Chapter 56
When Li Qinyue rushed downstairs, Zhuo Zhi was knocking on the door.
The shouting from inside had stopped, but Zhuo Zhi wasn’t going to let it go.
She knocked politely, at a steady rhythm, three knocks, then called out, “Is anyone home?”
Li Qinyue stood behind her, cleaver in hand, and said, “Don’t you know if anyone’s home? If no one answers, it’s probably because they’ve killed each other.”
Zhuo Zhi turned around, looking at her helplessly, “Don’t be so morbid, Sister.”
“Morbid, hehe.” Li Qinyue let out two creepy chuckles, pushing Zhuo Zhi aside, “Move.”
Zhuo Zhi took a step back, her eyes widening as she saw the cleaver in Li Qinyue’s hand, “What are you doing with that, Sister?”
“You’ll see,” Li Qinyue pounded on the door, “Open up, community welfare delivery!”
Zhuo Zhi grabbed her wrist, “Don’t be impulsive.”
“Do I look impulsive?” She whispered to Zhuo Zhi, then turned back to pound on the door again, shouting, “Hurry up! Even if you don’t want it, you still have to sign for it! It’s frostbite cream, hand lotion, cold medicine! And a bag of frozen dumplings!”
The door creaked open.
Zhuo Zhi froze.
The moment the door opened a crack, Li Qinyue wedged her foot in, pushed with her shoulder, and squeezed inside.
“Who are you?” a man’s voice asked.
“I said it’s community welfare delivery, are you deaf?” Li Qinyue held the door open for Zhuo Zhi to enter.
The man looked them up and down. Zhuo Zhi moved to block the cleaver in Li Qinyue’s hand.
The man frowned, “I’ve never seen you two before.”
Li Qinyue smiled, “Now you have.”
“Where are the things?” the man looked around.
Zhuo Zhi said, “Only women can receive the welfare package.”
“But if there’s no woman in my house…”
Li Qinyue interrupted him, “It’s from the Women’s Federation. If you think you’re a woman, you can have it.”
“Watch your mouth,” the man glared at her.
“Don’t waste my time,” Li Qinyue was even more aggressive, “Go get your wife! She’s been screaming all day, it’s annoying! Do you have nothing better to do? Do you want me to give you an enema?!”
The man, caught off guard, was speechless.
Zhuo Zhi ignored him and walked inside, “Where are you? Did he hit you?”
The man finally reacted, reaching out to grab Zhuo Zhi’s clothes, “Who are you?! Mind your own business!”
Zhuo Zhi was about to shake him off when she heard a cold voice behind her, “Let go.”
She turned around.
The cleaver in Li Qinyue’s hand, with its rusty blade, looked blunt, but it was intimidating.
The man froze, his grip on Zhuo Zhi’s clothes loosening, his eyes fixed on the cleaver, “Who are you? Don’t do anything rash.”
“I’m feeling very rash right now,” Li Qinyue tilted her head. This action, commonly seen in movies as a threat before a fight, looked rather cute when Li Qinyue did it.
Of course, it only looked cute from Zhuo Zhi’s perspective. To the man staring at the blade, it was terrifying.
“What do you want?!” The man’s voice cracked, “I’m poor, I have nothing!”
“We’re not robbing you,” Zhuo Zhi quickly explained.
“We’re here to kill,” Li Qinyue said immediately.
Zhuo Zhi’s eyes widened.
Li Qinyue’s voice was cold and menacing, but she kept it low, “If you make another sound, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the dogs…”
Zhuo Zhi thought Li Qinyue could be an actress.
Whether or not the man believed her, he was too scared to move. If she kept this up for another half a minute, he might even start trembling.
Zhuo Zhi ignored him and scanned the apartment, finding a terrified woman in the bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Zhuo Zhi asked gently.
The woman’s voice was shrill, “Who are you?! What do you want?!”
“Don’t be afraid,” Zhuo Zhi said quickly, “I’m your neighbor upstairs, I heard you screaming, so I came to check. Is that man outside your husband? Did he hit you?”
The woman rubbed her hands, “No.”
“He didn’t?” Zhuo Zhi took two steps closer, “Don’t be afraid, if he hit you, we can call the police.”
“No, no, no, no, no…” The moment she heard the word “police”, the woman started shouting, “He’s my husband, he’s my husband!”
“Earlier…”
“We were just arguing, arguing.”
“Are you okay?” Zhuo Zhi looked her over carefully. Her hair was a little messy, her clothes wrinkled, but her exposed skin was indeed unharmed.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” The woman frowned, “It’s just a fight between us, it’s none of your business.”
“I heard the noise, it was a bit…”
“What?!” The woman suddenly shouted, “What law says I can’t even make a sound in my own home?! I just shouted, what’s the big deal?! Ah—!”
Her scream was piercing. Zhuo Zhi, witnessing it up close, shivered, goosebumps erupting on her skin.
The woman glared at her, “Get out.”
Zhuo Zhi stepped back. The woman walked out of the bathroom and saw her husband and Li Qinyue in the hallway.
“Ah—! Murder—! Robbery—!” the woman screamed repeatedly, “Ah—!!! Ah—!!! Ah—!!!”
Zhuo Zhi covered her ears and rushed towards the door. Li Qinyue, cleaver in hand, walked towards the woman, “Damn you!”
“Murder—!!!” The woman ran back into the bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it.
Zhuo Zhi grabbed Li Qinyue, who was about to break down the door, “Sister, stop, stop…”
“Is she even human?! She’s a loudspeaker!” Li Qinyue was both angry and shocked, “Does she have a built-in amplifier in her lungs? Damn, if ‘Shengge’ hired her, they wouldn’t even need a microphone…”
Zhuo Zhi pulled her away, “As long as she’s okay.”
“Okay my ass,” Li Qinyue said as they passed the man, raising the cleaver, “I’m telling you, I live upstairs, if you dare to make another sound and disturb my sleep, the security guard’s dog will be eating meat this winter…”
The man didn’t dare to speak. Zhuo Zhi dragged Li Qinyue out of the apartment, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
The apartment became quiet, and so did the hallway.
Li Qinyue switched the cleaver to her left hand and shook her right wrist.
As they walked upstairs, Zhuo Zhi said, “You were too impulsive, Sister.”
“I was impulsive?” Li Qinyue pointed at herself, “Was I the one who ran down here instead of kissing my girlfriend?”
Zhuo Zhi couldn’t help but laugh, “You were angry about that?”
“What else would I be angry about?” Li Qinyue looked at her, “Would I be angry at them? Do they deserve it?”
“I was just worried,” Zhuo Zhi explained, “That scream was terrifying. The last time I heard a scream like that was when they were slaughtering pigs at the slaughterhouse…”
“Damn,” Li Qinyue was amused, “All my cursing wasn’t as vivid as your analogy.”
Zhuo Zhi took the cleaver from her, “Is your wrist tired from carrying it?”
“Yes, it’s quite heavy,” Li Qinyue said, “Speaking of which, didn’t you promise to give me a back massage?”
Zhuo Zhi laughed, “I’ll give you a full body massage.”
Li Qinyue said, “Then this trip wasn’t a waste.”
They entered the apartment. Zhuo Zhi put down the cleaver, then put all the knives away in a drawer.
After making sure there were no dangerous objects in sight, she left the kitchen.
Li Qinyue was sitting on the sofa in the living room, fiddling with her fingers out of boredom.
“Sister,” Zhuo Zhi felt she needed to address this. She sat down next to Li Qinyue, “It was my fault, I was impulsive. But it was dangerous for you to bring a knife. If there had been a fight, who knows who would have gotten hurt…”
“Come on, there wouldn’t have been a fight,” Li Qinyue said, “The woman was screaming like that, and the man didn’t even try to shut her up. He’s a wimp. Do you think he would dare to lay a finger on me?”
Zhuo Zhi paused, “You have a point.”
Li Qinyue squinted at her, “I also told you not to get involved, it’s useless, and there’s no need. Think about it now, am I right?”
Thinking of the woman’s inexplicable screams, Zhuo Zhi felt a headache, “You’re right.”
“Tsk,” Li Qinyue patted her head, “You’re still so naive, Comrade Xiao Zhuo, no experience with real life. You need to learn from me.”
Zhuo Zhi tilted her head, “Then Sister, can you wash the dishes when I cook from now on?”
“No!” Li Qinyue’s answer was firm, “I’d rather throw them away…”
“You can’t afford to throw them away now,” Zhuo Zhi interrupted her.
“Can’t you just buy disposable tableware?”
“It’s not cost-effective, it’s unhygienic, and it’s not environmentally friendly. Who uses disposable tableware at home?”
“Anyway, I’m not washing the dishes,” Li Qinyue said, “That’s not something that should be in my life.”
“Sigh…” Zhuo Zhi sighed.
Li Qinyue pulled her into a hug, “Don’t worry, we’ll stick to our previous division of labor. You take care of the house, I’ll earn the money. It’s not like I’m taking advantage of you, right?”
Zhuo Zhi, feeling uncomfortable in her embrace, lay down on Li Qinyue’s lap, looking up at her, “This is fine too.”
Li Qinyue was happy. She patted Zhuo Zhi’s cheek, “Don’t worry, we’ll only be spending your money for the first few days. Boss Zhuo, cherish this life now, you’ll still have to be my workhorse… “
Zhuo Zhi frowned.
“My girlfriend,” Li Qinyue corrected herself, smiling and flicking her cheek.
Zhuo Zhi’s cheeks warmed, her mood lifting, “Then I’ll take you to buy a new phone tomorrow, Sister, so you can start looking for a job.”
“Do I need to search for jobs?” Li Qinyue leaned down and stared at her, “There’s no rush.”
“There’s no rush for that…” Zhuo Zhi started to argue.
Li Qinyue covered her mouth with a kiss, “This is what’s urgent.”
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