Rebirth: My Home Has Become a Gathering Place for Young Women with a "Crazy" Spirit

"Let's eat... let's all eat." Qin Lang pointed to the leftovers on the table, ending the topic of "talent show." The talents of these energetic young women probably far exceeded his imagination.

The girls then threw themselves back into the fight. The food on the table disappeared at a visible rate. Qin Lang roughly calculated that the six girls Wu Xiaoxiao had brought had devoured eight bowls of rice alone, averaging more than one bowl each. The key point was that they were all as thin as sticks; he had no idea where all that food went.

Su Yue picked up a peanut and put it in her mouth. She lowered her voice and said to Qin Lang, "Brother Lang, you have to be mindful of the order of seniority. I was the first to follow you, so when you're making short dramas in the future, you should give me priority to play the female lead."

"No problem." Qin Lang said noncommittally.

His gaze swept over the group of girls again; each with a distinct style, enough to cover almost every common female character type in a short drama. The key is that they're cheap, and yes, usable.

The meal was drawing to a close, and the plates on the table were almost empty. Qin Lang called the waiter to settle the bill, which came to 620 yuan for twelve dishes, two bowls of soup, and rice. On average, it wasn't expensive at all.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Qin Lang stood up, glanced at the time, and saw it was past nine o'clock.

Looking at these energetic young women, Zheng Jiaqian wiped her mouth and started playing on her phone, Zhao Lin was discussing with Sun Xiaomeng the last piece of braised pork ribs they hadn't managed to grab, Li Wanqi was lying on the table, rubbing her belly contentedly, and Wang Yuting was sitting quietly in her seat, the bracelet on her wrist occasionally beeping.

None of these people stood up, none of them said they wanted to leave, and they didn't even glance at the door.

Qin Lang waited for thirty seconds, then another thirty seconds. But the girls still showed no sign of getting up.

"Um..." Qin Lang cleared his throat and asked the group, "Are you all full?"

"We're full! We're full!" the girls answered in unison, but still no one moved.

Qin Lang nodded, his eyes filled with a sense of anticipation, and said, "Okay, you guys go back first. Once I've finalized the script and the venue, I'll have Xiaoxiao contact you."

...Still no one moved.

Zheng Jiaqian was playing on her phone, her thumb rapidly swiping the screen, occasionally letting out a snicker. Zhao Lin rested her chin on her hand, her eyes gazing across the room, lost in thought. Li Siyu watched Zhao Lin resting her chin on her hand, her eyes gazing across the room… Sun Xiaomeng started picking at her fingernails. Li Wanqi lay slumped on the table, his eyelids already drooping. Wang Yuting watched Li Wanqi's drooping eyelids…

Qin Lang frowned, his gaze sweeping over the group before finally settling on Wu Xiaoxiao.

When Qin Lang's gaze swept over Wu Xiaoxiao, she visibly trembled, her eyes darted away, her mouth opened and closed, and her hands twisted together.

"Xiaoxiao?" Qin Lang narrowed his eyes and asked in a serious tone.

"Brother..." Wu Xiaoxiao's voice was barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz. She kept her head down, her eyes darting back and forth to Qin Lang, as if she'd done something wrong. "That...it's...they..."

Qin Lang: "Speak."

"Um..." Wu Xiaoxiao's eyes began to dart around, from left to right, from right to left. Finally, unable to avoid it any longer, she bit her lip and said weakly, "Brother... their... their rent is due."

Qin Lang's brow twitched; he had a bad feeling.

"And then?" he asked.

Wu Xiaoxiao's voice became even softer, "And then...they...had nowhere to live."

At this moment, Zheng Jiaqian stopped playing on her phone, Li Siyu stopped looking at Zhao Lin, Sun Xiaomeng stopped picking her nails, Li Wanqi stopped feeling sleepy, and Wang Yuting stopped looking at Li Wanqi's eyelids. Several pairs of eyes turned to Qin Lang, their gazes filled with expectation, trepidation, and a hint of resigned acceptance.

Qin Lang sat down again, leaning back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. He didn't look at the girls, but kept his eyes fixed on Wu Xiaoxiao, asking, "So?"

Wu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, as if she had made a major decision, and said with her eyes lowered, "So, could they... stay with me at your place for now?"

After saying that, Wu Xiaoxiao didn't dare to look Qin Lang in the eye, and looked down at her toes like a child who had done something wrong.

Qin Lang paused for three seconds, then his gaze swept across everyone's faces. "You guys... your rents all expire at the same time?"

Zheng Jiaqian hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "A few of us rented a room in Dongcheng. We scraped together the rent last month, but we really can't afford it this month."

Qin Lang's lips twitched. Six people sharing one room—they couldn't even afford the rent...

Su Yue clicked her tongue beside her, picked up her cup and took a sip of water, her face showing sympathy. She was probably thinking of her past self.

"So you planned this from the beginning?" Qin Lang looked at the group, his tone not exactly angry, "First we eat, then we check in—a one-stop service, right?"

The others remained silent. Wu Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth, mustered her courage, and raised her head to say to Qin Lang, "Brother, they... they really have no money left. They've already spent the whole night at the internet cafe... I... I was thinking, could they stay with me at your place for a few days... until we find a place to live and then move out..."

"But I don't have any room there either?" Qin Lang asked back.

Seeing that Qin Lang didn't directly refuse, which meant there was still hope, Wu Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, and she looked at Qin Lang and said, "Yes, yes... they can stay in the same room as me."

"Sharing a room with you? There are... seven of you?" Qin Lang swept his fingers around the room, his tone neither angry nor helpless.

Wu Xiaoxiao looked at Qin Lang and said cautiously, "Brother... they really have nowhere to go. They were kicked out of the internet cafe last night... and have been wandering the streets all day today..."

Qin Lang looked at the girls. Sun Xiaomeng fell silent, her head bowed as she picked at her fingers. Wang Yuting wrapped a bracelet around her wrist, spinning it round and round. Li Wanqi was unusually quiet, her nose twitching as if she were holding back tears. Zheng Jiaqian turned her head to look out the window; her profile was sharp, but her jawline was taut. If it was all an act, then these girls' acting skills were quite good.

Li Siyu met Qin Lang's gaze quite readily, smiled, and said, "Brother Lang, it's okay if it's inconvenient. We didn't intend to rely on you anyway; it was Xiaoxiao who was soft-hearted and insisted on bringing us along. Although we're not very capable, we're able-bodied... no, we have hands and feet, we definitely won't starve..."

She spoke with such conviction, but Qin Lang noticed that as she spoke, her fingers were almost rubbing the hem of her clothes until it was frayed.

"I can stay here..." Qin Lang was silent for a while before finally agreeing.

Wu Xiaoxiao's eyes suddenly lit up, and the girls all looked up at the same time, their eyes all focused on Qin Lang's face.

"But there are conditions," Qin Lang said seriously, looking at the group.