ah?” Long Fei was startled, then pitifully advised, “Ye Qian, I think you’d better go back home. Otherwise, your mom will worry, and my dad will probably fire me!”

Damn woman, if you really move in, half my happy life is over!

“You’re afraid of getting fired? Weren’t you always fearless about that?” Ye Qian smiled innocently.

Long Fei sighed, “You know how prices have been skyrocketing lately in Tianhai. Last time I went to buy vegetables, even bok choy was five yuan a pound. How can I live without a paycheck? I really value this job! The rent’s due soon, and I still don’t have the money.”

Long Fei’s lament sounded genuine, almost to the point of tears, but it didn’t move Ye Qian in the slightest.

Giggling, Ye Qian said, “Don’t worry, you won’t get fired. Even if you do, I’ll hire you privately—after all, you’re my boyfriend now. I’ll just support you!”

“You support me?” Long Fei pointed to himself, smiling bitterly. “No thanks. I don’t want a woman to support me. Do you think I’m some kind of kept man?”

“Tch, what kind of nonsense is that? Since we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, what’s the difference who supports whom?” Ye Qian’s perspective was refreshingly novel.

Suddenly sensing something amiss, Long Fei, who had been interrogating Ye Qian, realized the tables had turned and now she was the one providing support. He quickly backtracked, “I want to ask, since you brought your suitcase, why couldn’t you find any clothes to change into just now?”

Ye Qian opened her mouth, blushed, and seemed to have overplayed her lie.

“Come on, spill it!” Long Fei said triumphantly, feeling he had finally caught her.

“I forgot! Yes, I forgot, really!” Ye Qian laughed first.

“Really?” There was nothing real about it. Though her excuse was weak, it left Long Fei with no way to rebut or find any holes in her story. What she thought inside her head, he couldn’t just read. Even if he could, he had no evidence to disprove her.

Long Fei was completely baffled by Ye Qian’s ability to fabricate.

This woman was no ordinary liar!

“Alright, alright. Then why did you change the lock on my door without telling me?” Long Fei asked, frustrated.

Ye Qian glanced discreetly at Yang Danny, who seemed totally oblivious to their conversation, absorbed in reading a newspaper. Ye Qian explained, “Well, I came over and waited for you a long time, but you never showed up—”

“So you called the locksmith to change my lock? That’s too much! You need to understand, this house is rented by me; it’s mine. How dare you?” Long Fei interrupted abruptly.

Ye Qian shot Long Fei a glare, her expression darkening. “Let me finish, okay?”

“Fine, go ahead. I won’t interrupt anymore!” Long Fei said, irritated but curious to hear what excuse she’d come up with.

“I waited for you a long time, and when you didn’t come back, I tried to push open the door. It swung open easily, and I realized a thief had broken in and damaged the lock. So, out of kindness, I called the locksmith to change it!” Ye Qian sounded slightly aggrieved, casting Long Fei a pitiful look that almost seemed heartfelt.

Liar, a big liar! Long Fei cursed silently. Anyone else might be fooled by her performance, but he knew Ye Qian too well. Talking to her, you couldn’t trust what she said or even her expressions. You had to be careful, or you’d be tricked every time.

Long Fei gave a cold smile. Since Ye Qian could come up with such a lame excuse, all he could do was laugh bitterly in anger. “Is that so? Then I suppose I should thank you?”

“Cough, cough, it’s nothing. You’re my boyfriend, after all. It’s what I should do!” Ye Qian smiled faintly.

Long Fei closed his eyes, taking a moment before suppressing his anger. “So, do you think anything’s missing from the house? Don’t tell me nothing was stolen!”

Ye Qian paused, thought for a moment, then exclaimed, “Oh, I remember! The pack of sunflower seeds I bought yesterday must have been stolen; I couldn’t find it earlier!”

“Is that so? I think most of it was eaten by mice!” Long Fei sneered.

“That’s impossible. How could there be mice in this house?” Ye Qian quickly retorted.

“Well, I found the seeds! Look!” Long Fei pointed to the trash bin, instantly making Ye Qian’s face flush with embarrassment.

No wonder she was such a little devil. Though her face was red, and her lie exposed, Ye Qian didn’t panic nor admit that she had deliberately changed the lock. Instead, she exclaimed in surprise, “That’s strange! Why didn’t the thief steal anything else? Maybe there’s nothing worth stealing in this house! Even the thief doesn’t want it!”

“I know what that thief wanted to steal!” Long Fei grinned slyly.

Ye Qian blinked in surprise. “Steal what?”

Long Fei said mischievously, “Steal a person!”