No One Loves Me (GL) - Chapter 10

When Xin Geling got back from her night run, she planned to wash up, but she heard a clanging sound from the bathroom.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Xin Geling asked, walking into the bathroom and looking at her back.

Lin Huilan was holding a rusty iron wrench, trying to tighten a nut on the shower hose.

“This is leaking again. I’m fixing it,” Lin Huilan said, trying to tighten it, but the nut was stripped, and even more water started to leak out.

Xin Geling walked over and closed the main valve under the window to prevent more water from spilling out. “Let me see.”

Lin Huilan stood back a little, watching as Xin Geling inspected it and then took the entire hose apart.

“Why did you take the whole thing apart?” Lin Huilan asked worriedly.

Xin Geling drained the water from the hose. This hose and shower head were several years old. They weren’t made of stainless steel like the ones sold outside, but of white plastic, and even the two connecting nuts were made of plastic.

“It’s easier to fix once it’s taken apart,” Xin Geling said. She went to the living room and used a pair of scissors to cut off the ends of the hose. The ends were where the leaks were coming from, so they had to be cut off.

The rubber ring was also old and yellowed. Xin Geling got up and went to her room to search for some leftover parts the workers had left behind when they renovated their refrigerator seven years ago. There happened to be some rubber rings on them.

The apartment didn’t have any extra plastic nuts, and since this one was stripped, they could only wrap it tightly with Teflon tape and then screw the original nut back on to make it waterproof.

Xin Geling screwed the hose and nut back on, then tried turning the water on. “It’s fixed. You can go take a shower now.”

Lin Huilan looked at Xin Geling with a sense of relief and turned to take a shower.

Xin Geling poured herself a glass of water in the living room. She took a pen and a notebook from under the coffee table to jot down the information she had found online.

Input and output… net profit…

In today’s fast-paced world, her access to information was no longer as limited as it had been seven years ago. The internet was full of people who shared their lives and side hustles. Some of the content was exaggerated, and some of the titles were just clickbait.

But not all of it was useless. Xin Geling filtered through the information, picking out what was useful for her goals, such as procurement channels, cost control, sales methods, public preferences, location selection, and so on.

After a few pages, Xin Geling closed her notebook and put it under her pillow.

When her mother was almost done, Xin Geling went to get ready herself.

After she was done, Xin Geling lay on her bed and put on her headphones. She had a habit of listening to music before she slept.

Her mother had kept her MP3 player from seven years ago, but since it wasn’t working very well, she had decided to keep it as a keepsake.

She turned on the wireless Bluetooth headphones that Xie Zhitang had bought her. Seven years had passed, and there were many new popular songs. She really liked the music app she was using now, as she didn’t have to go to an internet cafe to download songs to her MP3 player anymore.

She now looked for new songs every day on the app and saved the ones she liked.

In just a few days, she had saved over a hundred songs.

The next day, Xie Zhitang put on her makeup and went to work. On the way, she ran into Lucy and gave her a ride.

“Director Xie, this is great! I thought I was going to be late today!” Lucy said, getting into the passenger seat. “Thank you for saving me!”

“You’re welcome,” Xie Zhitang said with a smile.

“By the way, Lin Yibing is coming back soon, right?” Lucy said. “The creative work for the A University advertising competition has been released, and I have to say, the students from A University are really good. Some of their advertising ideas and copy are amazing and can even be used as case studies.”

“You’ve also looked at the entries?” Xie Zhitang asked.

“Yeah. Lin Yibing keeps telling me how some students’ work makes her feel inferior. She’s afraid they’ll steal her job after they graduate. Oh, Director Xie, why did your music taste change? I remember you didn’t like this kind of music before, and this song seems to be from two years ago.”

“Is it? I just happened to hear it and thought it was nice,” Xie Zhitang said.

Lucy was thoughtful. “I’ve noticed you’ve been in a very good mood lately, Director. Did something good happen?”

Xie Zhitang’s lips curled into a smile. “There’s not that much good stuff going on. Maybe I’m just in a good mood because I don’t have to do much work.”

“Oh…” Lucy said.

“Do you want to go out and get together after work?” Lucy asked.

“You’re going to be disappointed. I have to go see my new kitten after work,” Xie Zhitang said.

Lucy was completely shocked. “You adopted a kitten, Director?!”

“Yeah,” Xie Zhitang said.

“What kind of cat is it? What breed?” Lucy asked.

“Just a normal little black cat. He’s very small.”

At a little past 5 p.m., Xin Geling saw Xie Zhitang arrive to see her newly adopted kitten.

“Sister, how did Tangtang do today?” Xie Zhitang asked, putting down her things and picking up the kitten from the display cabinet.

Xin Geling helped by stroking the edges of the glass door to prevent Xie Zhitang from accidentally hitting her head. “He’s very active, meows a lot, has a normal appetite, and his stool is firm.”

“That’s good,” Xie Zhitang said. She held the kitten in her hands. Perhaps because it was so excited to be out, it climbed up her arm and onto her chest.

Its claws were gripping tightly. The kitten had a firm hold on Xie Zhitang’s expensive clothes, and one of its paws even went inside.

“Sister, help me…” Xie Zhitang’s brows were slightly furrowed in pain. The kitten was in her blind spot, and she was afraid of hurting it if she pulled it off forcefully.

Xin Geling had never encountered a cat climbing on someone’s chest before. She reached out and took hold of the kitten’s body, trying to pull it off. But the kitten was holding on tightly, and some of its claws were hooked onto the fabric.

“Let me help you.”

Xin Geling had to use her other hand. She leaned in closer to see how the kitten’s claws were hooked on the clothes, completely unaware that her face was less than 10 centimeters from Xie Zhitang’s chest.

As she used her warm fingertips to unhook the kitten’s front claws from the fabric, she also touched her snow-white skin.

It was a little soft and bouncy.

Xin Geling’s eyes were suddenly drawn to it, but she quickly looked away and lifted the kitten from Xie Zhitang’s chest.

With her eyes slightly lowered, she handed the kitten to Xie Zhitang. “Here.”

Xie Zhitang’s eyes rested on her. She looked at her for a while, and the corners of her mouth curved into a gentle smile. “Okay.”

She took the kitten to the sofa to play with it. A while later, Xin Geling had to go out.

Xie Zhitang asked curiously, “Where are you going, Sister?”

“I’m going to pick up a cat nearby to groom,” Xin Geling said.

“Do you have to pick it up yourself?” Xie Zhitang asked.

“Yes. The shop offers free pick-up and drop-off services within a 3-kilometer radius.”

Xie Zhitang was thoughtful. “I’m a little curious. Can I go with you?”

Xin Geling was surprised for a moment but then thought that her curiosity was normal, as people have different jobs. “I guess so, but it’s a bit far. We have to take the electric scooter, and if you sit on the back seat…”

Xie Zhitang cut her off, showing her understanding and a lack of disdain. “It’s fine. I can just hold on to you.”