“Ah-!”
Lin Qingya cried out in surprise, covering her red lips with her hand.
She saw water pooling all over the floor, still rippling, and a burst water pipe in the distance spraying water everywhere.
A black shadow also flashed by, darting to the balcony windowsill, then hiding behind it and disappearing.
Staring at the flooded floor, Lin Qingya frowned and stepped into the water with her small white shoes.
Then she carefully waded forward.
She reached the Water Pipe, watching the spray splatter her pants.
She hesitated for a moment, then circled around the jet to close the window.
On the right side of the windowsill, there seemed to be a Black Cat staring at her, licking its paw while observing her.
“Was this your doing? Kitty?”
Lin Qingya asked softly, then smiled.
She quickly ran downstairs to find the water valve and shut off the water for the whole building.
Then she went to find the neighbors, hoping to borrow a phone to call for help fixing the Water Pipe.
“Ah? The Water Pipe burst?”
An Auntie sitting downstairs was gossiping:
“The design of our Water Pipe is bad, it runs through the building and is placed inside the house.”
“If one person shuts it off, the whole building loses water. Do you have a phone, girl? You need to get a man over to fix it quick.”
“I don’t know their address, but I do know a phone number.”
Lin Qingya explained.
“You know the number~ Then girl, make a call. Auntie will lend you a phone.”
The Auntie handed over her phone.
“Thanks!”
Lin Qingya thanked her, then quickly dialed the number.
“Hello, Uncle Long, my Water Pipe is broken. Can you bring some tools to help fix it? I don’t have any materials on hand and can’t repair it myself.”
“Girl, you can fix Water Pipes? Where do you live? Let me check the location and see if I have time to come over. It’s already late, I was about to finish my last job.”
The repairman, Uncle Long, said from the other end.
“Ah!? Of course I can’t. My friend can.”
Lin Qingya explained with a laugh, glancing awkwardly at the surrounding neighbors.
Auntie’s phone wasn’t a smartphone but one of those loud button phones.
So Uncle Long’s voice was loud enough for all the neighbors nearby to hear.
The neighbors were looking at her with curiosity and suspicion.
“I see…”
A voice sounded from the phone, and then the repairman Uncle Long spoke:
“Is it serious? How much does it affect? I’m about to get off work here, it’s the last job. Also, which neighborhood are you in?”
“Oh~ Oh~”
Lin Qingya nodded, recalling, but she didn’t actually know which neighborhood this was.
“Red Star Neighborhood.”
A nearby Auntie called out to help.
It was a lifeline for Lin Qingya, who was suddenly at a loss.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s not under my area, is it?”
Uncle Long said, then asked again:
“Where did you get my number? Over there, it’s Xiao Yu in charge. Xiao Yu had to leave early today because of family issues.”
“Ah? Xiao Yu?”
Lin Qingya was stunned, not even sure which neighborhood she was in, so she had just called her old teacher without thinking.
“My… my number was given by Chen Qing. Maybe he got my neighborhood wrong. Uncle Long, is it okay if I come over, buy some materials, and try to fix it myself?”
She asked, glancing at the neighbors around her.
The neighbors were also gossiping about her having a boyfriend, saying he could fix things.
After all, it was pretty strange for a girl to fix Water Pipes.
It didn’t really fit common sense.
“Is that so~”
Uncle Long thought for a moment and explained:
“I ordered some supplies online. There are materials and tools, all kept in the neighboring Store. Girl, just go over there, I’ll call the Store owner on the right and have him give you the stuff directly.”
“Just remember to put everything back after you use them. No need to pay. The address is…”
Uncle Long continued.
“Ah? This…”
Isn’t that a bit much?
“Beep!”
The call ended.
Uncle Long had hung up, clearly not wanting to charge Lin Qingya for the materials and cutting off contact right away.
Auntie took her phone back, glanced at the number, probably memorizing it.
A Grandpa nearby also reminded her:
“Girl, hurry and get your boyfriend to come over. The sooner you fix it, the sooner you can use water.”
“It’s really inconvenient with the water off. Soon, others will come down to ask about it.”
“Ah? Oh~ Oh~ Okay, I’ll go find him right now and ask him to fix the Water Pipe.”
Lin Qingya responded awkwardly, then quickly turned and ran back into the apartment building.
It looked like she was going to find her boyfriend.
But in reality, she was just taking a detour to collect materials and tools.
She ran a long way, taking quite a bit of time.
Lin Qingya slung the repair backpack over her shoulder and returned home, panting.
Then she cleaned up the water and started repairing the Water Pipe.
Once it was fixed, she wiped away her sweat.
Then she tried to repair Cheng Minghao’s landline.
On the way back, there was a general Store nearby.
She randomly bought some parts and tools, planning to fix Cheng Minghao’s phone.
Whether it worked or not was one thing; whether she could fix it was another.
Halfway through, Lin Qingya had already disassembled the red landline.
Suddenly, sitting on the sofa, she realized a problem.
The Water Pipe and landline were fixed, but what if Cheng Minghao asked about them?
She had let people assume Cheng Minghao helped her fix the Water Pipe, but if the neighbors asked, unless she said she had another boyfriend.
Or a male friend.
But would Cheng Minghao believe her? Of course not!
Their social circles were both clean and clear, as transparent as water.
Could she expect another boy from school or class to know how to fix Water Pipes? Or repair phones?
That wouldn’t make sense either.
The skills Lin Qingya had now were all forced on her by life.
All of them were Chen Qing’s leftover talents.
So…
Chen Qing could fix things, and she could too.
Chen Qing hovered around the thirtieth rank in school, and so did she.
Chen Qing didn’t know how to wear girls’ clothes, and she used to forget how to wear girls’ underwear.
Just those three points, plus her inability to find the keys or the house deed at home.
Now, Chen Qing probably couldn’t find them either.
Although Transformation and Transmigration were fantasy, at least they existed in Novels.
What if life was just a giant Novel?
What if someone just wanted to see her and Cheng Minghao together?
Transmigration and Transformation had already happened.
Maybe life itself was a giant Novel, even a flop.
So, how could she explain her ability to use Chen Qing’s skills while losing all of Lin Qingya’s?
Lin Qingya fell into deep thought, unable to find an excuse to cover these flaws.
She didn’t want things to fall apart with Cheng Minghao.
She also didn’t want to be seen as a weirdo by people—or by Cheng Minghao!
If that happened, even she would feel disgusted and deeply uncomfortable.
She didn’t know…
How to keep going.
Maybe she’d have to leave school and just find another class to join.
After all, graduation was coming up.
Leaving early to join another class wasn’t impossible.
Lin Qingya sighed gloomily.
Maybe if she packed up her things quickly, she could keep hiding it for a while longer?
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the time.
She just kept repairing things, then prepared to return the repair tools.
Lin Qingya shouldered her bag, carrying the landline as she headed for the door.
“Huff!”
The door opened, and Cheng Minghao returned.
“Good evening. Why didn’t you lock the door?”
He asked, looking at the heavy blue backpack on Lin Qingya’s shoulder and the landline in her hand.
“Are you fixing things? Where’s the repairman? Why are you fixing them yourself? Hm? Is the landline fixed too?”
Cheng Minghao asked from the doorway.