I'm Here to Collect Rent

Saturday afternoon, exactly three o'clock.

Jiang Yubai stepped through the bookstore's front door, and the wind chime above the frame gave a crisp jingle.

The proprietress behind the counter looked up at the sound. Seeing that he was a young man who looked like a student, she lowered her head again and continued cracking sunflower seeds.

Jiang Yubai said nothing. With both hands in his pockets, he walked farther inside and looked around.

The bookstore was small, with a simple layout.

Along the wall on the left stood a row of somewhat worn bookshelves, piled haphazardly with old books of all kinds—literature, textbooks, household guides, and more.

A tablecloth covered the long table on the right, which was stacked high with colorful romance novels and comic books. Several students in school uniforms were gathered around it, picking through them.

The counter farther inside specialized in all sorts of stationery and notebooks. A small wooden rack stood by the door as well, hung with little items like keychains and postcards.

Rather than a bookstore, it was more like a mishmash of a bookstall, stationery shop, and bookstore.

Jiang Yubai casually flipped through the bookshelves, pulled out a novel, and walked toward the counter.

"Boss, how much is this book?"

The proprietress took the book and glanced at it. "Thirty-five."

"That expensive?" Jiang Yubai picked up the book for another look and clicked his tongue. "Are the pages made of gold, or is the cover inlaid with gold?"

His offhand tone made the proprietress frown. "Everything here has clearly marked prices."

"Clearly marked prices?" Jiang Yubai frowned as well. "Why do I remember this book selling for only a little over twenty at other bookstores?"

"Then go buy it somewhere else."

The proprietress spoke stiffly and reached out to take the book back.

"Forget it, your place is more convenient." Jiang Yubai turned his wrist and tucked the book against his chest, then nodded. "That said, are your books... guaranteed new?"

Seeing that he seemed inclined to buy it, the proprietress softened her tone slightly. "They're new. All our books come straight from the printing house. Guaranteed brand-new."

Jiang Yubai casually flipped through a few pages. As if he had discovered something, he said in dissatisfaction, "There's a crease here. How is this brand-new? Go exchange it for another copy."

There really was a faint crease on the page.

The proprietress glanced at him, but still took the book and turned toward the storeroom in the back.

Before long, she came out with a new copy and set it on the counter. "Here."

Jiang Yubai picked it up and flipped through it. His brows furrowed again. "There's dust on this cover. It's filthy. Go get me another clean one."

By this point, even the proprietress could tell what was going on.

Her brows drew together, and her tone turned completely cold. "Brat, did you come here just to make trouble?"

Jiang Yubai did not answer. He merely looked around the shop. "Boss Zhao, your shop... business must be pretty good, right?"

To be honest, although this was not a bustling commercial district, the location was truly not bad—besides being next to Yunlan Primary School, there was also a middle school and two other primary schools nearby.

The student traffic alone was enough to support this shop.

"What exactly did you come here for? Get out, now!" The proprietress's tone carried a hint of anger.

Jiang Yubai seemed not to hear the warning in her words and continued unhurriedly, "Now that business is doing well, shouldn't the rent go up a little too?"

"What does the rent have to do with you?" The proprietress's face darkened completely. "If you don't leave, I'm calling someone."

"What does the rent have to do with me... Of course it has something to do with me."

Jiang Yubai tossed the book in his hand onto the counter, folded his arms, and raised a brow.

"I'm here to collect rent."

At those words, the proprietress's nearly explosive expression froze.

She raised her eyes and carefully sized Jiang Yubai up from head to toe, her tone full of suspicion.

"What did you say?"

"This month's rent," Jiang Yubai said evenly. "I'm here to collect it."

The proprietress still frowned. "Doesn't Boss Qin usually come?"

"Yes." Jiang Yubai nodded. "I'm taking her place today."

Without waiting for her to speak again, he continued on his own. "This shop... you've been renting it for about two years now, right?"

"The contract you signed in the first year had a monthly rent of 4,200. When you renewed it last year, it rose to 4,600. Now that the contract is about to expire again, shouldn't we renegotiate the rent?"

As soon as he said that, the proprietress, who had been full of doubt, began to believe him somewhat.

After all, the rent amount and lease period were both correct, and those details were generally known only to the tenant and landlord.

She hesitated. "Didn't we settle the rent with Boss Qin already? Also, may I ask your surname?"

"My surname is Jiang." Jiang Yubai gave her a polite smile. "What was discussed before is void. We'll do it my way."

The proprietress could not help frowning again. Instinctively, she wanted to take out her phone and call to confirm.

How could rent negotiations be so casual? How could they change just because someone said so?

Besides, the person in front of her looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, like a student. He truly did not look like a proper landlord.

Yet he knew every detail of the rent perfectly, leaving her unable to dismiss him outright.

Better safe than sorry. In the end, she suppressed her lingering doubts and decided to hear what he had to say first.

"So," she asked in a gentler, probing tone, "what do you mean...?"

"What I mean is... this year's monthly rent will go up to 7,000." Jiang Yubai's tone was relaxed.

The proprietress stood frozen. Several seconds passed before she reacted, her voice suddenly rising. "7,000?! Didn't we agree before that it would only go up to an even 5,000?!"

"Mm." Jiang Yubai nodded, his expression unchanged. "Now it's changed to 7,000."

The proprietress narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a long while. Then she suddenly grabbed the phone off the counter, quickly found a number, and dialed it.

The ringtone played for more than ten seconds before a woman's voice came through.

"Hello?"

The proprietress hurriedly put the phone to her ear and softened her tone.

"Hello, President Qin, it's me, Zhao Chunhua. I rent the shop next to Yunlan Primary School."

"Yes, yes, that's right, it's me. I wanted to ask, this year's rent... it's still what we agreed on before, right?"

The person on the other end seemed to give her the answer she wanted. The proprietress's expression immediately brightened.

She shot Jiang Yubai a fierce glare and casually pressed the speakerphone button.

"President Qin, someone came into my shop today claiming to be from your landlord's family, and the first thing he said was that he wanted to raise my monthly rent to 7,000."

The woman on the other end sounded faintly amused.

"7,000? He says he's the landlord, and he's the landlord? What kind of con artist do you believe?"

"I didn't want to believe him either," the proprietress complained. "But he recited all the details about our rent and lease term without getting a single thing wrong, so I..."

Hearing that, the woman's tone on the phone became noticeably serious.

"There's something like that? Maybe some other businesses saw that your shop was doing well and deliberately sent someone to cause trouble. Describe what he looks like."

"He's in the shop right now. You talk to him." With confidence now, the proprietress held the phone out and sneered. "Here, our big landlord."

Jiang Yubai took the phone. An obviously angry woman's voice came from the other end.

"Who are you? What company sent you? Haven't you heard of my name? You actually dare come directly onto my turf?"

"I've heard, I've heard." Jiang Yubai replied irritably. "I heard your great name while I was still in my mother's womb."

The other end suddenly fell silent for several seconds.

"...Son?"