As soon as Aunt Zhou finished speaking, Xia Zhiyu's face flushed red as she hurriedly denied, "No, Aunt Zhou, he... he's not my boyfriend. He's my boss..."
Aunt Zhou looked up at Su Yang again. "Your boss? But this young man is quite handsome. How can someone so young be your boss?"
"Ah, Aunt Zhou, he really is my boss. I don’t want to trouble him," Xia Zhiyu replied awkwardly, stealing a glance at Su Yang.
Aunt Zhou rolled her eyes and continued, "Alright, let’s get back to the matter at hand. If you want to keep living here, it’s not impossible, but..."
"But what?"
"Before, you paid rent quarterly. If you want to stay, it’ll have to be changed to a yearly payment, and the monthly rent will increase from 500 to 800. I’m not raising it arbitrarily—this is the current market rate for apartments in this neighborhood. If you agree, we can sign the contract right now."
Aunt Zhou finished in one breath, then lit a slender cigarette and waited for Xia Zhiyu’s response.
Su Yang listened silently to their conversation, thinking to himself, You sly old fox. All this fuss just to raise the rent.
After hearing Aunt Zhou’s terms, Xia Zhiyu hesitated. She was already tight on money, and now the rent was increasing, plus she’d have to pay a year’s worth upfront.
At 800 a month, a year would total 9,600—far more than she could afford to pay all at once.
"Well? If you agree, we’ll sign the contract now. But let me be clear—once it’s signed, you’ll have to pay the full year’s rent immediately. After that, you can live here however you like for the next year, and I won’t bother you."
Aunt Zhou exhaled a puff of smoke, smirking at Xia Zhiyu.
Just as Xia Zhiyu was struggling with her decision, Su Yang finally spoke up.
"Xiao Yu, don’t rent this place. It’s remote, the environment isn’t great, and 400 or 500 a month might be reasonable, but for 800, you can easily find a one-bedroom apartment somewhere else."
"But... Su Yang, if I don’t rent here, I’ll have to move out today. Finding a new place will take a few days, and in the meantime, I..."
Su Yang waved his hand with a smile. "Don’t worry about that. Do you really think I’d let you end up homeless?"
"Ah..."
Hearing their exchange, Aunt Zhou scoffed. "Oh, this young man sure talks big. ‘Remote and bad environment,’ huh? Fine, if you think so little of this place, hurry up and move out. Saves me the trouble."
Su Yang kept his smile but didn’t bother arguing. He had already planned to help Xia Zhiyu find a place in the city, and now was the perfect opportunity.
Xia Zhiyu bit her lip and glanced at Su Yang, who was leaning against the window. Suddenly, she felt an inexplicable sense of security.
Even though Su Yang had only made a verbal promise, for some reason, she trusted him completely.
[Ding! Detected Xia Zhiyu’s favorability toward the host has increased to: 60. Reward: 2 million.]
Hearing the system’s prompt, Su Yang smiled faintly without showing any outward reaction.
After a few seconds of silence, Xia Zhiyu finally made up her mind. She took a deep breath and looked at Aunt Zhou. "Alright then... I’ll start packing now."
"Hmph, hurry up. You’re out by the end of the day!"
Aunt Zhou shot Su Yang a glare, then grabbed her purse and left.
Once she was gone, Xia Zhiyu sighed helplessly.
Su Yang walked over and sat beside her. "Don’t worry, Xiao Yu. I’ll help you figure out the housing situation. Just relax and focus on packing, okay?"
"Alright... Su Yang, let me get you some water first. You can sit and wait—I’ll be quick."
"No need. Just pack your things."
"Okay~"
Xia Zhiyu nodded and turned to enter the small bedroom.
Su Yang sat on the wooden sofa and glanced around the living room. This place can’t be more than 40 square meters, but it reminds me of the apartment I used to rent.
Wait, isn’t Xiao Yu from Haicheng? Why is she renting then?
Curious, he got up and walked to the bedroom door, watching as Xia Zhiyu bent over to pack her clothes. "Xiao Yu, I remember you told me last night that you’re from Haicheng, right?"
"Yes, Su Yang. Why do you ask?"
"Where did you and your grandmother used to live?"
At this question, Xia Zhiyu’s hands paused for a second before she replied softly, "At my uncle’s place."
"Your uncle’s?"
"Mhm. We lived there for a few years, but after my grandmother passed away, he sold the house."
"What?" Su Yang’s voice rose slightly as he frowned. "He sold it? He’s your uncle—did he just abandon you?"
Xia Zhiyu sighed, her tone resigned. "My parents never cared about me. Why would my uncle? Back then, he only let me stay because of my grandmother... If not for her, I would’ve been on the streets long ago."
"In this world, only my grandmother ever truly loved me. After she was gone... I had no one left."
"Damn."
Su Yang turned away, taking a deep breath. Xiao Yu’s life has been so rough! And her so-called ‘family’—what kind of heartless people are they?
But why did they treat her like this? She didn’t elaborate, so I’ll have to ask her another time.
As he was thinking, Xia Zhiyu continued, "My grandmother passed away during my senior year of high school. But since my school was boarding, I still had a place to stay after my uncle sold the house."
"So after graduation, you started working odd jobs."
Xia Zhiyu nodded. "Mhm."
The mood had grown heavy, so Su Yang sighed softly. "Alright, let’s drop this for now. Just focus on packing."
"Okay~"
After one last glance at Xia Zhiyu, Su Yang returned to the sofa.
She’s been through so much. I’ve got to help her properly.
Ten minutes later, Xia Zhiyu emerged from the room with a backpack and a khaki cloth bag in hand.
She gave Su Yang a small smile. "I’m all packed, Su Yang. Let’s go~"
Su Yang glanced at her belongings. "That’s all you have?"
"Mhm, just these."
"Alright, let’s go. Oh, have you eaten yet?"
Xia Zhiyu shook her head. "Not yet."
"Then I’ll take you to eat first." Su Yang stood and walked over to her.
"No need, Su Yang. I’m not hungry. Let’s just head to the restaurant."
"Don’t worry about that. You should eat something first." He patted her shoulder, then took the cloth bag from her and headed for the door.
Xia Zhiyu pressed her lips together and quickly followed.
Once downstairs, she looked up wistfully at the fourth-floor window.
Su Yang also took a look around, then smiled and asked, "Xia Zhiyu, how long have you lived here?"
Xia Zhiyu thought for a moment and replied, "One year and three months."
"That long?"
"Yes. Back then, I was working in Jiangyue District, so I rented this place and ended up staying for over a year~"
"But when I first arrived, I noticed there isn’t even a small convenience store on the street outside. Doesn’t that make daily life inconvenient?"
Xia Zhiyu glanced at Su Yang and chuckled, "Su Yang, you came in through the south gate, right?"
"South gate? So this neighborhood has another entrance?"
"Yep. The other gate has plenty of vegetable vendors and small supermarkets. You can get everything you need for daily life there."
"Oh, I see. Alright, let’s go. No need to look around anymore."
"Sure~"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
