Chapter 1149

New Industrial News: "Recently, the princess is likely to marry soon, causing decoration prices in the capital to skyrocket."

Financial Times: "The princess's emotions are stable; Lai'en Arms recommends long-term holding."

Sun Newspaper: "Feature Interview - Princess: The best companion is a friend of the other's soul."

Dance & Entertainment News: "Central Cross Theatre's new playbill — 'I Fell in Love with a Lion'."

"..."

Not... what is all this?

Although I had already made some mental preparations, after getting off the public carriage and walking home, seeing the promotional posters posted outside the roadside newsstand, Li Ang still couldn't help but feel a twinge of toothache.

After the "Palace Incident," Princess Veronica, though busy stabilizing the situation and constantly suppressing the old nobility while trying to smoothly take over power from the old king, has been so busy day after day that she hasn't had time to bother me.

But although her people haven't come, during work she keeps constantly "expressing affection," seizing every opportunity to chat a bit about this, then hiring people to crack out news, starting to wildly hype up and show off their love.

Clearly, in the past week and a half, I haven't even seen her face once, yet it feels like I'm entangled in a scandalous affair, making half the capital's people believe I'm about to marry her...

It's outrageous.

After uttering a dazed "tsk," Li Ang turned the corner toward Happiness Apartments, and the burly old man, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, also appeared timely from the small garden beside the building, holding that astonishingly long pair of gardening shears.

"Good evening."

After politely greeting the burly old man, Li Ang stepped into the apartment building's lobby under his tiger-like gaze.

After these two months of repeated clashes, and the experience that once Li Ang made a move, he would be tied up with yarn and hung overnight, the burly old man's not-so-sharp mind finally barely remembered the new rule of Happiness Apartments—

Bad people cannot enter, but a certain "evil demon spawn" is the sole exception, allowed normal access.

Although he worries about residents' safety, he still drags his lame leg, occasionally happening to pass behind Li Ang, or carrying that pair of shears sharpened to a shine, lurking outside Li Ang's bedroom window at midnight, peeking in, but indeed hasn't made a direct move since.

"Huh?"

Seeing Li Ang enter the building through the manager's room's large window, the knitting manager auntie looked up, somewhat surprised, and asked:

"Why are you back so early today? You usually don't come back until night, right?"

"Hehe, today's situation is special... this is a gift for you."

After opening the manager's room's small window and handing over the specially bought fine yarn from the road, Li Ang smiled and explained:

"Work has been going alright lately, plus I'll be going on a trip in a few days, possibly lasting a while, so the bureau gave me a few days off to rest early and spend more time with family... by the way, how are Anna and them?"

"They're coming back soon."

The manager auntie took the yarn with some surprise:

"Now is the time when the academy lets out; Anna should have already picked up the two kids and is walking back... oh dear, this yarn isn't cheap! I can't accept it!"

"Actually, it's not that expensive, just a small gift; please accept it."

After pushing back the yarn the manager auntie handed over, Li Ang sincerely thanked:

"My work is busy, I'm away from home day and night, Anna can only bring William and Melanite by herself, you and Uncle John have helped her a lot, and I've kept all this kindness in my heart.

Compared to your and Uncle John's care for our family, this is just a small gift, not even specially bought—I just saw it on the way back, thought you might like it, so I picked it up... by the way, Uncle John's too."

While speaking, Li Ang reached out and touched the mirror cufflink, pulling out two large whetstones and a packet of selected flower seeds from the mirror world, then after bundling everything with the yarn and pushing it back, he earnestly insisted:

"Aunt Mary, please accept it; the bureau's salary is still decent, these things mean nothing to me."

"Well... then okay." Seeing Li Ang persist, the manager auntie stopped refusing, first took the yarn bundle, planning to knit two pairs of gloves and hats for Lai'en's two children, then return the favor.

And after accepting the gift, she seemed to suddenly recall something, then worriedly asked:

"By the way, the city officials came these two days, saying they plan to renovate Happiness Apartments, then expand the area—do you know about this?"

Renovate Happiness Apartments?

Hearing the manager auntie's question, Li Ang couldn't help but faintly startle.

Indeed... although the manager auntie and the burly old man have been carefully maintaining it, Happiness Apartments' predecessor was, after all, a poorhouse from over ninety years ago, making it a century-old building by now.

And according to the Kingdom's "Building Maintenance Law," all mid-to-high-rise buildings facing streets in the capital must undergo inspection every ten years, and every fifty years must be repainted and undergo major renovation—now it seems to be exactly Happiness Apartments' renovation period.

But, as the saying goes, "where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure"—this is an unbreakable truth everywhere.

Although the Kingdom's regulations are strict, whether inspection or renovation, both require money and manpower to be carried out.

And given the Kingdom's recent financial strain—so tight that even military dependents' pensions can be deducted—this thankless task, the municipal department naturally doesn't want to do; only buildings in wealthy and noble districts might receive proper maintenance.

After all, structural harm is the builder's responsibility; the municipal department at most is liable for poor maintenance. Considering funds are indeed limited, even a bit of neglect and omission is already pushing it.

But if the law were strictly enforced, with regular street-wide inspections and renovations, the responsible person wouldn't even get promoted—let alone, after once opening their hands to repaint and renovate, their latter half of life would likely be spent scrubbing toilets in the municipal bureau.

So, not to mention repainting and renovation—even the once-every-ten-years inspection, the municipal bureau's staff hardly ever do it; basically, they just send someone to casually stroll around, fill in two random repair items, and consider the maintenance funds spent as done.

And although the municipal department does nothing, residents dare not neglect it, after all, safety is their own concern; thus, in recent years, the renovation of Happiness Apartments has always been funded and managed by the manager auntie, working her and the burly old man to the bone for nearly a hundred years, yet they've saved almost nothing.

But even so, with their meager salaries, even adding the residents' pooled money, they can only do the most basic maintenance, so many parts of Happiness Apartments are already very dilapidated, barely holding on—even the corridor handrails are missing several sections.

If it weren't for the burly old man's nearly hundred years of maintenance, which has truly cultivated astonishing repair skills, whether this Happiness Apartments building can continue to stand is questionable...

"This is a good thing!"

After recalling Happiness Apartments' situation, Li Ang happily remarked:

"The apartment indeed needs repair; if the municipal department is willing to undertake the renovation work, then you and Uncle John would have it much easier."

"That's indeed..."

Hearing this, the manager auntie nodded, but couldn't help but voice her worry softly:

"But I and Uncle John are actually part of this apartment building; if Happiness Apartments undergoes renovation and expansion... will we still be able to exist?"

(End of Chapter)