Come Sit At My House - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The video call connected. Qiu Shuxue had just finished showering, and she was steaming. She was wearing a black silk pajama set, exposing a large part of her chest. Her wet hair clung to her skin. She tilted her body to the side, and the tattoo on her left br3ast was clearly visible.

“What’s wrong, sister?” Qiu Shuxue smiled, her lips curving upward. “Calling me so late?”

Luo Qingmeng’s sobs caught in her throat. She bit her lip tightly. Qiu Shuxue was so beautiful, so seductively manipulative. Luo Qingmeng wanted to call her a b1tch, but she was too pretty. Beside her, Luo Qingmeng felt pathetic.

“Did you cry?” Qiu Shuxue looked at her with concern, blinking her soft eyes. “Did Brother Li bully you?”

“It’s your wedding night, isn’t it? He’s so mean.” Qiu Shuxue’s lips were red and her teeth were white, and her smile was enchanting.

Luo Qingmeng fumbled to hang up the phone. She looked at herself in the phone’s camera, seeing her eyes swollen from crying. She had no confidence at all. She had been completely bullied by these two.

An auxiliary police officer came over with a cup of hot water and asked her who she had been on the phone with and if that person could come and pick her up and bring a change of clothes. Luo Qingmeng felt mortified and shook her head silently. After two or three hours of the officer’s counseling, she finally told them the whole story.

The police officer, now furious, called Li An to demand an explanation. Soon after, the officer’s expression became awkward. Luo Qingmeng, sensing something was wrong, stopped crying and asked what was happening. She firmly stated, “I want a divorce.”

The officer invited her into a room and said seriously, “Did you use a curling iron to burn your husband?”

Luo Qingmeng initially shook her head. When the officer’s expression grew even more serious, she choked out, “I just threw it at him. I just… I was so angry. I only found out he was entangled with someone else after we got our certificate.”

“But your little ‘throw’ has seriously scorched your husband’s genitals.”

Luo Qingmeng’s sobs caught in her throat. With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t mean to. I just threw it at him.”

“Even if you threw it, why a curling iron? It’s so hot!”

Luo Qingmeng cried even harder, covering her face. “He lied to me! He cheated! Wuwu, I didn’t mean to scorch him.”

In that moment of rage, she had wanted Li An to die. Now, she was terrified. She sobbed uncontrollably. A female police officer came over to comfort her and handed her some tissues. Luo Qingmeng grabbed them and wiped her face frantically.

“Do you know anyone who can come pick you up?”

Luo Qingmeng had no friends in this city, only colleagues who were part-time college students. She didn’t even have their WeChat information. She shook her head. The police officer asked again, “What about the person you just called?”

Luo Qingmeng choked out, “She’s his mistress.” She started crying again. “Don’t call her. It’s too embarrassing.”

The police officers at the station were holding back laughter. Luo Qingmeng’s mind was racing. She had scorched Li An. He would probably be a eunuch now. Would he make her pay for it? Would she go to jail?

Probably not, she thought. I am his wife, after all. And I didn’t do it on purpose. Thinking about it, that was probably the only good thing about being married.

Finally, the police officer sent her back to get a change of clothes before going to the hospital for more details. In the meantime, Qiu Shuxue sent her a few messages.

“Isn’t Brother Li with you?”

“It’s so cold. I saw you weren’t wearing much. Wasn’t Brother Li with you?”

Her messages were a masterclass in passive-aggression. Luo Qingmeng sent a reply: “Your Brother Li is ruined! His junk was chopped off!”

Qiu Shuxue: “Oh, how could that happen?”

“Sister, will you leave him?”

When she arrived at the hospital, Li An was still naked, his private parts heavily bandaged. Seeing the police officer with her, Li An’s anger immediately died down. He glared at Luo Qingmeng and quickly lay back down. Luo Qingmeng laid all her cards on the table and said she wanted a divorce. She also demanded to see Qiu Shuxue. Li An initially denied the affair, but when Luo Qingmeng pointed to his phone, he finally gave in and said he would “consider it.”

The doctor said the burns weren’t too severe and that he would have no major issues with sexual function if he healed properly. The police concluded their investigation and treated it as a domestic dispute.

But after the police left, Li An refused to divorce. He even asked Luo Qingmeng to quit her job and become a full-time housewife, promising he would cut things off with Qiu Shuxue.

Luo Qingmeng asked angrily, “Why didn’t you just get with Qiu Shuxue then? Why did you get with me?”

“Because you can be a full-time housewife,” Li An said, completely convinced he was right, looking down on her. “You quit your job, and I’ll give you six thousand a month. Isn’t that great? Then we’ll have a child, and I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”

Li An was stubborn and insisted they talk again once he had recovered. Luo Qingmeng, however, was just as stubborn. She desperately wanted a divorce and felt sick just looking at him.

The next day, February 9, Luo Qingmeng went to the civil affairs bureau. They told her that both parties had to be present to file for divorce. If one person disagreed, she would have to sue in court. And even if both agreed, they had to go through a one-month cooling-off period. She was in the middle of hers.

Luo Qingmeng felt anything but calm. She almost started crying right there at the civil affairs bureau. Why can’t I get a divorce? I just got married, and now I know I married the wrong person.

Mentally and physically exhausted, Luo Qingmeng was also hungry. She went to the market to buy groceries. She passed a meat stall and saw some things she normally wouldn’t dare to buy with her salary. Today, in one go, she bought bull p3nis, sheep kidneys, and donkey meat. She stewed them all in one pot and brought them to the hospital for Li An.

Li An ate happily. Luo Qingmeng brought up the divorce again, but Li An still disagreed. With their relationship in shambles, he told her bluntly that what she had done was domestic violence and that she would have to pay his medical bills. He also insulted her education, saying she had no room for career advancement anyway.

That night, Li An couldn’t take it anymore. He clutched his crotch and cried out in pain, saying he felt like he was going to explode.

Luo Qingmeng lay with her back to him, not saying a word. For a week, she bought leeks and oysters, and she picked up leftover sheep bones to make him a “potent aphrodisiac tonic.” She also brewed him some special “kidney-replenishing tea.” She cooked him three meals a day. The more she did it, the more Li An refused to divorce, until he was in so much pain that he was almost ruined. Luo Qingmeng sat on the edge of the bed and said ominously, “Drink up. It won’t kill you. I checked online, and leeks and oysters are great aphrodisiacs. I’ll keep replenishing you every day until you can’t get it up anymore.”

“I’ll replenish you to death, you piece of sh1t. I’ll make your rotten little thing sizzle to a pulp.”

Li An howled in pain and was about to call the police. He pointed at her and called her a “b1tch.” Luo Qingmeng wasn’t afraid. She was waiting for him to call the police. That way, she could call Qiu Shuxue and blow the whole thing up, making a scene at his company. No one will have a good time.

Finally, Li An agreed to the divorce.

The process went very quickly. There wasn’t much property to argue over. They hadn’t held a wedding banquet. Li An had previously said they would plan a proper one, and Luo Qingmeng had believed him in their loving bliss. Now, looking back, she realized he just wanted a free laborer.

Before getting married, Luo Qingmeng had saved 30,000 yuan. When she moved in, she bought a lot of things for his apartment, including a washing machine, various pots and pans, sofa covers, and bed sheets, spending over 20,000 yuan. Thankfully, the other 10,000 was in a fixed deposit, so she hadn’t spent it. Luo Qingmeng made Li An agree to pay her back 50,000 yuan.

Li An agreed, giving her 10,000 first and telling her to get out of the hospital and never come back.

In the days leading up to the divorce, Luo Qingmeng was having a terrible time. She had to move her things back to her old apartment. She had already told her landlord she wasn’t renewing the lease, so he quickly found a new tenant and was rushing her to move out by the end of the month. To get by, she put all of Li An’s things on a second-hand app. If anyone messaged her, she sold it, even if it wasn’t her own. Her goal was to empty his entire apartment.

That month, she worked during the day and looked for a new place at night. She would run into Qiu Shuxue about once a week. Qiu Shuxue often came to buy books on weekends, staying from 6 to 8 PM. She would buy one book and then go read it in the reading room. Only once, when the store wasn’t busy, did Qiu Shuxue talk to her. “Sister Meng, are you and Brother Li having problems? Didn’t you just get married?”

Luo Qingmeng couldn’t lose her temper during work hours, so she had to swallow her anger, silently cursing them to a terrible fate. Fortunately, the month passed quickly. Early one morning, they went to the civil affairs bureau to get their divorce certificate.

Luo Qingmeng didn’t want any more trouble, but who knew? After Li An got his certificate, he became unreachable. His door was tightly shut. He wouldn’t give her the money he promised.

Exhausted, with her landlord rushing her to move out and no friends or family to turn to, Luo Qingmeng only hated herself for not being more ruthless back then. She had worried about legal consequences and going to jail. Otherwise, she would have completely destroyed his junk.

Luo Qingmeng did know where Qiu Shuxue lived. She looked through their chat history and found the address. The rent for Qiu Shuxue’s apartment was over 4,000 yuan. By chance, she saw a rental listing for an apartment right across the hall from Qiu Shuxue’s for half the price.

Luo Qingmeng immediately inquired. The owner said it was her own apartment, but she had to move out of town for a month and couldn’t afford the mortgage, so she could only rent it out for one or two months. If Luo Qingmeng was willing, she could take it, but she couldn’t have any pets.

On the day of the divorce, Luo Qingmeng packed her things and moved in across the hall from Qiu Shuxue. Looking at the 12,000 yuan in her bank account, she stared at the door across from hers and made a silent vow. She would make their lives miserable. She would not let them off easy.

The landlord confirmed the details with her, packed up, and left the same day. She even reminded Luo Qingmeng that there was some soup she had made yesterday in the fridge that she hadn’t gotten a chance to drink. If she wanted it, she could heat it up.

As the door closed, Luo Qingmeng’s emotions broke down again. She sat on the sofa, covering her face and sobbing uncontrollably. She didn’t dare drink the soup. She cleaned out the fridge and scrubbed the apartment, making it even cleaner than a professional housekeeper would.

She had stored her clothes in the bookstore’s locker room. She hurried to get them before everyone left work. As she passed the store’s glass door, she caught a glimpse of her reflection. The ordeal had made her look haggard. At 28, she looked like a tired old woman compared to the 24-year-old Qiu Shuxue. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.

Luo Qingmeng bought a bottle of beer on the way back, her heart heavy. She drank the whole bottle, then went to check the security camera at her door. The apartment across the hall was empty. Li An hadn’t shown up.

Luo Qingmeng’s plan was solid. A person with nothing to lose fears nothing. Since Li An wouldn’t pay her, she wouldn’t let him have a good life. The moment Li An showed up, she would go over and ring Qiu Shuxue’s doorbell, non-stop. If Li An came to confront her, she’d spray him with pepper spray.

But Qiu Shuxue still didn’t come back. Luo Qingmeng felt incredibly miserable. She went to take a shower. She meticulously lathered herself with body wash, making sure she smelled fresh. She put on a face mask and slathered on body oil. She even did a full body wax. By the time she was done, it was midnight. She quickly put on a nightgown and went to wring out her bra. Qiu Shuxue’s words kept replaying in her mind. Qiu Shuxue said her old-fashioned bras were “sexy.”

Luo Qingmeng wrung the bra out with all her strength. Qiu Shuxue was definitely mocking her. Qiu Shuxue had been wearing lace that night. She dried her hands and made up her mind to buy two skimpy lace bras from Taobao. When the new ones arrived, she would throw out all her old ones. As she chose the sizes, she looked down her own neckline and bought the best-fitting size.

After hanging her clothes on the balcony, Luo Qingmeng still had work tomorrow. Unable to give up, she checked the surveillance camera again. This time, the hallway light turned on. Qiu Shuxue was walking out of the stairwell, wearing a short white jacket and jeans. Qiu Shuxue was swaying and a little unsteady, as if she had been drinking. Someone had probably brought her home.

Luo Qingmeng only saw Qiu Shuxue alone. Li An hadn’t returned with her. Qiu Shuxue used her fingerprint to unlock the door and closed it quickly. Luo Qingmeng stared for a minute. The door across the hall opened again. Qiu Shuxue pulled her jacket open and walked toward the camera, stopping right in front of it.

Luo Qingmeng’s heart jumped into her throat. She had prepared for so many scenarios, clenching her hands tightly. I’ll fight her. I’ll humiliate her in every way possible.

Qiu Shuxue stopped at Luo Qingmeng’s door and knocked, her fingers rapping against the new neighbor’s door. She squinted her eyes at the peephole, her cheeks flushed with drunkenness.

Thump.

Thump-thump.

The sound was clear in the night. The new password-locked door wasn’t fully closed, and a voice prompt said, “Door unlocked.” Luo Qingmeng stepped back. She was only wearing a nightgown with no bra underneath, and she frantically covered half of her exposed chest.

It was late, and the hallway light dimmed. The door was simply pushed open by Qiu Shuxue from the outside. Qiu Shuxue looked at Luo Qingmeng’s chest, her head tilted slightly. She was wearing a tight-fitting tank top that showed off her figure. Luo Qingmeng’s eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed with heat.

Luo Qingmeng was about to close the door quickly, but Qiu Shuxue warmly invited her in, saying, “Sister, come in and sit down at my place.”