Having found a demon, I've decided to raise her.

……

Struggling to make a living is an essential lesson for any adult man, and Chen Ming's start has been quite good.

His parents both have stable jobs with government-approved positions, and they have no worries about food, clothing, or shelter, so he doesn't need to worry about them. His older sister is even doing quite well and has the money to help him out.

They are already luckier than many people.

His goal used to be financial independence, and now he's barely managed to achieve it... Although he's suspected of relying on his sister, he's also worked hard enough.

Economic independence has been achieved.

So, the next step is to start a family, right?

This is something that any ordinary person would consider, but Chen Ming didn't think much about it. He even thought about not getting married at all, given how disgusting all the marriages he saw online every day.

They argue all the time, cheat on each other, and don't raise their children properly—all sorts of messy and disgusting things.

This made him, an ordinary person who had originally longed for marriage, question the very nature of marriage. Moreover, there were many examples of broken marriages around him, causing great turmoil for his family and relatives.

I hate getting married.

But now, thinking about Lucifer at home...

Okay, it seems... we don't need to be so opposed to things like marriage...

Really fragrant.

Before meeting the person he liked, he always thought he was a non-marriage advocate.

He went to the parking area and started his motorcycle.

Chen Ming actually prefers motorcycles, but his family always wanted him to drive a four-wheeled vehicle, and he got his driver's license at their insistence.

But...

Chen Ming gets carsick.

He felt that the car was enclosed and the smell of plastic was really nauseating. Although it wasn't enough to make him dizzy and vomit, it was still very uncomfortable.

He still prefers riding motorcycles.

Electric vehicles are a bit underpowered, and their horsepower drops drastically after only a few years. His family's motorcycle, on the other hand, is older than him and, despite repairs, still works perfectly.

Motorcycles, forever the gods.

Men's motorcycles look cooler, but they're inconvenient for sourcing goods. Women's motorcycles with scooters are much more practical.

Chen Ming inserted the key and started the engine.

I saw the landlady standing there before I even opened the door.

Chen Ming stopped beside her and immediately patted her head. His habit of patting her head was acting up again today. He smiled and said—

"What's wrong? What are you doing here so early?"

"Mr. Chen Ming..."

The landlady turned her head; her large eyes were very beautiful, and her twin ponytails swayed back and forth. Today, the landlady was wearing a loose white top and a black skirt.

She was wearing flat shoes, revealing white socks that reached her calves.

She seemed a little listless and didn't slap Chen Ming's hand away.

Chen Ming was a little puzzled and asked—

"What's wrong? You seem unhappy today?"

"Um...it's nothing."

She shook her little head, but Chen Ming could sense that she was genuinely downcast. It was astonishing that the lively and adorable landlady would make such an expression.

It looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

The landlady glanced at him, forced a smile, and said—

"Isn't Mr. Chen Ming going to work?"

"Um...it's still early."

Chen Ming wasn't in a hurry to leave. He turned off the car, placed his hand on the hood, and said—

"As you know, people's daily routines are completely different now than before. They play on their phones until very late at night, and apart from primary and secondary school students, very few of them can get up in the morning. Even if they do get up, they don't have time to eat breakfast. If you open a shop too early and it's not near a school, you won't get much business."

That's a lie. There are still a lot of people eating breakfast in the morning, since everyone's start time at work hasn't changed.

The landlady sighed and said—

"Okay, I'm fine... Stop touching my head, go do what you're doing."

"What job is more interesting than patting the landlady's head? If I could, I'd like to pat her head all day long."

"You already have such a beautiful live-in partner, why are you having an affair so quickly?"

The landlady is precocious and says whatever comes to mind. Putting everything else aside, having a little girl as an affair partner is something that could get her shot.

Chen Ming knew it was a joke, so he said seriously—

"Judging from the time they met, the landlady arrived first, so Lucifer's affair was the one that happened."

"..."

The landlady was speechless. She sighed deeply, took out her phone, and typed a message using voice.

"You don't need to pick me up, I'll go by myself."

After saying that, she looked at Chen Ming and said—

"If you're free, take me somewhere, and then you can go do whatever you want."

"Okay, come on up. Would you like to sit in the front?"

Women's motorcycles allow children to sit in front, in Chen Ming's lap. When he was a child, his parents often took him to various places on motorcycles like this.

This way you can protect the child and prevent him from falling if he doesn't have a firm grip.

The landlady blushed, kicked his shin, and said—

"abnormal!"

"..."

He genuinely had no ulterior motives; at most, he just wanted to hug the little girl and protect her. There was absolutely no lust involved. Reality is reality; a normal person can't get excited about a child.

The landlady climbed into the back seat and wrapped her small arms around his broad back.

It gave him the feeling of taking his daughter out. He smiled and asked—

Where are we going?

The landlady was silent for a moment, then said—

Tsinghua-Peking University Hospital.

Chapter 17: Another Strange Girl

Tsinghua-Peking University Hospital, literally, is a hospital affiliated with Tsinghua University and Peking University.

In fact, most people have a certain aversion to places like hospitals. On the one hand, they are really too expensive, and on the other hand, no one wants to be sick or admit that they are sick.

The landlady said she was going to the hospital, does that mean she knows someone who is hospitalized?

He started the car and drove off with the landlady.

She hugged his waist. Was he really this strong? Everything about him was hard and solid.

She said—

Does Mr. Chen Ming exercise regularly?

"Huh? It's alright. I've been on the basketball team since high school, and then I was in the dance club in college. That was really exhausting."

Is dancing tiring?

The landlady thought dancing should be a relaxing and enjoyable activity, but Chen Ming's description seemed a little different.

Chen Ming clicked his tongue in astonishment and said—

"Dancing requires full-body movement, and the guys also have to make movements like lifting the girl or throwing her. The junior girls I was dancing with were very slim, but they still weighed over 90 pounds, which is much heavier than a gas cylinder."

I was completely scammed. The dance club president in my class dragged me into helping him out, saying he could arrange a pretty girl for me... Okay, there really was a pretty girl, a junior who was a beauty.

But once I start jumping, I don't have as many distractions anymore, and all kinds of physical contact feel very formulaic; I just feel exhausted.

"Hahaha, a gas cylinder..."

The landlady was amused by him and said—

"If you call a girl a gas cylinder or something, Mr. Chen Ming, you'll be sentenced to a life without a wife."

"It's really heavy."

Chen Ming wanted to scratch his head, but he still had to drive safely.

The green light still had a few seconds left, but he had already stopped at the traffic light to wait for the next green light. He had almost been in a car accident before, so he was being extra careful.

The landlady thought for a moment and said—

“Most girls weigh around 100 pounds, right? If you can’t even handle that, what are we going to do? Miss Lucifer… that’s her name, isn’t it? I saw you carrying her on your back last time and you didn’t complain.”

“Simply carrying it on your back is different, but it’s not like dancing, which is an extreme sport.”

Chen Ming shook his head and said—

"It's better to be lighter, but being lighter means being shorter. Dancing is very dependent on height, otherwise it won't look good."

"...So what if I'm shorter?"

The landlady pouted slightly, which Chen Ming noticed in the rearview mirror. He quickly said—

"It's so cute! And these days everyone's always talking about the cutest height difference, right? Everyone likes petite girls."

"You're good with words, but I'm not going to reduce your rent... you're moving out anyway."

She gripped his clothes slightly.

The light turned green, and urged on by the cars behind him, Chen Ming drove forward, saying as he did so—