I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

After finishing a bowl of egg noodles, the warmth dispelled the last trace of fatigue, and Lin Yang felt every cell in his body relax and unwind.

He glanced at his phone; it was almost eight o'clock.

Stepping into the master bathroom, the hot water washed over my body. The intense battle of the previous night brought not fatigue, but a deeper sense of rejuvenation.

When he came out wrapped in a bath towel, Su Man was already awake, leaning lazily against the headboard, the silk sheets slipping down to reveal her round, fair shoulders.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to help my childhood friend Zhang Wei move." Lin Yang said as he took a clean T-shirt and casual pants out of the closet. "I'm planning to let him stay in the small bedroom at Tianyue Huafu. You don't mind, do you?"

His tone was questioning, after all, it wasn't his own house.

That house was provided for him by Su Man.

Su Man's gaze was soft, carrying the misty moisture unique to early morning, and she gently shook her head.

"No, that apartment is for you to stay in. You can make your own arrangements."

"Um."

Lin Yang nodded, not at all surprised by the result.

"I might have to go to the company to work overtime later," Su Man rubbed her eyes. "Could you take me there first?"

"Then you'd better get up quickly, Zhang Wei made an appointment with me at 9 o'clock."

"Oh, why are you moving so early?" Su Man muttered, her voice carrying a hint of coquetry.

Lin Yang finished dressing, leaned over, and planted a kiss on her lips.

"What do you want for breakfast? I'll make it for you. Hurry up and get ready."

"No need for that," Su Man said, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Just fry me an egg, there's toast in the fridge, and you can heat up some milk."

"OK, right away, hurry up and wash up."

Su Man stretched out her arms and remained on the bed without moving.

"Please help me up first."

Lin Yang smiled and, instead of taking her hand, suddenly threw off the blanket, bent down, and picked her up in his arms.

Su Man gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Lin Yang held her in his arms and strode into the bathroom.

***

After dropping Su Man off at the company building, Lin Yang drove straight to the location Zhang Wei had sent him.

There weren't many vehicles during the morning rush hour on the weekend, and the roads were clear.

Before nine o'clock, the dark blue Cayenne drove into the navigation destination area - Wanhe Village.

This is a typical urban village, better planned than Shipai Village where Lin Yang lived before, with slightly wider spacing between buildings, but it has the same unique atmosphere.

The air was filled with the smells of cooking oil from breakfast stalls, the sour smell of fermenting garbage cans, and the damp, musty smell emanating from old buildings.

This expensive luxury car looked out of place here, attracting curious glances from many passersby.

Lin Yang found a relatively spacious spot to park his car and dialed Zhang Wei's number.

It rang several times before being answered.

"Hey, Wei-ge, what's going on? I've arrived."

Zhang Wei's voice, suppressing his anger, came from the other end of the phone.

"Wait a minute, the landlord is nitpicking and wants to withhold the deposit."

"Give me a location, and I'll come find you."

"No. 31 Tongluo Lane, go up to the 4th floor through that iron gate."

"Um."

Lin Yang hung up the phone and got out of the car.

After searching for a while, I finally saw the address of No. 31 Tongluo Lane. The rusty iron gate was open, the corridor was narrow and dark, and the walls were covered with all kinds of lock picking and drain cleaning tools.

He had just reached the third floor when he heard a woman's shrill voice, mixed with the Huahai dialect, arguing coming from upstairs.

In a room on the fourth floor, a middle-aged woman with curly hair and an overweight figure stood with her hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke.

Zhang Wei stood at the door of a bedroom, his face flushed. At his feet were two huge red, blue and white snakeskin bags, a suitcase, a backpack, and a plastic bucket filled with clothes hangers.

This is all the wealth he has in Huahai.

Lin Yang glanced at it and saw that it had at least more items than he had back then.

"The landlord says I didn't do these things. I rarely use the kitchen and living room; I mostly use my room," Zhang Wei argued.

"Even if it wasn't you who did it, you still have to take responsibility! This is a common area, so no matter what, you have to pay one-third of the cost!" The landlord's voice rose another notch.

"There's nothing wrong with my room, and I don't even use it, so why should I have to pay a third of the cost!"

"Who said there's nothing wrong with your room?" The landlord gave him a disdainful look. "I haven't checked it carefully yet. Wait a minute."

After saying that, she twisted her body and squeezed into Zhang Wei's bedroom, which had already been emptied.

The room was small, only about ten square meters. Apart from a bed board, a table with peeling paint, and a simple wardrobe, there was nothing else.

The landlord walked around inside, as if he were looking for evidence with a magnifying glass.

She first pointed to a spot in the corner of the wall with paint peeling off about the size of a soybean.

"You're the one who caused this mess!"

Then he pointed to an almost invisible scratch on the window frame.

"And here too! It must have been scraped when you were moving things!"

Finally, she walked to the door and pointed to the ceiling light.

"This light is dimmer than before. Have you been playing games all night and ruined the bulb?"

A series of nitpicking left Zhang Wei speechless with anger.

The landlord came out, arms crossed, and delivered the final verdict from his superior position.

"These areas, including the kitchen and living room, will cost 1200 yuan. Is that acceptable?"

"So much was cut?!" Zhang Wei's eyes widened. "I haven't used the kitchen or living room, and this little hole in the wall was already there, why was it added here?!"

The landlord stiffened his neck and put on a shameless face.

"What do you mean it was always like this? Do you have any proof? The walls of my house were perfectly fine before!"

Zhang Wei was completely speechless.

He really had no evidence. He was in such a hurry to check in that he never thought of taking photos as a record.

Lin Yang walked in.

"Brother Wei, what's going on? Is it all sorted out yet?"

When Zhang Wei saw Lin Yang, it was like seeing a savior. He quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Lin, the landlord wants to deduct 1200 yuan from my deposit. My deposit was only 3000 yuan, so he's already deducting almost a month's rent."

His face was full of pain and resentment.

Lin Yang glanced at the landlord who was still rambling on and on, then looked at the dilapidated surroundings, feeling a surge of irritation.

There was a time when he would argue with people until his face turned red over a few dollars.

But now, he just feels like he's wasting his time.

"1200 it is, give it to her." Lin Yang said calmly, "I'm not short of money, let's get out of this awful place as soon as possible."

"1200!" Zhang Wei raised his voice. "Sometimes I don't even get that much in a month from writing!"

Lin Yang glanced at him sideways and couldn't help but complain.

"You write those lousy books, and you even get royalties?"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Wei retorted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Once I become a platinum author, my royalties will be in the millions!"

Lin Yang rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'll be waiting."

Zhang Wei was so angry at his appearance that he wanted to punch him.

Lin Yang was too lazy to argue with him anymore.

"I'll pay you the 1200, buddy. Pay me back when you become a Platinum."

He paused, his eyes becoming serious.

"Now, don't waste my time."

After saying that, he ignored Zhang Wei and walked directly to the pile of luggage. He picked up a heavy snakeskin bag with one hand and turned to walk downstairs.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't even glance at the landlord once more.

The two loaded all their belongings into the Porsche Cayenne that seemed out of place in the room.

As the car smoothly drove into the underground parking garage of Tianyue Huafu.

When Zhang Wei stood in front of the heavy security door of apartment 2403 in building 32, dragging his snakeskin bag, he was still in a daze.

Lin Yang bumped into Zhang Wei, who was in a daze, and opened the door with his key.

Sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the entire living room and making the gleaming floor spotless.

Zhang Wei stood blankly at the door, staring at the spacious, bright, and exquisitely decorated house in front of him, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

The plastic bucket in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, scattering clothes hangers all over the floor.

It was past midnight when the two finished moving their belongings and arrived at apartment 2403, building 32 of Tianyue Huafu.