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Obsessed with Cleanliness Chapter 8: Cold-Hearted
After arguing with Yu Qingming, Yu Qinghan stormed out of the Yu family home.
She drove around aimlessly for a while, but had nowhere to go. She thought about calling Chang Linran, but unlike her, Chang Linran wasn’t always available. With no one else to meet up with, she ended up going back to her own apartment in the city.
Yu Qinghan had long disliked Yu Qingming meddling in her life, so she moved out early on and lived alone.
She had her own apartment downtown and only occasionally returned to the main Yu residence.
Actually, she didn’t even go to her apartment very often.
Her most frequent place of residence had always been Xiao Tong’s home.
This went way back. There was a time when Xiao Tong had gone through a serious crisis and nearly broke down.
Yu Qinghan had stayed by her side through all of it.
Later, when Xiao Tong barely managed to pull herself together, she developed a problem: she couldn’t fall asleep unless Yu Qinghan was beside her. No matter how comfortable the bed, she couldn’t sleep without her.
Back then, Yu Qinghan was still interested in Xiao Tong, and she also felt guilty toward her.
So she did everything Xiao Tong asked, especially something as simple as just sleeping beside her.
She kept doing it… and it continued until now.
Later on, Yu Qinghan gradually began to feel uneasy about Xiao Tong.
She started to suspect this "condition" was just a ploy. Xiao Tong had come up with to manipulate her sympathy.
As it happened, one time Mo Xiyuan returned from abroad, and Yu Qinghan and Chang Linran went to welcome her back.
The three of them chatted until late at night before finally parting ways.
Yu Qinghan didn’t get back to Xiao Tong’s place until four in the morning. All the lights in the house were off.
After showering, she groped her way in the dark into Xiao Tong’s bedroom.
As she lay down beside her, she was nearly scared to death. Xiao Tong’s eyes were wide open, staring unblinking at the ceiling.
Her eyeballs were completely still. Yu Qinghan thought something had happened to her.
She froze in terror and quickly reached out to pat Xiao Tong’s face.
Only then did Xiao Tong snap out of it.
When she saw Yu Qinghan, she forced a smile and hoarsely whispered, "Qinghan, you’re back."
"You… you haven’t slept yet?"
"I can’t sleep," Xiao Tong said weakly, her face pale. "Qinghan, I’m scared."
"Don’t be. I’m here now." Yu Qinghan hugged her, both heartbroken and filled with guilt. She whispered gently in her ear, "Xiao Tong, don’t be afraid. I’m here…"
That incident made Yu Qinghan realize that Xiao Tong probably would never recover, and likely would never be able to leave her.
As she comforted Xiao Tong, Yu Qinghan also felt a creeping sense of fear.
Still, aside from that issue, Xiao Tong was really excellent in many other ways.
Yu Qinghan had a serious case of OCD, but she was also pampered from a young age. She always had people to clean up after her.
Even when she was laying low in the countryside, someone came to clean her place every other day. She had never lifted a finger for housework.
After moving in with Xiao Tong, Yu Qinghan had worried that Xiao Tong wouldn’t be able to handle her habits. But not only did Xiao Tong adapt, she adapted extremely well.
She must have been doing chores since childhood, because she kept their home spotless.
She even remembered all of Yu Qinghan’s OCD-like quirks—like which direction to place her toothbrush, and which cubby in the shoe cabinet her slippers went.
After living with Xiao Tong, Yu Qinghan found she was more comfortable than she’d ever been living alone.
So she just moved in permanently and stayed there for years.
This year, Yu Qinghan had gone back to her own apartment less than ten times.
Even though she didn’t live there much, a cleaning lady still came regularly. But since it had been unoccupied for a while, as soon as she opened the door, there was a faint musty smell.
Pinching her nose, Yu Qinghan walked into the living room and looked around. Because the place was rarely used, the cleaning was obviously half-hearted.
Only the surfaces looked clean. Dust and dirt had gathered in all the corners, which made Yu Qinghan frown immediately.
She had barely stepped into the living room before she already wanted to leave again. But since she had nowhere else to go, she forced herself to sit on the sofa.
She lasted less than ten minutes before she felt completely uncomfortable.
The magazines under the TV stand weren’t sorted by type or date. The carpet edge didn’t line up with the edge of the floor. The throw pillows on the couch were a mess.
Even the corner of the sofa wasn’t a perfect right angle! Had it always been like that?
Yu Qinghan wasn’t sure, she had gotten so used to the comfort of Xiao Tong’s place that coming back to this messy apartment felt unbearable.
She finally couldn’t take it and fled that dreadful prison. Still, she had nowhere to go.
Sitting in her car, she thought long and hard, and finally had no choice but to give in and drive along a very familiar route— the road to Xiao Tong’s home.
As she drove, Yu Qinghan both loathed herself and couldn’t help suspecting Xiao Tong’s cunning— Was this her plan all along? To trap me like this, so I’d never be able to leave her? Keep dreaming.
No matter how much she cursed or resented it, Yu Qinghan had to admit that the moment she stepped into Xiao Tong’s home, and saw all the familiar things, she finally felt a sense of relief.
The spotless white walls, the perfectly aligned furniture, and all the neatly organized items sorted just the way she liked. Yu Qinghan took a deep breath. Even the air in this apartment felt fresher than outside.
She took off her shoes and walked into the living room, sat on the couch for a while, and only then did she realize—something felt off.
She looked at her own shoes lying messily at the entrance and found them an eyesore. At last, she realized what was wrong.
Usually, whenever she came home, Xiao Tong would already be there, waiting for her. She’d gently place Yu Qinghan’s heels into the shoe cabinet, smooth out the slightly rumpled carpet, and bring her a freshly brewed cup of tea.
Heaven knows how Xiao Tong always managed to time it just right, so that the tea would be ready the moment Yu Qinghan walked in.
Yu Qinghan had taken all of that for granted.
But today, she’d been sitting on the sofa for five minutes, and Xiao Tong hadn’t come out to tidy her shoes. Her mouth was dry, and there was no tea in sight.
That’s when it finally hit her, Xiao Tong wasn’t home.
It wasn’t like the time she went to Paris. This time, she disappeared without a word. No warning, no heads-up. For the first time, Xiao Tong was completely outside Yu Qinghan’s grasp.
After being lectured at home, getting frustrated in her own apartment, and now being ignored in Xiao Tong’s home, it felt like the entire world had teamed up to go against her today.
Hmph. Didn’t she live just fine before Xiao Tong came along? As if she couldn’t live without her now? Yu Qinghan gritted her teeth and thought bitterly. Without another word, she got up, walked to the entryway, and went to properly place her shoes in the cabinet.
But once she opened the cabinet, she realized she had no idea where to put them.
Xiao Tong had always just tossed them in casually, yet they’d end up perfectly arranged. But when she tried to do it herself, no matter where she put them, they looked completely out of place—— awkward and ugly.
Even the shoe cabinet was working against her!
Yu Qinghan grew even more annoyed. She finally stuffed the shoes into the least offensive spot she could find, shut the cabinet door, and turned to the kitchen to make some tea.
But the kettle was empty. Not a single drop of hot water. And she couldn’t even find where the tea leaves were kept.
That was the last straw.
Yu Qinghan exploded, she kicked the cabinet door with a loud thud, and the whole kitchen seemed to shake with her rage.
She yanked out her phone, didn’t even look at the screen, and dialed a number directly.
She was calling Xiao Tong, ready to demand where the hell she’d gone.
The call connected quickly, but before Xiao Tong could say a word, Yu Qinghan unleashed her fury: "Xiao Tong, huh? Look at you now! Gone for a whole day and night without coming home! If you want to break up, just say it! I’d love that, actually!"
"She’s resting."
The voice on the other end wasn’t Xiao Tong’s. It was a strange woman’s voice.
A strange woman, saying Xiao Tong was "resting"? Yu Qinghan was livid.
Wasn’t she the one who supposedly couldn’t sleep without her? Wasn’t she the one who used to cry and beg, saying she couldn’t live without her?
Now look at her, sleeping soundly in someone else’s arms!
Yu Qinghan screamed into the phone: "Then tell her to sleep well! She better never come back!"
She hurled her phone at the wall. It smashed into pieces, plastic and metal parts scattering all over the living room floor.
Jing Xing stood quietly outside Xiao Tong’s hospital room, listening to the angry voice turn into a busy tone. Only then did she lower the phone from her ear, and calmly walk back into the room.
Xiao Tong was sleeping soundly but it wasn’t natural sleep. While she was eating porridge earlier, Jing Xing had secretly put something in it.
She’d been Xiao Tong’s agent for so many years, how could she not know about Xiao Tong’s long-time insomnia?
She also knew Xiao Tong had a partner of many years— a woman, none other than the infamous second daughter of the Yu family.
Of course, in Jiangyu’s elite social circles, Yu Qinghan was known not just for her status, but also for her recklessness and disloyalty.
Xiao Tong, however, wasn’t part of that world, so naturally, she had no idea.
When Jing Xing first found out about their relationship, she was shocked.But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
After all, Xiao Tong was just a young, unknown designer starting out. If it weren’t for Yu Qinghan backing her, how could she have won so many international design awards at such a young age? How else could she have hosted a fashion show in Paris as lead designer, a place most designers could only dream of reaching in a lifetime?
At first, Jing Xing thought Xiao Tong and Yu Qinghan’s relationship was just a superficial, transactional one— sex in exchange for a chance to climb the ladder.
But after spending more time with Xiao Tong, she realized that wasn’t the case at all.
Xiao Tong didn’t care about how many awards she’d won, nor about the fashion shows she was invited to. In fact, every time she learned she had to go abroad for another commercial event, her face would fall with worry.
Jing Xing had once teased her, "Come on, do you know how many designers would kill for these opportunities? You got them all at such a young age, what more could you want?"
They were at the airport then, about to board a flight. Xiao Tong had pulled Jing Xing aside and pleaded earnestly, "Ah Xing, can you go in my place? Or give the award to someone else? I really don’t want to go… Someone’s waiting for me at home…"
When she said that, a slight blush crept into her eyes, and the tear mole below her eye trembled. She looked heartbreakingly sincere.
Jing Xing had been in the industry for years, half a foot in the entertainment world. She’d seen countless beautiful faces, but that expression on Xiao Tong’s face still made her heart tremble.
That was the kind of look only someone truly in love would have, missing someone with all their heart.
Jing Xing had dealt with so many pragmatic, self-serving people, it had been years since she’d seen someone so purely devoted to another.
What a pity.
Jing Xing let out a quiet sigh.
Because the person Xiao Tong was waiting for was no longer waiting for her.
Just a few minutes ago, Jing Xing had scrolled through her social media and seen a photo posted by someone in the industry.
And who was front and center in that photo?
Yu Qinghan.
She was cozied up to a girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen, flirting shamelessly.
Clearly, she’d long forgotten about the foolish woman still longing for her.
Jing Xing used to think Xiao Tong was trying to climb above her station, and she looked down on her for it. But after spending more time with Xiao Tong, she came to realize——it was actually Yu Qinghan who didn’t deserve her.
What a shame. Xiao Tong couldn’t see it. She was too naïve, blinded by her own one-sided love.
Even though Jing Xing had added a mild sedative to the porridge, Xiao Tong didn’t sleep well. She woke up after barely half an hour.
When she saw Jing Xing coming in holding her phone, she instinctively asked,"Was it Qinghan calling me?"
"Mm-hmm," Jing Xing nodded. "I told her you were sick and needed rest."
"Really? And what did she say?"
"She said you should focus on getting better… and stop worrying about her."
The flicker of hope in Xiao Tong’s eyes dimmed, and she let out a barely audible sound of acknowledgment, "…Okay."
Xiao Tong smiled bitterly to herself.
Why was she even disappointed? Wasn’t this exactly what she should’ve expected?
How long had it been since Yu Qinghan last called her "Xiao Tong"? Now, even the way she said her name sounded as cold as a stranger’s voice.