After finishing dinner at home, Qin Guanglin grabbed the family mop, broom, and rags, ready to head out.
"What are you up to?" Qin’s Mom frowned upon seeing his odd behavior.
"Going out to have some fun."
"Having fun with a mop? What are you doing, going to war?"
"Don’t worry about it; I’ll bring it back in a bit." Qin Guanglin picked up the tools and with a clang closed the door behind him.
He didn’t feel like letting his mom know that he was so eager to go clean his girlfriend’s place—it was somehow embarrassing— so he simply didn’t tell her.
Arriving at the rental with a hop in his step, he took out the key He Fang had given him, opened the door, and, as if rolling up non-existent sleeves, got down to work.
Sweeping, mopping, dusting the table, cleaning up the oil splatters left by the previous tenant in the kitchen—he went through the whole place and by nearly eight o’clock, Qin Guanglin took a seat on the couch to catch his breath, looking around at the clean room with a sense of accomplishment.
The fragrant Teacher He deserved a neat and tidy house to live in.
After a short rest, he wiped off his sweat by pulling up his shirt, stood up shaking the rag, and thoroughly wiped down the couch he had been sitting on. Then he headed to the bedroom to carefully clean the bed, even opening up the wardrobe to tidy everything inside, finishing his tasks for the day.
His phone dinged several times. Looking at it, Qin Guanglin saw messages from He Fang urging him to go for a run, so he hummed in response, showing off his cleaning results to her.
"Not running today."
"Did you do the cleaning?" He Fang peered closely at the photos. It was hard to tell from those pictures, so she had to guess.
"Of course, can’t you tell how clean it is?" Qin Guanglin proudly took a few more photos from different angles. "Impressive, right?"
"Impressive, you’re really capable."
He Fang confirmed he had indeed done a thorough cleaning when she saw the kitchen photo. She had planned to clean up the grease stains herself after moving in tomorrow, but now it looked spotless.
"So, no running today," Qin Guanglin declared confidently, "You can run with me after you move in."
"Alright then, I was planning to move early tomorrow, clean up a bit after getting there, but now I can sleep in."
He Fang sat on the bed with a smirk, visualizing him hunched over, huffing and puffing as he scrubbed the walls just from the photos.
"You still chatting, not talking to us much anymore." Chen Yan looked up sourly from the lower bunk, "Once you leave tomorrow, it’ll be just me and Yunyun."
The other roommates had already found jobs and moved out, only planning to return for graduation. Now, only the three of them remained, making the place feel suddenly empty.
"You’re moving out next week too, it’s just a few days," He Fang said while typing, "Yunyun will be the loneliest."
"I’ll go home next week and take my time with the job search," sighed Wu Yunyun—the only one among them who hadn’t found a job yet.
"You could get a boyfriend, then stay at his place," Chen Yan offered a suggestion, "Look at Fangfang; she’s not in any rush to find a job."
"Your family surely doesn’t need vinegar for dumplings," He Fang stated confidently.
There was a hint of sourness pervading everything.
"Hehe, we don’t eat dumplings at my house." Chen Yan’s eyes darted around, then she asked, "Hey, does your boyfriend have an older brother or something?"
"What for?"
"I wanna see if I can be your sister-in-law..."
He Fang glanced at her, "So you want to have a turn with my husband?"
"Tsk, how can you be so vulgar." Chen Yan had meant to tease her, but she didn’t expect that after getting a boyfriend, He Fang’s banter level had skyrocketed, "What do you mean ’husband’? Are you married?"
"Ahem, ahem, let me rephrase that." He Fang smiled mischievously and cleared her throat, leaning forward slightly, "So you want to have a turn with my boyfriend?"
The girl was obviously still green but insisted on acting like she was experienced, tsk...
Wu Yunyun rolled on the floor laughing, "Hahaha Chen Yan, you’re so wild."
"Laugh it off," Chen Yan covered her face with her hands and lamented, "I want the innocent and cute Fangfang back."
He used to blush at the slightest teasing, but after getting a boyfriend, he changed completely. I really hate that guy.
...
Qin Guanglin, completely oblivious to the fact that he was resented, packed everything up, turned off the light, and carried his tools home while chatting with Teacher He.
"Did you really go off to war?" Qin’s Mom asked, seeing him dirty and running back home, somewhat puzzled. "Whose house were you cleaning?"
"Just doing some random cleaning."
"It was He Fang, wasn’t it?" Qin’s Mom frowned, sensing the truth. "You’re still hiding things from me... But I guess it makes sense, she’s about to graduate. Did she rent a place nearby?"
"Yeah, South Fly Road." Qin Guanglin put his tools away and nodded in confirmation.
"That’s great." Qin’s Mom immediately smiled upon his affirmation. "Has she moved in yet? I haven’t seen her these past few days..."
"I’ll help her move tomorrow, she will definitely come by often then. I’m going to take a shower first."
"Okay, we’ll talk more after the move."
Qin’s Mom happily took a sip of her tea, thinking the two young ones really seemed to have something going on.
It’s inconvenient for He Fang to cook alone, and she’ll come over here to eat more often... Ah, it’s becoming more and more like one big family.
After his shower, Qin Guanglin went back to his bedroom, lying down but feeling more awake. Teacher He was moving soon, and although it seemed like there hadn’t been any substantial progress in their relationship, things were about to take a smoother turn.
No more late-night trips back to the university. Even if she stayed at his place until midnight, it would only be a short walk to take her back.
He rolled out of bed and stood at the window looking out.
Teacher He would be there tomorrow.
He didn’t realize how tired he was until he finally dozed off, and when he next awoke, it was already daylight, another clear and sunny day.
He sent a message to He Fang first thing in the morning before getting up to wash and dress, then admired himself in the bathroom mirror, wearing the clothes Teacher He had bought for him.
He had finished a hearty breakfast and still hadn’t received a reply, so he simply took a bus towards Luo City University to wait for her.
What a pleasant weekend...
"I’m awake, when are you coming over?" He received He Fang’s message halfway through the bus ride.
Qin Guanglin estimated his arrival time and replied, "Ten minutes."
"That quick?"
"Yeah, do you have a lot of stuff? Do we need to book a moving service?"
"No need, I don’t have much."
When he reached the dormitory building, Qin Guanglin finally understood what she meant by not much.
"Is this it?" he asked looking down at He Fang’s belongings.
A rolling suitcase, a big bag, a box of books, and a potted plant.
No wonder there was no need for a moving service, a single taxi could handle it. This was not at all what he had imagined.
"Yeah, my roommate and I brought it down in one go." He Fang pointed at the items with her finger. "This is clothes, this is bedding, books, and the plant pot. That’s all there is."
Qin Guanglin looked around but didn’t see her mentioned roommate, probably already back in the dorm. He bent down, lifted the big bag, then picked up the box of books, "Let’s go, you take the plant and the suitcase."
"Are you sure you’re okay with this? Maybe we should take two trips." He Fang looked concerned, seeing him struggle.
"It’s just this little bit..." he snorted with disdain. "Let’s hurry."
Taxis aren’t allowed inside Luo City University campus, so he had to carry everything to the main gate. Any longer and they might not make it.
Books are indeed heavy.