"So... Sister Nicole forgives me?" Ye Qingfeng asked, still not entirely sure.
Nicole had done a complete about-face. It was strange in every sense of the word. He was almost tempted to use the system to confirm she was the real Nicole and not some kind of imposter.
The contrast was just too stark. He genuinely hadn't been thinking anything of it at the time. Anyone would have been angry about something like that, and getting punched for it was entirely fair. He wasn't going to complain about that part.
"Mm."
Nicole's face was slightly flushed. It wasn't only the mild awkwardness of putting on this act. The main issue was that sitting right on top of the laundry basket he was carrying was a rather bold item of hers.
"Beautiful weather today!" Ye Qingfeng carried the basket out to the balcony and called back to her. "You should bring your quilt out to air."
"Got it."
Nicole turned and walked back into her room. Looking at the clean, tidy bed, she had to admit it looked considerably better.
As for the plan to keep Qingfeng around, she still needed to think it through properly. And Billy was not getting off lightly either. She was going to start by docking fifty percent of his wages.
Nicole carried her quilt to the balcony. As she spread it over the railing, she deliberately slowed down, taking the opportunity to observe Ye Qingfeng from the corner of her eye.
He was currently hanging up her clothes, which inevitably included a few of her more intimate items.
Ever since he had arrived, the meals had improved dramatically, and he regularly cleaned and handled the chores. She had watched him closely at first. No matter what the task was, he worked efficiently and without complaint. Before she had fully registered what was happening, he had quietly taken over most of the household responsibilities.
She had done all of it herself before. But once she had gotten a taste of actually having leisure time, she had handed everything over to him without a second thought.
Not once had he complained.
Even the laundry had eventually ended up on his list. Though to be fair, most of the clothes belonged to her and Anby. Anby's domestic abilities were what they were. Asking her to hang laundry might result in the house losing a wall. And while anyone could technically manage it, including Amillion, it was not as though Nicole was incapable.
She just was not particularly good at it.
When Qingfeng had mentioned taking over the laundry, she had felt no objection whatsoever. It was only clean clothes. Letting her little brother help hang his sister's laundry had never felt like anything worth thinking twice about.
But now, watching Qingfeng handle her things, she felt heat rise to her face and her heartbeat pick up for no reason she could clearly identify.
"From now on, you don't have to hang up mine and Anby's clothes." Nicole rushed over, cheeks red, grabbed the clothes and the basket out of his hands, and pointed toward the door. "Get out."
The balcony door slammed shut behind him.
Ye Qingfeng stood in the hallway with a completely blank expression. After a moment, he shrugged.
Getting a bit of a break was not a bad thing. He just had not expected Nicole to actually take over the task herself.
The household had only one washing machine. Early on, whenever he had wanted to do his own laundry, he would find their clothes already in it. And every time he asked Nicole to come hang them up once the cycle finished, she would find a reason not to move.
So in order to use the machine at all, he had made a habit of hanging their laundry first. Every time Nicole saw him heading to the balcony with the basket, she would say, very sincerely, "Thank you for your hard work."
And vanish immediately afterward.
Since the balcony was now occupied, he turned the grocery run back over to himself. He went to his room, changed, and headed downstairs.
"Anby, want to come?"
Anby was on the sofa, sitting quietly and staring at nothing in particular. She appeared to be waiting for Nicole to come back.
"Okay."
She agreed immediately, stood up, and walked straight to the front door.
"Hold on." Ye Qingfeng grabbed her by the collar before she made it outside. "Go change first."
"Oh."
Anby turned and went back upstairs with light, quick footsteps.
Ye Qingfeng dropped onto the single-seat sofa and took out his phone. Enjoying Sister Nicole's usual spot for once.
Beyond the three Cunning Hares members, his contact list held the Phaethon siblings and their righteous, dependable, and genuinely adorable Officer Zhu Yuan.
As luck would have it, there was a message waiting from her.
---
**Zhu Yuan:** Qingfeng, do you have time tomorrow?
**Ye Qingfeng:** I do! What's going on?
**Zhu Yuan:** That's great! The PubSec is running a safety awareness campaign. There have been a number of incidents recently involving female residents being targeted. Tomorrow we're going to a school to demonstrate how to handle those kinds of situations.
**Ye Qingfeng:** ... So who am I playing?
**Zhu Yuan:** (guilty sweat-wiping emoji) The pervert...
**Ye Qingfeng:** Have you ever seen a pervert this handsome?
**Zhu Yuan:** Originally we were going to have someone from PubSec play the role. But Senior Qingyi suddenly suggested using a civilian instead, and nobody pushed back at the time...
**Zhu Yuan:** The problem is we need to start tomorrow, with rehearsals this afternoon, and we couldn't find anyone suitable on short notice. Senior Qingyi said she had a friend who would be perfect for the role.
**Zhu Yuan:** Commissioner Bringer was already getting impatient with the whole event, so he approved Senior Qingyi's suggestion on the spot and told her to contact this friend directly...
**Zhu Yuan:** Then Senior Qingyi said she didn't actually have the friend's contact information. She looked around the room and pointed at me, said I had it. Everyone turned to stare at me at once. Thinking about it now, it was so embarrassing... (covering face emoji)
**Zhu Yuan:** The friend Senior Qingyi meant was you. By the way, when did you get so close to Senior Qingyi? From what I know, her circle of friends mostly consists of elderly grandpas and grandmas. But it's genuinely wonderful that you two get along!
**Zhu Yuan:** So, can you come to the bureau this afternoon? It shouldn't take too long. Tomorrow will probably take up most of the morning.
**Ye Qingfeng:** Alright... I'll be there this afternoon.
**Zhu Yuan:** Sorry for the trouble! If you have time tonight, dinner's on me!
**Ye Qingfeng:** No problem. You treat, Qingyi pays. Just tell her that and I'm definitely coming. Also, send me her contact.
**Zhu Yuan:** Deal! I'll send you Senior Qingyi's number shortly. See you this afternoon!
---
Ye Qingfeng put down his phone and looked up at the empty staircase.
What was Qingyi up to? Did she think he had nothing but free time?
And saying he was suited to play a pervert, of all things. Honestly.
A guy as good-looking as him playing a pervert would probably just have all the girls completely won over. If he stood any chance against Qingyi in a fight, he would have some words for her.
Well. It looked like the cleaning would have to be pushed back a couple of days.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, light footsteps began descending the stairs.
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