I couldn't help but look at this woman again. She sat upright and gracefully, with her slightly curly long hair flowing smoothly down to her shoulders, and the tips of the hair still had a faint, imperceptible sheen; her skin was so white that it almost seemed translucent, highlighting the even clearer eyes that had not been touched by makeup; her figure was slender and well-proportioned, even when simply sitting, she exuded a calm, graceful curve beauty. What was most impressive was her raised corners of the mouth, without any forced smile, but carrying an inherent confidence and vigor.
I couldn't help but admit that she was a genuine beauty. Just from this glance, the resentment that had arisen in my heart due to being homeless had mysteriously dissipated by more than half, and even gave rise to an absurd thought - it seemed that in this world, nothing was unforgivable.
Uncle Li waved his hand beside me, breaking my stunned state: "Lin Chen, come here, I have something to tell you."
I immediately put aside those unrealistic thoughts and put on a forced smile, rubbing my hands and saying: "Uncle Li, is it about the rent? Please don't worry, next month I will pay back the principal and interest, okay?"
After all, I had delayed his rent for two months, so it was better to lower my stance a bit.
Uncle Li's eyes flickered for a moment, looked at the woman beside him, and stammered: "It's about the house... Well... This house has been bought by this girl."
"What?" I suddenly raised my voice, incredulously looking at Uncle Li, "You sold this house? Who is so heartless that they would buy this dilapidated, prone-to-collapse house that I'm afraid will fall apart after just a few uses!"
As soon as the words were out, I saw the woman beside her frown and her expression darken. But at this moment, my mind was filled with the panic of "homeless", and I couldn't care about her elegance and beauty. Anger was surging up uncontrollably.
Uncle Li's face turned red and white in embarrassment, looked at the woman, and turned to me: "You should move out tonight. The rent for the previous months, I won't ask from you anymore. Just consider it as compensation."
"Compensation?" I burst out laughing, "Uncle Li, you become more and more confused as you get older, right? Even if you want to sell the house, you should notify me in advance! It's raining heavily today, how can you find a house to live in?"
"Find a hotel for one night first, it's not a big deal." Uncle Li spoke casually, completely disregarding my feelings.
"Your property rights of the house are no longer yours now, you don't have the right to talk to me!" I retorted at him, turning to look at the woman and lowering my tone, "Lady, the house is now yours, I will continue to rent from you, okay? I will pay the rent on time every month and never default."
The woman shook her head, her tone calm but with an unquestionable determination: "I bought this house for my own use, I have no intention of renting it out."
I was completely stunned. "Lady, are you okay? Driving a million-dollar car and staying in this dilapidated old house in this neighborhood! Are you deliberately trying to make trouble for me?"
She didn't pay any attention to my anger and just looked at the wall clock, calmly saying: "You have one hour to move out..."
"Don't move!" I directly interrupted her, "Have you ever seen anyone sell a house without notifying the tenant and then have someone move out overnight?"
After saying that, I didn't care whether she wanted to or not, and sat down right next to her on the sofa. The woman instinctively moved to the side, her face showing a faint, imperceptible disgust.
I lit a cigarette, my gaze sweeping over this old house, a sense of inexplicable sadness welled up in my heart. Two years ago, when I first arrived in this city, I rented this place. In this room, I spent the darkest and most difficult period of my life - after Jin Yue left, I drank alcohol and cried countless nights here, sat in front of the old clock in the living room to pour out my thoughts, stayed awake all night in front of the yellow floor lamp in the bedroom. Every single old thing here is like a friend who has been by my side through thick and thin. It is the only refuge I have in this city.
Now to have to leave is like brutally cutting out a piece of flesh from my heart.
The smoke began to fill the room. The woman clearly felt uncomfortable and frowned, standing up from the sofa and walking to the other end of the room, facing away from me.
I felt even more frustrated. Today was truly at its worst. All the bad luck had come together, as if deliberately trying to make me unhappy.
After a moment, Uncle Li probably felt that the atmosphere was too tense. He coughed twice: "Well... There are still some matters at home. You guys can discuss it slowly. I'll go now."
After saying that, without waiting for our responses, he, as if dropping a hot potato, grabbed his bag and rushed towards the door quickly. With a "bang" sound, he closed the door, leaving me and that woman to confront each other in the room. ...
Outside the window, the cold wind and the cold rain were intensifying their assault. The raindrops hit the glass, making a "pattering" sound. Such bad weather only strengthened my determination not to move. After all, I was so poor that all I had left was time. I would just waste it.
I broke the silence by speaking up, trying to ease the tension: "Lady, may I ask your name?"
She turned around, her face still expressionless, her tone cold: "Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters," I smiled sarcastically, "I have to know who the divine being is that made me homeless in this cold rain night."
She ignored the irony in my words and just looked at the clock again: "You only have 40 minutes left now. If you don't move in 40 minutes, I'll call the police."
Just then, my phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence in the room. I frowned at the woman and took out my phone from my pocket. The number on the screen was Su Qing's - another woman who gave me a headache.
I impatiently answered the call, my tone harsh: "What's the matter? Haven't you given me the money yet?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Su Qing's voice, with a barely perceptible hint of vulnerability, said: "Lin Chen, tomorrow is the weekend... Could you come with me to the hospital for a check-up?"
"Check-up?" I scoffed, my tone like a machine gun fire, "I'll say it again, you don't even know if the baby in your womb is mine! Can't you find a friend of yours to accompany you? I'm very free, right?"
"In this city, you're the only friend I have," her voice was low, with a hint of pleading.
"I don't think you heard me, did you?" she continued in a low voice. "I'm really scared all alone... If you don't come, I won't have the check-up and will just fend for myself."
"Didn't you do the surgery alone yesterday? Tomorrow should be much more familiar, right?" I patiently countered.
"Because yesterday I did it alone, I realized how terrifying it was," her voice was filled with a wailing tone, sounding pitiful.
Su Qing's persistence annoyed me a little, and I couldn't help but let out a curse.
"If I had known this, I wouldn't have removed the baby. I should have given birth and told him that his father is a beast!"
After that, the busy tone of the other end was heard, and she hung up the phone. ...
"Damn it!" I irritably scratched my head and raised my hand to slap my forehead several times. In the past two years, I had never encountered such a stubborn woman as Su Qing. Although she spoke with great sincerity, I could be certain that the child was not mine! She said there was only one friend of mine in this city? Last week, I was still in her circle of friends, and I saw her post photos of herself partying with a group of people in a bar, clearly living a prosperous life.
"Scum."
A cold voice suddenly rang out. I suddenly lifted my head and realized that the woman was looking at me with an extremely disgusted expression. There were only the two of us in the room, and this sentence was clearly meant to be a scolding of me.
"Did you listen to my phone call?" I calmly asked, and surprisingly, I didn't feel the slightest bit angry. Even I myself couldn't tell if I was a scum or not.
She didn't answer my question but said coldly, "You still have 30 minutes left."
What a damned cold night. After giving Su Qing all the cash today, I was penniless. Now that I'm being asked to move out, where could I go? The world is vast, but there was no place for Lin Chen here.
After a moment of silence, I lowered my posture and said to her, "Miss, looking at the heavy rain outside and the late hour, I don't think we can move tonight. "
She glanced out of the window, probably finding my words reasonable, and her tone softened a little, "Then when will you move?"
"Tomorrow, " I changed my tone to be gentle and thought about what I would ask her later, "Before 1 p.m. tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be done moving."
She nodded, "Then you can go first. Just move the things away on time tomorrow."
I sat still, hesitated for a moment, leaned towards her, and pretended to be coy, "Well... Miss, could you lend me some money?"
She seemed surprised, furrowed her eyebrows, and said firmly, "I have no obligation to lend you money."
"Not lending, right?" I simply lay down on the sofa and acted like a rogue. "Then tonight I won't leave. I'm penniless, and I can't just sleep on a bridge. Besides, this is something you and Uncle Li did improperly. Selling the house without notifying the tenants in advance, no one can accept this, right?"
She looked at me, her eyes seeming to be looking at something dirty, clearly eager to get rid of me. But to my surprise, after a few seconds of silence, she spoke up, "I don't have any cash."
I was stunned for a moment and then realized it. Nowadays, wealthy people rarely carry cash. Spending several thousand yuan at a time, the cash in their wallets is simply not enough. Her words carried a sense of high-end detachment.
"Coincidence," I smiled sheepishly and said the truth, "I never like to keep cash in my wallet either."
She didn't respond to my words and her expression remained cold.
I seized the opportunity to push it further, "How about this? You lend me your bank card, and I'll use it to swipe 1,000 yuan. I'll return it to you tomorrow when we move out. Or, there's an ATM 200 meters downstairs. If you're not comfortable, you can come with me... "
Before I could finish my words, she took out a bank card from her purse and handed it to me, her tone still cold, "The password is six zeros. Before 1 p.m. tomorrow, do all the necessary things and don't let me see you again."
I took the bank card, my heart relaxed, and nodded quickly, "No problem! Thank you, Miss."
In fact, I wasn't surprised that she would so willingly hand over the card to me. My phone number, work unit, and Uncle Li knew everything about me. She wasn't afraid that I would run away. Besides, perhaps there wasn't much money in this card either. ...
She sat back on the sofa, quietly watching the rain outside, saying nothing. I couldn't help but look at her again, to be honest, for over twenty years, I had never seen such a woman with such an elegant demeanor. The cold and confident aura she exuded was something other women lacked. Unfortunately, it seemed that we were just not compatible from the start.
As I was about to leave, I had a sudden urge and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Girl, why don't you consider living with me? I can cook and give you massages. When you're tired from work, I'll provide you with a complete set of services to make you feel comfortable."
"Get out!"
This was the first time she had lost her temper at me. Her tone was full of disgust. A cushion flew precisely towards me.
I smiled and caught the cushion, waving at her. "OK, I'll leave. I'll be here on time to move your things tomorrow."
After saying that, I put the bank card in my pocket, pushed open the door, and walked into the cold rain.