Chapter 242: Landlord Ye Qiu

Chapter 242: Landlord Ye Qiu

“Hello, beautiful. I’m Ye Qiu—Ye, as in leaf; Qiu, as in autumn.”

The man whom the neighbors had been calling “Xiao Ye” casually approached Song Zhenyu. When he spotted the rental flyer in her hand, he smiled and introduced himself without hesitation.

Song Zhenyu froze for a moment, then instinctively hung up the call she had just made. The moment the line disconnected, the cheerful ringtone coming from Ye Qiu’s body cut off as well.

That confirmed it—he was the landlord.

She gave him a polite smile. “Hello, I’m here about the rental. The flyer mentioned that an interview is required. I just wanted to ask—do I meet your criteria as a tenant?”

Ye Qiu’s expression didn’t change. He simply asked, “Are you single?”

“Ah? Um, I—” Song Zhenyu stammered.

“Great. You passed the interview,” Ye Qiu said before she could finish.

“Huh? That’s it?” She blinked, caught off guard.

“Yep, that’s all there is to it.” Ye Qiu chuckled, nodding with obvious satisfaction as he gave her a quick once-over.

In truth, the so-called interview had only one real requirement—single and attractive.

Ye Qiu didn’t care about money. Quite the opposite, in fact—he had plenty. But after years of dancing with danger, living life on the edge, he was ready to retire. He wanted peace, quiet, and a bit of aesthetic comfort.

And although he called it retirement, Ye Qiu was still young—just twenty-six. His deceased parents had left him a property, and when he returned to the country, he had taken the time to renovate the old residential building.

The place had twenty-one units in total. One for himself, and space for twenty tenants.

He’d already made up his mind—all of them would be beautiful women.

And Song Zhenyu? She was the first. And her qualifications were perfect. Gorgeous, composed, and elegant—she was everything Ye Qiu wanted in a tenant.

Yet despite having passed, Song Zhenyu felt an undercurrent of unease ripple through her chest. The landlord was a man, the rent was unbelievably cheap—almost like he was paying her to live there—and the first thing he’d asked was whether she was single. How could she not be at least a little wary?

“Don’t worry, beautiful. I’m not some creep. You can ask any of the neighbors if you’re unsure. And if it makes you feel safer, I’m happy to go with you to the local police station to register everything officially,” Ye Qiu offered quickly, noticing the flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

That gave her some reassurance.

Song Zhenyu really didn’t have many options. Her finances were tight, and affordable rentals in quiet areas like this were incredibly rare. She didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.

“All right, then let’s do that,” she agreed.

“Want to check out the apartment first?” Ye Qiu asked.

“I’ve already seen the pictures on the flyer. No need. But do you have time now, Mr. Ye?” she asked.

“I do,” he said with a nod. Sensing she was still a bit cautious, he added, “There’s a police station nearby. Let’s go get this officially registered first.”

“Great!” Song Zhenyu replied quickly.

Twenty minutes later, they exited the station with everything properly filed and logged.

“Mr. Ye, thank you so much. When would be a good time for me to move in?” she asked.

“Anytime. The unit’s ready,” Ye Qiu answered.

“Really? That’s perfect! I’ll go get my things right away,” she said, a smile of relief spreading across her face.

Ye Qiu was only too happy to help. “Where’s your luggage? I’ll come with you and help you carry it.”

“That’s… that’s really too much trouble,” she said, caught off guard by the offer.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Ye Qiu waved it off like it was nothing.

“Then thank you,” she replied after a brief moment of thought, finally accepting the gesture.

The truth was, she had reason to be careful. Just yesterday, she’d encountered a lecherous rich kid on campus. The guy had shamelessly asked for her number, and when she refused, he’d threatened to wait outside the dorms every day until she gave in.

She needed to return to the dorm to pack, and with that creep possibly lurking around, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone like Ye Qiu accompany her. Having a male landlord along would serve as a convenient deterrent.

With everything decided, the two set off toward Qingling University’s female dormitories.

—

“The number you dialed is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again.”

Hearing the automated message, Wang Haoran slowly pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call.

He had dialed Song Zhenyu’s number. Just over two months ago, it had worked perfectly—she’d even answered his calls. But now it was listed as disconnected.

That puzzled him.

Even if the number had fallen into arrears, it wouldn’t be terminated in under three months. There was only one logical explanation—she had deliberately canceled it.

But why would Song Zhenyu do that?

Still holding the question in his mind, Wang Haoran contacted a few teachers from Shuize High, and it didn’t take long for him to confirm the rest. Song Zhenyu had resigned. No one knew where she’d gone.

He ended the call and suddenly recalled what Wen Jing had said earlier.

Could it be true? Had Teacher Song really come to Qingling University?

“You guys, come here for a sec.” With the thought still swirling in his mind, Wang Haoran called out to Liu Hua, Wei Zhihang, and a few other classmates nearby.

They responded immediately, hurrying over like soldiers to their commander.

Thanks to his overwhelming Villain Halo, Wang Haoran had an innate dominance over the lesser villain types around him.

Liu Hua, Wei Zhihang, and the others were all small-time troublemakers, the kind of people who loved to stir the pot. One by one, they’d all been unknowingly drawn into Wang Haoran’s orbit, becoming his followers without even realizing it.

“What’s up, Boss?” Liu Hua asked, speaking first.

“Where’s Lu Ming?” Wang Haoran noticed someone was missing. He hadn’t seen him in class either.

“Third Bro skipped class to chase girls,” Liu Hua said with a grin.

“Chase girls?” Wang Haoran frowned.

“Yeah, he saw this smoking-hot beauty on campus yesterday. Totally fell for her. Said he couldn’t stop thinking about her, so today he skipped class to go find her,” Liu Hua explained.

So the plot thickens.

Wang Haoran’s instincts sharpened.

Lu Ming was a minor villain character. And when someone like that pursued a beautiful woman of his own accord, it often triggered storyline developments—usually ones involving the main protagonist.

The only question now was: which protagonist’s storyline had just been activated?

Without hesitation, Wang Haoran pulled out his phone and dialed Lu Ming directly.

“Third Bro, how’s the girl hunt going?” he asked the moment the call connected.

“No luck yet,” Lu Ming replied with a grumble. “Been waiting forever, and she still hasn’t shown up.”

That meant the face-slapping scene hadn’t happened yet. There was still time.

Quickly assessing the situation, Wang Haoran made a decision on the spot. “Where are you right now? We’re coming to back you up.”

If it were just a side character, they could do whatever they wanted. But if it turned out to be a female lead, then sorry—she was his.

“Seriously? Awesome! Thanks, Boss! I’m at…” Lu Ming rattled off his location.

“Let’s go.”

Wang Haoran ended the call and waved to Liu Hua and the others. Seven or eight of them stormed out of the classroom like a miniature war party.