Chapter 9: Qin An and Long Qinxin are Neighbors?
Not long after breakfast, Long Qinxin Jian Lu Zhiyin back to the sofa, no longer holding her, she was preparing to find a new, sufficiently hidden place for Lu Zhiyin.
“…Are we going out?”
Looking at Long Qinxin, who had changed into her school uniform in front of her, Lu Zhiyin asked softly.
“…Yeah.”
She nodded, then tied the thin chain connected to Lu Zhiyin’s collar to the coffee table, and tied Lu Zhiyin’s left hand behind her back, ensuring she couldn’t remove the collar herself.
After a moment of hesitation, Long Qinxin went to the bedroom to get a gag.
“…”
Looking at the object in Long Qinxin’s hand, Lu Zhiyin frowned.
She strongly disliked the feeling of being restricted from speaking, and moreover, the gag would prevent her from swallowing the saliva secreted in her mouth. The saliva would flow out uncontrollably, making her feel like an imbecile who couldn’t take care of herself.
Although she had decided to temporarily become Long Qinxin’s pet, Lu Zhiyin still wanted to preserve a little of her already shattered dignity.
“Can I not wear that? I won’t ask anyone else for help.”
Lowering her eyes, Lu Zhiyin pleaded sincerely, making a last attempt.
“…No, I won’t believe you.”
Taking the gag to the kitchen, Long Qinxin cleaned it again before returning to the living room. She put the gag into Lu Zhiyin’s mouth and fastened the buckle behind her head.
Seeing Lu Zhiyin with her brow slightly furrowed and looking distressed, Long Qinxin softened a little.
“Sorry…”
She apologized softly, but without any genuine intention of repentance.
“When I find you a new place to live, you won’t have to wear this anymore.”
Lowering her head and leaving one last sentence, Long Qinxin turned around.
She opened the living room door and just as she was about to close it, Qin An, who lived opposite her, also opened her door.
“Haa…”
Wearing a loose school uniform, her golden short hair slightly messy, Qin An emerged with very obvious dark circles under her eyes.
She had been tormented by anxiety and pressure and hadn’t slept all night. She was very tired but couldn’t fall asleep at all.
“Huh? Long Qinxin? What are you doing here?”
After yawning, Qin An noticed Long Qinxin, who was about to close the door.
She recognized Long Qinxin. Long Qinxin had been a prominent figure at school recently, so how could she not recognize the person in front of her?
It was just that she hadn’t expected Long Qinxin to live so close to her.
Usually, Qin An arrived at school right on time for class, while Long Qinxin got up early and left home every day. After school, Qin An also returned much later than Long Qinxin, which led to them living very close but not knowing about it.
“…Why is it you?”
Looking at the dispirited Qin An in front of her, Long Qinxin frowned.
She had a very bad impression of Qin An, not only because Qin An had bullied Lu Zhiyin before but also because Qin An had been the leader of almost all the bullies in school in the past.
Long Qinxin had been bullied and extorted for money by people under Qin An more than once.
However, that was in the past. As she understood the power of money, whenever someone bothered her, she would hire more people with more money to beat up the bullies.
Using violence to counter violence was very primitive but also very effective.
“I’ve lived here for a long time. I don’t remember having a neighbor like you?”
Scratching her hair, Qin An felt a bit bewildered.
If someone had spoken to her in such a tone before, she would have probably kicked their butt hard with her boots. However, she had no such thoughts about Long Qinxin now.
“…I bought an apartment here for convenience for school.”
Feeling a bit annoyed, Long Qinxin still answered Qin An’s question.
She felt she was being too civilized. Facing a scoundrel like Qin An, she should have ignored her and left.
Closing her apartment door to avoid Lu Zhiyin being discovered, Long Qinxin looked at Qin An, who was much taller than her. She stood tall, trying not to lose any of her imposing manner.
“What about you? The young lady of a judicial officer’s family. Don’t tell me you also came here for convenience.”
With a fake smile, Long Qinxin stared intently at Qin An.
She probably knew Qin An’s predicament.
Qin An’s father was the judicial officer of this city, and that man had recently been seen at various upper-class banquets with a young boy, whom he claimed to be his adopted son.
Most people in their circle were aware that the judicial officer’s family had some problems. Considering Qin An had not been making much of an appearance at school recently, and now she looked so listless, Long Qinxin thought that this girl had probably gotten into an irreconcilable conflict with her father.
“You’ve become your father’s abandoned child, haven’t you?”
Exposing Qin An’s situation, Long Qinxin locked her door and strode away.
“…She’s really annoying… I still wanted to ask her where that little cripple’s hospital is.”
Touching the back of her head and watching Long Qinxin’s retreating figure, Qin An’s mind drifted back to the white figure that was always seen with Long Qinxin.
Being exposed in her predicament made her already bad mood even worse.
“I won’t tell you.”
Long Qinxin overheard Qin An’s muttering and looked back at Qin An from the middle of the stairs.
“…Tch…”
Thoroughly bored by Long Qinxin’s words, Qin An punched the somewhat rough wall.
She had originally intended to go out to buy instant noodles, but she unexpectedly encountered someone she disliked and heard words she disliked.
If possible, she wanted to throw herself back into her room and sleep soundly, but she couldn’t. Her instant noodles at home were finished, and if she didn’t go out to restock, she feared she would starve to death.
In the end, Qin An could only vent her impotent rage and then went about her business, leaving the apartment building.
…
“…Mmf, mmf…”
In Long Qinxin’s apartment, Lu Zhiyin heard all the conversations between Long Qinxin and Qin An.
She wanted to say something, but because of the gag, she could only let out meaningless whimpers.
Her body swaying slightly, a wave of emotion surged within her.
What a joke… Why did Long Qinxin live so close to Qin An?
Closing her eyes, Lu Zhiyin’s heart began to beat faster. However, it wasn’t the distance between their residences that made her so agitated. After all, it didn’t matter if they lived close by; nothing would happen between these two anyway.
What concerned Lu Zhiyin was Qin An’s predicament, which Long Qinxin had pointed out.
She probably understood what had caused Qin An’s low spirits for a while. Was she being abandoned by her father?
This was something not mentioned in the game, but it didn’t matter anyway. The game plot she knew hadn’t been of much help.
Lu Zhiyin thought that now that she knew about Qin An’s predicament, she might have a way to win her over.
If she could help Qin An get rid of that so-called adopted son and regain her position in her father’s heart, wouldn’t she be able to win Qin An over?
The most difficult female lead already had a method for conquest, and Lu Zhiyin’s mind began to stir.
However, she was quickly brought back to reality by the restraints on her body.
She still had to conquer Long Qinxin first and be able to move freely.
