Chapter 265: Tenant

The person holding the MP4 saw the device was about to die, so they shut it off, intending to go for another stroll; unexpectedly, upon looking around, they spotted something interesting, and their eyes settled on a nearby plane tree.

Zheng Tan had been crouching there watching the freshmen when he suddenly noticed a gray magpie constantly chattering nearby, hopping about annoyingly. Lately there have been many birds around the courtyard, and whenever Zheng Tan lies on the trees there he is often bothered by them, as if they know he won't harm them and won't catch them like the other cats do.

The general was under confinement, because during the start of term there were too many people around, its owner wasn't at ease, so they simply kept it locked up at home; without the general to chase them away, those birds around became arrogant again.

This place isn't far from the courtyard, and the birds around presumably know Zheng Tan; seeing him crouch there, they occasionally swoop in to tease him, whooshing past his side with a call—once might be tolerable, but they keep coming back repeatedly, and even the most patient temperament would be driven mad.

The area is quite noisy, so people resting by the flowerbed won't notice the bird calls in the distance amid the clamor; if it weren't for boredom making them glance around, they wouldn't see what's happening over there.

After Zheng Tan had endured it for a while, he seized an opportunity and slapped the bird as it flew past him; though he didn't hit it squarely, his claws snagged a few feathers on the wing's edge, startling the bird, which flew to another tree and never came back.

With the bird gone, Zheng Tan yawned and continued watching the passersby; earlier a pretty girl in a short skirt hadn't had her fill of looking when the bird interrupted her. Now the girl had vanished, so he could only keep looking for someone of higher quality; sensing someone gazing this way, he glanced over and saw the goofball who had been quietly blacklisted by a few staff at the graduate reception desk earlier.

But Zheng Tan didn't care—what's there to see in a big old guy? —and kept looking for cute girls.

As he was searching, Zheng Tan heard a discussion over there, followed the sound, and looked toward the school gate entrance, where a stretched luxury car was slowly approaching; the people's chatter was precisely because of that car.

Most people around were lugging big and small bags, pulling suitcases, or carrying sacks; even the occasional private car dropping off kids could make many envious, let alone the sudden appearance of this blindingly flashy stretched luxury car.

Of course. Besides envy, many also felt jealous; they rarely saw such a luxury car ordinarily, never expecting to see one here.

"Sigh, these days—spoiling kids to this extent, just driving them to school would be bad enough, but they even drive a stretched luxury car."

"You don't get it—this is showing off wealth!"

"I've heard that for many rich folks, as long as they're willing to spend money, they can get into any kind of school."

This clearly means the family's child got into school via money and back doors, not through honest exam scores.

"Rich people, really—do they have to go this far just to send a kid to school? As if they're afraid others won't know they're wealthy!"

The people by the flowerbed were also gossiping, mocking, when a phone ring rang; at the same moment, the person who had been sitting on the luggage stood up, dragged their bags over to the now‑stopped stretched luxury car.

When the person approached the car, the door flew open, someone got out and took the luggage from their hand, stowing it inside; then everyone saw the person climb into the luxury car.

Until the luxury car drove off, the people here still felt a bit embarrassed, realizing that all those mocking remarks they'd just made had been heard by the very person involved.

Zheng Tan didn't think it was a big deal; don't be fooled by how ordinary the students look day to day—many hide deep backgrounds. Take Zhao Le, for example: who would have guessed she was the daughter of the chairman of Changwei Group?

Besides, some people are just low‑key; indeed, many roommates have gone years without realizing that the buddy they daily chat, play mahjong, drink beer, and eat street food with is actually a second‑generation rich or official, and perhaps only learn this at a reunion or through gossip a few years after graduation, discovering that the legendary second‑generation figure had once been right beside them.

Watching the car's silhouette vanish on the main road, Zheng Tan gave it no thought and kept searching for girls.

These days there are many freshmen, with parents and students bustling everywhere on campus; after observing for a few days Zheng Tan couldn't stay idle—the crowds made wandering around school inconvenient—so he decided to head to the lakeside villas to stroll around, and meanwhile sneak inside to nap.

The house hadn't been rented yet; although a few people had contacted Jiao Ba about renting in the past days, after meeting those prospective tenants Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma refused them, not thinking highly of their character, so the place remained vacant, and whenever Zheng Tan had free time to go over he'd slip in to find a room to sleep in.

When the old lady moved out, aside from a few scroll paintings, she left many other things behind, so the house looks much as it did when she lived there—not empty‑feeling, just lacking vitality because no one resides there.

Zheng Tan already knew the building's layout well; even though to others the doors and windows appear shut, he knows at least two spots where he can slip in—the gaps are hard for a person to enter, but just right for his current size to squeeze through; these were deliberately left by Jiao Ba so Zheng Tan could have a resting place when he comes out for a stroll, as today: the sun was blazing, then before long it started drizzling, with sunshine still mixed in the rain, something passersby outside hadn't expected, but the locals are used to sun‑showers, merely grumbling a bit.

When Zheng Tan came here and encountered rain, he slipped into the house and slept on the sofa by the window on the second floor; from this he could tell the shower wouldn't last long, and after waking he'd look out to find clear skies again.

Upon waking, Zheng Tan glanced at the wall clock—it was four in the afternoon—and after staying another half hour he'd head back.

Zheng Tan climbed through the window to the second‑floor balcony, perched on a cylindrical column of the railing; this spot gets no sunlight, so he stood there catching the breeze and gazing into the distance at the amber.

Not far from the building where Zheng Tan was staying, a student‑type person walked out of another house—exactly the individual Zheng Tan had seen a couple of days before, who wore beach shorts and flip‑flops yet rode in a stretched luxury car.

Behind that person came two middle‑aged individuals, one of them a real‑estate agent, who was talking to the other middle‑aged person.

"No problem—if this one doesn't suit you, there are still several options, and two even better ones ahead; I'll take you to see them." The agent led the group forward.

"Bai Jin, what do you think of these houses?" the other middle‑aged person asked, flipping through a packet of real‑estate info; who would have known that when he turned around he discovered the people behind him hadn't followed and were instead walking the opposite way?

"Bai Jin, where are you going?" the middle‑aged person said, no longer following the agent forward, and hurriedly turned to catch up.

Feng Bai Jin had come out today with his father's assistant to view properties; the surroundings here are nice, his mother had taken a liking to it and told him to rent nearby, also sending an assistant to help with the viewings—but after looking at several in a row they hadn't reached a deal. Either they weren't satisfied with the place, or they were holding off, waiting to see the remaining options before deciding.

Just as Feng Bai Jin had stepped out, he glanced around and spotted, not far away, a black cat squatting on the second‑floor balcony railing of that house; curious, he approached, only to notice a "for rent" notice at the entrance.

"Is this house also for rent?" the middle‑aged person asked the agent.

"Oh, this one—the landlord's demands are rather numerous." The agent briefly explained; actually he thought the landlord's many demands would make it hard to rent, so initially he hadn't even considered recommending it first, especially since the rent here hadn't been set yet, which is why he kept pushing this property to the back of his suggestions.

"And that black cat?" Feng Bai Jin pointed to the cat perched on the second floor, looking down at them, and asked the agent.

"Oh, that's the landlord's cat," the agent said. Earlier, when he came to view the place, the landlord surnamed Jiao had told him it was the family's cat, and that even if the cat climbed walls, slipped through windows, or scratched doors, there was no need to intervene. He had found the household interesting, thought they were overly indulgent with the cat, and had even chatted about it with coworkers over meals, so he remembered it well.

"This landlord is a teacher at Chu Hua University…" Although he didn't think highly of the house, the agent recommending it was still quite enthusiastic.

Seeing Feng Bai Jin's interest in the house, the middle‑aged person wanted to take a look, but the agent lacked a key, so he called Jiao Ba.

Jiao Ba had just finished a meeting and was free; upon receiving the call he drove over, and seeing Zheng Tan yawning on the second‑floor balcony, his eyelid twitched—why was this fellow involved again?

Jiao Ba took Feng Bai Jin and company to view the house, also stating his own requirements; Feng Bai Jin had no objections to those, for he isn't a wild party‑goer, his private life is fairly proper, he doesn't fool around, and if he wants to have fun he does it outside, never bringing people home.

After work, Jiao Ma hastily made dinner for her two kids, then rode her little electric scooter over to the villa, as she still had to supervise things.

When Jiao Ma arrived, Feng Bai Jin's parents also pulled up in that stretched luxury car; they mainly operate in the neighboring province, not Chu Hua City, and had come this time to send their child to university, lugging who‑knows‑how‑much stuff toward the dorms—only to find the student housing indeed tiny; after looking around, both parents were dissatisfied, since this was the child's first time leaving home and first time living on campus, wondering whether such a cramped place was really suitable; consequently, Feng Bai Jin's mother shifted her focus to this lakeside residential area.

Hearing that the child and the assistant were fairly satisfied with the house, the two parents set aside their affairs and came over.

The furnishings and decorations inside were all high‑end items, and Feng Bai Jin's mother grew ever more pleased.

"Not bad, this house is quite good." She could tell the former owner was someone of stature, and asked, "How much is the rent? This place must cost at least thirty thousand a month, right?" while she admired the ornaments on the display cabinet.

Jiao Ma: "……"

In fact Jiao Ma was about to quote seven or eight thousand, which she already thought steep; she figured if the tenants were decent she could negotiate lower, and that figure came only after she'd indirectly consulted colleagues—so she was stunned to hear the person in front of her outright demand thirty thousand. This isn't the capital, and Jiao Ma had never dealt with such high‑end rentals before, leaving her momentarily speechless.

Jiao Ba didn't add anything either, just smiled and stayed silent, and Feng Bai Jin's mother took it as tacit agreement.

"By the way, there's one more thing: the attic on the sloped roof of this house isn't for rent." Jiao Ba said.

"Why?" Feng Bai Jin's mother wondered.

Jiao Ba pointed at Zheng Tan and said, "Leave it for him." (To be continued…)

ps: (5.23)