"Amazing!" Gu Qiqi cheered, her eyes practically sparkling with stars.
The Wolf King kept a straight face, ignoring her as he busied himself hauling trash out of the yard. Still, the corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly.
Gu Qiqi washed her face and headed back to the kitchen to make breakfast for Rong Yi. She hummed a cheerful tune, thinking that maybe keeping a Wolf King around wasn't so bad after all—until a sudden commotion outside shattered her daydream.
"Who's so thoughtless, dumping trash on the main road?"
"Zero sense of civic duty! Piling up garbage like this—how are people supposed to walk?"
The voices seemed to come from right outside her gate. Qiqi quickly put down her spatula and ran out.
Oh no! It turned out Rong Yi had hauled the trash out and dumped it directly on the road, sparking outrage from the neighbors.
"I'm so sorry, so sorry! It's just temporary storage—we'll haul it away right now!" Gu Qiqi apologized profusely, then grabbed Rong Yi's arm. "Rong Yi! The area outside the yard is public space—you can't just dump trash anywhere..."
Rong Yi looked a bit annoyed, shook her off, and strode back into the yard.
The visitor was Aunt Zhao, Qiqi's longtime neighbor and the most warm-hearted person around. When she saw Qiqi, her anger instantly melted into a smile. "Oh, it's Qiqi! I thought it was the demolition crew at it again. Don't take it to heart!"
"Of course not! Aunt Zhao, it's all my fault—I messed up!" Qiqi obediently flashed a big smile.
Aunt Zhao stepped closer, peering into the yard with curiosity. "Hey, who was that just now?"
"My distant cousin," Qiqi quickly explained. "He's from the countryside and doesn't know the rules around here."
"He's quite handsome, though! How old is he? Does he have a girlfriend?" Aunt Zhao gossiped eagerly, but then her eyes landed on the wreck of Qiqi's living room, and she gasped. "Oh! What happened to your roof?"
"It's been leaking a bit—I'm planning to call a repair crew this afternoon to fix it," Qiqi replied hastily.
"It wasn't the demolition crew, was it?" Aunt Zhao's face filled with shock. "A couple of days ago, Old Wang at the alley entrance went to visit relatives, and when he came back, all his windows were smashed! He lost a lot of stuff! Word is the demolition crew hired someone to do it because Old Wang couldn't agree on a price with them last week!"
Aunt Zhao dished out the latest neighborhood gossip, then earnestly warned Qiqi, "Qiqi, you're a girl living alone—you need to stay safe! If anything happens, make sure to let us know right away! With your parents gone, you're all by yourself, but we neighbors watched you grow up—we're like family!"
Thinking of Qiqi's parents, who had passed away young, Aunt Zhao's eyes welled up again. "Poor girl..."
"Got it, got it! Thank you, Aunt Zhao!"
Gu Qiqi quickly cut her off, brimming with gratitude as she saw Aunt Zhao out. As Aunt Zhao walked away, she kept reminding her, "Qiqi, if you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask..."
After Aunt Zhao left, Qiqi stood alone at the yard gate, dazed for a long moment.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Rong Yi suddenly appeared. "Why are your eyes red? Did that old woman bully you?"
"Oh, no, no! Just got some sand in my eyes." Qiqi quickly wiped her eyes, forced a smile, and got back to work.
All the trash had been turned to dust, making it much faster to haul away. With Rong Yi doing the heavy lifting, the two of them worked until noon, finally getting the house spotless.
Staring at the now-empty living room, Qiqi let out a breath—what a sense of accomplishment!
Then she looked at Rong Yi—hey, Rong Yi, how did you turn into such a mess?