I'm in Love Apartment, and the system is making me cultivate immortality.

As night fell.

It is also a time for family joy.

Everyone gathered at Little South Country to celebrate Mika's return after nearly half a year of traveling.

"Meijia, you've finally come back, and you're going to go on another trip?" Ms. Hu said to Meijia with a hint of reluctance in her voice.

"Can't we just stay in the apartment?"

After a few rounds of drinks, Meijia, who was already slightly tipsy, fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.

Gu Yifan could feel Zi Qiao's body tense up beside him, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, but just before Zi Qiao could say anything to persuade him to stay.

Mika nodded and smiled, saying, "Of course, because I already promised Aped."

"Aiped?!"

Everyone was shocked.

Ms. Hu asked first, "Who is this Aped?"

“I met this painter by chance at Xi’an Airport!” Meijia introduced with a smile.

"A boy?" Lin Wanyu asked in surprise.

“Of course, why would a girl have that name?” Mika said with amusement.

This caused quite a stir, with everyone asking questions and the entire private room becoming noisy.

"Shut up, everyone!"

At the critical moment, Ms. Hu stepped forward and unleashed her Foshan Lion's Roar to suppress the crowd.

"Go on, what did you promise this Aped?" Yifei asked impatiently after suppressing everyone.

"Oh, it's like this, Aped isn't from Dongda University, he's a Malaysian Chinese. He's a very famous painter, and he's currently touring the world exhibiting his works!"

"During my time in Chang'an, we became good friends, and he invited me to hold an art exhibition in Singapore together. Perhaps after that, we'll be flying around the world together~"

Meijia's face lit up with anticipation, but everyone else's expressions froze.

"Flying around, and all over the world?" Zeng Xiaoxian couldn't help but complain, "Isn't this even worse than exile in ancient times?"

At this point, Ziqiao, who had been keeping quiet all along, finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Hey Meijia, who is this AIDS patient? Is he reliable or not? You're going to go with him?!"

Upon hearing this, Mika, who was excitedly showing off her collection of Aped's works, suddenly looked sullen, put her hands on her hips, and rolled her eyes at Ziqiao.

"Lu Ziqiao! If you can't speak properly, sew your mouth shut!"

"I'll spray you to death with a mouthful of salt water. His name is Aped, what AIDS patient?"

Ziqiao chuckled awkwardly, "But you don't even know whether this person is good or bad."

Mika gave a mocking smile. "Heh!"

"Compared to you, Lu Ziqiao, every man in the world is an absolute gem! If Aped can't believe that, then you can?"

Qiao was speechless, and his expression became awkward and stiff.

Gu Yifan quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Meijia, I think we should put this aside for now. Since you've finally come back, why don't you stay a few more days and then we can consider this matter later?"

Meijia glared at Ziqiao, her face full of anger. Hearing Gu Yifan's words, her expression softened slightly. "I understand, you're all worried about me, but Aiped is really a good person, an honest man."

"Well, you'll find out when you meet Aped tomorrow anyway."

"Tomorrow? That guy's coming too?" Ziqiao asked again.

Zhang Wei whispered, "I feel like Zi Qiao's inner power is about to explode."

Lin Wanyu nodded subconsciously, "That's right, it looks like Ziqiao is going to have a duel with that Apple!"

After saying that, Lin Wanyu and Gu Yifan turned their heads in surprise, "Zhang Wei? Weren't you working overtime and unable to come back?"

"Oh, I heard there's a big meal coming up. I've been eating instant noodles for half the month and I'm feeling nauseous, so I applied to bring my work back with me," Zhang Wei said with a grin, patting his laptop bag.

Looking at Gu Yifan and Wan Yu, Zhang Wei shamelessly asked, "Can I add a seat between you two?"

At this moment, Meijia also noticed Zhang Wei and jumped up, exclaiming, "Hey, Zhang Yida!"

Zhang Wei was also very happy, "Little Diao Chan, you're back!"

"Go away, you dare call me 'Little Diao Chan'?" Ms. Hu rolled her eyes and patted Zhang Wei's back.

"Crack."

"Ouch!" Zhang Wei clutched his lower back in pain.

"Zhang Wei, are you alright?" Gu Yifan asked hurriedly.

Ms. Hu looked incredulous, "I didn't use any force at all, Zhang Wei, don't try to scam me!"

As a result, Zhang Wei couldn't keep up the act anymore and burst out laughing.

"You deserve a beating!" Ms. Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Under Zi Qiao's angry gaze, Zhang Wei stepped forward and hugged Mei Jia before sitting down next to her.

Gu Yifan shook his head.

Zhang Wei, you've already chosen your own path to death.

After Zhang Wei's interruption, Meijia stopped mentioning Aped, but it seemed she hadn't given up on her plan to leave in a few days and go around the world with Aped to hold art exhibitions.

Gu Yifan knew that it would be useless to persuade Meijia now, especially since she was still angry with Ziqiao. The more he tried to persuade her, the more counterproductive it would be.

Mika continued to recount her travel experiences.

"By the way, Mika, why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Zhang Wei began to eagerly devour the food on the table, stuffing his mouth full while asking Meijia questions in a slurred manner.

"After you left, Ziqiao searched for you everywhere like a madman, and even asked Zhanbo to help."

"Brother Wei, eat more vegetables." Gu Yifan coughed before Zhang Wei could finish speaking, signaling Zhang Wei to eat more vegetables and talk less.

But as soon as Meijia heard this, she understood. She curled her lip in disdain and said, "Ziqiao would still frantically look for me? Humph, I don't believe it."

"As for why I left without saying goodbye..." Mika was a little agitated, which could be felt from her eyes, expression, and tone of voice.

She narrowed her eyes, glanced at everyone, and skipped over Ziqiao, who was silently looking down. "You guys want to know?"

"That's right!"

Everyone nodded.

At first, everyone was worried that bringing this up would hurt Mika's feelings, so they didn't mention it. But now that Mika has asked herself, of course they have to ask.

"Actually, this is what I went through back then," Meijia said without hiding anything.

"Everyone in the apartment is either successful in their careers or has found their love and happiness, but where exactly is my happiness?" Mika murmured to herself, as if reminiscing.

"So, I've decided! I'm going to go find my own happiness!"

"Besides, I didn't have money before, so I couldn't go anywhere I wanted to go. Now that I have money, I wanted to travel all over the country, so I took a trip on a whim."

Zhang Wei was very envious after hearing this; he also wanted to be as carefree as Meijia.

Of course, whether Mika's words are true or false is definitely true, but whether she is hiding something is hard to say.

Meijia stared blankly at the weathered Ziqiao, who had remained silent and hadn't said much at the dinner table. There was a hint of resentment, a hint of anger at his lack of ambition, and a hint of relief in her eyes.

"Alright, that's enough. I'll get drunk if I drink any more." Hearing this, Youyou spoke up first, "Meijia, come back and stay in your room."

Mika was a little surprised, "My room is still here?"

"Of course we're here, Meijia. Now that you're back, our girls' suite is finally complete," Miss Qin said with a smile.

Mika happily agreed, "Okay then."

Meijia paid the bill without hesitation, and no one tried to take it from her. After all, the board game cafe she and Yifei had been running together had been doing quite well lately.

Although her popularity has waned since Mika left, she still makes money.

Meijia's share was also transferred to her on time.

“Meijia, the board game arcade isn’t as lively as it used to be since you left. Many people are still asking why you haven’t come back yet. You absolutely have to show up at the board game arcade tomorrow!” Ms. Hu said, helping Meijia walk ahead.

“The board game arcade.” Mika bit her lip. The board game arcade was a business she had poured most of her emotions into, and it was the beginning of her changing her destiny.

From someone who didn't graduate from junior high school and could only do odd jobs, such as working as a pet shop clerk, she suddenly became a small business owner with some wealth.

Meijia certainly has feelings for it, and it's hard for her to give it up directly.

"Alright then," Mika finally nodded in agreement.

Ms. Hu clapped her hands, "That's great!"

She wasn't necessarily happy that the board game arcade was about to become popular again. Of course, that was part of the reason, but the main reason was that Mika had agreed to go to the arcade, which meant she still had someone on her mind.
Yifei, and everyone in the apartment, didn't want Meijia to leave like this.

We need to find someone who can keep Meijia occupied.

The girls walked in front, and the boys naturally followed behind.

Gu Yifan looked at Ziqiao, who was staring blankly at Meijia's back.

Compared to the storyline, he should still be a playboy, and hasn't fully realized that Zi Qiao is deeply in love with Mei Jia.

Having experienced so much, Zi Qiao clearly knows who the girl he truly loves is.

However, Ziqiao remained silent throughout the meal. Even when Meijia said she was leaving, he didn't say much to try to persuade her to stay, let alone apologize or soften his stance.

Gu Yifan was somewhat confused.

Is it that Ziqiao is unwilling to back down, too proud to admit it, or is there another reason behind it?

"Ziqiao, why didn't you say anything just now?" Gu Yifan asked.

“Meijia has been watching you the whole time.”

If Ziqiao apologized and admitted his mistake, Gu Yifan felt that Meijia would have a high chance of agreeing to stay.

"Well..." Ziqiao opened his mouth, as if to say something.

"Don't tell me you're just embarrassed, I don't believe you," Gu Yifan warned Ziqiao, urging him not to try and fool him.

Seeing this, Ziqiao gave an awkward smile, his hesitant face showing a hint of melancholy and uncertainty.

"Okay, actually it's because I don't dare to ask Mika to stay."

"Why?" Gu Yifan slowed his pace and asked with a frown.

"Why should Meijia stay?" Ziqiao countered.

“At first, I really wanted Meijia to come back, but even if she did, would she really be happy?” Ziqiao said bitterly. “Would she accept that I’ve been taking care of Meidi all this time?”

Gu Yifan frowned. "I think you're overthinking it. Meijia isn't the kind of person to hold grudges. If she knew..."

“But Medi looks a lot like her,” Zi Qiao interrupted Gu Yifan.

"She herself said that she made many friends and had a great time during her travels."

"Alright, Lao Gu." Zi Qiao patted Gu Yifan on the shoulder. "I know what I'm doing. I'll apologize sincerely to Meijia."

“I have made many mistakes in the past. Perhaps Meijia’s choice is the right one. She will be happier and more fulfilled if she leaves me.”

Gu Yifan was unable to speak again.

It seems Ziqiao has made up his mind. He had taken many measures before, which could be described as selfish. Therefore, this time Ziqiao has decided to respect Meijia's choice.
But as the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly.

Gu Yifan was certain that Meijia's desire to leave wasn't that strong, and Ziqiao's haggard appearance actually had another helpful effect.

At least in Meijia's eyes when she looked at Ziqiao, Gu Yifan was certain that there was a hint of worry mixed in.

If Ziqiao is certain he likes Meijia, then Meijia must not like Ziqiao.

If they really didn't like it, they probably would have left long ago.

Meijia was simply hoping for some changes in Ziqiao.

With this in mind, Gu Yifan already had an idea.

The next day.

Ziqiao left early in the morning, as if he was avoiding Meijia.

Ms. Hu entrusted Youyou with an important task: for the sake of her nephew's future happiness, Youyou had to pester Meijia and take her shopping.

Take this opportunity.

The rest of the apartment building members gathered in suite 3601 to discuss their grand plan to retain Mika!
"Ahem, first we need to determine whether Meijia really wants to leave, or if she's just saying it," Ms. Hu said, tapping the blackboard.

"What exactly is this Aped?" Zeng Xiaoxian picked up a washed apple from the coffee table, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a bite.

"Meijia said she'll be visiting the apartment this afternoon, so Yifan, you and Zeng Xiaoxian, you two should at least make sure you don't openly criticize him! Lower his image in Meijia's eyes!"

"Don't worry," Zeng Xiaoxian said confidently. "You can hold me, your brother."

Gu Yifan shrugged. He was the only one among them who knew who Aped was. Aped had Ziqiao's face, Guan Gu's personality, and even Guan Gu's height and speech.

Of course, he also seems to have inherited the same shortcomings as Guan Gu and Zi Qiao.

“But even if Meijia stays, what about Meidi? Meijia will definitely be very angry if she finds out,” Lin Wanyu asked, raising her hand.

Ms. Hu was also at a loss about this matter.

Zeng Xiaoxian suggested, "I think we should just keep it a secret for as long as we can, and keep the person here for now."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei said to Zeng Xiaoxian with righteous indignation, "Teacher Zeng, this is fraud!"

"Mika deserves to know the truth about this!"

"Hey Zhang Wei, whose side are you on?" Zeng Xiaoxian questioned.

Zhang Wei said sheepishly, "Of course I'm on the side of justice."

At this moment, Gu Yifan agreed with Zhang Wei's idea, "I also think that you can't hide it by just keeping it a secret. You can't hide the truth forever."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Yifei asked, hands on her hips.

Gu Yifan narrowed his eyes slightly. "I have an idea."

Soon, Gu Yifan finished speaking.

Zeng Xiaoxian hesitated and asked, "Is this really a reliable approach?"

“That’s right,” Lin Wanyu said with a worried expression. “What if Meijia gets angry?”

“No, Meijia won’t be angry,” Gu Yifan said with a smile.

Without Aped, Mika knew that Meidi might have been unhappy, but it was Aped's appearance that created the opportunity.
"In short, I've named this operation 'Operation Save Mika'!"

"Keep it up, everyone!" (End of Chapter)