Chapter 46: Chapter Thirty-Nine: [Meeting Lu Sisi Again]

Two hours later, a taxi with Huizhou license plates pulled over near the university district, stopping by the roadside beside the short-term rental area.

After getting out, Chen Yan walked toward the short-term rental and saw Hu Shangke slumped on the edge of the ruins, silently smoking, several cigarette butts scattered on the ground.

Seeing Chen Yan approaching, Hu Shangke shouted, jumped up, and rushed over, grabbing Chen Yan’s shoulder.

“You, you, you…”

“Don’t rush, Old Hu, calm down.” Chen Yan calmly pulled Hu aside: “I won’t run off—I’ll take full responsibility.”

“So what the hell happened to the house? How did it turn into this?!”

Hu’s eyes were red—he was truly panicked.

·

That morning, Hu had come to collect the house—Chen Yan had agreed to rent it for seven days, but nine had passed, and if Chen Yan wasn’t using it anymore… Hu had planned to re-rent it before Spring Festival.

But when he arrived at the house…

For Hu, it wasn’t just a house collapsing—it was the sky falling!

The house had been secretly sublet by a senior civil engineering student without the landlord’s knowledge—he was the middleman!

If the house collapsed, the senior civil engineering student couldn’t escape blame, and neither could Hu Shangke—he’d be held responsible too.

How could he not panic? This wasn’t a bicycle or a phone.

It was a house! How much money was that worth?

Selling Hu Shangke wouldn’t cover it!

·

“The night before last was an earthquake… I thought the house might’ve collapsed during the quake… maybe the structure was just too old, so…” Chen Yan carefully chose his words.

“Look around you!! Earthquake?! Every other house is fine! Only yours collapsed! You’re telling me it was the earthquake? Who’d believe that?!”

Chen Yan glanced around—the other buildings nearby stood perfectly intact.

Okay, this was hard to explain.

After waking up, he’d checked Jinling’s earthquake news.

Jinling did experience tremors that night—but they were only aftershocks from elsewhere.

The actual epicenter was over two hundred kilometers from Jinling.

By the time the shaking reached Jinling, it had weakened drastically; the official peak reading here was under 3.8 magnitude.

Put bluntly, that level of shaking wouldn’t even knock over a stack of blocks.

Many Jinling residents had no idea there’d been an earthquake unless they saw the news.

Chen Yan sighed.

This damn Dao was utterly unreasonable!!

Chen Yan wasn’t a shameless man—he knew clearly that if he hadn’t been hiding here to escape the Dao’s purge, the house wouldn’t have collapsed during the quake.

The landlord hadn’t done anything wrong—his house just collapsed for no reason. How unfair.

Ordinary people rarely buy accidental insurance for their homes; when something like this happens, they bear the loss themselves.

Chen Yan felt he couldn’t be that shameless.

“Old Hu, forget everything else—I’ll pay to compensate for this house. If needed, I’ll pay to rebuild it. Deal?”

Hu Shangke froze, his anger instantly subsiding: “You’ll pay? Rebuild? You’re serious?”

“Yeah, I mean it.” Chen Yan nodded: “It’s just a single-story house—building two new ones shouldn’t cost much. A hundred thousand? Two hundred? Three hundred?”

“It’s not just about money,” Hu shook his head, sneering: “You think rebuilding a house is that simple? You can just build wherever you want?”

He paused, realizing Chen Yan truly didn’t understand, then patiently explained:

“Rich people who bought big villas don’t want to tear them down and build bigger? They’ve got the land.

But they can’t.

For your house, you need the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau to inspect it first—to prove it wasn’t deliberately demolished, then issue a written survey report confirming it collapsed due to age during the earthquake.

Then you go to the Real Estate Bureau to retrieve the original property records, verify the original area and layout, and get a reconstruction permit along with official construction blueprints.

Only then can you hire a construction company—and they must be licensed. You think any random contractor can do it?

You must build exactly according to the approved blueprints—you can’t just build as big or as you please.

Even after construction, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau must inspect and approve it, then you submit the approval to the Real Estate Bureau for verification.

Only then can the Real Estate Bureau issue a new property certificate.

Otherwise, any house you build illegally is an unauthorized structure—no property certificate at all.”

Chen Yan was stunned.

His face clearly read: “I don’t understand.”

So many government offices, so many inspections, reviews, certifications, procedures.

His head was spinning just listening.

Chen Yan had an idea, and looked at Hu Shangke seriously.

After all, they were classmates—he knew this guy.

Hu’s only flaw was being a suck-up, but his character was trustworthy.

“Old Hu, let’s be straight—can you handle this whole thing for me?”

“I can’t,” Hu admitted frankly, shaking his head: “I’m a newcomer. I know the process, but I’ve got no connections or influence. Only our manager could handle this—he’s helped rich clients rebuild villas before, has some contacts.”

Chen Yan rephrased: “I want you to approach the landlord first—if they want money, negotiate a cash compensation amount.

If they want the house rebuilt, get our manager involved to handle it.

Two options—you negotiate the price. You’re the insider—you know the ropes better than I do.

I’m willing to compensate, even pay extra, but I won’t be taken for a fool. You get me?”

Hu understood: “Yeah, I get it now… but…”

Chen Yan waved him off: “I won’t let you do this for free. I’ll give you ten thousand as a fee. Deal?”

Hu was about to say “No need for so much for running errands,” but Chen Yan waved again, silencing him.

“You take ten thousand. I’ll give another ten thousand—you deliver it to the civil engineering student who rented the house.

The house is gone—he needs to find new lodging, and the landlord will definitely withhold his deposit. I checked—there’s nothing valuable left, just a few old clothes.

I’ll cover all his losses—ten thousand total.”

Hu nodded: “That’s plenty. He had half a year left on the lease—combined rent and deposit for this dump was maybe six or seven thousand. You’re giving him ten.”

“Consider the extra for emotional damages.”

Chen Yan immediately transferred twenty thousand to Hu—ten for Hu’s fee, ten for the civil engineering student.

“Handle this for me. When you get results, tell me—I’ll see it through.”

Then, leaving the mess to Hu, Chen Yan walked away.

·

He’d planned to take a taxi back to the villa, but since he was already in the university district, he remembered the messages Lu Sisi had sent him…

Chen Yan hesitated, then decided to go to the university campus. He’d originally planned to head straight to Lu Sisi’s school, but halfway remembered Zhao Zong had messaged him two days ago asking for his address—maybe he had something to ask?

Since he was already here, he might as well meet Zhao Zong.

Chen Yan wasn’t the type to prioritize romance over friendship—he headed back to his own campus.

But as soon as he walked near the male dormitory, he saw Zhao Zong pacing nervously behind a utility pole, his face twisted like he was constipated.

Chen Yan strode over, slapped Zhao Zong on the shoulder. Zhao Zong jumped, spun around, saw Chen Yan, and without waiting for him to speak, lunged forward to cover his mouth, dragging him behind the dorm building.

“What’s going on? Acting like a thief.”

“Shh!”

Zhao Zong steadied himself, looking embarrassed.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Yan grew more curious.

Zhao Zong pointed toward the roadside, whispering: “Look!”

Chen Yan peered out.

On the roadside beneath the female dormitory stood two girls—clearly the classic campus pairing of “red flower and green leaf.”

One girl, from afar, had a balanced figure, long flowing hair, and delicate features—definitely at least a minor beauty.

The other? No need to elaborate.

By convention, the friend beside a pretty girl is either a tank, a tomboy, or both.

Chen Yan smiled: “Which one do you like?”

Zhao Zong glared at him: “You tell me.”

Chen Yan grinned: “Then go talk to her.”

“…I don’t know how.” Zhao Zong blushed after a long pause: “Bro, teach me.”

Chen Yan fell silent: “Do you think I know how? I’ve never had a girlfriend.”

“Liar! You think I don’t know? Xiao Pang told me after dropping off your stuff—you’ve got a pretty girl in your room!”

Chen Yan shook his head: “We were studying together. I’m tutoring a first-year girl.”

Zhao Zong gave him a wounded look: “Bro, didn’t you graduate?”

Chen Yan: “…”

“Even if you hadn’t graduated, you’ve failed more exams than I have—what could you possibly tutor her in?”

Chen Yan frowned: “Still want me to teach you?”

“Yes!”

Chen Yan said slowly: “Just go up. Be confident, calm, and ideally a little carefree. First grab their attention, then casually add their WeChat. Once you’ve added them, you can chat later when you’re back.”

“Confident, calm, carefree… how do I even pull that off to get their attention?”

Chen Yan whispered something into Xiao Zhao’s ear.

Xiao Zhao widened his eyes: “Bro, I’m not stupid—don’t lie to me!”

Chen Yan replied firmly: “You forgot I once shared a room with a freshman girl? Don’t believe me? Fine.”

Xiao Zhao took a deep breath, hesitated, then gritted his teeth and strode forward.

When he reached the two girls, he deliberately stopped and cleared his throat loudly.

The two girls, mid-conversation, looked up at the sound—and their attention was caught.

Then…

Xiao Zhao suddenly jumped straight up… and did an air dunk!

He added sound effects: “Swish!”

Girl A: “…………”

Girl B: “…………”

After two seconds of stunned silence, the two girls burst into laughter.

The prettier one laughed so hard she bent over, nearly squatting on the ground.

Xiao Zhao stared blankly, instinctively turning back to look at Chen Yan…

Chen Yan spun around and sprinted off!

·

Hmph, you said I flunked too many classes!

·

Chen Yan ran over two hundred meters in one breath. With his body now nourished by Qi after entering the Qi Refinement stage, even if Xiao Zhao grew two extra legs, he’d never catch up.

Sure enough, Chen Yan glanced back briefly—Xiao Zhao had chased him only a few dozen meters before stopping, then raised his middle finger in the air.

Alright, Chen Yan decided to go see Lu Sisi.

Huh? Wait—why did I even come looking for Xiao Zhao in the first place? Oh well, can’t remember, so forget it.

But as he turned a corner, behind the male dormitory area, he spotted a figure sitting on a wooden bench by the roadside in the distance.

Still wearing that pale yellow down jacket, but now with a scarf wrapped around her neck.

In the winter chill, the girl’s face was flushed red.

·

Lu Sisi was lost in thought when someone tapped her shoulder.

Startled, she turned—and saw Chen Yan’s smiling face.

“Who in their right mind sits by the roadside freezing in this weather?” Chen Yan sat down beside her naturally—this posture felt fine, since they’d shared the same bed for two nights.

Lu Sisi’s eyes lit up instantly; she looked at Chen Yan in delight, then bit her lip: “Chen Yan, you…”

“Why are you here at our school?” Chen Yan asked with a smile.

“Um… I was just bored, took a walk, and ended up here.”

Lu Sisi answered softly, head bowed, her face still flushed.

In truth… how could it have been just a casual walk?

The girl had been thinking of Chen Da all along, but couldn’t find him, and her WeChat messages went unanswered.

Not seeing him made her feel uneasy, so she couldn’t help coming to Chen Yan’s school.

Even though she knew he had graduated and no longer lived on campus, she held a strange feeling: visiting the places he once lived felt like seeing him through his surroundings?

Chen Yan could guess part of it—he was at a loss for words himself. He hadn’t lied to Xiao Zhao: he truly didn’t know how to talk to girls.

After a moment’s thought, his eyes fell on Lu Sisi’s pale yellow down jacket.

He remembered… since their first meeting at the hospital, she’d been wearing this same jacket, hadn’t she?

It was normal for people in winter to wear the same down jacket for many days.

But most pretty young girls changed their outerwear frequently.

Noticing Chen Yan’s gaze, Lu Sisi blushed: “I… my other down jacket… got damaged…”

She looked at him with a wounded expression.

Chen Yan froze, then instantly understood.

That time his phone hit Xiao Zhao! The drowning omen!

He’d kicked her into the fountain…

Yeah, she’d been wearing a different colored down jacket that day.

“I… my living expenses ran out. I bought a phone then, and I was too scared to ask my family for money, so…”

She blushed as she explained.

Chen Yan’s heart sank.

He remembered what Lu Sisi had told him: because she was always plagued by bad luck and dragged her family down, they barely tolerated her.

A pang of pity rose in him.

Girls her age—even if they weren’t as beautiful as her—would be doted on at home if their families weren’t desperately poor.

Most would have wardrobes full of clothes. Who would wear only two outer layers all winter?

Thinking this, Chen Yan grabbed Lu Sisi’s arm and pulled her up.

“Come on!”

Lu Sisi blinked, asked nothing, just lowered her head and softly said “Okay,” then obediently followed Chen Da.

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[This chapter is 4,400 characters—Dancing’s writing is long and hard!]

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