Chapter 8: The Allure of a Mature Woman... I Can't Accept It

The next day, after everything that happened yesterday, Zhao Lingyu woke up an hour earlier than usual, planning to do two sets of exercises every morning from now on before going to work. Anyway, he's gotten pretty familiar with the foreman and the crew at the construction site, and the supervision wasn't that strict to begin with. He's also shown how capable he is, so when the time comes, he'll just tell the foreman to push his tasks aside for a bit—even if he starts work a little later, he can still finish everything.

Just as he finished one set, Zhao Lingyu, who had originally planned to rest a few minutes, drink some water, and then do another round, suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.

"Huh? No way, could it be that efficient? They're already at my door?" Zhao Lingyu thought it was the official department coming after him for yesterday's incident.

While Zhao Lingyu was debating whether to confess and be lenient or resist and face strict punishment, he heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock.

Then Zhao Lingyu was startled to see a woman wearing a leopard-print mini skirt, stockings on her legs, and a pair of small leather boots, with big wavy hair—this big aunt—walk in through the door. "You..." Just as Zhao Lingyu opened his mouth to speak, the woman across from him exclaimed in shock: "Oh my, you... who are you? Where's Xiao Zhao? Where is Xiao Zhao?" As soon as she stepped inside and saw a shirtless man with a muscular, fierce-looking upper body standing in the living room of her rental apartment, Landlady Li Damā was also startled and shouted at the top of her lungs.

??? Xiao Zhao? Is she looking for me? Right, since I transmigrated here, I haven't paid a single month's rent—I almost forgot I was renting this place. I did remember it a few days ago, but I just scared myself into almost forgetting again. This person has a key, so they must be the landlord. Then it's not a big problem.

Zhao Lingyu collected himself and said: "Um... Auntie, I'm Xiao Zhao, Zhao Lingyu. Are you here to collect rent? Please wait a moment—I'll get it for you right now."

Saying that, he walked toward the sofa and took money from the pocket of the jacket placed there.

At this moment, Landlady Li Damā also came to her senses. After all, Zhao Lingyu's ordinary yet distinctive handsome face was still recognizable, even though his physique had changed dramatically—his facial features hadn't altered much. It's just that when Zhao Lingyu trained, he didn't wear a shirt, so when the landlady first entered, her attention was instinctively drawn to his muscular build. Now, by recognizing his handsome face, she successfully identified Zhao Lingyu.

Li Damā thought: "This kid, the last time I saw him, he was all skin and bones. In less than two months, how did he turn out like this?" Then, as if remembering something, she curled the corner of her mouth and turned to shut the door behind her.

At this time, Zhao Lingyu also took out five hundred yuan from his jacket pocket, turned his head, and looked at Landlady Li Damā in surprise as she closed the door. He thought: "Why close the door? It's just about collecting rent—take it and leave. Does she still want to come in and sit for a while, chat a bit? Don't waste my training time."

Landlady Li Damā walked into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, then patted the seat beside her and said: "Rent's not urgent—come, sit first. Oh my, Xiao Zhao, it's been less than two months since I last saw you—what happened to your physique? When I opened the door earlier and saw your muscular build, I got a fright. I'd been knocking for ages with no answer, so I thought I'd run into a bad person—that's why I hurriedly called out to you, just in case something had happened. Come on, come on, don't stand there—sit down and talk." Seeing that Zhao Lingyu had no intention of sitting, she kept talking while standing up again, trying to grab his arm to pull him onto the sofa.

Hey, just talk if you want to talk—don't grab me. My saliva's practically dripping out, and that look in your eyes is like you want to eat me. Do I not know what you're thinking? It's like when I see a front-heavy, back-curvy stockings beauty on the street—if you were twenty years younger, you wouldn't need to make the first move. But you're this old—what's the point of getting handsy? Pah, lusting after my body—you're despicable.

Also,

When did you start knocking for half a day? I heard you loud and clear—you only knocked three or four times, and very lightly at that. Normally, at this time, I'm still asleep. What do you want? Huh? What do you want?!

Thinking all this in my head, I dodged the landlady's outstretched hand trying to grope me, and said: "Um, Auntie..." Before I could finish, she cut me off: "What are you calling 'Auntie' for? Call me 'Sister'—I'm not that much older than you. Come, sit down and talk. Don't stand there—look at you all sweaty, you just finished training, right? Hurry up and sit, rest a bit."

... Sister? Not much older than me? You could give birth to a sister older than me—damn.

"Um, Sis... Sister, that... I need to go to work now. You... do as you please. I left the rent here—remember to lock the door when you leave. I don't know exactly when I'll get off work, so I'm heading out now." As he spoke, he placed the five-hundred-yuan rent on the sofa, grabbed the jacket from there, and bolted out—he didn't even have time to shower after training. If he didn't run now, there'd only be two outcomes: either he'd punch Landlady Li Damā in the face and knock her flying, or... kick her away. Either way, there's no chance he'd give in to her.

"Hey, Xiao Zhao, don't go yet—it's barely seven o'clock. What job are you rushing to?"

Standing in the rental unit, Li Damā muttered gloomily: "Why is this kid running off? Doesn't he want to get close to me? Has my charm really faded that much? It shouldn't have—last night, wearing this outfit, dancing in the plaza, that old Sun guy had his eyes glued to me." Thinking this, Li Damā went to the full-length mirror in the living room, sucked in her gut, squeezed herself in, and said: "Hmm, still quite a sight, huh. This Xiao Zhao kid has no taste—oh well, I'll just go find Old Sun tonight to play around. Next time I come, I'll clean him up, make him understand—make him understand the allure of mature women." Then Li Damā took the rent from the sofa and left... Mirror:... I damn near cracked.

"Damn, scared the hell out of me. Really not worth it for someone of this age to be able to suck dirt from the ground—this is too lustful. In broad daylight, wanting to lay hands on me—is there any justice left? Any law? Screw this, I'm out."

Originally, I'd wanted to do some extra training, but today's a no-go. Going now would be too early—the construction site's still empty. Forget it, I'll slow down my pace of life and have a proper breakfast.

Before, I'd always eat while walking to work. Today, since I've freed up time, I don't need to rush. I found a breakfast stall and ate slowly—well, slowly in my own eyes; to others, I looked like a piglet fighting over food.

Finished breakfast, went to work, started a new day.

At the same time, in an office in Province B, City A (or called Jia Province, Yi City—either 1 Province 2 Cities works), a major meeting was being held with great urgency.