I took another long look at her. She sat with perfect posture, wavy chestnut hair cascading over her shoulders—fair-skinned, slender, with a faint upturn at the corners of her lips that exuded sharp, unshakable confidence. All in all, she was drop-dead gorgeous. From the second our eyes met, it was like a spell: suddenly, it felt like there wasn't a single thing in the world that couldn't be forgiven.
Old Li waved me over urgently. "Zhaoyang! Get over here—I need to talk to you."
"It's about the rent, isn't it?" I forced a grin, already cringing inside. I'd owed him for months. "I'll pay you everything next month when I get my paycheck, okay?"
"It's about the house… uh… this young lady just bought it."
"You sold this place?!" I exploded, rounding on the woman. "What idiot would fork over money for this rickety heap that'd crumble if a breeze blew too hard?!" Staring down homelessness, her elegance and beauty meant nothing—rage had taken over.
Old Li's face turned red, glancing nervously at the woman's furrowed brows before finally speaking up. "You gotta move out tonight. And I won't even hound you for the back rent—we'll call it even."
"Old Li, how'd you get so spineless in your old age?!" I snapped. "If you were gonna sell, you could've warned me! Where the hell am I supposed to find a new place in this pouring rain?!"
"Just book a hotel for a night or two," he said, his tone completely dismissing my panic.
"You don't own this place anymore—save your breath," I shot back, then swiveled to the stranger. "Look, it's your house now, but can I keep renting it? Please?"
She shook her head, calm as still water. "I bought it to live in. No plans to rent."
I lost it. "Miss, are you crazy?! You drive a million-yuan luxury car and you're moving into this dump?! You're doing this just to mess with me, aren't you?!"
She didn't bat an eye at my outburst, her voice cool and unwavering. "You have one hour to pack your things and leave…"
"I'm not moving!" I cut her off, slamming myself down on the sofa right beside her. She jolted, shifting away so fast she almost fell off the edge.
I lit a cigarette, the flame flickering against the dim, worn walls of the apartment. A heavy sadness settled in my chest. I'd lived here since moving to Suzhou two years ago—this shabby little space had been my safe haven through the darkest, hardest days of my life.
I'd cried to the living room clock, poured my heart out to the tattered floor lamp in the bedroom all through sleepless nights—every single thing in this place was like a dear friend who'd stood by me through thick and thin! Leaving here meant losing the only anchor keeping me going.
The smoke curling from my cigarette made the woman frown in disgust. She stood up abruptly and moved to the opposite side of the room.
I couldn't help but feel like the unluckiest guy alive. It was like all the good and bad luck had conspired to hit me on the same day, just to ruin my mood.
After a tense silence, Old Li cleared his throat. "I've got stuff to take care of at home… You two can work out the house stuff slowly." Before we could respond, he bolted for the door—like he was dropping a red-hot potato—grabbling his bag and scurrying out as if his feet were greased.
The room fell quiet, leaving just me and the woman.
…
Outside the window, the wind howled and the cold rain lashed down harder, turning the night into a raging mess. The terrible weather only made me more stubborn—I decided to sit tight and outwait her. After all, being poor meant I had nothing but time to spare.
I broke the silence. "Miss, may I ask your name?"
She stared at me, her face completely devoid of warmth. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does!" I shot back. "I deserve to know which celestial being decided to leave me homeless on this freezing rainy night!"
She ignored the sarcasm dripping from my words, her voice still icy. "You have 40 minutes left. If you're not gone by then, I'll call the police."
I was about to blow up when my phone rang. I glared at the woman, then fished the phone out of my pocket. The caller ID read Le Yao—just what I needed, another woman who knew how to get on my nerves.
I answered the call with a scowl. "What now? Didn't I already give you money?"
Le Yao fell silent for a beat before speaking. "Zhaoyang, tomorrow's the weekend… Can you go with me to the hospital for a follow-up checkup…?"
"Is that kid even mine? Can't you ask a friend to go with you? Do you think I've got nothing better to do?" I fired off the words like a machine gun, trying to cow her into dropping this absurd request with sheer momentum.
"In this city, you're my only friend."
"Le Yao, you've got it wrong. We're hookups—not friends… Do you even know what a hookup is?"
She ignored my jab, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I'm really scared to go alone!… If you don't come, I'll just let things take their course! I won't go to the checkup at all!"
I gritted my teeth and forced patience into my tone. "You went alone just yesterday, didn't you? Tomorrow should be a piece of cake."
"That's exactly why I'm scared! Going alone yesterday was terrifying!"
Her stubbornness pushed me to the edge. I cursed under my breath—old habits die hard.
"I should've just had the baby! I'd raise it all by myself and tell it: your dad's a monster!"
The line went dead with a sharp "beep-beep."
…
"Dammit!" I lit another cigarette, slapping myself hard on the forehead. For two years, I'd never met a more high-maintenance hookup than Le Yao. Even though she sounded so sure of herself, I was just as certain: that kid wasn't mine! And her claim that I was her only friend in the city? Total nonsense. Just last week, I'd seen her post a photo on Weibo, partying like crazy with a bunch of people at a bar.
"Scum."
I looked up, and my eyes locked with the woman's. She was staring at me with an expression of pure disgust. With only the two of us in the room, there was no doubt who'd spoken.
"You were listening to my call?" I asked flatly, not the least bit bothered by her insult. After all, I couldn't even be sure I wasn't scum.
"You have 30 minutes left." Her voice was colder than ice, sharper than before.
What a godforsaken cold, rainy night. I'd given all my cash to Le Yao earlier, and now I had nothing to my name—where the hell could I even move? The world was big, yet there was no place left for me, Zhao Yang.
After a long silence, I turned to the woman. "Miss, look at this storm outside. It's already late, and there's no way I can move out tonight!"
She glanced out the window, finally relenting a little. "When then?"
"Tomorrow."
"What time?"
"Before one in the afternoon," I said, softening my tone—because I was about to ask her for a favor.
She nodded. "Leave now. And make sure you're gone with all your things tomorrow, prompt on time."
I stayed put, then leaned toward her after a moment, putting on a hesitant act. "Miss… could you lend me some money?"
She looked surprised, but her answer was firm. "I have no obligation to lend you money."
"Not gonna lend it, huh? Then don't expect me to leave tonight. I've got no cash—you want me to sleep under a bridge?!" I slouched back onto the sofa, then added, "And don't even think about calling the police. This whole thing was you and Old Li's fault for being so underhanded. Be honest—didn't you two owe me a heads-up? At the very least, I deserved time to prepare."
She stared at me like I was a plague, confirming she was desperate to get rid of me—yet her next words took me by surprise. "I don't have any cash on me."
My eyes widened. Three little words, spoken like it was the most natural thing in the world—so typical of the wealthy. Rich people these days never carried cash anyway. For their fancy ten-thousand-yuan splurges, a wallet full of cash was utterly useless.
"Miss, it's fate! I hate carrying cash in my wallet too!" I said shamelessly, telling the truth—I never kept much cash on me anyway.
She ignored me.
I pressed on. "How about this? Lend me your card, I'll only withdraw a thousand yuan. I'll pay you back tomorrow when I move. Or there's an ATM 200 meters downstairs—you can come with me if you don't trust me..."
She cut me off by pulling a bank card out of her wallet. "PIN is six zeros. Get everything sorted by one PM tomorrow."
I took the card she handed over. "No problem!"
Her trust in me didn't surprise me one bit. Old Li knew every detail about me—my phone number, workplace, all my contacts. Or maybe there wasn't much money in this card at all.
...
She sat quietly on the sofa, and I studied her again. Honestly, in my twenty-something years of life, I'd never seen a woman this beautiful. She had an aura no other woman possessed. A shame, though—we just didn't click.
As I was leaving, I spoke, half teasing, half serious. "Miss, wanna consider living with me? I can cook, and I give great massages. After a long day at work, I can treat you to a full service when you get home—guaranteed to make you feel amazing..."
"Get out!" Finally, she snapped. A throw pillow flew at me, guided with pinpoint accuracy.