A Villa? Not Even a Dog Would Live There!

By the time Jiang Yubai got home, it was already past one in the afternoon.

The moment he stepped inside, the empty house was so quiet he could hear his own breathing.

Clutching his loudly protesting stomach, he habitually raised his voice and called out twice, "Mom? Mom—"

When no response came, Jiang Yubai clicked his tongue and resigned himself to heading into the kitchen to scrounge up something that could fill his stomach for the moment.

He opened the refrigerator and sighed at the only things left inside: two eggs, half a wilted scallion, and a bottle of Lao Gan Ma.

Then he glanced at the half-pot of leftover rice from yesterday in the corner. In the end, Jiang Yubai rolled up his sleeves in resignation. Fine, this would do.

He heated oil in a wok, cracked the eggs, chopped the scallion, then poured in the cold rice, struggling a little to mix everything together.

Looking at the clumped-up rice and overcooked eggs in the pan, Jiang Yubai hurriedly scooped in a heaping spoonful of Lao Gan Ma. Oil splattered and crackled, startling him into jumping half a step back.

The finished product was blotchy, dark in some places and pale in others, with charred scallion pieces mixed among the grains of rice. It looked... barely edible.

Food was food... food was food...

Jiang Yubai hypnotized himself with those words as he carried the pitiful-looking egg fried rice out of the kitchen.

There were indeed some things Lin Jianxia had not been wrong about. Jiang Yubai really was a second-generation demolition beneficiary.

Back when the city district was redeveloped, his family's several old ancestral houses in prime locations had happened to fall under the policy.

After receiving a considerable sum in compensation, his mother, who had quite a talent for investing, seized the opportunity while housing prices had yet to skyrocket. She decisively bought several homes and storefronts one after another to rent out.

Together with a few scattered investments over the years, they were not exactly fabulously wealthy, but they certainly had no worries about food or clothing.

So his father, who had originally worked as a driver at a government office, quit his job and happily went fishing with a few old friends every day. His mother, meanwhile, transformed herself into a somewhat well-known landlady in their district.

After sitting down at the dining table, Jiang Yubai did not immediately pick up his chopsticks. Instead, he took out his phone, found the number saved as "Empress Dowager," and called it.

"Hello? Son?"

The call was answered quickly. His mother's unusually loud, cheerful voice came from the other end, accompanied by rushing wind and faint chatter and laughter in the background. It sounded lively.

Jiang Yubai instinctively moved the phone a little farther from his ear before saying, "Hey, Mom. I went to collect the rent at Splendid New Village."

"Oh my, as expected of my son! You get things done so efficiently~ Amazing, amazing~"

He had just gone to collect some money. What was so amazing about that...

The corner of Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched. Somewhat helplessly, he said, "Oh, right. One household can't pay for the time being, so I told them they could pay next Saturday."

His mother's voice sounded casual, and there seemed to be the faint sound of a tour guide explaining something in the background.

"Mm-hm, just handle it as you see fit... Oh, right. That household didn't give you a hard time, did they?"

"Give me a hard time?" Jiang Yubai paused. "Why would they give me a hard time?"

His mother spoke lazily.

"You don't know this, but some tenants get tight on money and can't pay their rent. Not only do they not feel guilty about it, they turn around and blame us for charging too much and being unreasonable. Plenty of them curse and complain. You're young and thin-skinned, so I was afraid you'd get taken advantage of."

For some reason, Lin Jianxia's eyes, trying hard to maintain their composure, flashed through Jiang Yubai's mind, along with the image of Lin Tingwan quietly writing.

If anyone had been given a hard time... wasn't he the one giving them a hard time?

That twin sister was probably curled up at home right now, calculating money while stewing in frustration. Maybe she had even cursed him out several times in front of her younger sister.

The corners of his lips lifted unconsciously before he said, "No. They were pretty reasonable."

"That's good... Oh, right, son. Next weekend, remember to make time to collect the rent from those storefronts beside No. 3 High School too. The ledger is in my study."

"Next week?" Jiang Yubai's voice rose unconsciously. "Wait, where are you?!"

There was a noticeable pause on the other end, followed by an awkward laugh.

"Well... son, I made a last-minute arrangement with a few of my friends to spend a few days at the beach and relax. I'll leave the house in your care for now."

"As for the rent, just take it as your allowance. How about it? Mom treats you well, doesn't she?"

Jiang Yubai was so irritated by that he nearly laughed.

"Dad said he was going ice fishing up north last week, and he slipped away so fast. Fine, whatever. But now you're running off without a word too?"

"You're leaving the house in my care... Has it occurred to you that I'm the one who needs looking after?"

"What do you need looking after for?" His mother's voice remained lazy. "The school cafeteria feeds you during the day, and when you get home at night, can't you just order takeout?"

It would have been fine if she had not brought that up. The moment she did, Jiang Yubai's anger flared.

"I! Mean! Why did you two insist on buying this villa in the suburbs back then? It's so remote it's ridiculous, with nothing around it!"

"Order takeout? Within a ten-kilometer radius, the only places that deliver are either those expensive, awful private kitchens or convenience store sandwiches! I had to piece together this egg fried rice from the last scraps in the fridge!"

"The housekeeper you hired only cleans, and in the end, don't I still have to cook for myself?!"

There was silence on the other end for a while before his mother finally said gloomily.

"I know. Otherwise, why do you think your dad and I go out to have fun every day? Isn't it just so we can eat something decent?"

Jiang Yubai: "?"

"Okay, okay, we got fooled by the person selling the house," his mother immediately softened her voice, coaxing him a little. "They said it had beautiful mountains and clear waters. Who knew it would be such a middle-of-nowhere place?"

She paused, then quickly added, "Oh, right! Didn't you say you wanted to find a place and move out on your own?"

"Just go look around. If you find somewhere suitable, tell Mom. I'll reimburse your rent. I definitely won't let you suffer, all right?"

Only then did Jiang Yubai feel a little better. "That's more like it."

"Okay, remember to collect the rent from those storefronts near No. 3 High School next week," his mother said brightly. "The seafood feast here is already grilled, so I won't keep talking. I'm hanging up now!"

Jiang Yubai: "..."

Listening to the busy tone—beep, beep, beep—on the phone, then looking at the miserable bowl of egg fried rice on his table, he could not say a word for a long while.

Honestly, if there had been even one decent restaurant around this suburban villa, Jiang Yubai would not have had to cook for himself and end up making a disaster like this.

Forget restaurants—even the nearest milk tea shop was nearly ten kilometers away, the kind of distance delivery riders were unwilling to cover.

Even if he pleaded and offered extra money to get someone to deliver, something often went wrong with the food—it was either spilled or cold.

There had even been a few times when the delivery guy was stubbornly blocked by the security guards at the entrance and could not get in, forcing Jiang Yubai to go rescue him himself.

He was tired.

Jiang Yubai stared at the plate, took a deep breath, and finally scooped up a heaping spoonful with the tragic expression of a man facing certain death. Closing his eyes, he shoved it into his mouth.

Damn, it was burnt.

As Jiang Yubai gritted his teeth and chewed the strangely textured fried rice, he silently swore to himself.

Spacious rooms, peaceful surroundings... all of it was meaningless.

When he moved this time, he had to find a place right next to a food street.

If it could be closer to school too, that would be perfect.

A villa? Not even a dog would live there!