Chapter 12: Collecting Rent (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

He rang the doorbell a couple of times. The person that answered the door was Guo Yan, who was wearing a blue top and denim shorts. She was about 5’6” tall with a nice figure. Not a goddess but definitely good looking. A solid 7. Having her apron on and a spatula in her hand, Chen Jin knew she was making lunch.

Seeing Chen Jin at the door, she gave him a big smile. “Big Brother Chen! You’re here!” Guo Yan was also 24, but she was two months younger than he was, so she called him Big Brother.

Chen Jin nodded. “May I come in?” he asked, as he looked at the sparkly clean tiled floor in the apartment.

“Yes, come on in, Big Brother Chen.” Guo Yan smiled sweetly as she took out a pair of pink, bunny-eared slippers from the shoe cabinet, and put them on the rug next to him.

Chen Jin didn’t wear them. Instead, he took his shoes off and entered the room with just his socks on.

“Come on, wear the slippers. It’s ok!” Guo Yan said.

He wagged his finger and asked, “Is Song Xuejia home today? I need to speak to her.”

This surprised Guo Yan. “Yes, she is putting on her face mask in her room.” She was confused. Why is he asking for her?

“That’s good.” Chen Jin nodded, and immediately went straight to her room on the west side of the apartment.

The door was open.

On the sling rattan chair by the bedroom window, lay an attractive, busty girl in her green tulle skirt whose arms were white and slender; her legs well-proportioned with perfect, jade-like skin. The white belt on her waist made her waist look even smaller. Her stomach was amazingly flat without any muffin top. What a stunningly beautiful body.

“Mmm Hmmm~” She had her headphones on, humming the music she was listening to. Her voice was like that of an angel’s. As for her face, Chen Jin had seen it before; it was a white, innocent looking doll-face. It was one of those rarely seen, gorgeous faces. She was at least an 8 or 9 out of 10.

But it was also this girl that owed him three month’s rent, which was $900. He must collect the rent today.

Knock knock!

Knocking on the door several times, Chen Jin stood at the door with his arms crossed and said, “Song Xuejia, you owe me three month’s rent, don’t you think it’s about time you paid up?” His voice was loud enough for the other girls in the shared house to hear. Clearly.

Guo Yan, who was preparing lunch in the kitchen, was in shock as she knew Song Xuejia made more than 1,000 dollars every month working as a salesperson for cosmetics. And she’s not paying her rent?

“Hold on, I need 5 more minutes with this seaweed face mask.” Song Xuejia was enormously embarrassed. She had a big ego. Now that everyone in the house knew what was going on, how was she going to face them? Big deal. It’s just rent. Why did he have to say it out loud?

Five minutes later, having washed off the face mask, she put on a cute, smiley face and tried to get Chen Jin to enter her bedroom. “Come chat in my room, Big Brother Landlord,” she said in her coquettish voice.

“No, no. Let’s stay out here.” Chen Jin wagged his finger, turning down her passionate invite to her room.

“Big Brother Landlord, it’s too crowded out here. There’s no privacy,” she said, as she held his arm and took him to her room. Once they got in, she quickly locked the door.

Out of curiosity, her roommates Liu Xiaoxia, Xu Jiaojiao, and Zhao Yajing listened closely through the door.

…

In the bedroom, with his hands behind his back, Chen Jin put on a serious face and said, “Alright, Song Xuejia, are you going to pay your rent or not?”

“Come on, don’t be so harsh on me~” She winked at him, pouting. “Money has been tight lately. Can you give me a few more days?” she said in a cheekily sad manner.

“That is what you told me two months ago, and I agreed. But not this time. No more grace period for you,” Chen Jin said. She gave him no choice.

“My father has been ill. My mother needs a lot of money to cover his medical expenses. I’ve been sending her my money; that’s why it’s been tight for me these days,” she told him, with tears in her eyes.

“If your father is actually ill, you should visit him, rather than lying to my face.” He exposed her lies heartlessly.

“Wow…you have zero sympathy.” Song Xuejia pouted, looking grievously wronged.

“Enough with the acting. Just answer me—are you paying or not?” It was his final demand. She had delayed her rent for three months already. There was nothing else he could do.

“You… ” Song Xuejia stamped her feet and stared at him in disbelief. She didn’t mean to delay her payment. The truth was, three months ago, there was this bag from PRADA that she loved, but it was 2,500 dollars. She wanted that handbag so badly that not only did she spend all her savings, but she also maxed out her credit card. It made her friends and colleagues very jealous.

And now, she had to pay the real price. In order to pay her credit card bill, she used the money for rent to cover it, thinking her landlord was quite a nice guy and would have no problem with it. But not anymore. It was her last chance. However, she had nothing to her name.

Looking at this 5’10” tall, slightly handsome landlord in front of her, she couldn’t help but think about how his family owned more than 5 apartments…

Then she came up with a plan. She started acting like she was some poor girl with no money. She then leaned closer towards him, held his hands, and showed as much cleavage as possible, trying to be flirty with him. “Big Brother Landlord, I am genuinely strapped for cash. Please give me some more time. If…” She bit her lip, seeming to have made a decision on something. “Big Brother… if I must pay today… other than money, you take anything from me to cover the rent I owe you.”

Chen Jin tried to pull his hands away from her as she spoke. But her offer got his attention. “Anything? Like what?”

Song Xuejia blushed a little and murmured, “You know…like going on dates, having candlelit dinners, going to the movies, things like that. It basically means I’ll go out with you.”

“Oh, so it’s just going on dates, having candlelit dinners, and going to the movies? That’s it?” Chen Jin asked out of curiosity, with a smile on his face.

“That’s it. What else do you want to do? Anything more than that would be for couples.” Song Xuejia’s face turned even redder. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she was not that kind of woman. If she was, would she be struggling for her rent? She would have gotten all the sugar daddies already, even billionaires, with just one little hint. But she was very confident with her looks and believed she would find her prince charming. Never give in!

It wasn’t like she was picky or anything. She could settle for her landlord. He wasn’t the wealthiest man she knew, but he was charming, single, and his family was loaded, which “qualified” her ideal marriage, meaning not only would he love her but support her financially as well. Being the other woman or having an affair with some fat, middle-aged, married men was not her style. She would never do such a thing. From this perspective, her values seemed to make perfect sense. But her plan with Chen Jin was doomed to failure.

“Enough is enough. Here are your options: either you pay your rent now, or I advertise your bedroom for rent on the internet and bring people over for inspection. I’d keep the one month deposit and forget about the two month’s rent you owe me. You just have to move out of here this afternoon,” he said to her with a straight face as he pulled his hands away and took a few steps back from her.

“You…” Having been shamed into anger, Song Xuejia’s body started to shake; her eyes welled up with tears.

Chen Jin kept his straight face, with his arms crossed. He didn’t want to do that, but she gave him no choice.

As he did not relent, Song Xuejia knew her plan was not going to work. “Fine, I will pay my rent,” she said reluctantly, transferring him the money from a loaning app on her phone.

“Thanks.” Chen Jin left the apartment.

Song Xuejia burst out crying on her bed.

Having witnessed the whole thing, her roommates started gossiping, gloating, even, over her trouble. “Who does she think she is? How dare she?”

“I don’t even know what to say. She had no problem buying new clothes, new handbags, or high-end, imported makeup. She borrowed 75 dollars from me a while ago and still hasn’t paid me back. God knows if she ever will.”

“She thinks she’s so pretty that she can do whatever she wants with her looks. Well, not this time. Our landlord would never let her get away with it.”

“Exactly! Just because she’s good looking doesn’t mean she can live here for free.”

“She even tried to seduce him earlier! How manipulative!”

“I have no respect for her.”

Having heard every word the girls were saying, Guo Yan brought a bowl of tomato and egg soup she made from the kitchen, shook her head, and said nothing.