The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Winter is almost here, and the weather is getting a bit chilly. But thankfully, the sun is shining brightly today, welcoming An Suxue home with its full rays.

An Suxue held hands with Ye Shu, and with her other hand holding Ye Shu's phone, she excitedly reported to Ye Shu what she had just seen.

"Ye Shu, Ye Shu, look."

She brought her phone screen closer to Ye Shu, her eyes crinkling with a long-lost joy.

"Xiaotao was the first to comment, and your friends all say you're a domestic abuser. How shameless."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh, finding the banter between friends quite amusing, completely devoid of the malice she had previously imagined.

Ye Shu didn't let An Suxue's words fall flat at all. Like a straight man in a crosstalk performance, he used all sorts of phrasing, such as "um," "ah," "this," "yes," "oh," and "hey," almost as if he was about to say, "Never heard of it, go to hell," and then bow and leave the stage.

He ensured that every word An Suxue spoke resonated, and that every small moment of joy echoed.

Qin Lili followed behind the two, her eyes scanning back and forth between them. She watched An Suxue holding Ye Shu's hand, her head slightly tilted back, chattering away, her face radiating genuine relaxation.

Ye Shu lowered his head slightly, listened intently, and smiled, showing complete focus.

The way they walked together was so natural, so perfectly in sync; it was how it should have been.

They chatted and laughed all the way as they entered the building, took the elevator, and returned to their little home.

Even after entering the house, An Suxue was still talking about her insights into Ye Shu's absurd theories from the previous night.

But her words came to an abrupt halt, because as soon as she changed into her slippers and looked up, she met Qin Lili's gaze.

Qin Lili was standing with her arms crossed, a smile on her face that was a mixture of disbelief and amusement, staring straight at me.

"Sister Lili?"

An Suxue subconsciously touched her face:

"What...what are you laughing at? Is there something on my face?"

She turned to look at Ye Shu beside her and found that Ye Shu was also looking at her, with the same expression on his face as Qin Lili, a smile and a feeling of "you finally...".

An Suxue was completely stunned. She looked down and saw that her clothes were on perfectly fine. She then held up her phone as a mirror and looked at herself. Apart from looking a little tired and having slightly swollen eyes, there was nothing particularly unusual about her face.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?"

She put down her phone and looked at the two people laughing mysteriously, completely bewildered.

Qin Lili finally couldn't hold back any longer and was about to speak when Ye Shu stopped her:

"Don't tell her. Let's see when she finds out herself."

An Suxue blinked. "Found? Found what? What did those two see?"

"Look, she hasn't even realized it yet! Goose, goose, goose..."

Qin Lili laughed so hard she practically squealed.

Ye Shu smiled, ignoring Qin Lili's arched neck and soaring song beside him. He turned and placed his hands on An Suxue's shoulders, turning her to face him, before slowly asking:

"Xiaoxue, tell me, how were you feeling just now?"

"Feel?"

An Suxue didn't understand what this meant, but she still answered:

"I feel really happy. I was just telling you about the comments on your WeChat Moments. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Hearing her words, the geese beside her cried even louder, and Ye Shu's eyes narrowed with laughter as she continued to guide the conversation:

"Yes, I'm very happy. Besides being happy, is there anything else?"

"there is none left."

An Suxue shook her head:

"What exactly happened?"

Ye Shu stopped teasing her and reminded her:

"Think carefully, how did you get from the entrance of the residential area back to this home? Along the way, did you notice anything else? Like... the surrounding environment? Or... yourself?"

An Suxue frowned slightly, really trying hard to recall:

"Well... I walked back with you guys, so why are you saying this...?"

Her voice grew softer and softer, and suddenly she seemed to understand something. She shut up and her eyes widened.

She looked down in disbelief at her slippers, then looked up at Ye Shu's smiling eyes and Qin Lili, who was playing with a large goose next to her.

"I...just now..."

Her voice trembled slightly with surprise:

"I was just... walking back from outside... near the entrance of the residential area?"

She wasn't in a closed car, nor at home, nor was she hidden behind sunglasses, a mask, or clothes.

She walked home from the gate of the residential complex in broad daylight, amidst the possibility of strangers, unexpected events, and all sorts of stares!

And she herself was completely unaware! There was no panic, no heart palpitations, no that familiar, suffocating tension.

Her attention was entirely on the comments on Ye Shu's phone, and she was captivated by chatting with Ye Shu and the long-lost sense of ease.

She simply walked that road like an ordinary person, holding the hand of her beloved, chatting away.

It wasn't until Ye Shu and Qin Lili pointed it out that she belatedly realized what had happened.

"I...I..."

A mix of excitement, disbelief, a sense of exhaustion akin to surviving a catastrophe, and a belated feeling of lingering fear caused her to tremble uncontrollably.

Ye Shu watched her reaction, from bewilderment to shock, and then to reddening eyes and trembling body.

He knew that the impact of this event was challenging An Suxue's old perceptions, and now he needed to give her another push.

Ye Shu said to An Suxue:

"You did it, Comrade An Suxue. You just walked back home from outside, from the gate of the community, without any preparation. And you were not afraid, you did not break down, and you were not even aware of how difficult it was for you to do something."

He paused, then continued:

"Congratulations! You've taken another giant leap forward! Let's give Comrade An Suxue a round of applause for this historic breakthrough!"

clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap...

Ye Shu clapped enthusiastically, and Qin Lili next to her also raised her hand to clap and whistled.

An Suxue was even more bewildered by the sudden applause and commendation ceremony. Her mind was still filled with shock and lingering fear, but her heart was beating rapidly in uncontrollable rhythm with the applause.

She looked at Ye Shu and Qin Lili's faces and clapped her hands lightly a few times, although she had no idea why she was clapping, she just felt... like she should do it.

"receive!"

Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Ye Shu clenched his fists and pulled them to the sides, making a gesture reminiscent of a band conductor.

Then he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a lollipop.

He saw the lollipops on the counter when he went out to buy dinner last night and was paying at the convenience store. For some reason, he just wanted to buy one.

He handed the lollipop to An Suxue and said seriously:

"This is the organization's recognition and reward for your significant breakthrough. Although the prize is a bit meager, the honor is priceless!"

An Suxue was still a little dazed. She reached out and took the lollipop, and her emotions calmed down a bit, but the pessimism in her personality quietly resurfaced.

She spoke with a hesitant, uncertain tone:

"If... if I were to go out now... and walk from the doorway here... I might... not dare to again..."

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, her earlier excitement quickly replaced by worry about what might happen next.

She feared that this was just a fluke, a misstep caused by a shift in attention, and not real progress.

"It's okay, we'll take our time, there's no rush."

Ye Shu gently held An Suxue's hand holding the lollipop and comforted her:

"Of all things in this world, the hardest part is going from zero to one, from not daring to dare to do it for the first time. The hardest hurdle has been overcome, so how far away are the next two, three, four, three, five, and six steps? Let's take it one step at a time. If we can walk this far today, maybe we can walk around the neighborhood a little more tomorrow. There's plenty of time, no rush."

As he spoke, he took the lollipop, tore open the wrapper, and held it to An Suxue's lips:

"Let's taste the reward first and see if it's sweet."

An Suxue looked at the lollipop, then glanced at Ye Shu.

There was no disappointment in Ye Shu's eyes as she told herself "maybe but dare not." She slightly opened her mouth and put the lollipop in her mouth.

sweet.

The sweetness traveled down her tongue and down to the back of her throat, sweetening her heart.