A Living Environment Full of Loopholes

"This won't do."

"You've already helped me so much—how can I take something from you too?"

Xia Muzhu repeatedly refused, yet she made no move to return the stun gun to her bag. After tonight’s incident, she felt she truly needed this self-defense weapon.

"No need to pay. This product is still in its promotional phase anyway. How about this—you can be one of our trial users. Let’s add each other on WeChat, and you can give me feedback on how it works. Consider that your payment for the stun gun."

As he spoke, Lin Yu pulled out his phone and switched to the QR code interface for adding friends.

"Oh, sure."

Xia Muzhu nodded and promptly took out her phone to add Lin Yu. After putting her phone away, she recalled his attire the first time they met and asked curiously,

"Promotions?"

"Last time at the bar, you were wearing a school uniform. How did you end up doing sales now?"

Lin Yu pocketed his phone and gave a bitter smile.

"No choice. My parents passed away early. I have to find ways to support myself while studying."

"Ah?"

Xia Muzhu let out a soft gasp of surprise, then quickly covered her mouth, her expression apologetic.

"I’m sorry."

"It’s fine."

Lin Yu smiled carefreely.

"Supporting myself with my own hands feels pretty good, actually."

Hearing this, Xia Muzhu regarded him with newfound respect, though her heart ached even more.

How tragic—still in school yet already bearing the full weight of life alone. She couldn’t imagine how hard his daily struggles must be.

"Where do you live? Do you need me to walk you home?"

Lin Yu offered kindly.

Xia Muzhu pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to trouble this unfortunate boy further, but the empty streets and the thought of the white-haired man possibly still lurking nearby stripped her of the courage to venture into the darkness alone.

After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded and gave Lin Yu an apologetic smile.

"Then I’ll trouble you."

"No trouble at all."

Lin Yu waved his hand, his smile warm and bright...

...

"Hey, how old are you?"

"Twenty-four. And you?"

"I’m eighteen. By this time next year, I should be in university."

"Is that so? How are your grades now?"

"Not great yet, but I’ll work hard. I believe I can get into a decent university—maybe even a first or second-tier one."

"That’s wonderful. Once you get into university and find a job, everything will start looking up."

"Yeah, that’s what I think too!"

Lin Yu nodded in agreement.

"By the way, about the stun gun—it’s best not to brandish it openly like I did. You’re a girl, and often, even if you have a weapon, it’s hard to intimidate a man. It’s better used as a hidden weapon. Wait until they’re close, then zap them!"

"Of course, that’s an exaggeration. This stun gun packs a punch, but it won’t cause real harm. At worst, it’ll leave them numb and unable to move."

After explaining, Lin Yu concluded firmly,

"Don’t worry—just use it. Nothing bad will happen."

Xia Muzhu nodded solemnly, then looked at Lin Yu and smiled.

"You’re so thoughtful. Whoever becomes your girlfriend will be very lucky."

"Uh..."

Lin Yu scratched the part of his face not covered by his blond hair, looking slightly embarrassed.

"That’s still far off. I plan to start dating at sixty. By then, we’ll all be old—just two seniors living together, skipping the messy parts of romance and marriage, straight to a happy life. Sounds perfect, right?"

"Pfft."

Xia Muzhu burst into laughter at his absurd words, covering her mouth as she giggled. After a while, she lowered her hand, her sea-blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

"You’re hilarious."

...

Under the moonlight, the two walked and chatted until they reached Xia Muzhu’s neighborhood.

Standing at the entrance, Lin Yu frowned at the wide-open gate.

"Hey, why is your neighborhood’s gate left open like this? Aren’t you worried about intruders?"

At this question, Xia Muzhu’s smile faded. She sighed, her tone resigned.

"The original property management ran off with everyone’s money at the start of the year."

"After that, a resident connected us with a new management company—but it turned out the resident was a scammer. The 'new management' was just a few people in security uniforms pretending for a few days."

"Once they collected all the fees, they vanished too."

"After being cheated twice, some residents refused to pay any more fees. The neighborhood’s been without management ever since."

"What scumbags."

Lin Yu couldn’t help but curse, then asked worriedly,

"With no management, aren’t you afraid something might happen?"

"Of course we are. Families with kids have been trying to convince the holdouts to pay, but they’re too traumatized. It’s been dragging on like this—no one knows when it’ll end."

Xia Muzhu shrugged.

After walking Xia Muzhu to her building and memorizing the location, Lin Yu turned to leave—only for her to call out to him.

"What’s up?"

Lin Yu looked back curiously.

"Wait here. I’ll be right down."

Xia Muzhu hurried upstairs without another word.

Seizing the moment, Lin Yu quickly scanned the surroundings, noting the layout and nearby buildings to avoid confusion in an emergency.

While observing, he realized the building’s access door was broken.

This unsettled him deeply.

An unguarded neighborhood was bad enough, but a broken door too? That was downright dangerous.

No way.

Lin Yu rubbed his chin.

He’d have to find someone to fix that door soon.