[Beep! Nicole's anger has reached the critical point. Try to survive.]
This was looking dangerous.
"Wait"
"Ahhh!" Tears sprang to Nicole's eyes. She lunged forward, drove her fist into his stomach with considerable force, and snatched the fabric from his hand with the other.
Ye Qingfeng only registered a blur of motion before a sharp pain exploded through his abdomen. His knees hit the floor with a thud, both hands pressed to his stomach, body folded over, cold sweat running down his face.
That hurt.
"Of all the!" Nicole's face was completely red. She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward the door, talking the entire way. "Disgusting! Shameless! I completely misjudged you!"
She shoved him out, slammed the door behind him, and he caught one last glimpse of her furious expression before it shut.
Picking up her underwear right in front of her. That was genuinely beyond the pale.
If Qingfeng had quietly folded them and put them in the wardrobe without saying a word, she wouldn't have reacted like this. She thought of him as a little brother, and a brother folding his sister's laundry was not a problem.
But holding it up in front of her face? That was not something a brother did.
Nicole's already red cheeks went a shade deeper. She stomped once to release some of the frustration.
She turned it over in her mind, trying to figure out why Qingfeng would do something like that. The only conclusion she could reach was that he had been holding back for too long and had finally cracked.
So this had been his way of hinting at her.
*Hmph. What do you take me for?*
*I treat you like a real younger brother, and this is what you pull?*
But then, thinking about it from another angle, maybe Qingfeng really was struggling. Maybe he simply hadn't known what else to do.
Still. She didn't exactly have any experience with that sort of thing either.
In the middle of Nicole's thoroughly tangled thoughts, this misunderstanding quietly shifted something in how she saw Ye Qingfeng. Not a little brother anymore. Something less clearly defined.
Outside the door, on the other side of the wall, Billy opened his door and found Ye Qingfeng lying on the floor. He walked over with a grin.
"Yo! What are you doing down there, Qingfeng?"
"Don't ask." Ye Qingfeng grabbed the wall and tried to haul himself upright. "Give me a hand."
"You really do make things hard for yourself." Billy got him on his feet, then started talking without pause. "You know what Sister Nicole is like. I'm completely on your side, of course. But you can't go at her head-on. She responds to gentleness, not pressure."
He waited until Ye Qingfeng had his balance, let go, and leaned in close.
"If all else fails, there's another approach. Money. Throw enough Dennies at the problem and it tends to work itself out. If even that doesn't do it, come find me. I'll introduce you to my former boss. Believe me, she's absolutely comparable to Sister Nicole."
"Your former boss?"
Ye Qingfeng felt like he had accidentally uncovered something significant. Sure enough, Billy was not as simple as he appeared. He filed away the method Billy had mentioned for future reference.
"I can't say too much, but she might happen to have a soft spot for your type." Billy continued murmuring close to his ear.
"Alright, that's enough from me. I'm heading out. Good luck." Billy nodded toward Nicole's door and gave him a meaningful look.
He turned and left, already smiling to himself.
Once Qingfeng and Sister Nicole got together, he would obviously deserve some credit. Then the two of them could team up, push back against Sister Nicole, and finally negotiate a proper wage increase.
*Ahahaha. I'm a genius.*
"Billy's smile is creepy."
Billy, deep in his vision of a glorious future, had entirely failed to notice Anby sitting on the sofa. Her comment made his expression lock up instantly.
"Anby, what are you doing here..."
"I've been here the whole time."
After Billy left, Ye Qingfeng glanced at Nicole's closed door and tried to work out what Billy's parting look had meant. Was he worried Nicole might be listening in? Or something else?
He decided not to think too hard about it. He had Anby's quilt to take out to the balcony.
Inside the room, Nicole, who was not normally the type to eavesdrop on anything, found her body acting entirely on its own. She pressed her ear to the door.
Billy was supporting Qingfeng?
Had Billy actually encouraged him to pull that stunt?
She pushed the chaotic thoughts aside and tried to focus. She kept listening. Unfortunately, their voices dropped, and she could only catch scattered fragments.
*Dennies. Introduce you. In no way inferior to Sister Nicole.*
Her frown deepened.
She pieced the words together as best she could.
Qingfeng had gone to Billy for advice. Billy had taken money from him, told him to try that approach, and when it failed, had offered to take more money and introduce him to someone else. And had the nerve to say this other person was comparable to her in terms of figure.
Very coherent. Made complete sense.
Just as Nicole was about to work back through the whole sequence from the beginning, she looked up and saw the bed piled with clothes. The blush she had just managed to get under control came straight back.
Right. As the boss of the Cunning Hares, she needed to set an example.
This had absolutely nothing to do with not wanting Qingfeng to get the wrong impression of her.
While tidying the room, Nicole turned everything over in her head.
Qingfeng had feelings for her, so he went to Billy for guidance. Billy took his Dennies, gave him that terrible advice, watched it fail, and then, to protect the money he had already pocketed, shook Qingfeng down for more by promising to introduce him to someone else.
And claimed the other woman's figure was better than hers.
Nicole worked herself into a quiet fury, not noticing until she looked down that the bed was now completely tidy.
She could not even see her own feet right now. How could anyone possibly have a better figure?
No. She could not let Billy ruin a genuinely useful employee over something like this.
If it really came down to it, she could make a small sacrifice. Present a little more charm. But not for free, obviously. If Qingfeng had Dennies to hand over to Billy, he might as well give them to her directly.
What did Billy even know about spending money properly?
Nicole took a breath, steadied herself, and walked out of the room.
Ye Qingfeng was at the top of the stairs, heading toward the balcony with a laundry basket full of last night's washing. She had planned to wait until he finished before going to retrieve her bedding, and apologize when the moment felt less awkward.
Running into him like this was not ideal.
"Sister Nicole..." He stopped. "I genuinely didn't mean anything by it earlier."
"I know." Nicole's expression had settled into something calm and even mild. "It's not your fault. I should have tidied my room. I've just been busy lately and let it get away from me. It's usually much neater than that."
Ye Qingfeng looked at her.
If he had never been in her room before today, he might have believed that.
-------
A/n: New content and stories posted on my patreon go check it out!
patreon.com/deadlygoober