Lin Feng held the key card against the sensor.
The lock clicked open.
He pushed the door and gestured for Su Yue to enter.
"After you."
She stepped inside slowly, her eyes taking in the space.
The studio was modest but clean. A single room with a small kitchenette to one side and a bathroom near the entrance. Afternoon light filtered through the window, casting a warm glow across the empty floor.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"It looks nice," she said, glancing around. "Did you rent this place?"
She turned to look at him.
Her gaze lingered for a moment.
Why did he bring me here? Could it be...
A blush spread across her face.
Lin Feng noticed her expression and immediately shook his head.
"No, it's not like that."
He walked past her and leaned against the window frame.
"Actually, I rented this place when I first came to campus. But things happened, and because of my business, I had to stay in the dorms instead."
He sighed.
"I was honestly thinking of cancelling the whole thing and seeing if I could get a refund for the six months I paid."
Su Yue's eyes went wide.
"Six months?"
She stared at him.
"How much did you pay?"
He waved his hand dismissively.
"I don't even want to talk about it."
He pushed off from the window and turned to face her.
"But luckily I waited. You can have this place."
She blinked.
"Instead of going to a hotel every time," he continued, "you can use this apartment. Bring your recording equipment here. Whenever you want to go live, you just need to come over."
Su Yue looked at him with surprise.
He just smiled.
With this story, she shouldn't feel bad about accepting it. If he told her he had just rented it now, there was no way she would agree.
"Can I really?" she asked. "I feel bad..."
"There's no need to feel bad," he said. "I was about to cancel the whole thing anyway. And I doubt I'd even get my money back at this point. It's better this way."
She still looked hesitant.
"I still feel bad just taking it..."
Lin Feng thought for a moment.
"How about this," he said. "You can pay me a third of the price for staying here each month. That way, you won't feel bad, and I can get some of my money back."
She considered this.
"A third?"
"I paid 1,500," he said. "So you can just give me 500."
She was silent for a moment longer.
Then, finally, she nodded.
"Okay."
She pulled out her phone and made the transfer.
A moment later, his phone buzzed.
[Personal account has been credited with ¥500.00 from account ending in ...]
Lin Feng glanced at the notification.
Then, out of curiosity, he summoned his system.
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥6,412.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥6,412.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥22,069.00]
His system balance had increased.
He frowned slightly.
That's strange.
Wasn't this apartment rented with system money? That meant only profit from it should increase the system balance.
Unless...
The system still counted the apartment as being rented by him. Which made sense - the paperwork showed his name. He was already receiving the value of the rental. So any money generated from it counted as profit on top of the value he was already getting.
This was getting more and more confusing.
Does this mean I should become a landlord?
He shook his head and dismissed the thought.
He would figure it out later.
He pulled out the key card and handed it to Su Yue.
"Here. Get familiar with the place and bring your streaming stuff over when you're ready."
She accepted it carefully.
"I'm going to step out for a bit," he said, heading toward the door. "If you need my help with anything, don't hesitate to call me."
She nodded.
"Thank you, Lin Feng."
He paused at the doorway and glanced back.
"Don't mention it."
Then he stepped out and closed the door behind him.
…
Later.
Lin Feng closed his laptop after finishing his daily lesson.
He reached for his phone and noticed a missed call.
Su Yue.
There was also a message from thirty minutes ago.
[Su Yue]: When do we start the stream?
He picked up the phone and dialed.
But he didn't call her back.
Instead, he called Yu Shen.
…
A few minutes later, Lin Feng stood outside the studio apartment.
He knocked on the door.
It swung open almost immediately.
Su Yue stood there, already dressed and ready.
"You're finally here," she said.
"You're quite eager," he remarked, stepping inside.
"I received so many followers," she said, practically bouncing on her heels. "I've been dying to see if it'll translate into something."
He just smiled.
"Well, today's stream is going to be a little different from before."
She tilted her head.
"Different? How so?"
"It's going to be a sponsored stream."
He reached into his backpack and produced a few documents, handing them to her.
"Sponsored?"
She took the papers, confusion written across her face as she scanned the contents.
"Didn't I just debut?" she asked. "How come I'm getting sponsored already?"
Lin Feng scratched his cheek.
"Well... I pulled a few strings."
She looked up at him.
"No way. This is more than just pulling a few strings."
He sighed.
"Actually, I'm part owner of this company," he explained. "I talked to my friend who owns the other half, and we both agreed to sponsor you."
He crossed his arms.
"You gained a lot of followers really quickly. Your next stream might be your peak for a while, so it's as good a chance as ever."
He looked at her.
"So, what do you think?"
Her eyes lit up.
"I'm definitely in!"
She grabbed a pen and was about to sign when Lin Feng reached over and took the papers from her hands.
He shook his head and raised a finger.
"Never sign anything before reading it thoroughly and running it through your manager first."
He tapped the documents.
"I've already gone through it. Now it's your turn."
"Ah, right."
She looked down sheepishly.
"I was so excited I forgot."
He just sighed.
She took the papers back and began reading through them properly.
Her eyes went wide.
"5,000 yuan for a single stream?"
She looked up at him in disbelief.
"Isn't this too much?"
He shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that. It's not my money - it's company money."
She stared at him for a moment longer, then shook her head and signed the contract.
"Anyway," he said, taking the signed documents back, "you really should read before signing."
He tucked them into his backpack.
"What would you do if I was sponsoring you with one yuan to promote my porn website and you just signed it?"
Su Yue burst out laughing.
"What kind of example is that?"
She wiped the corners of her eyes, still giggling.
"I promise to be more careful next time."
"You'd better."
He zipped up his backpack and turned toward the streaming setup.
"Alright then. Let's start."
He glanced at her with a slight smile.
"The second stream."