Landing

Chapter 36 - Landing

Since he had decided to move, Li Bai was going all out. He spent an entire afternoon clearing out everything in the old, run-down apartment except for the socket panels on the wall and the ceiling light. He didn't even spare the window air conditioning unit. The kitchen was left with only a lone gas pipe, and the water pipes only had the angle valves remaining.

You could say Li Bai had conducted a thorough sweep.

The inevitable banging and crashing alerted the landlord across the hall. As Li Bai finally closed the door, preparing to move to his new place, Yang Fa once again poked his head out from his doorway.

The unscrupulous landlord clearly had no idea what had just transpired in the apartment across the hall. He questioned Li Bai with great displeasure, "Xiao Li, what the hell are you doing making all that racket? It's so noisy! Also, when are you paying next year's rent? If you don't want to pay, get out immediately! Throw all your stuff out, and I'm not giving back your deposit."

He immediately started demanding rent, even forgetting the three-day grace period he had promised that morning.

Yang Fa was only thinking about the person buying his apartment signing the contract tomorrow and getting the money first. Who cared about the tenants or the buyers?

"Brother Yang, how can you say I'm the noisy one? If anyone's noisy, it's you!"

Li Bai looked utterly innocent.

"What? Me noisy? How did I disturb you?"

Completely caught off guard by being accused, Yang Fa's face immediately turned red and his neck bulged. He looked menacingly fierce.

"Last night, there was such a huge commotion at your place, and it didn't stop until almost dawn. I don't even have a girlfriend yet?"

Li Bai's last sentence was the perfect finishing touch.

"What commotion last night? I was home alone, I..."

Just as Yang Fa was about to curse him out, he suddenly felt something was wrong. At that moment, his ear was sharply grabbed, and he felt like it was about to be torn off. The pain made him wince.

Yang Fa's wife had appeared behind him at some point and grabbed his ear, yanking it hard.

"I wasn't home last night, what big commotion did you cause again that even Xiao Li heard? Tell me clearly! How dare you bring a fox spirit into the house, you have some nerve..."

BANG!

The door slammed shut violently. A crisp snap was heard from inside, followed by Yang Fa's screams.

"Wife, wife, listen to me, I can explain..."

"I don't want to hear your explanation! Who was it? That slut Xiao Li from upstairs, or some random chick from elsewhere? If you don't make it clear today, this isn't over..."

The couple clearly had no time for Li Bai, the instigator. They were busy dealing with their own messy situation.

Damn!

Li Bai looked somewhat embarrassed at the closed door across the hall, hearing the sounds of commotion from within.

He absolutely didn't mean for it to happen. Who could have imagined such a coincidence?

It wasn't a sudden development. Yang Fa, who had a steady stream of rental income, had always been a bit shady, exchanging flirtatious glances with female tenants and engaging in ambiguous behavior. He had just hidden it well. His wife might have suspected something, but without concrete evidence, she had likely been holding it all in.

Li Bai's unintentionally revealing remark had shattered the fragile balance between them.

Yang Fa was caught red-handed, unable to explain himself, whether it was the truth or not didn't matter to his wife. What mattered was that she had found a perfectly suitable excuse to unleash her anger.

"Stop hitting me! If you hit me again, I won't hold back! Hiss, that hurts!"

"Go on! Go on! You shameless bastard, you've learned to play with other women! I'll fight you to the death!"

"Get off! Let go, let go!"

"Ah!"

After a fierce scolding behind closed doors, Yang Fa's wails could be heard echoing through every floor of the building.

This time, the commotion was indeed significant.

Li Bai listened for a moment, and amidst the real-life BGM of the Yang couple's fight, he swaggered downstairs.

Having exacted a small measure of revenge, his mind felt clear.

He gunned the engine of his Santana and headed to his new residence, never looking back.

As for the deposit, he'd leave it to that money-grubbing miser as medical expenses.

After moving the last few items, the new apartment at 1901 was bright and clean, with excellent natural light that lifted his spirits. It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, with one room for a bedroom and the other for a study.

There was also some empty space, and Li Bai planned to add some furniture, such as a bookshelf, a coat rack, a shoe rack, and a flower stand.

As soon as he settled in, the demoness Qingyao impatiently opened her laptop, ready to log into the "17th Floor" forum and find some unlucky opponent to slaughter. There were plenty of targets on the forum, like scammers, scumbags, mama's boys, and even the recent accounts of Qingliang Temple, enough to make the Green Flood Dragon's demonic nature flare up.

The free Wi-Fi shared by Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center's employees covered the entire floor. The newly rented 1901 also had a full signal. Unless the power went out, it would be difficult for Li Bai to cut off this demoness's internet access again.

Fortunately, they had already agreed on terms; otherwise, her internet addiction would be hard to cure.

Allowing the demoness to happily tap away on her laptop in the study, Li Bai took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Xiao Wang, I've signed the rental contract with Manager Xiao. The apartment is great, and I've moved in this afternoon. Let's have dinner together tonight, my treat. And invite Old Zhang and the others too."

It was only natural to treat them to a meal since they helped him find such a good rental apartment. It was a normal social courtesy.

"Old Xiao already told me. I'm glad you're satisfied. The apartment I found is definitely better value than what real estate agents offer. You pick the time and place, or I can find a spot. I'll have to ask Old Zhang and the others; they might not be free. Something big is happening, I won't say more now. We'll talk more when we meet tonight."

Li Bai was very satisfied with the apartment his childhood friend had found. He had signed the contract on the spot, and Officer Xiao Wang was also quite happy, feeling a bit proud that he had done a good job for his friend.

"Six-thirty, at Grandma's House on Tengfei Road. I'll book a table first."

Li Bai quickly decided on the location for the dinner.

"Okay, that place then, it's the most affordable!"

Xiao Wang had been to the restaurant called "Grandma's Place" before and knew it was a good spot for gatherings.

Old Zhang and his team were working on a major case, so they had many daily concerns. However, Li Bai organizing a dinner at a popular place like Grandma's Place didn't raise many eyebrows, especially since the host was the primary contributor who helped break the case.

After asking Officer Xiao Wang to gather the necessary people from the Public Security Bureau, Li Bai quickly went to the first floor and circled around the side entrance of the mixed-use commercial and residential building to reach the street-facing Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center.

Since it was a dinner to get to know friends, the siblings Xiao Jiangnan and Xiao Wei, who had offered him a discounted rent, were also on Li Bai's invitation list.

However, the moment he stepped through the entrance of Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center, he saw a crowd of people boisterously packed together, not only blocking the reception area but also obstructing the path to the stairs.

"Excuse me, excuse me, sorry, let me through, please let me through!"

Li Bai called out, trying to push through the crowd. But after only a few steps, a short, stocky kid in front suddenly turned around with a cold expression and shouted, "What are you doing? Get out of the way!"

He put force into his turn, intending to shove Li Bai back.

The two collided silently, and the crowd suddenly descended into chaos. Many, caught off guard, were bumped by those around them, losing their balance and falling in all directions, four or five people hitting the ground.

The short, stocky kid wasn't faring much better. He had the illusion of crashing into a wall, as the force he put into the collision was reflected back at him. If others hadn't been beside him to absorb some of the impact, he probably would have fallen too.

Standing still on the spot, Li Bai said nonchalantly, "Please let me through, excuse me!"

"Doctor Li!"

As the crowd stumbled, Xiao Wei's voice reached Li Bai's ears.

"Huh? You guys are here too? Perfect timing, I'm organizing a dinner, want to join us tonight!"

Li Bai had originally planned to go up to the third floor to find the Xiao siblings, but he hadn't expected them to be on the first floor.

"Kid, who are you?"

Having gained no advantage and nearly embarrassing himself, the short, stocky kid ignored Li Bai's conversation with the Xiao siblings. He raised his bowl-sized fist and swung it down with a fierce wind, aiming straight for him.