New Tenant

The next morning.

At exactly eight o'clock, Zhao Yihang, with dark circles under his eyes like a thousand-year-old zombie from the Hong Kong film Mr. Vampire, patted my shoulder. "Ding Han, man, I really can't hold on much longer. Why don't you talk to the boss and see if we can hire another person? At least we could rotate shifts and get some rest. Who can handle working all year round without a break?"

"Alright, I'll talk to her."

"You're my only hope!"

Zhao Yihang left with a sigh, like an ox or horse drained of its spirit.

After I sat down, I noticed Lu Xiaobei had already gone out to set up her stall. I sent her a message, bringing up the matter of hiring someone new.

As a result, Lu Xiaobei took a full ten minutes to reply: "If you pay me back the twenty thousand yuan, I'll hire someone. Otherwise, where would the money come from to hire anyone..."

I was speechless and replied after a moment of thought: "This matter can be discussed later!"

She threw a black bomb at me, making my screen shake violently.

A few minutes later, a call came in. It was the landlord.

"Ding Han, are you home?"

"No, I'm at work."

"Okay."

The landlord said, "Milo checked out yesterday. I'm bringing the new tenant over to see the place today."

"Alright."

I didn't say much more. The apartment was the landlord's, and I was just a tenant.

At noon, my phone beeped. A message came from Lu Xiaobei: "Ding Han, come over for lunch. I'll buy you a boxed meal."

Along with the message, she sent a location.

"Huh?"

I was surprised. "What about the internet cafe?"

"Let Old K watch it for a while. He's watched it before. If he wasn't so addicted to playing Legend, I would have hired him as the internet cafe manager. It would save a lot of money."

I was speechless and raised my hand. "Old K, Lu Xiaobei wants you to come watch the shop for a bit. I'm going out to eat."

"You got it!"

Old K didn't refuse at all. He darted over and gestured for me to quickly give up the manager's seat.

I walked out of the internet cafe and headed towards the location Lu Xiaobei had sent. After a few minutes, I arrived.

She was standing under a blue sign that read "I miss you in Stream City." The cold wind blew, her coat swayed, and she looked incredibly beautiful. She was holding a boxed meal.

"Aren't you eating?"

I took the boxed meal.

"I've already eaten. You eat."

"Okay..."

I was ravenous, so I squatted by the roadside, opened the boxed meal, and started devouring it.

"Ding Han, look up."

When I looked up, I heard a "click." Lu Xiaobei had somehow produced a selfie stick. She bent down, her long hair falling forward, and captured me, her, and the "I miss you in Stream City" sign behind us all in the frame.

The photo was good in every way, except for the fact that I was stuffing my face like crazy in it, and my expression when I looked up was completely bewildered.

"Nice photo..."

Lu Xiaobei was very satisfied. In the photo, her long hair was flowing, and she even managed to capture her long legs.

"Alright, you can go back to work. And check if Old K has secretly been topping up his own account. Last time I saw, he still had over three hundred yuan on it."

"Good grief, she's even guarding against Old K!"

I looked at her with disdain. "You called me over for lunch, and it wasn't just for this photo, was it?"

"What else?"

She said it matter-of-factly.

After returning to the internet cafe, I checked my phone and found that Lu Xiaobei had actually posted the photo of us together. The caption read: "Me and the Employee of the Year," and she even tagged me.

I couldn't help but smile. Then, I downloaded the photo and subsequently posted my first moment in Star Abyss, along with the text: "My 23-Year-Old Beautiful Boss."

A few seconds later, there was a like. It was Lu Xiaobei.

She was too free. I suspected she was constantly staring at her phone.

Immediately after, Lu Xiaobei called.

"Hmph, I knew you were the one who wrote that novel on Original Point Novel, aren't you going to admit it?!"

"What?!"

I panicked. "Damn it, if that's the case... the 'My Name Is Lu Xiaobei' in the book review section must be you, right?"

"Or what!!!"

"Damn!"

"Hmph!"

Lu Xiaobei hung up the phone and then sent a WeChat message: "I'll count your crimes for you. First, writing novels during work hours, your salary will be deducted. Second, using my name without my permission infringes on my right to reputation. Third, without my consent, you made me your girlfriend in the novel. Fourth, without my permission, you kissed me in the novel. Fifth..."

Her WeChat message was so long it made my head spin.

"Okay, okay, I apologize."

I replied: "I can treat you to a meal to make up for it when I have time and money!"

"Good attitude, I'll forgive you for now. I'm going to my stall."

After Lu Xiaobei sent that message, she went quiet. I figured she was busy again, playing cat and mouse with the city management.

"Beep beep~~"

In the afternoon, the landlord called again.

"Ding Han, I've already rented out Milo's room. Just letting you know, nothing else."

"Alright."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll get along with the new roommate."

"That's good."

The landlord didn't say anything else and hung up.

In the evening, I received a message from Sakura: "Ding Han, my boyfriend and I are going to a concert. We got stuck in traffic on the way back, so I might be a little late to hand over the shift. Can you cover for a bit longer?"

No choice, I had to work overtime.

It wasn't until after six when it got dark that Sakura finally returned, looking disheveled. Thankfully, she had a conscience and brought me a piping hot roasted sweet potato.

So I ate my roasted sweet potato on the way home. The cold wind blew the entire way, and I shivered. Winter had truly arrived. I should probably buy a down jacket, but I had no money!

Downstairs in my apartment complex, the usually empty area was surprisingly occupied by a car today. And it was a car that looked incredibly high-end. It was all white, with a winged emblem on the front and a "B" badge on the back.

A Bentley Flying Spur!

'No way, really?'

I looked up at our rundown apartment complex, unable to connect a luxury car worth three to four million yuan with this place.

I went upstairs and opened my door.

"Click~~"

After entering, I saw a woman sitting on the sofa.

From my angle, I could only see her slightly curled hair falling past her shoulders. She was wearing a beige coat with a light-colored sweater underneath. The collar of the coat had a silver logo, clearly expensive.

She slowly stood up and turned around.

She was beautiful, so beautiful it felt unreal.

"You're Ding Han, right?" Her voice was calm, even a little detached.

"Mm."

I nodded. "Are you the new tenant?"

"Yes."

She looked at me. "Sit down. I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Okay."

After sitting down, I didn't dare to look directly into her eyes. This woman had an unapproachable aura, making me feel like she was someone of a higher status. Coupled with her cold gaze, I really didn't want to get close to her.

"I want to discuss renting your room as well. Is that okay with you?"

She paused. "I'm not used to sharing an apartment. I want to live alone."

"Why?"

I frowned, a sudden, inexplicable anger rising within me. My previous neighbor was Milo, so approachable, so shameless, that lovable guy. Now it was her, and I found it hard to adjust.

"I was here first. Why should I leave?"

"I can compensate you for the rent."

She looked at me. "Would you like to reconsider?"

"Compensation? How much compensation?"

I said calmly, "I've lived in this place for a long time. I have feelings for every blade of grass and every tree here. If you really can't stand sharing, then you should be the one leaving, shouldn't you?"

"I'm willing to pay ten times the compensation."

She said calmly, "I asked the landlord. You paid one month's rent and one month's deposit, a total of 1600 yuan. I can give you 16,000 yuan right now. What do you think?"

"Sixteen thousand?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I frowned. "Since you're so determined, I can move out."

She took out her phone.

"I'll add you on WeChat, then I'll transfer the money to you through there."

"Okay."

I sent my WeChat QR code, and the next moment, someone applied to add me as a friend. After they were approved, they instantly transferred 16,000 yuan.

When I opened her WeChat, there was no profile picture. The picture was a white image, and she didn't even have a WeChat name. It was probably a symbol like a space, and her Moments were empty. She seemed like a blank slate.

"You can move out, but you need to give me time."

I frowned. "I'll be out within three days. Do you think that's okay?"

"Yes."

She nodded, then got up and went back to her room.

I also returned to my room, then glanced at my phone and then at the wall connecting to the next room. Who exactly was this Ms. Blank on the other side of the wall? She could transfer 16,000 yuan just like that; she was definitely not ordinary!

Also, that white Bentley downstairs, could it be hers?

"Beep!"

Just then, a message arrived from Zhang Ruolin: "Ding Han, are you there?"

"Yes, what's up?"

"I want to make a deal with you. I have 5,000 rounds of Roarer bullets, but I completed a mission this morning and luckily got a blue submachine gun. However, it uses a different caliber, so I can't use Roarer bullets. I was wondering if you needed them. I'll give you a good price, you can have these 5,000 rounds for 12,000 yuan."

"Sure!"

My heart leaped with joy. "Where are you? I'll come find you. Are you at the bar?"

"No, I just happened to be passing by downstairs. Want to do the transaction here?"

"That works too."

A short while later, there was a knock on the door in the living room.

The moment I opened the door, I noticed that the door to the room next door had also opened. Ms. Blank, who had a blank WeChat profile, had also opened her door. She looked at me with a slight surprise in her eyes.

Zhang Ruolin walked into the living room and saw her as well.

Ms. Blank closed her door without saying anything.

"New roommate?"

Zhang Ruolin asked with a smile after entering the room.

"Yeah, keep your voice down."

I took out my phone and transferred 12,000 Star Coins to her via WeChat.

Zhang Ruolin took out the bullets, bag after bag, while I directly put them into my Dimensional Storage Space.

The two of us tried to keep our voices down as we chatted.

"What kind of mission did you get that blue submachine gun from?"

"A B-rank daily mission. Just got lucky."

Zhang Ruolin chuckled, "Want to go to the bar with me later?"

"No, Milo has already moved to the north, so there's even less reason to go to the bar."

"That's true."

Zhang Ruolin said, "Ever since Milo left, I feel like The Fifth Element has lost its luster."

She glanced at the time. "It's still early. I'll rest here for a while and we can watch TV together."

I was speechless and could only let her do as she pleased.

Zhang Ruolin turned the TV volume up quite high. I even suspected she was doing it on purpose.

A short while later, Zhang Ruolin left, and I opened the door to see her out.

To my surprise, Ms. Blank was also sitting in the living room, browsing through documents on a laptop. A thick stack of documents was placed beside her. When the room door opened, she turned around in surprise to look at us.

"Alright, sister's leaving now. Contact me again when you want something, and I'll give you a 20% discount!"

Zhang Ruolin whispered into my ear, her breath warm and fragrant. Her slender hand, like a snake, slid off my shoulder, and she smiled and walked out the door.

"???"

I was speechless. What was all that about??

On the sofa, she frowned slightly and ignored me.

It's over. My reputation must be tarnished in her eyes!!!