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

stare--

Ye Shu was crouching on the floor with his back to the bedroom door, battling the tattered suitcase spread out on the floor.

After stuffing in two winter clothes, he was basically full. He was using the so-called "rolling method" taught online to squeeze out more space, and also stuffing in small items like chargers and razors.

But he didn't know when it started, but the back of his neck felt a little tight, and two gazes were like laser eyes, almost burning two holes in his neck.

He turned around, and sure enough, Zhi Qiu was standing in the bedroom doorway.

Leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, a familiar gentle smile on her face, she quietly looked at herself, and she didn't know how long she had been watching herself.

"Sister Zhi Qiu, is something the matter?"

Ye Shu put down the socks that were crumpled up in her hand and turned to look at her.

Zhi Qiu smiled and shook her head:

"It's alright, little Shu, you go about your business. I'm just looking around and packing my luggage."

"Yeah, I have an early train tomorrow morning, so I'll get ready in advance to avoid being in a rush."

"Oh, then we need to clean it up properly."

Zhi Qiu nodded, but didn't move, remaining in the same position, smiling at him.

Ye Shu felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, but she forced herself to turn back and continue packing.

He could feel the gaze move from his hands folding clothes to the trousers he had carelessly stuffed into a box, and then to the pile of miscellaneous items lying next to him that were being prepared for tidying up.

Despite being silent, it was incredibly noticeable, making his movements while folding clothes a little distorted, as if he had forgotten how to fold clothes.

After enduring for a few minutes, Ye Shu finally couldn't hold back any longer. He turned around again and asked:

"Sister Zhi Qiu, is there something you want to say? Just say it, why are you being so polite with me?"

"It's really nothing, little Shu, you go ahead with your work."

Zhi Qiu was still smiling at him, but her expression didn't seem like anything was wrong; she was definitely up to something mischievous again.

Ye Shu sighed inwardly, but had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue packing her luggage.

After much effort, he finally managed to squeeze the last item into his suitcase, and just as he was about to close it, a hand reached out from the side and pressed down on his suitcase.

"Little Shu, my younger brother."

Zhi Qiu stood beside him, bent down, and pulled a sweatshirt directly from his suitcase. She shook it a few times until it was loose, then placed it on the bed, smoothed it out, and muttered something under her breath:

"Look at you, you're still a boy after all. The way you folded these clothes... you didn't even smooth out the wrinkles, you just stuffed them in like that. When you get home, will they even be wearable?"

As she spoke, the hoodie was already folded into a neat square. Then Zhi Qiu looked at the suitcase that was stuffed and somewhat deformed, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"This setup is... way too messy."

Zhi Qiu sighed softly. Before Ye Shu could react, she had already reached into the suitcase and pulled out all the clothes, along with the odds and ends stuffed in the gaps.

It was like going back to square one; Ye Shu's neatly packed suitcase instantly returned to its unpacked state.

Ye Shu opened her mouth, looking at the fruits of her labor of half a day that had been wiped out, and thought to herself:

Sister Zhi Qiu, couldn't you have said so sooner? Did you have to wait until I had gone through all that trouble before reaching out?

But seeing Zhi Qiu's eager-to-do look, he silently swallowed his words.

Okay, you can come now.

Zhi Qiu began to reorganize, separating all the clothes into categories, and then folding each piece as if it had been taken directly from the store.

Ye Shu sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Zhi Qiu's profile. He suddenly thought of Xia Qing's appearance last night.

He understood Zhi Qiu's true intentions behind her seemingly ordinary act of helping, but Zhi Qiu's expression was more roundabout.

Suddenly, a suicidal thought popped into my head.

That trick worked wonders on Xia Qing yesterday, I wonder... if it will work on Zhi Qiu?

What would Zhi Qiu's reaction be if she were also fooled? He had never seen what Zhi Qiu was like when she was on the verge of losing her guard.

Practice makes perfect; let's get right to it.

He composed himself, casually picked up a pair of rolled-up socks from the side, pretended to carefully unroll them, folded them in half, and then looked absent-minded and hesitant.

"Um... Sister Zhi Qiu, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Zhi Qiu was folding a pair of pants when she heard this. She didn't stop what she was doing, but just turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Hmm? What does little Shu want to ask? Is it a flaw? And how many of these do you want?"

No, no.

Ye Shu quickly shook his head, his face growing even more serious:

"I don't lack money, it's...it's something else."

His acting was phenomenal, revealing a complex expression—a blend of reluctance, inner turmoil, difficulty, and a touch of longing—that only a Hollywood Best Actor could portray, as he slowly began to speak:

"Well... my dad said the other day that a pretty big new factory opened up near my home and they're hiring. The pay seems to be... pretty good."

Zhi Qiu nodded, signaling him to continue, and then smoothed out his trousers, folding them into a rectangle.

"With my current qualifications, if I go back and apply for jobs, I might... be able to go straight into management and become a junior manager or something. I'm a little tempted. The pressure here is high, and the cost of living is also high. It would be more stable to develop my career back home."

At this point, he took a deep breath, as if making a decision against his ancestors, looked up at Zhi Qiu, and unleashed his trump card:

"So... I want to give it a try. If I get the job, I might not be able to come back after the New Year. Sister Zhi Qiu... can you accept a long-distance relationship?"

After he finished speaking, he stared at Zhi Qiu's face, wanting to see how she would react.

However, Zhi Qiu's smile remained unchanged, still gentle and warm, and she didn't even stop folding clothes for a moment.

However, her eyes, which were always slightly narrowed, opened slightly when Ye Shu finished speaking his last sentence.

But only for a moment, before Ye Shu could see clearly, her eyes narrowed again.

Then, she let out a soft "sigh," seemingly with a mix of helplessness and indulgence, as if listening to a naive child spouting nonsense.

"Little Shu, it seems... you want to leave your sister's side, right?"

She placed the folded pants on the bed next to her, then turned to face Ye Shu, placing her hands on her lap. Her expression and tone were gentle, but what she said made Ye Shu's heart skip a beat:

"Did you... meet some cute girl outside again? Are you getting tired of your older sisters?"

She looked at Ye Shu and continued:

"Don't blame your sister for thinking this way. After all, little Shu has a history of such behavior. If little Shu has someone he likes, he can just say it directly. There's no need to beat around the bush and make excuses like this. I understand. Who told our little Shu to be so outstanding? He's good-looking and has a great personality. It's perfectly normal for someone to like him."

As he spoke, he nodded slightly, as if he agreed with his own statement.

Ye Shu, who was standing next to him, broke out in a cold sweat. This... how come it's not what I expected?

"If little Shu feels we're not good enough, and you look down on us, you're free to leave. Your older sisters will be sad, but we won't stop you from pursuing a better life and... a better person, right?"

As she spoke, Zhi Qiu had already taken out her phone and tapped the screen:

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've contacted Uncle. We really didn't do a good job in this matter, and we didn't take good care of little Shu, which is why you had the idea of ​​leaving. I need to call Uncle and apologize."

As she spoke, she held the phone to her ear.

Ye Shu seemed to see his father's darkened face, and the familiar melody echoed in his ears:

Dad doesn't have many crispy and fragrant treats that we all love?

Seven Wolves belt!

"No! Sister Zhi Qiu, you mustn't!!"

Ye Shu threw the socks in her hand and grabbed Zhi Qiu's hand.

But when I took the phone off the phone, I found that the screen was black, meaning I hadn't made any calls at all.

Zhi Qiu, however, continued to look at him with a smile. Then, with her other hand, she tapped Ye Shu's nose and laughed:

"Little Shu, you're still too green to fool your older sister."