Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

Fifth floor.

Shi Ran stood at her own door, took out her key, and awkwardly opened the door under that person's gaze.

The room was dark, and a damp, musty smell of a rented room immediately wafted over.

"Wait, I'll go get some water."

Lu Lin leaned against the wall and finally saw the place clearly. It was small and dilapidated, at most 25 square meters, even worse than his nanny's room.

A single bed, a folding table, a simple wardrobe, and a few yellowed old posters on the wall.

The windows couldn't even be closed properly; the wind blew in through the cracks, causing the curtains to billow and even letting in some rain.

Fortunately, it was quite clean. The sheets were washed until they were almost white, and laid out flat without a single wrinkle, as if someone had carefully stretched them out one by one.

Lu Lin suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.

Just then, water was handed to him, along with a crumpled medicine box.

"It's expired, whether you eat it or not is up to you."

Lu Lin took the medicine box. Normally, he wouldn't take a single pill at home no matter how much his private doctor pleaded with him, but here he readily agreed to take the expired medicine.

"eat."

Shi Ran was at a loss for words when she saw him swallow so quickly, and the room remained quiet for a few seconds.

The rain was still falling outside the window, pattering against the glass.

Shi Ran scrutinized the person in front of her, her gaze slowly sliding down his face, from head to toe—his hoodie, pants, and sneakers were all worth over ten thousand yuan.

And this guy still calls himself a bankrupt rich kid?

Who are you trying to fool...?

Suddenly, he remembered something. Yang Pei's meaningful smile when he handed over the card made him realize what that smile meant, and he waited to see what would happen.

Suddenly something connected in my mind.

Well, it's been turned into a gambling game.

Shi Ran remained outwardly calm, but her mind was already racing.

Row.

Playing games, huh?

Let's see who gets the better of whom.

"I still don't know your name?"

The person opposite spoke, their voice slightly nasal from the heat.

Shi Ran looked at him, her face expressionless, her tone icy: "Shi Ran."

After all, no one can pick up a person from outside without any precautions, right?

The person opposite nodded. "Oh, my name is Lu Lin..."

As he spoke, he discreetly pulled out his wallet, opened it, and saw that there was only a little over two thousand yuan left. He took it out and handed it all to Shi Ran.

"That's all, is that enough?"

Shi Ran didn't take it; he just stared at the LV wallet in Lu Lin's hand, the monogrammed one, which cost over eight thousand at the official store.

Lu Lin quickly realized what was going on and chuckled dryly, "This is a fake, I bought it online for two hundred yuan."

Shi Ran rolled her eyes inwardly, then, on a sudden inspiration, said, "You said five thousand, but we don't have enough money right now."

He pointed to the wallet.

Give me that as collateral.

Lu Lin paused for a moment, then handed over the wallet without hesitation.

"Okay, here you go."

He really didn't care about these things, and he didn't know that he would resell it to a luxury store for more than three thousand the next day.

Lu Lin did feel a bit unwell after being caught in the rain; his nose was stuffy and his head was dizzy.

He wanted to take a hot shower to warm up, but this bathroom…

He stood at the door, looking at the unfamiliar bottles and jars inside, somewhat bewildered.

"Shi Ran?" he called out to the outside.

no response.

He called out again, and only then did footsteps sound outside, and Shi Ran's face appeared in the doorway.

"what?"

Lu Lin pointed to two plastic bottles on the wall: "Which one is the shampoo?"

Shi Ran looked at him without saying a word.

Lu Lin waited two seconds, and seeing that he didn't react, pointed to another one: "What about this? Shower gel?"

Shi Ran remained silent, because he didn't know either!

Lu Lin waved his hand, deciding to handle it himself: "It's okay, I'll find it myself later."

He then asked, "Do you have any bath towels?"

Shi Ran remained silent. Looking at his expressionless face, Lu Lin suddenly found it a little funny.

"It's okay! I'll wipe it with my own clothes later."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Could you lend me two changes of clothes?"

Hey, now I can make the decisions.

Shi Ran nodded, turned and walked out, leaving behind the words, "Wait there."

As soon as Shi Ran left, the system spoke in his mind.

I think you don't even need a guide; he's practically already figured it out for himself.

As Shi Ran walked towards the balcony, she thought to herself, "How's that, system? Did I convincingly portray myself as an aloof beauty?"

The system paused for a second, then said: "As expected of someone who's been with Gu Chen for two years."

Shi Ran paused, realizing that she had mentioned someone she shouldn't have, and wisely shut up.

Shi Ran took the clothes, turned around and walked back to the bathroom door, then knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack, and a hand reached out, its knuckles distinct and glistening with water droplets.

However, there are injuries on his back and obvious calluses on his knuckles. Just looking at this hand, you would never guess that its owner is a pampered rich second-generation.

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Lu Lin began to worry.

This water heater looks older than him. It has a few buttons and a small display screen, but the screen is black. I pressed it for a long time but it didn't respond.

He tried turning the switch under the showerhead, "Hiss—"

Ice water! It's fucking ice water.

He was drenched and stumbled back, forgetting he was lame, and almost fell.

He tried again, this time twisting it in the opposite direction.

"Hold!"

It's hot! It's fucking hot.

Lu Lin tumbled between ice water and boiling water for a full five minutes before finally finding a temperature that was barely tolerable.

Hot water poured over my body, and steam slowly rose from the bathroom.

He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and let the hot water wash over his hair and cheeks, flowing down his body.

A strong sense of unreality welled up inside me.

absurd.

That's absolutely absurd.

Who would have thought that Lu Lin would one day be holed up in this shabby rented room, taking a shower with shampoo that costs 20 yuan a bottle?

He deserved it. It was just a bet; if he didn't want to play, he could have just quit. Yang Pei and the others wouldn't have said anything. He insisted on suffering like this, all for...

He then recalled the face he had finally seen clearly in the hallway by the light of that broken motion-activated light.

Thin, pale, with a hint of impatience in his eyes, yet something else seemed to be hidden within.

They agreed to take him in without even knowing his background. What if he was some kind of ruthless killer? But what kind of killer is this handsome?

He admitted that his feelings for Shi Ran were complicated.

There was novelty, there was lust at first sight, and there was finally someone accepting him not because of any of his conditions, but simply because he was Lu Lin.

Lu Lin suddenly chuckled.

Hot water poured down his head, mixed with feelings he couldn't quite explain.

Outside.

Shi Ran stood in front of the bed, staring at the small bed with a worried expression.

1.5 meters? At most 1.5 meters.

Two people sleeping together?

He sighed inwardly, [I'm already in such a miserable state, am I supposed to sleep on the floor?]

The system blurted out: "You could choose to have him sleep on the floor."

Shi Ran: [His leg is broken, okay?]

System: [Oh, so you're feeling sorry for me now?]

Shi Ran: [? Why are you being so sour?]

Just as Tongzi was about to say something, the bathroom door creaked open.

Shi Ran turned her head and then froze.

Lu Lin stood at the bathroom door, his whole body flushed pink from the steam. He wasn't wearing the clothes he'd been given, just a bath towel wrapped around his neck.

Lu Lin looked up, his face completely innocent. "Your clothes are too small. I can't wear them at all."

He paused, then added:

"By the way, do you have any underwear at home?"

Suddenly, a buzzing sound went through his mind.

So this kid is currently... in a vacuum?

Shi Ran withdrew his gaze, his face still bearing that indifferent expression, and shook his head.

"No, you can't wear my size anyway."

He was telling the truth, and the person opposite him enjoyed it so much that they laughed out loud without any attempt to hide their laughter, "Tsk, always telling the truth."

Shi Ran's gaze fell on his leg. "What happened to you? Is it serious?"

"It's not serious, it's just slippery..."

He stopped mid-sentence and immediately changed his words, saying, "I was beaten up by debt collectors."

Shi Ran looked at him, knowing full well that this man was blatantly lying, but she didn't call him out on it. She just nodded and said, "If it's not serious, then you can sleep on the floor."

Lu Lin's smile froze.

"what?"

"Actually..." he began, his voice strained, "it still hurts a little."

Shi Ran looked back at him and thought, "Forget it, he's just a narcissistic cripple who got a fever from being caught in the rain. Let him be."

Lu Lin slept on the only bed in the house, while Shi Ran lay on the floor made of old clothes and blankets, staring at the ceiling and reminiscing about the past.

At this time yesterday, he was still lying in the presidential suite, in a king-size bed with four pillows and silk bedding!

Today is much better.

I can't even sleep in a bed anymore.

As he was making his accusations, half a head peeked out from beside the bed.

"Hey," Lu Lin said, "What do you do for a living? You're so poor?"

The dark figure on the ground was silent for two seconds, then Shi Ran's voice floated up, "Being a grandson."

Lu Lin paused for a moment, then smiled.

"What job doesn't involve being a servant?" he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "What exactly do you do?"

Shi Ran paused for a second, then spoke:

"Supermarket cashier during the day, bar waiter at night."

Lu Lin was stunned. He knew about Shi Ran's job at the bar, but she was actually working a day job?

"That's the limit?" Lu Lin blurted out. "What time do you start work during the day?"

After a few seconds of silence, Shi Ran mentally called out to the system: "What time do I start work?"

The system thoughtfully replied: 【Five hours later.】

After listening to this, I suddenly felt that my own birth chart had become weaker.

He didn't say anything, but simply pulled the blanket up to cover his head.

Lu Lin waited a few seconds, but didn't get a reply, so he moved closer to the bedside.

"Feed?"

The only response he received was the sound of even breathing.

Lu Lin had no choice but to lie back down dejectedly.

The bed was indeed hard and small, completely incomparable to the large beds he usually slept in at home and in hotels.

But as he lay there, listening to the patter of rain against the windowpane, the hum of cheap appliances, and the soft breathing of the person beside him, he inexplicably felt drowsy.

He usually has a severe sleep disorder at home, and it's a miracle if he can fall asleep at four or five in the morning. Today, he lost consciousness after lying down for only a few minutes.

When he woke up again, it was already noon the next day.