Chapter 8: I Have a House Here

What?!

The boss was taking a customer's order, but upon hearing this, he stopped making the pancakes, flung the spatula aside, and looked at Zhang Lu:

My stall has been here for four or five years! All permits and documents are complete! I guarantee fresh ingredients every day—what right do you have to say my pancakes aren't clean?!

The boss had a loud voice; with this shout, everyone around looked over.

The customers in line also stood up one after another.

They were regulars, so their opinion on the food carried weight.

At such a young age, you spout off without fear of the boss suing you for slander!

Each person said a line, pointing and gossiping, and some even took out their phones to make TikToks.

Zhang Lu instantly became the target of everyone's criticism.

She had just been spouting off casually, never expecting Shu Shu to drag her straight to the boss for a confrontation!

Good grief!

Zhang Lu turned pale, stood there helpless, her bravado gone, on the verge of tears.

In the end, Chu Lian came over to help speak; Zhang Lu reluctantly bowed and apologized to the boss, and the matter was settled.

Several of her classmates also followed suit, embarrassing themselves.

Seeing the awkward scene, Chu Lian hurriedly led everyone away.

The crowd dispersed.

Shu Shu continued squatting by the street to eat a handheld pancake; after finishing, she tossed the wrapper into the trash, and her phone in her pocket rang.

She had a new message.

The new home designer asked, "Miss Shu, have you arrived at Yujingyuan? I and the workers are inside your house."

Shu Shu replied: "Almost there~"

Shu Shu tilted her head back to look at the towering skyscrapers.

Thirteen years later, Yujingyuan still exudes the same luxurious grandeur.

More importantly, the main gate's facial recognition still retained her information—a quick scan of her face opened the door.

Shu Shu walked familiarly toward her own building.

She reached the ground floor.

The building entrance had no password lock; it required swiping an access card.

She had already given the access card for her new apartment to the designer to use.

Just as she was about to have the designer open the door upstairs for her,

How did you sneak in here—?!

A shrill female voice came from the diagonal.

Zhang Lu marched over aggressively, her eyes blazing as she glared at Shu Shu.

At her age, she had never been this embarrassed before; now she had completely offended Shu Shu.

I'm asking you—how did you sneak in?!

Sneak in?

Shu Shu tilted her head: "Is it possible that my house is here?"

Zhang Lu snorted: "You're kidding me—you're squatting on the street eating handheld pancakes; how could your family afford to live in Yujingyuan?"

Shu Shu: "???"

What does squatting on the street have to do with whether I have a house in Yujingyuan?

What did the handheld pancake do wrong to deserve such targeting!

"Lu Lu, what's wrong?"

At that moment, Chu Lian and the rest of the classmates walked over.

They had already arrived at Yujingyuan, but hadn't gone up yet; Chu Lian led everyone to the garden to stroll.

Yujingyuan is, after all, a luxury residence; the garden scenery was nice, so several people took out their phones to snap photos and check in.

"Classmate Shu Shu?"

Seeing Shu Shu, Chu Lian's expression also turned surprised: "How are you here?"

Shu Shu: "My house is here."

Chu Lian visibly froze, looking at the building behind Shu Shu: "You mean you live in this building? But I've never seen you before."

Shu Shu thought to herself.

Nonsense—because when you moved into my apartment, I had already 'kicked the bucket,' so seeing me would be seeing a ghost.

Chu Lian's remark was like giving Zhang Lu an opening to attack Shu Shu's weak point.

"Hah! Lies exposed! You're laughing—what bull are you blowing?!"

Saying that, she turned to Chu Lian: "Xiao Lian, didn't we forget to bring the door key when we just came in?"

"Definitely!" Zhang Lu said firmly: "Otherwise, why would we have just entered, and she appears here right after us?"

Chu Lian was about to say that the security quality at Yujingyuan's entrance wouldn't be that poor,

but just then,

she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye.

Not far ahead, a male student in a white shirt with regular features walked by.

Chu Lian's eyes lit up slightly, and she called out sweetly: "Class Monitor?"

The male student was Shi Jin.

Shi Jin transferred three months ago from Jing Shi School to An Shi San Zhong; his family is well-off, and after transferring he also lives in Yujingyuan, just a few buildings behind.

Chu Lian: "Class Monitor, are you getting ready to go out?"

Shi Jin spoke in a calm tone: "Mm, I have something to do."

After he finished speaking, he prepared to keep walking forward, but his gaze unintentionally brushed Shu Shu, and his steps paused slightly.

At this moment, Zhang Lu pointed at Shu Shu and said: "Xiao Lian, quickly call security over, get this lying, penniless scoundrel thrown out—Yujingyuan isn't a place just any riffraff can enter! Don't ruin the reputation of Yujingyuan's luxurious residences!"

Chu Lian keenly noticed Shi Jin's pause when he saw Shu Shu.

She pursed her lips, raised her hand to sweep a strand of hair behind her ear, and gently stopped Zhang Lu.

"Lu Lu, don't do that."

Then she walked up to Shu Shu and spoke understandingly:

"Shu Shu, if you're really that curious about Yujingyuan, just tell me and I can bring you in."

Shu Shu: "?"

Chu Lian glanced at Shi Jin, then continued: "Otherwise, Shu Shu, you can come with me to my house—it's a good chance for you to have a proper look, so you won't need to sneak around anymore."

Shu Shu: "??"

"Xiao Lian!"

Zhang Lu was the first to speak up, objecting: "She was just rude to you on the street—why are you still inviting her to your home?!"

Chu Lian shook her head, magnanimous: "It's fine, I don't mind—after all, we're classmates at the same school."

Shu Shu had originally come today to inspect the results of her new home's renovation.

But when she heard Chu Lian's suggestion—

Perfect.

She also wanted to see what state the Chu mother‑daughter had turned her house into, so she said:

"Alright, let's first go check out 1701."

Chu Lian blinked: "How do you know my place is 1701?"

Zhang Lu grabbed Shu Shu again, looking as if she had just realized a conspiracy:

"Ah, so your real purpose is to be here! Knowing we were coming to Xiao Lian's house today, you deliberately lurked on the street ahead of time to tail us into Yujingyuan, just to get to Xiao Lian's home—you even looked up her apartment number!"

Shu Shu fell silent for three seconds, admiring Zhang Lu's brainwork: "Kid, if you're going to use your brain like that, you might as well donate it."

"Who are you calling a kid?! Are you taking advantage of me?!"

Shu Shu thought, I haven't taken anything, then spoke lazily: "Let's go, aren't we heading up? Hurry up."

Everyone was stunned.

How dare a freeloader like Shu Shu so confidently urge the host!

Chu Lian looked at Shi Jin: "Class Monitor, you go ahead and be busy; we'll head up first—see you Monday."

Shi Jin gave a slight nod.

His gaze flicked to Shu Shu again, lingering on her for a moment before moving away.