After finishing all this, she could leave without worry.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to take the remaining half loaf of bread from the fridge.
Retracing her steps, she headed back to the rented house.
By this time, the rush hour traffic had passed, and it was much smoother.
Opening the door, she put down her luggage, rolled up her sleeves, and began to clean.
Inside and out, she wiped everything clean except for the dust, then she organized her luggage.
By the time she finished, it was already late.
Sheng Xiangsi rubbed her stomach; she was hungry. The half loaf of bread she had eaten in the car had long been digested after all the hustle.
Taking her wallet, she locked the door and went to the nearest supermarket.
She initially planned to buy instant noodles, but after some thought, she ended up buying a bag of rice, some pickled vegetables, and Lao Gan Ma sauce.
Returning to her place, she cooked the rice and ate it with the pickles and Lao Gan Ma. It would last her a long time and save money.
She had no choice; she hadn't started earning money yet, and her finances were tight, especially after losing 5200 yuan.
The 5000 yuan for the police station settlement wasn't something she wanted to pay, but there was no reason for Fu Hanjiang to pay for her.
She didn't want to have any ties with him anymore...
Thankfully, she would start working tomorrow, and as long as she didn't starve before receiving her salary, she'd be fine.
Sheng Xiangsi didn't feel it was tough. She had been through worse.
During those years in Philadelphia, when she was starving, she even scavenged leftovers from restaurant plates.
At least what she made herself was clean, and she didn't have to look at people's faces or compete with beggars of different races for food.
She was no longer the pampered young lady fostered in the Fu family...
That night.
Fu Hanjiang returned to Yintan at 2 a.m.
The living room was pitch black, with a thin beam of light from the yard's streetlamp shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the balcony.
Fu Hanjiang walked inside, subconsciously glancing at the sofa as he passed by.
After a glance, he paused, thinking he had seen wrong, and looked again...
This time, he saw clearly.
The sofa was empty, with no one there.
What was going on? Wasn't Sheng Xiangsi supposed to sleep there? Why wasn't she there so late?
Hmph.
Fu Hanjiang sneered lightly, his tone indifferent, "Not pretending to be pitiful anymore? Realized that trick doesn't work and finally decided to sleep in the room?"
He felt a bit dizzy and shook his head.
He had accidentally drunk too much tonight.
Without thinking further, he went upstairs.
…
Because of a hangover, Fu Hanjiang got up late the next day. When he woke up, his head still ached a bit. After taking a shower, he felt clearer.
Going downstairs, the cleaning lady had already arrived to do her work.
Seeing him, she hurried over, "Mr. Fu, this was left on the sofa while I was cleaning. It's for you, take a look."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Fu Hanjiang reached out and took it. It was a heavy envelope.
What's inside?
It felt thick, like... money?
Wait, there were words on the envelope?
——Fu Hanjiang, inside are 5200 yuan, 5000 yuan is the settlement money you helped me with, and 200 yuan is the cleaning fee for the sofa. I checked, and it's about that price.
Also, I've moved out. Sorry for the disturbance these past few days.
Signed: Sheng Xiangsi.
That's it. No more.
Fu Hanjiang's eyes narrowed as he opened the envelope, revealing a stack of cash! Real money!
"Ha..."
He let out a short laugh, casually tossing the money and envelope aside, striding forward.
At the bathroom door, he saw Sheng Xiangsi's huge suitcase was no longer there.
"Tao Jie!"
"Yes! Mr. Fu!" Aunt Tao hurried over, "Do you have any instructions?"
Fu Hanjiang's handsome face was gloomy as he pointed to a row of servant rooms, "Have they been cleaned? Is anyone living there?"
"Ah? They've been cleaned." Aunt Tao was a bit confused, shaking her head, "No one's living there... isn't there supposed to be no one living there?"
Great.
She hadn't come to her senses and moved into the room, but left...
It seemed she had left last night!
Returning his money?
From when she was fifteen, what part of her didn't belong to the Fu family?
A dark and cold light flashed in Fu Hanjiang's eyes, his lips curling with a silent chill. "Sheng Xiangsi, what do you take this place for? A hotel? Come and go as you please!"
Immediately, Fu Hanjiang took out his phone and called Sheng Xiangsi.
At this time, Sheng Xiangsi was still sleeping.
"Hello..." Sheng Xiangsi groggily swiped to answer.
"Sheng Xiangsi."
The man's gentle laughter came through the phone, but Sheng Xiangsi felt a chill, involuntarily swallowing.
"What's up?"
"Didn't come back for a night? Where did you go?"
What?
Sheng Xiangsi was startled, her drowsiness dissipating a bit, puzzled, "Didn't you see my note? I moved..."
"Who allowed you to move?"
Before she finished, the man's angry voice nearly pierced her eardrum. "Did I agree?"
Sheng Xiangsi frowned, "Why should you agree? That's your house, I shouldn't be living there in the first place."
"!"
Fu Hanjiang was momentarily speechless, unable to retort.
"Oh." Sheng Xiangsi suddenly realized, "Are you worried about getting the divorce certificate? Sorry, that was my oversight that day. It won't happen again."
Afraid he wouldn't believe her, Sheng Xiangsi added, almost swearing.
"From now until we get the divorce certificate, I'll be on call every day. I won't delay your time again. Are you relieved now?"
This answer seemed flawless.
But Fu Hanjiang was still inexplicably unhappy.
"You've been abroad for years and haven't improved at all. You enter and exit people's homes without a word? Where are your manners?"
Sheng Xiangsi held the phone, shaking her head helplessly. Master Fu, still that temper, not tolerating any disobedience.
In the past, she feared his displeasure, but now, his moods had nothing to do with her.
She didn't want to entangle with him, "Yes, I was indeed impolite. Anything else? If not, I'll hang up."
With a light tap on the screen, she hung up.
Placing the phone down, she turned over and continued to sleep.
"Sheng Xiangsi!"
Fu Hanjiang, holding his phone, was shocked and angry.
She hung up on him?! Such a big temper! He couldn't care less, if she wanted to move, let her move!
Regardless of what he thought, Sheng Xiangsi didn't care.
She now had a job and a place to stay. All that was left was to focus on earning money.
The part-time job she had considered before, Sheng Xiangsi immediately started looking for.
Her original plan was to teach at a dance institution.
Besides dancing, she knew nothing else.
However, the two places she found didn't match her schedule. Both started operating in the afternoon and ran until evening.
They currently needed night class teachers, but Sheng Xiangsi couldn't work at night.
She couldn't give up the job at Mase, for a simple reason—it paid well.
So, she had to give up.
After running around all morning, Sheng Xiangsi sat down in Central Park, pulling out a rice ball to eat. The rice ball was made by herself.
It was already cold and didn't taste very good.
As she struggled to eat, she noticed a crowd gathering not far away, seeming quite lively.
It turned out to be a film crew shooting on location.
But now, the filming was halted, seemingly due to some trouble.
The director was fuming, "What now? Stopping the entire crew because of one dancer? What about this morning's shoot?"
The scolding seemed to be directed at the assistant director.
"Just one person short, how about using the current ones? The effect should be about the same..."
"Rubbish!"
The director immediately flew into a rage, pointing at the assistant director's nose, "Is this your attitude towards work? Are you fooling me or the audience? Hurry! Find someone to fill in! You have half an hour!"
"Yes, okay!"
The assistant director, head buzzing from the scolding, turned around, muttering.
"The person who was supposed to come didn't show up, how's that my fault? Where am I supposed to find someone on such short notice?"
Looking up, he saw a young girl standing in front of him.
Impatiently, he waved her away, "What are you looking at? Move away if you're just here to watch!"
"Um..."
The person was Sheng Xiangsi.
Gathering her courage, Sheng Xiangsi recommended herself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard your conversation."
"?"
The assistant director looked at her in confusion, "So what?"
"I..."
Sheng Xiangsi pointed to herself, "I can dance. I graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, majoring in modern dance."
"Can you use me? I think I can fill in for your vacancy."