Obsessed with Cleanliness Chapter 16: Sweet

Yu Qinghan went to deliver the cake to Xiao Tong.

As she stepped out, she ran into the morning rush hour traffic. It took almost two hours of crawling before she finally arrived at Xiao Tong’s place.

She carried in the small slice of cake she had made earlier that morning, expecting to see Xiao Tong’s surprised expression but the house was eerily quiet.

Everything that Yu Qinghan had messed up yesterday was now perfectly in place, as if she had never even been there.

It was strange.

The entire place had been decorated according to Yu Qinghan’s tastes, yet every time she left and came back, the house would be spotless like she had never set foot inside.

Yu Qinghan was a clean freak. She used to feel inexplicably comfortable in this house, but today, it felt different, everything was just so neatly arranged, and standing in the middle of it, she felt… unnecessary.

With that thought, Yu Qinghan started to feel a bit moody.

She picked up her phone and called Xiao Tong.

Xiao Tong picked up quickly and said, "Hello?"

Yu Qinghan immediately sneered, "Miss Designer, your house is so cold and empty. Where have you gone off to now to enjoy yourself?"

Xiao Tong clearly paused for a second.

After a moment, she lowered her voice and replied, "I’m in a meeting. Can I call you back later?"

Yu Qinghan was used to having free time and didn’t keep track of the days.

Only after Xiao Tong said that did she realize, today was a workday.

And since she had forgotten Xiao Tong’s birthday the day before, she felt a little guilty.

So she softened her tone and said, "Are you at the studio? I can bring something over to you."

"What is it?"

"Your birthday gift."

Xiao Tong hesitated for a second, then said, "That’s okay, thank you."

And without giving Yu Qinghan a chance to respond, she decisively hung up.

It was the first time Xiao Tong had ever hung up on Yu Qinghan.

After doing it, she leaned against the hallway wall outside the meeting room, dazed for a long while.

She clutched her phone so tightly her fingers turned pale. It wasn’t until her assistant came out to get her that she finally snapped back.

"Sister Tong, are you feeling okay? You look really pale," the assistant asked worriedly.

"I’m fine. Probably just low blood sugar, I skipped breakfast," Xiao Tong said, waving it off.

"You skipped breakfast? That’s not good! Sister Tong, work is work, but you can’t push yourself so hard. Your health matters most. You’re not even thirty yet, if you burn yourself out now, that’d be terrible!"

"Okay, okay, I hear you, you little granny. If you nag any more, no one will want to marry you," Xiao Tong joked with a smile.

"Pfft! Sister Tong, don’t jinx me!"

The two walked back into the meeting room, one after the other. The assistant snuck a glance and saw that Xiao Tong’s complexion had improved, finally feeling a bit relieved.

This meeting was about a new clothing brand the company planned to launch next year. Thanks to the huge success of the recent Paris show, Xiao Tong’s name had skyrocketed.

Not just in China, her international reputation had grown, too. The company wanted to ride the wave and introduce a long-planned sub-brand focused on high-end ready-to-wear.

Xiao Tong was to be the lead designer, and they aimed to break into the global luxury market.

Today’s meeting was to finalize the style direction for the brand’s first quarter.

Aside from Xiao Tong, the studio also had several senior designers with more years of experience.

Since Xiao Tong, who seemed like a harmless junior—had suddenly surpassed them, they were all holding in a grudge, eager to prove themselves in this meeting.

The back-and-forth quickly turned into a full-blown argument.

Xiao Tong already had a clear plan in mind.

Listening to the endless debate gave her a splitting headache.

As they kept arguing into lunchtime, she discreetly signaled her assistant. The assistant, smart and smooth-talking, quickly soothed the egos of the senior designers.

Though the discussion didn’t reach any real conclusions, at least they gradually dispersed.

Xiao Tong let out a long breath, rubbing her temples, which felt ready to explode.

She was the last one to leave the meeting room. But just as she was about to step outside, she caught a faint, familiar scent in the air.

Her heart skipped a beat, even her steps halted.

She stared at the slightly ajar door.

Sure enough, it opened wider and there was Yu Qinghan’s face, smiling brightly, looking quite pleased.

"You? What are you doing here?"

Xiao Tong was surprised.

Aside from a few times when Yu Qinghan had suddenly become overly attentive, she rarely visited Xiao Tong’s studio.

Even during those rare moments of affection, Yu Qinghan only waited in the car for Xiao Tong to get off work.

Actually stepping into her workspace like this, this was the first time.

"You wouldn’t come pick up your birthday gift, so I had no choice but to bring it to you,"

Yu Qinghan said, pulling out the food box from behind her back, grinning as she waved it in front of Xiao Tong.

She lied without blinking, her voice steady and her face perfectly calm: "I was busy last night. I wanted to tell you, but my phone died…"

It wasn’t entirely a lie. She had been busy last night and her phone had run out of battery.

Xiao Tong took the food box and nodded.

"Let’s go outside to talk."

She brought Yu Qinghan back to her office, casually set the box on the desk, and turned to open her screen saver, ready to get back to work but Yu Qinghan stopped her.

Xiao Tong looked up and gave her a questioning glance.

Yu Qinghan was holding Xiao Tong’s wrist, so they were standing quite close. It was the first time she had ever seen Xiao Tong at work: serious, focused, even when listening to others argue in the meeting, she sat upright, her gaze firm and stern.

This was a side of Xiao Tong Yu Qinghan had never seen before. And she had to admit, this version of Xiao Tong was surprisingly attractive.

"Something wrong?"

The awkward and ambiguous position had lasted too long. If it weren’t for her years of knowing Yu Qinghan, Xiao Tong might’ve thought she was about to be kissed. She had to be the one to break the tension first.

"Aren’t you going to open it and take a look?"

"I’ll check it later. A-Xing said she’s joining a variety show this afternoon and won’t be free until tonight. I need to finish this design plan first."

"Aren’t you a designer? Why are you busier with these shows than actual celebrities?" Yu Qinghan said, displeased.

"Blame your agents, they’re too diligent. They won’t stop until they squeeze every last drop out of me."

Xiao Tong was focused on her computer screen, fingers clacking non-stop on the keyboard. Occasionally she’d open Photoshop to sketch, squeezing in conversation casually, forgetting for a moment that it was Yu Qinghan she was talking to. She used the same joking tone she did with her assistant.

Right after she said it, she paused—remembering it was Yu Qinghan. Her hands froze, and she cautiously looked up at her, afraid she might be angry.

"What am I, a man-eating tiger? Do you really have to be this careful around me?"

The atmosphere today was unusually good, and Yu Qinghan actually felt lighthearted enough to joke.

"Way scarier than a tiger," Xiao Tong muttered to herself.

You’re the canary I’ve kept in a gilded cage for over ten years, held so gently in my palms, afraid that one day you’ll just fly away and never look back.

"Alright, put work on hold for now. You think the Yu family can’t afford to support you? Why work yourself to death?"

Yu Qinghan opened the food container and took out a small triangular slice of tiramisu.

"I made this early this morning. Try it, see if it’s good."

She looked at her with such anticipation that Xiao Tong had no choice but to pick up the spoon and take a bite.

Tiramisu was supposed to have a subtle bitterness at first bite, followed by a lingering sweetness.

But this piece was overwhelmingly sweet from the start—no trace of bitterness. It didn’t taste like tiramisu at all. It was more like a buttercream cake with double the sugar.

"Well? Is it good?" Yu Qinghan asked eagerly.

Xiao Tong nodded and said blandly, "It’s good."

"Of course it is. As long as you like it, then getting up at five to make it was worth it."

Yu Qinghan looked pleased, convinced she had given a special, thoughtful birthday gift.

Xiao Tong just smiled, set down the spoon, and went back to work.

Xiao Tong didn’t like sweets. And Yu Qinghan herself wasn’t really into sugary things either.

Maybe she did make the cake at 5 a.m., but... who was it really made for?

Xiao Tong didn’t ask.

The flavor of Yu Qinghan’s cakes had already changed long ago. She just happened to taste it for the first time today. With this belated birthday gift, Yu Qinghan thought she might make Xiao Tong a little happier. But not only did it not make her happy, even the easygoing banter from earlier between them vanished.

Xiao Tong sat right in front of her, unmoving, yet it felt like she was using every ounce of strength to push her away.

Yu Qinghan didn’t know what she had done wrong.

She frowned, irritated.

"Xiao Tong, what now?"

"Me?" Xiao Tong looked surprised. "What do you mean what?"

"Can you just say what’s on your mind? What’s with this passive-aggressive act?"

Xiao Tong didn’t want to argue about whether she was being passive-aggressive.

She hadn’t slept well last night, and today was already a mess.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she said tiredly, "Qinghan, you’re overthinking it."

Yu Qinghan looked at the dark circles under her eyes.

Even that little tear mole at the corner of her eye seemed dull today.

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt, and her anger faded.

"Last night when I wasn’t there… you didn’t sleep well, did you?"

"It was okay."

"Why don’t you nap for a bit? You have a rest area in your office. I’ll stay with you—"

"No need."

"You—"

Yu Qinghan was just about to snap at her for being ungrateful when her phone rang.

She looked at the screen and immediately picked up. Her voice softened instantly, unnaturally so.

Even her expression melted, right in front of Xiao Tong, without trying to hide it.

"You’re awake?"

Just two words. But Xiao Tong’s nose stung. She dug her nails into her thigh to force the tears back.

"Mm, okay, I’ll head back now."

Yu Qinghan hung up, and when she looked at Xiao Tong again, she clearly lost her confidence.

"I… something came up at home."

"Okay."

"I need to go back first…"

"Okay."

"And you—"

"It’s fine. Go ahead. Be careful on the road."

Xiao Tong smiled at her. Her eyes curved like crescent moons, looking more and more like Mo Xiyuan. Yu Qinghan didn’t even dare to look her in the eye.

She left in a rush, almost like fleeing.

Xiao Tong’s smile froze on her face for the entire afternoon. It wasn’t until her assistant came in that the spell broke.

"Sister Xiao! What happened? You hit the jackpot or something? You’re smiling so much!"

Xiao Tong snapped out of it, and the smile vanished in a second.

"You're mistaken," she said, as if nothing had happened.