Obsessed with Cleanliness Chapter 11: Teasing

Yu Qinghan lay in bed holding Xiao Tong. The night was quiet. She slept deeply, but Xiao Tong stared at the ceiling light, her eyes sore and stinging, completely unable to sleep.

Everything that happened during the day played vividly in her mind. Xiao Tong felt blocked up inside, as memories flashed by like a spinning lantern reel from when she and Yu Qinghan first met, until a certain moment when it all abruptly stopped.

They were all happy memories. Xiao Tong used to think they were beautiful, but now they felt fake, like scenes from a cheesy drama.

All that so-called romance, it felt too fake. Whose love could be this artificial?

The noisy memories filled her ears, keeping her awake. And on top of that, the messy kitchen and living room trashed by Yu Qinghan kept flashing in her mind. Xiao Tong finally couldn’t take it anymore.

In the middle of the night, she got up and started cleaning, washing pots and dishes, scrubbing the stove. At last, she wiped the kitchen until it sparkled like new. Dawn was almost breaking.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, but instead of resting, started cleaning the living room. She picked up all the trash Yu Qinghan had left all over the floor and table, sat on the couch to catch her breath, then fetched a bucket of water and grabbed a worn, graying old towel to wipe the floor.

She didn’t like using a mop, thought it didn’t clean well. She would rather get down and scrub every inch by hand. Xiao Tong couldn’t stand dust. She wanted the floor so shiny it could reflect like a mirror.

Yu Qinghan had gone to bed early the night before. After their argument, she hadn’t eaten much all day. So she got up early, yawning as she left the bedroom, only to see Xiao Tong on the floor scrubbing bit by bit.

Her butt was stuck up in the air, swaying with every wipe. Usually, Xiao Tong had the place spotless before Yu Qinghan arrived. Yu Qinghan had never seen her cleaning like this.

Seeing it now, her first reaction was, Xiao Tong’s butt is actually kind of round.

She suddenly wanted to touch it.

Of course, that idea didn’t come to anything. Xiao Tong was very alert. The moment Yu Qinghan took a step forward, she sensed it.

She turned sharply, shooting Yu Qinghan a fierce glare like if she moved any closer, Xiao Tong would go down with her in a fight.

Xiao Tong had always acted like a sweet puppy around Yu Qinghan. If Yu Qinghan beckoned, she’d practically wag her tail and stick out her tongue, eager to be touched.

But it had been a long time since Xiao Tong gave her that look. Yu Qinghan remembered the last time she saw it, at least ten years ago. Now, seeing it again, it gave her chills.

It was as if... as if she had been completely shut out of Xiao Tong’s world, reduced to a stranger who had to be watched and guarded against.

"Why are you up so early?"

Xiao Tong didn’t understand Yu Qinghan’s complicated thoughts.

She just realized her reaction had been a bit too intense, so she quickly lowered her head under the pretense of rinsing her cloth, avoiding Yu Qinghan’s gaze. Her expression was perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened.

Since Xiao Tong didn’t bring up yesterday, Yu Qinghan tactfully chose not to either. She walked over, squatted beside her, and reached out to help her up.

"You just got out of the hospital. Why are you scrubbing floors this early? What if you wear yourself out and get another stomach flare-up? Come on, get up."

Xiao Tong instinctively pulled her elbow back, just enough to avoid Yu Qinghan’s hand. Yu Qinghan grabbed at nothing and looked a bit embarrassed.

She was about to snap, but remembering yesterday, she held it in, awkwardly scratched her nose and gave a forced laugh.

Xiao Tong noticed her own overreaction right away. She glanced at Yu Qinghan, then turned her face away awkwardly.

"I… I didn’t mean to. Are you hungry? I’ll make you breakfast."

Xiao Tong was acting unusually cold toward Yu Qinghan today. Yu Qinghan had been spoiled by her attentiveness, so she got annoyed right away.

"Xiao Tong, what’s that supposed to mean?"

"What do you mean ‘what does that mean?’"

Xiao Tong had already stood up, about to head into the kitchen. She turned around, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You really have the nerve to ask? Did you take the wrong meds today or what? I already apologized yesterday! What more do you want? What’s the point of holding onto it like this?"

"I don’t want anything," Xiao Tong replied.

She hadn’t slept well for two nights. Her eyes hurt. Her ears were ringing, buzzing constantly. She didn’t have the energy to argue.

Rubbing her temples, she asked, "Qinghan, what do you want for breakfast? How about some wontons?"

She leaned against the kitchen doorway, facing Yu Qinghan sideways. Her hair was loosely pinned up with a hair stick, and the morning sun was backlighting her.

She wore only an oversized T-shirt as pajamas, hanging loosely off her frame. The sunlight hit her neck, making it glow white.

Yu Qinghan hadn’t looked at Xiao Tong this closely in years. Just that one side profile, and suddenly she felt the same flutter from long ago like she was falling for her all over again.

She stared, almost mesmerized, with a sudden urge to kiss that glowing neck.

The thought startled her. She quickly looked away, coughed to hide her panic.

"Sure, wontons are fine."

Xiao Tong didn’t notice Yu Qinghan’s flustered state.

She nodded, grabbed some pre-wrapped wontons from the fridge, and cooked a bowl.

Once they were ready, she placed the bowl in front of Yu Qinghan, then turned to go to the bathroom to freshen up and change.

But Yu Qinghan suddenly asked, "Just one bowl? Aren’t you eating?"

"I’m not hungry."

"You can’t just skip meals. Sit down. Eat with me."

Maybe because of what happened yesterday, Yu Qinghan spoke more gently than usual, there was even a hint of concern in her voice.

She pulled Xiao Tong’s hand, making her sit next to her. Smiling, she said, "Come on, eat. It won’t taste good if it gets cold."

Xiao Tong didn’t move for a while. Yu Qinghan didn’t get mad. Instead, she picked up the spoon, scooped up a wonton, and held it to Xiao Tong’s mouth like she was coaxing a child.

"Xiao Tong, be good. Open up. Here comes the airplane..."

Xiao Tong stayed still.

Yu Qinghan just kept holding the spoon near her lips, smiling patiently.

They stared at each other for a while. Xiao Tong didn’t want to make things too awkward, so she opened her mouth and ate it.

She barely chewed before swallowing.

Yu Qinghan’s mood instantly improved. Her smile looked more genuine now.

"Well? Does it taste good?"

Xiao Tong nodded. "It’s good."

Yu Qinghan immediately lit up with joy.

Come to think of it, the wontons were wrapped, cooked, and even served by Xiao Tong herself. Whether they tasted good or not had nothing to do with Yu Qinghan. But just hearing Xiao Tong say "it’s good" made Yu Qinghan feel like she deserved all the credit in the world.

"Have another one?"

"No, I have an interview this morning. If I don’t start getting ready now, I’ll be late."

Xiao Tong stood up and took the spoon from Yu Qinghan’s hand. "Let me get you a clean one."

Yu Qinghan felt like she had done her part, so she didn’t insist anymore. She let Xiao Tong swap out the spoon. She was actually very hungry, and with a couple of slurps, she finished the whole bowl of wontons, not even leaving the broth.

Leaning back on the sofa, she wiped her mouth and praised, "Xiao Tong, your cooking is so good. Even the chef at the Yu house doesn’t make food this delicious."

Xiao Tong smiled faintly, then gathered the used dishes, washed them in the kitchen, dried them, put everything back in place, and cleaned the kitchen so well it looked untouched.

Only then did she head to the bathroom to wash up.

Once the door closed, she couldn’t hold it back anymore, she vomited. The small wonton she had eaten earlier came right up along with a rush of acid.

She washed her face, cleaned the bathroom like nothing had happened, and left it spotless.

Yu Qinghan didn’t know, Xiao Tong couldn’t eat anything before washing up in the morning.

Whatever she ate, she’d throw up.

She thought it was dirty.

This wasn’t a habit she used to have. Of course, back then, Xiao Tong grew up very poor. "Dirty" wasn’t even a concept—she’d eat a grain of rice off the floor without blinking.

This was a habit that came much later, long after Yu Qinghan had stopped caring much about her.

So it made sense that Yu Qinghan never noticed.

Normally, Xiao Tong’s place was like a stopover for Yu Qinghan, a place she’d crash at overnight, only to disappear by morning.

But today was different.

After taking forever in the bathroom, Xiao Tong finally came out clean and fresh, and Yu Qinghan was still there, smiling at her.

Xiao Tong was startled. "Why haven’t you left yet?"

"Nothing going on today. I’ll drive you to the company."

"No need, Jing Xing’s picking me up soon..." She paused, realizing Yu Qinghan didn’t know who that was, and added, "Jing Xing is my agent."

"Oh." Yu Qinghan nodded as if she understood, then said again, "I’ll take you."

"…Yu Qinghan, what’s gotten into you today?" Xiao Tong asked helplessly.

Yu Qinghan blinked, slightly dazed.

That’s when she realized she had been overly attentive to Xiao Tong today.

She’d been planning to dump her, so why was she acting like this?

Maybe it was Xiao Tong’s long slender neck that morning. It looked too good, so good that Yu Qinghan found herself reluctant to let her go again.

Or maybe it was a small sense of guilt over what happened yesterday, pushing her to make it up to Xiao Tong a little.

In the end, Xiao Tong couldn’t resist Yu Qinghan’s persistence and let her drive her to the company.

When they came downstairs together, Jing Xing was already waiting outside.

She waved cheerfully when she saw Xiao Tong, but then noticed Yu Qinghan following closely behind.

Her hand froze mid-air, and her smile vanished. With a cold face, she nodded stiffly, "President Yu," and said no more.

Yu Qinghan had originally planned to drive Xiao Tong herself, but since Xiao Tong needed to go over the interview plan with Jing Xing in advance, she had no choice but to get into the company car.

It was spacious enough that the three of them weren’t cramped in the back seat.

On the way, Jing Xing went over Xiao Tong’s schedule, morning interviews with several media outlets, one of them a solo interview, a brand launch in the afternoon, then a variety show appearance at night…

Her schedule was packed like she was some breakout celebrity, not a fashion designer.

Yu Qinghan sat beside them, listening but unable to join in. She was clearly annoyed.

She had always been the center of attention, especially when she was with Xiao Tong. Now she was being ignored, and her face darkened.

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at Xiao Tong, hoping she’d notice something was off, then comfort her and cheer her up.

But Xiao Tong was completely focused on Jing Xing’s schedule, as if Yu Qinghan didn’t exist.

Yu Qinghan was not happy. In fact, she was furious.

Suddenly, she grabbed Xiao Tong’s left hand, which had been resting by her side, and began to lightly trace circles in her palm with her index finger.

Xiao Tong’s body stiffened. She turned sharply to look at Yu Qinghan.

Yu Qinghan, pleased to finally get her attention, lifted her chin and stared into her eyes, smirking as she casually traced another circle in her palm.

Jing Xing was still going over details beside them, but Xiao Tong couldn’t focus at all. Her entire attention was on her right hand, every tiny movement Yu Qinghan made felt magnified in the small space.

With those intentionally flirtatious eyes watching her, Xiao Tong held her breath, too nervous to move, afraid Jing Xing might catch on.

Yu Qinghan only pushed further, her fingers climbing from Xiao Tong’s palm to her wrist, slowly moving upward.

Xiao Tong’s cheeks flushed red, and when Yu Qinghan saw it, she grinned mischievously and said, "Xiao Tong, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"

Jing Xing noticed it too.

She reached out and touched her forehead. "Xiao Tong, you’re burning up. Are you okay? Should we cancel today’s interview and take you to the hospital first?"

"N-no need!" Xiao Tong replied nervously.

She tried to pull her hand back, but Yu Qinghan only held on tighter. So she forced herself to stay calm.

"Jing Xing, I’m fine. Keep going."

Jing Xing looked skeptical but didn’t press it, continuing with the briefing.

The ride to the company was one Xiao Tong could usually do with her eyes closed, but today, it felt endless.

Her hand was still in Yu Qinghan’s, enduring her silent teasing. By the time they reached the company entrance, her face was still flushed red.

After getting out of the car, Yu Qinghan deliberately held Xiao Tong back so Jing Xing would walk ahead.

Once they were alone, she let go of Xiao Tong’s hand and whispered in her ear, "Come home early after work. I’ll be waiting."

She even gave a light laugh afterward, making Xiao Tong’s heart skip a beat.

Xiao Tong didn’t understand what game Yu Qinghan was playing but her heart was already wavering.

The emotional resolve she had built up just last night, the one she had painfully clung to, was now crumbling completely from just a bit of kindness.

She even began to feel a small, unrealistic hope for them again. After all this time together, how could they just end it?

If there was even a chance to fix things, who wouldn’t want to try?

Besides Yu Qinghan, Xiao Tong had no one else.

Yu Qinghan, on the other hand, wasn’t really thinking much.

She had simply been caught off guard by a glimpse of Xiao Tong’s face in profile and that stirred up a bit of interest again.

Add a tinge of guilt from the day before, and she thought maybe she could stick around a little longer. After all, Xiao Tong was great at cooking, and she kept the place spotless.