Chapter 13: Zhao Yu
An Unpleasant Apartment Viewing
After the car smoothly arrived at Linjiang Garden, Yuan An said goodbye to Qin Sixing and the driver, then waited for the real estate agent at the entrance of the residential community.
Before long, the agent rushed over, carrying two cups of soy milk.
“Are you Mr. Yuan? I’m Xiao Liu, the agent.” The agent was a young man in his early twenties. Upon seeing Yuan An, he handed one of the cups of soy milk to him.
“You’re quite lucky. Those two apartments belong to the same landlord, and he’ll be arriving shortly.”
As the agent spoke, he entered the community with Yuan An, walking toward the buildings by the riverbank.
Linjiang Garden was an upscale residential community in Hejiang City. Located in the city center with a beautiful environment, it derived its name from its proximity to the Hejiang River.
The reason Yuan An had taken a liking to those two apartments was because of the photos the agent had taken while standing in the living room. The photos had been captured at dusk; outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the light of the setting sun spilled over the Hejiang River, turning the entire water surface into a shimmering golden-red, evoking a profound sense of tranquility.
He felt that if he could write in a place like this, his mind would also become very peaceful.
The two apartments were located in adjacent buildings, and the agent quickly showed Yuan An through both of them.
Standing in the living room of one of the apartments, the agent endlessly touted their merits. “Look, the renovations and furniture are completely brand new. A monthly rent of three thousand yuan might sound like a bit much, but for a place in Linjiang Garden, it’s an absolute steal.”
Yuan An was well aware of what the agent mentioned. Given the conditions of Linjiang Garden, this rent was indeed considered relatively low.
However, he was also a bit puzzled. “With such a great apartment, why has it been listed on the app for nearly three months without being rented out?”
The professional smile on the agent’s face stiffened for a fraction of a second. He glanced around before leaning closer to Yuan An and whispering, “To be completely honest, it’s likely because this landlord is truly difficult to get along with.”
Hearing this, Yuan An couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’d rather forfeit your commission just to tell the truth.”
Frowning, the agent nodded with difficulty.
He only thought of telling him the truth because he saw that Yuan An was young, gentle, and easygoing.
He wanted Yuan An to be psychologically prepared; after all, this landlord was truly hard to describe in a few words.
Having just started the job not long ago, he had already brought several people to view the apartments here. Every single time, the landlord would tag along, and every single time, his arrogant, condescending attitude would infuriate the prospective tenants and drive them away.
“My apartment was just renovated recently. If you move in, you can help me absorb the residual formaldehyde and whatnot.”
“Given your background, you’d probably have to struggle for another hundred years before you could afford a property like this. If you rent it, you’ll get to enjoy such a wonderful apartment a hundred years ahead of schedule.”
Naturally, the prospective tenants couldn’t tolerate such offensive remarks. Those with good tempers might just turn around and leave on the spot, while those with bad tempers might even step forward and engage in a full-blown shouting match with him.
Consequently, these two apartments had been listed for nearly three months without successfully being rented out.
After hearing the agent speak ill of the landlord, Yuan An grew curious. “Does this landlord actually want to rent out his apartments?” Or was he simply malicious, deliberately saying those things to trample on others’ self-esteem?
The agent let out a sigh and said, “That’s why I didn’t actually harbor much hope today that you’d rent the apartment here.”
Facing a landlord like that, he had already adopted a completely resigned, checking-out mindset.
Yuan An smiled.
Just then, a contemptuous, mocking voice suddenly echoed from the doorway. “Oh my, I was wondering who wanted to rent my apartment. Turns out it’s an old acquaintance.”
Hearing this, Yuan An instinctively knitted his brows in distaste, but then he found the voice incredibly familiar.
He turned his head to look, only to see a youth with dyed yellow hair and dressed in trendy clothes walking inside.
Behind the youth stood a man dressed in a sharp suit.
Yuan An recognized both of them.
It was his high school classmate, Zhao Yu, and Chu Baihan—the person who had grown up alongside him and, in his previous life, had pinned his hand down to force him to sign the heart donation consent form.
Chu Baihan was merely standing sideways at the doorway at this moment, not even bothering to cast a single glance inside the room. Yuan An could only see his sharply defined, sculptural profile.
Zhao Yu had already walked up to stand in front of Yuan An, his tone incredibly flippant. “Brother Han, aren’t you going to come and see who this is? The one coming to rent my apartment is the young master of the Lu family, Yuan An.”
Chu Baihan ignored him.
Yuan An knit his brows, a trace of disgust flashing through his eyes.
The agent gave a bitter smile and tried to smooth things over. “Since you two know each other, you can discuss things properly…”
“Is it your place to speak?” Zhao Yu sharply cut the agent off.
Afterward, he turned back to look at Yuan An with ill intent and said, “Since it’s the young master of the Lu family who wants to rent my apartment, then this rent can’t just be three thousand a month anymore.”
“Thirty thousand a month—surely the little young master can produce that with just the blink of an eye, right?”
This… no one raised the price dynamically on the spot like that.
The agent’s expression also turned somewhat unsightly in an instant.
Yuan An pulled the agent behind him, smiled faintly at Zhao Yu, and said, “You’re still the same as always, so overbearing, running rampant just because you have a bit of backing.”
The Zhao family was considered a household of consequence with a respectable reputation in Hejiang City. As the youngest son of the Zhao family, Zhao Yu had grown up pampered by his elders and older sisters since childhood. By high school, he had already become accustomed to using his family’s influence to bully others.
Yuan An had been in the same class with him for three years and had been targeted by his pranks, so he could be said to detest him to the extreme.
The moment he realized the landlord of these two apartments was Zhao Yu, Yuan An completely lost any desire to rent the place. Holding the agent’s arm, he prepared to leave.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yu was momentarily stunned into a daze by Yuan An’s smile.
Yuan An was naturally exceptionally good-looking to begin with, and after falling ill, his complexion had grown even paler, adding a touch of delicate fragility. With this smile, the dimple on his right cheek surfaced subtly, making him appear strikingly radiant and captivating instead.
It even caused Zhao Yu to temporarily ignore Yuan An’s words.
By the time he snapped out of it, Yuan An was already leading the agent toward the door.
Zhao Yu had no intention of letting him leave just like that.
He turned around and caught up with quick strides, then roughly grabbed the agent’s wrist, directing a wicked smile at Yuan An as he said, “I heard the little young master threw a tantrum and wanted to leave the Lu family. Could it be that right now, you can’t produce any money at all?”
The agent struggled briefly but couldn’t break free; instead, it only caused Zhao Yu to tighten his grip even further.
Yuan An’s brows knitted tightly, and his voice dropped lower. “Zhao Yu, if you have a grievance with me, you can target me directly. What are you doing bullying someone else?”
“Sure, let’s target you,” Zhao Yu laughed as he released the agent’s hand, subsequently leaning closer to Yuan An. “If you can’t produce thirty thousand yuan a month, you can always pay with something else. For example…”
He appraised Yuan An up and down with a disgusting gaze, then reached out his hand, directly aiming to stroke Yuan An’s face.
“You’re incredibly good-looking. Sleep with me, and I can give you the apartment for free—”
Before he could even finish his sentence, his extended hand was intercepted mid-air by a hand wearing a wristwatch.
At the same time, a sudden surge of severe pain shot up from his knee, causing Zhao Yu to scream aloud.
“Ow—”
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