A few moments later.

Long Ming unlocked the door to his rented apartment, walked in carrying his things, and reached out to flip the switch on the wall.

A dim light flickered on, illuminating the cold, empty room.

Long Ming took off his shoes, slipped on a pair of slippers, and went straight to the kitchen. He placed a bag on the counter, picked up a small iron pot, and then turned on the faucet.

HISS—

The sound of water hitting the bottom of the pot seemed exceptionally loud in the silent apartment.

Long Ming quickly filled the pot, placed it on the gas stove, and turned the knob.

CLICK!

A blue flame ignited.

After doing all this, Long Ming took a packet of instant noodles out of his bag.

Just as he was about to open it...

KNOCK KNOCK—

A sudden knock echoed from the door.

Long Ming frowned. ’Who could be looking for me at this hour?’

Still, he put down the instant noodles and walked toward the door, calling out as he went.

"Coming!"

CREAK—

When Long Ming opened the door, he froze.

A woman stood at his door, smiling at him. She was voluptuous and shapely, with a fair, oval-shaped face and limpid eyes. She wore bright red lipstick, a figure-hugging red dress, and black high-heeled ankle boots. Everything about her exuded a mature charm. In her hand, she carried a red bag.

Behind her stood a thuggish-looking man in a leather jacket, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Long Ming."

"Sister Ying, what are you doing here?"

Long Ming asked, snapping back to his senses.

The woman before him was Lin Ying, Long Ming’s landlady. In fact, she owned the entire apartment building.

"Here to see you, of course. What, not happy to see me?"

"It’s not that."

"Good."

Lin Ying walked into the apartment as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Her flunky, Zhou Yaya, who was behind her, also made to follow her inside.

But Lin Ying shot him a glare.

Zhou Yaya seemed reluctant, but he knew better than to argue and backed away.

Long Ming sighed helplessly at the sight and closed the door.

Lin Ying’s gaze swept over the living room and bedroom before landing on Long Ming. Her eyes held a suggestive glint as she asked,

"Long Ming, don’t you get lonely living all by yourself?"

"It’s fine."

Long Ming replied coolly.

Lin Ying just smiled and handed the bag to Long Ming.

"This is for you."

"What is it?"

"Something good, of course."

Confused, Long Ming opened the red bag. Inside was a bloody bull’s penis, with two testicles still attached. His expression instantly turned awkward. ’What kind of decent person gives this as a gift?’ He immediately tried to hand it back to Lin Ying, refusing.

"Thanks, but I don’t need it."

"But this is a token of my affection. Can you really bear to refuse me?"

Seeing Long Ming’s refusal, Lin Ying wheedled in a sweet voice.

"I appreciate the thought, but I really don’t need it. Let me get you a glass of water."

Long Ming turned to pour her a glass of water.

Just then, the sound of water boiling came from the kitchen.

As Lin Ying took the water from him, she looked at him with some surprise and asked,

"Are you cooking something? You haven’t eaten yet, this late?"

"Yeah. Wait for me in the living room for a moment."

Long Ming nodded slightly, walked into the kitchen, and tore open a packet of instant noodles.

"Need any help?"

Lin Ying followed him into the kitchen, put down the red bag, and came up behind him. She pressed her body against his back and asked in a soft, seductive voice by his ear.

"No need."

Long Ming’s face darkened, but he pretended not to notice. He turned, walked to the stove, dropped the noodle cake into the pot, and then poured in the seasoning packet.

Seeing that Long Ming wouldn’t play along, Lin Ying didn’t get angry.

Soon, the instant noodles were cooked. Long Ming poured them directly onto a stainless steel plate, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and carried the plate out of the kitchen.

He placed the noodles on the small coffee table in the living room, sat down on a worn-out, second-hand sofa, and asked as he ate,

"Sister Ying, was there something you needed?"

Lin Ying gracefully moved to sit beside Long Ming, her soft body pressing right up against him.

An unnatural expression flickered across Long Ming’s face. He held his plate of noodles and shuffled a little to the side.

Seeing how much Long Ming was rejecting her, Lin Ying’s eyes darted slyly as she said with a smile,

"Oh, nothing much. It’s just that your rent is due soon."

"Oh, I’ll pay for half a year then."

Long Ming’s heart sank when he heard her. He’d been so busy lately that he’d completely forgotten about it.

"No rush. Hear me out first."

"Go on."

"You know rent has been going up all year."

"You’re raising the price?"

"It’s not like I have a choice. I have to keep up with the market."

"How much?"

"Your apartment is 500 a month, but in the building next door, apartments the same size have gone up to 750, and they collect rent annually."

"A fifty percent hike? Isn’t that a bit much?"

Long Ming frowned.

Seeing Long Ming finally getting a little anxious, Lin Ying leaned in, took his hand, and placed it on her fair thigh. She spoke in a seductive voice,

"Long Ming, I know you work late every night to earn money. It’s not easy doing it all alone. But why do you have to work so hard? It pains me to see it. If you’re willing, I can take care of you."

"No, thank you. Just tell me how much and I’ll transfer the money to you."

Long Ming stood up, rejecting her outright.

He knew better than anyone that Lin Ying had her eyes on him. For the past two years, she’d been using all sorts of excuses to get close to him.

But the problem was, she was already 45 years old, a full 20 years older than him. Although she took great care of herself and was very attractive, she wasn’t his type. Besides, he wasn’t so desperate that he’d take whatever he could get.

Of course, there was another crucial point: this Lin Ying was no pushover. She was much more complicated than she appeared on the surface.

Seeing that Long Ming had rejected her, Lin Ying stood up with a look of regret.

"In that case, pay for half a year’s rent first. 5,000 will do!"

"That much?"

Long Ming was stunned. He hadn’t expected Lin Ying to charge him so much.

"Don’t you complain about the price. I didn’t even raise your rent. I’m still charging you 3,000 for six months. The remaining 2,000 is for your utilities for the past half-year."

"2,000 for utilities?"

"That’s right. Your electricity bill is high. You run that fancy computer of yours every day. You think that doesn’t consume a lot of power?"

Lin Ying shot Long Ming a look.

"Oh. I’ll transfer it to you now."

It dawned on Long Ming that his computer really did consume a lot of power. He took out his phone and transferred 5,000 to Lin Ying.

After receiving the money and seeing there was no chance of winning Long Ming over, Lin Ying stood up and said with a smile,

"Well, I’ll be going then."

"Okay."

"And one more thing, if you ever change your mind, come find me! I may be a little older, but I know how to take good care of a man."

"Haha, okay."

Long Ming replied, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Seeing Long Ming’s embarrassed expression, Lin Ying threw him a seductive wink, then walked to the door and opened it.

She was met with the sight of her flunky, Zhou Yaya, craning his neck to eavesdrop.

"Heard enough?"

Lin Ying glared at him.

"Heh heh!"

Zhou Yaya laughed awkwardly.

Lin Ying shut the door behind her and headed for the stairs in a foul mood.

Zhou Yaya quickly hurried after her, offering himself with a fawning smile.

"I’m telling you, Sister Ying, what’s so great about that sickly-looking pretty boy? If he’s not willing, I am!"

Hearing this, Lin Ying stopped in her tracks, kicked him, and snapped with a dark expression,

"Get lost! You really think I’m so desperate I’ll take anything I can get?!"

"No, but how am I any worse than him? Is it just because he’s got a prettier face?"

Zhou Yaya picked himself up off the ground, retorting indignantly,

"Fine, I’ll tell you why. The reason I’m interested in Long Ming isn’t just because he’s handsome. After all, male models are a dime a dozen, right? I can have any handsome man I want! What I’m interested in is him as a person. You should know, Long Ming moved down from the Upper City District. He’s also a top student, a graduate from the best college on Mountain City Mountain. What I want are those excellent genes."

Lin Ying ran her tongue seductively over the corner of her lips.

"Tch, what’s so great about being a bookworm? Besides, he’s a sickly bastard. He probably messed around a lot in school. Be careful you don’t catch something from him."

Zhou Yaya was still completely unconvinced.

"Hmph. I had someone look into it. What he has isn’t contagious. In any case, it’s none of your business. Also, don’t you go looking for trouble with him, or you’ll have me to answer to."

Lin Ying warned Zhou Yaya directly.

"If you say so, Sister Ying, how could I dare?"

Zhou Yaya replied awkwardly.

...