Chapter 116: Volume 1 Chapter 116 Tenant (4)

Her whole face was covered by the hat, her figure petite, the clothes she wore didn't fit, long sleeves drooping, she spoke weakly: "Big brother, I just woke up, I haven't even had time to take out the trash."

Li Dachao, regardless of whether she was male or female, shoved the door and shouted angrily: "Open the door for me! Did you hear me?! "

Jiang Zhi had locked the anti-theft lock, so the door could only open a crack, just to prevent him from running wild and hurting innocents.

Ignoring his words, she shrank her body against the door frame, trembling as she said: "Big brother, I really didn't throw out the trash, please don't hit me!"

As she spoke, she drew further inside.

Li Dachao couldn't even get an arm through the gap, he lifted his leg to kick the door, when a tense and firm voice came from behind him.

"If you, if you keep ramming, I'll call the police!"

The entire door gap was blocked by Li Dachao; Jiang Zhi inside couldn't see who was speaking outside, but the voice sounded quite familiar.

Upon hearing the two words "call the police," Li Dachao's fury dissipated by half, deep fear showing in his eyes; he glared fiercely at the speaker, said nothing, and strode back inside.

He slammed the door shut with a deafening bang.

The hallway returned to silence; Jiang Zhi lifted her forehead, and a figure appeared in the door crack.

It was a familiar face.

"It's fine, he's gone already." The boy's smile was as warm and bright as the rising sun, his handsome brows and eyes hidden beneath loosely curled dark brown short hair, wearing an autumn outfit with a fur collar that made his posture straight as a pine.

Jiang Zhi opened the door, her view widened, and the boy before her gradually came into focus.

She felt a sense of closeness: "Thank you."

It was the tenant from 609, Le Zhou, radiating youthful vigor; standing there with a smile, even the gloomy hallway gained warmth.

Le Zhou had a bag slung behind him; it was clearly early morning, heading to school, his smiling eyes peeking from under his brim made out the weary expression on her face.

The girl had just gotten out of bed, eyes still heavy with sleep, cheeks flushed, retaining a few red pressure marks.

"It's fine; if he comes knocking again, don't open the door—you're a girl, it's too dangerous." He almost zoned out.

Jiang Zhi hummed, rubbed her sore eyes, thought of last night's events, hesitated a moment, then asked: "Did you hear any strange noises last night?"

Le Zhou's expression flickered slightly, he thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head: "No, I was reading until very late last night, I didn't hear any strange noises."

Jiang Zhi thought it over and still felt something was off.

Last night's knocking was so loud—didn't anyone on the whole floor hear it?

This rundown building isn't soundproof.

But she quickly realized this was a Punishment Instance; many things can't be explained by ordinary logic.

"I know, thank you, Le Zhou." She stopped pressing, but after speaking she met the boy's dazed gaze upon her.

She blinked, raised her hand and waved it in front of him.

"Le Zhou?"

Le Zhou snapped back to attention, his handsome profile taking on a faint blush.

"Um… yeah! I'll go first then, you, you keep sleeping." His words came out haltingly, embarrassed, and he hurried away.

His steps were almost a frantic escape.

Jiang Zhi stared blankly at the scene, not understanding why he suddenly acted so strangely.

Before her thoughts could finish, a glimpse caught her eye of a figure emerging from the doorway.

It was the boy from 608 who had dropped out to care for his seriously ill mother, Shi Xuan.

He held a tattered garbage bag, limping out with his head bowed, black bangs covering his whole face; in the dim light he seemed like a demon spawned from darkness, making one feel uneasy just to look at him.

If Le Zhou just now was the sun, then this boy before her was the embodiment of darkness.

Jiang Zhi's current prime suspect is him.

He has a motive for murder—having dropped out, he's bullied everywhere and can only make a living picking through trash.

He also has the aura of a killer.

No matter how you look at him, he seems like a serial killer.

Just as the boy passed her door, Jiang Zhi suddenly caught a faint scent of laundry detergent.

Fresh and fragrant.

It was drifting from his person.

Jiang Zhi looked closely at the boy's clothes up close; although worn and patched, they were exceptionally clean, washed to a whitish hue.

He looked disheveled, but actually he also cared a lot about cleanliness.

Even after he turned the corner and left, Jiang Zhi didn't go to greet him.

The boy gave the impression of not wanting to interact with people, preferring to be alone.

She had only spoken to him once yesterday, and they weren't close enough for her to greet a child like that.

Let's wait until next time.

Jiang Zhi never imagined that the "next time" she mentioned would happen at noon.

She didn't want to go downstairs to eat, so she used her phone to order delivery from the stir-fry restaurant on the street below the building.

Two dishes and a soup, to reward herself for last night's heart-pounding ordeal.

Hearing the knock, she didn't think twice and opened the door, only to see the trash-picking boy standing right in front of her.

The boy held the food bag in one hand, the other hand pinched the slip of paper on the bag, head down as he read her name.

"Jiang, Zhi."

Jiang Zhi quickly replied: "Yeah, that's my order."

Shi Xuan rubbed his hands together on his clothes, then held out the food bag with both hands: "You, your order."

He probably rarely speaks, his voice hoarse and muffled like sandpaper; worried she might not hear, he still tried hard to enunciate each word clearly.

Yet the girl inside the room delayed taking the food.

Shi Xuan recalled many similar incidents from before; his tone grew urgent, and what he wanted to say came out more and more haltingly.

I—I haven't touched the food, please, please don't worry! Jiang… Miss Jiang.

Jiang Zhi, who had just gone back to her room and come out again, heard this and asked puzzledly, "What?"

Hearing the voice, Shi Xuan suddenly lifted his forehead; his long bangs obscured his vision, and in the blur he met a pair of eyes lit up by light.

"I didn't say you touched the food." Jiang Zhi said with a smile, reached out to take the food bag from his hand, and promptly placed the tip in his palm.

This is yours.

Shi Xuan stood there stunned, blankly staring at the tip in his hand; after a long while he finally reacted, reaching out to return it, saying, "No, no need, I……"

Jiang Zhi didn't take the money from his hand, raised her brows, and said, "This is your tip, not mine. Thank you for delivering it so quickly—I'm absolutely starving."

Having said that, she closed the door.

Left alone, the boy stood there dazed, the money still warm in his palm—money he couldn't earn even after a day of scavenging scraps.

It was also the first time anyone had given him a tip.

——

Back in the house, Jiang Zhi squatted in the narrow corridor eating, her eyes brimming with tears.

She regretted.

She shouldn't have given so much tip.

She's so poor, waa waa waa.

Not long ago, she was again anxious about meal money.

Back then, when she gave the tip, Jiang Zhi just acted on a sudden impulse.

Perhaps seeing such a pitiful child rushing early to make a living—scavenging scraps and delivering meals everywhere—reminded her of herself back when she toiled in the Cannon Fodder Team.

Forget it, it's just fifty bucks; I have to earn it back tonight on the livestream.