Anby quickly finished both of her hamburgers and made to leave, but Ye Qingfeng caught her arm and pulled her back down onto the sofa.
"You have to finish the salad today."
His tone left no room for negotiation. He picked up his own bowl and ate at a leisurely pace, but his gaze stayed fixed on Anby the entire time.
"But I don't want to eat grass..." Anby poked at the bowl with her fork without opening her mouth. Then she pointed at Nicole, who was quietly trying to slip away. "Nicole hasn't eaten hers either."
"Sister Nicole!"
Ye Qingfeng spun around and fixed Nicole with a hard stare, enunciating each word carefully.
"Anby learned this from you. Look at her. She's not growing at all."
*Anby: You had better not be referring to what I think you are.*
"Fine, fine!"
Nicole sat back down reluctantly, speared a slice of cucumber with her fork, and put it in her mouth.
It was actually pretty good. The crisp, juicy texture with a hint of dressing was not bad at all.
"There we go." Ye Qingfeng exhaled and turned back to find Anby had also, with great reluctance, picked up a small piece of lettuce. She was staring at it as though bracing herself for something awful before slowly putting it in her mouth.
With both of them finally eating their vegetables, Ye Qingfeng was able to focus on his own breakfast. It had been a while since the last thorough clean, and after breakfast he still had laundry to hang and lunch to prepare. Then a nap, then cleaning again in the afternoon.
He was still destined for a life of hard labor.
What was the difference between this and working two or three part-time jobs in his previous life?
Well. There was still a small difference. Ye Qingfeng looked at Nicole and Anby, and the resentment in his chest settled somewhat.
"Sister Nicole, anything on your schedule today?"
He finished breakfast, set down his bowl and fork, and stretched.
"Nothing much. Why?"
"Then you can keep an eye on Anby until she finishes her vegetables."
Ye Qingfeng pointed at Anby, who was approaching every bite as though it required a major personal decision.
"Sure."
"And after Anby finishes, you two can wash the dishes yourselves."
"Sure."
"Then head out to buy groceries. Take Anby with you."
A vein appeared on Nicole's forehead. She gritted her teeth and forced out a single word.
"Fiiine."
"And don't just buy meat. Buy vegetables. Lots of vegetables."
"Who's in charge here, you or me?!" Nicole shot to her feet, grabbed Ye Qingfeng by the ear, and yanked. "I'm the boss of the Cunning Hares! Why am I the one doing everything?!"
"Then I'll go buy the groceries," Ye Qingfeng said, entirely unruffled. "You can make lunch."
"That's not"
Nicole's momentum dropped immediately.
"I have laundry and bedding to hang later. You're welcome to take that over."
"I"
"And I have cleaning to do in the afternoon"
"Enough! Stop talking!" Nicole grabbed Ye Qingfeng's face and squeezed his mouth shut, glared at him, then turned to Anby. "Hurry up and eat. You're coming with me to carry groceries."
*Ye Qingfeng: ...*
*Anby: ...*
Sister Nicole was thoroughly, completely herself. When she got frustrated, she vented it immediately and moved on. If Billy had walked in at that moment, he would have caught an earful too.
Ye Qingfeng picked up his empty bowl and headed to the kitchen. Either way, the grocery run had been handed off to Nicole. Time to move on to the next task.
After washing and putting away his bowl, he went upstairs. He started with his own room, grabbed his quilt and pillow, carried them to the balcony, and spread them over the railing.
"Beautiful weather." He squinted up at the sky. Clear, bright, warm. "Perfect day for airing out bedding."
He went into Nicole's room next, then Anby's, collected their quilts and pillows, and brought them to the balcony as well.
This was his first time entering either room alone. The impression could be summed up in one word.
Messy.
Anby's room was manageable.
Nicole's room was another matter entirely.
The quilt was in exactly the same state as when she had gotten out of bed. The bed itself was covered in clothes and plushies. The wardrobe door hung wide open, and inside, apart from a few scattered garments, there were only empty hangers as far as the eye could see.
At the head of the bed sat an Amillion-shaped doll alongside several rabbit plushies in various colors. Across the foot of the bed and spilling everywhere else were clothes. Several looked familiar. He had seen Nicole wearing them over the past few days.
So why hadn't she put them in the wash? Knowing her, she was probably planning to get one more wear out of each before bothering.
That would explain why he often saw her in casual clothes in the morning and changed into something nicer by afternoon.
Scattered among the clothing were also a few small pieces of Nicole's underwear. Colorful, with various patterns.
Surely not unwashed ones too.
This was absolutely unacceptable.
"Sister Nicole, could you come up here for a moment?" Ye Qingfeng leaned over the stair railing. Nicole was stretched out on the sofa below, scrolling through her phone. He kept his voice carefully level and smiled. "If you wouldn't mind?"
"What now? Things every single day, you have no idea how to give me a break." Nicole grumbled as she got up, but before leaving she leaned toward Anby with a warning. "Finish your vegetables. Otherwise I'll tell Qingfeng not to make you any more hamburgers."
"Mm."
Anby said nothing and silently picked up her pace.
*Sure enough,* Ye Qingfeng thought. *When it comes to hamburgers, even Sister Nicole's word carries weight.*
Nicole wandered up to him without any particular urgency and looked at him with complete composure.
"What's wrong?"
She had no idea why there was fire in his eyes, but she was not worried. She was the boss of the Cunning Hares.
"Sister Nicole, could you explain why your room looks like this?"
Ye Qingfeng did not consider himself someone with obsessive tendencies, but there was a minimum standard, and this was well below it.
"Messy?" Nicole walked to her doorway and surveyed the room. She saw some clothes on the bed, but beyond that, she was not sure what the issue was. "It's not messy. It's just a few clothes that didn't make it to the wardrobe."
"A few."
"Well. Maybe five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..." Nicole actually extended her hand and counted them one by one. When the number kept going, she let out a dry laugh. "It's still fine..."
"Then why not hang them up?"
"Well~ maybe I was thinking of wearing this one again later." Nicole stood her ground with admirable conviction. "And besides! I've only worn each of these once or twice. Putting them back in the wardrobe every time is too much effort. Better to wear them one more time and throw them all in the wash at once when I shower. Actually saves water."
Ye Qingfeng was simultaneously exasperated and impressed. It was entirely in character, and she had somehow managed to frame her laziness as an act of environmental responsibility.
Without looking, he reached down, picked up a small piece of purple fabric from the bed, and held it up expressionlessly in front of her face.
"Surely not all of these qualify as barely worn. So, are these also part of the plan?"
The fabric felt smooth and cool and was quite small. A camisole, maybe?
Then he glanced at Nicole and saw the familiar purple camisole she was currently wearing.
Cold sweat began forming on his forehead.
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