That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 3

Pervert!

When Yu Xi was finally leaving, she said to her, “Get some sleep. You should be better when you wake up.”

Yuan Yue dazedly nodded and agreed, though what she was really thinking was: With your place being renovated like this, not even a pig could fall asleep.

But considering how well Yu Xi had taken care of her, Yuan Yue was too embarrassed to make any more demands. She said another thank you, and after hearing the door close, she collapsed weakly onto the sofa.

She didn’t want to sleep on the sofa; the bed in the bedroom was more comfortable. But the wall it was against was shared with Yu Xi’s apartment, which was currently under renovation, and she couldn’t stand the noise.

Should I find some earplugs to block my ears?

Just as Yuan Yue was wavering, the sound of the electric saw from next door screeched to a halt. She assumed it was only temporary, but after waiting a long while, the sound of the electric drill never started up again. She breathed a sigh of relief and dragged her feeble body back to the bedroom.

Yuan Yue was rather exasperated with herself. It seemed that ever since that car accident six years ago, her body had become especially delicate. She couldn’t be in the sun too long or endure any hardship; the slightest bit of strain would definitely lead to trouble. But getting a fever after being in the sun? This was a first. Plus, she was so used to being carefree that she hadn’t even noticed she was running a fever.

Before sleeping, Yuan Yue gave her brother, Yuan Xi, a call to explain the situation. The moment Yuan Xi heard she was sick, he became terribly anxious and told her to rest well at home, even saying he would come over to see her immediately.

Yuan Yue didn’t agree to have Yuan Xi come over. She just wanted to sleep.

Thankfully, this time the sickness came on fast and left just as quickly. Yuan Yue woke up drenched in sweat, picked up the thermometer Yu Xi had left for her, and took her temperature. The fever had already broken.

Her stomach felt awful after not eating for a day, and since her fever had just broken, Yuan Yue didn’t dare eat just anything. She simply got up to cook some white congee¹.

Yuan Yue and her brother and sister-in-law had jointly invested in a Joyful Reunion Sichuan Hot Pot Restaurant in A City. Normally, she would be at the restaurant at this time. Now, recuperating at home, she actually felt a little bored.

A single dog² is pitiful, with no one to keep them company and no one to take care of them when they’re sick.

Yuan Yue suddenly thought of Yu Xi. She hadn’t heard the electric drill all day. She didn’t know if it was because Yu Xi had stopped the work out of consideration for her illness, or if there was some other reason for the temporary halt.

Now that the fever was gone, she could return the items and, while she was at it, properly thank the woman again.

Yuan Yue slipped on her slippers and ran out, pressing the doorbell at Yu Xi’s home. The bell rang again and again, but no one came to open the door.

Yu Xi wasn’t home. Yuan Yue had no choice but to return with the thermometer and fever medicine.

The next day, she spent another full day resting at home.

It was strange, really. Both times Yuan Yue went to knock on the neighbor’s door, she’d timed it around a normal person’s commuting hours, but each attempt was in vain. Once, she even heard a loud noise outside and ran out, thinking it might be Yu Xi, but it turned out to be another neighbor.

Yuan Yue felt her own abnormal behavior was completely irrational. Wasn’t it just returning something and saying thank you? Why was she making such a big, nerve-racking deal out of it?

Once she’d thought it through, she stopped dwelling on the issue. As soon as her body fully recovered, Yuan Yue went back to helping out at the restaurant as usual.

Life returned to normal.

The apartment next door remained quiet, as if no one new had moved in at all. The annoying sound of the electric drill was gone, and the owner of the apartment seemed to have vanished into thin air, never appearing again. If it weren’t for the thermometer and fever medicine from Yu Xi still sitting in her home, Yuan Yue would have suspected the events of that day had all been a figment of her imagination.

Summer was the slowest season for the hot pot restaurant business, with evenings being slightly better than daytime. Today, Joyful Reunion Sichuan Hot Pot Restaurant closed early, and all dozen or so employees were off to celebrate the boss’s wife’s³ birthday.

Although the hot pot restaurant was a joint investment between Yuan Yue and her brother, Yuan Xi had always been the boss in name. As for Yuan Yue, everyone just called her by her name directly, which was what she herself had requested.

Yuan Xi had always doted on his wife, Wang Shasha⁴. After she had given him a son and a daughter, he felt his wife’s contribution was immeasurable. For her thirtieth birthday, he wanted to do something grand, so he booked a deluxe private room at the most luxurious hotel in A City for the birthday banquet.

Wang Shasha was deeply moved and gave Yuan Xi a passionate kiss in front of everyone. Seeing this, the crowd got excited and started egging the couple on to drink cross-cupped wine⁵.

Yuan Xi didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He took a wine glass, hooked his arm around Wang Shasha’s neck, and made a gesture to drink, but she stopped his hand. “You have to drive me and the kids home later, don’t drink.”

Yuan Xi’s son, Xiao Xi⁶, was seven this year, and his daughter, Xiao Mi⁷, was only three. She still needed her auntie, Yuan Yue, to feed her cake.

Xiao Mi was impatient and took a huge bite, getting cream all over her mouth. While wiping her mouth, Yuan Yue teased her, “Aiyo, Xiao Mi has grown a mustache.”

She was whispering with the little one when someone suddenly called her out. “Since the big brother can’t drink, let the little sister take his place!”

Before Yuan Yue could even figure out what was happening, she was pushed into the middle of the crowd. Countless glasses of alcohol were thrust in her face, and she was bewildered. “What’s all this?”

“Drink for your brother!” an employee said.

But for all their ruckus, Yuan Yue was still one of the bosses, so they didn’t dare to actually force her to drink.

Seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, Yuan Yue drank a few glasses to play along with the atmosphere. But as she kept drinking, she started to get a little dizzy. She half-lay on the sofa, squinting and waving her hand. “I can’t drink anymore. Any more and I’m going to throw up.”

Yuan Xi walked over and was surprised to see her state. “Exactly how much did you guys make her drink?”

Someone quickly said, “Not that much! I think it was about the equivalent of five beers. There’s no way she’d be drunk.”

At that moment, Yuan Yue’s eyes were hazy and her cheeks were flushed crimson. No matter how you looked at it, she seemed drunk. Wang Shasha helped Yuan Yue into her arms, looked down at her, and asked, “Did you guys have her drink red wine?”

The person from just now hastily added, “Yes, yes! I think Yueyue did have about half a small glass of dry red.”

Wang Shasha frowned. “No wonder. She can’t handle red wine. Don’t let her drink it in the future.”

Considering they had to work as normal the next day, and with two children present, Yuan Xi called it a night after a few hours of celebrating. “Anyone with the energy can stay, but don’t be late for work tomorrow. I’m leaving first. You all have fun.”

Yuan Yue’s car was still at the 4S shop⁸ and she hadn’t gotten it back yet. Yuan Xi wanted to take the drunken Yuan Yue home first, but Wang Shasha whispered to him, “Let Xiao Yuan take her.”

The supervisor, Guo Xiangyuan⁹, was Wang Shasha’s cousin and had liked Yuan Yue for a long time but never had a chance to show it.

Yuan Xi immediately understood his wife’s meaning. He looked at her, wanting to say something but holding back. Although he’d always felt Guo Xiangyuan wasn’t good enough for Yuan Yue, it was his wife’s birthday today, and he didn’t want to go against her wishes.

Having received his cue, Guo Xiangyuan was instantly ecstatic. Just as he was about to help Yuan Yue up, two girls suddenly rushed over and supported her first.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you two doing?” Guo Xiangyuan was a little annoyed.

One of them, named Xiao Min, said, “The boss told me and Xiao Mei¹⁰ to personally take Yueyue home. We’ll just have to trouble you to be our driver, Supervisor.”

Guo Xiangyuan knew Yuan Xi was trying to guard against him. He was fuming inside but had no way to vent his frustration.

Yuan Xi led his wife and children out first. Once the boss was gone, the others lost interest in continuing the party. The group of more than a dozen people staggered out of the hotel.

As the hot night wind blew, Yuan Yue’s eyes shot open. The warm air rushed into her nose and mouth, and her stomach churned. She violently pushed Xiao Min and Xiao Mei away and rushed to the edge of a flowerbed to retch.

The two girls hurried over. “Yueyue, are you okay?” Xiao Min asked anxiously.

Yuan Yue could only vomit and was unable to answer.

Guo Xiangyuan ran over as well. Seeing Yuan Yue hunched over the flowerbed, throwing up messily, an idea flashed in his mind. He said to Xiao Min and Xiao Mei, “She might be like this for a while. Why don’t you two take someone else’s car back first? I’ll wait for her here.”

Xiao Min looked at him warily. “How can we do that? The boss told us we must get Yueyue home safely.”

Guo Xiangyuan’s face darkened. “She is now drunk into a pile of mud¹¹, do you think you two little girls can carry her?” He narrowed his eyes. “What do you two mean by being so defensive with me? The boss told me to take Yueyue home. It’s not like I’m going to do something to her, am I?”

After all, Guo Xiangyuan was their supervisor. Xiao Min and Xiao Mei were usually afraid of him. Being yelled at like that, Xiao Min grew timid and stammered, “Then you have to take good care of Yueyue. We’ll leave first.”

“Go on, go on,” Guo Xiangyuan said impatiently.

After Xiao Min and Xiao Mei left, Yuan Yue finally stopped vomiting, her face as pale as paper.

Guo Xiangyuan was a little concerned. “How are you feeling now?”

Yuan Yue pressed her lips together tightly and shook her head.

Guo Xiangyuan looked around and said, “You wait here. I’ll go get the car right now.”

Yuan Yue didn’t make a sound, as if she were truly drunk out of her mind.

“Wait for me.”

The moment Guo Xiangyuan’s front foot left, Yuan Yue’s body moved.

A familiar silver BMW was parked at the hotel entrance. Yuan Yue guessed it was probably Yuan Xi’s car. She didn’t like Guo Xiangyuan and wanted even less to ride in his car. She drunkenly stumbled away from the flowerbed, holding on to her last shred of sobriety as she walked toward the BMW.

She successfully pulled open the car door and dove inside.

Feeling top-heavy, she tumbled onto the back seat with a thud, her face buried in the upholstery. She couldn’t even manage a single cry for help, lying there in an awkward position.

It wasn’t until she heard the sound of the engine starting that Yuan Yue peacefully closed her eyes. Her muddled brain couldn’t process why her sister-in-law and the two children weren’t in the car.

The silver BMW passed by Guo Xiangyuan’s car. By the time Guo Xiangyuan drove over, Yuan Yue was long gone from the flowerbed. He panicked and spun around blindly, happening to see a few colleagues still waiting for cars at the hotel entrance. He ran over and asked, “Have you seen Yuan Yue?”

One of them told him, “Didn’t Yueyue just leave in the boss’s car?”

“The boss’s car?” Guo Xiangyuan was shocked and suspicious.

“Yeah, Yueyue got into the BMW while you were getting your car. We all saw it,” the person added.

The others chimed in to agree.

Guo Xiangyuan instantly felt like he’d been played for a fool, and his heart filled with resentment.

Up ahead, the silver BMW hadn’t been driving for long before it suddenly braked hard.

Yuan Yue, in the back seat, couldn’t react in time. Her head slammed into the back of the front seat with a thud, the pain making her cry out in a muffled voice.

In the driver’s seat, Yu Xi felt the hairs on her arms stand up at the sound of that groan.

Yu Xi had felt something was off the moment she started the car, but she’d dismissed it as her being paranoid. When she heard a strange noise from the back seat, she whipped her head around and saw a person curled up there. She was startled again.

From the figure, it was a woman.

Once the chill subsided, Yu Xi calmed down and asked with a grim face, “Who are you? How did you get in my car?”

The person in the back seat was unresponsive, arrogant and haughty.

Yu Xi found this odd. Unable to see the person’s face clearly, she had no choice but to get out and open the back door.

The strong smell of alcohol assaulted her senses. Yu Xi guessed the woman must have gotten drunk and mistaken this for her car.

She lifted the person’s head to face her. By the faint light, Yu Xi finally saw the woman’s face clearly, which only added to her astonishment.

It was actually Yuan Yue.

How was Yuan Yue in her car?

“Wake up.” Yu Xi patted Yuan Yue’s flushed cheeks.

Yuan Yue seemed displeased and mumbled something indistinctly.

“What did you say?”

“&%￥￥#”

It was complete gibberish.

Yu Xi pushed aside the bangs covering her cheeks and leaned her ear closer.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Yue’s upper body suddenly shot up. She grabbed the front of Yu Xi’s shirt, tilted her head back at a 45-degree angle, and roared at her with wide, furious eyes, “Pervert!!!”

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