Su Yang originally thought that her experiences throughout the day had been quite eventful and perilous.
First, she had settled a "life - changing event" with a strange man she had known for less than a few minutes. Then, she had a "horrifying elevator experience" with the same man.
Such an encounter would hardly be believed if she told others.
However, just when Su Yang thought the day was about to end perfectly, she never expected that there would be an even bigger "surprise" waiting for her.
"What do you mean you're not renting it anymore? How can you say that?"
Su Yang stood there, stunned, in front of the rental house, watching her roommate arguing with the landlord, her face flushed. It took her a while to fully understand what was going on.
The landlord was a local aunt in her fifties. Seeing Su Yang come back, she could only repeat the matter briefly with a helpless look on her face.
"... Xiaosu, auntie knows the contract doesn't expire until next month. It's auntie who's breaking the contract first. Auntie will pay you guys the one - month penalty. But I originally had an agreement with the buyer, and the buyer also agreed to wait until your lease expired and you moved out before taking back the house for renovation. But who would have thought they suddenly wanted to move it up?"
"Auntie, you didn't even inform us when you sold the house!" Hearing this, the roommate beside her raised her voice again.
The landlady aunt also looked a bit unhappy. "This is my house. If I want to sell it, I don't need to specifically tell you, girl."
The roommate was at a loss for words and couldn't scold back for a moment.
Taking this opportunity, Su Yang grabbed her roommate's hand and smiled as she tried to negotiate with the landlord.
"Auntie, it's really difficult for us that you come here suddenly and ask us to move out without any notice. You see, there's still a month left until the lease expires. My roommate and I weren't prepared at all. It's really not just a matter of the penalty fee."
Seeing the landlady's expression soften a bit, Su Yang quickly pressed on. "Auntie, how about this? Could you give us the buyer's phone number, or could you help me call the buyer? I'll communicate with the buyer so as not to put you in a difficult position."
The landlord thought for a while, then nodded and took out her phone.
Before Su Yang took the phone, she had already formulated a plan in her mind, intending to be polite first and then tough.
But she never expected that the buyer who bought the house was even more unreasonable than the landlady aunt. After just a few words with the other party, the buyer firmly stated that there was no room for negotiation and that they had to move out immediately.
"How was it?" Seeing Su Yang hang up the phone with a helpless look, the roommate already had an idea in her mind.
Su Yang shook her head and politely returned the phone to the landlord.
By this time, it had already gotten dark outside. The corridor lights in the old - fashioned community were very dim. The landlady aunt looked at the time and didn't want to waste any more time with the two girls. She issued an ultimatum, saying that they must empty out their things by tomorrow at the latest.
Watching the landlord's back as she hurriedly went downstairs, the roommate stamped her feet in anger. "How could this happen? How can they expect us to move in just one day? Do I look like I'm short of that penalty fee?"
Su Yang was also stunned on the spot. She never thought that there would really come a day when one would feel like "at the end of one's rope".
The two then dejectedly returned to the rental house. After calming down for a few dozen minutes, the roommate had reluctantly accepted the reality.
"I don't have much of a problem. I'll just move up my schedule to go back to my hometown." The roommate said, pointing to her own room. "I can pack all my things and send them by express. If I can't leave in the next few days, I can find a budget hotel to stay in first. But what about you?"
Su Yang hadn't figured it out either. She sat quietly on the sofa, running many plans through her mind, but she rejected them one by one.
Move back to the Su family with all her things? Absolutely impossible.
Stay in a hotel with so many things? It wasn't very convenient either.
There were some good friends or classmates who might take her in, but it was really hard to find a place that could also accommodate her book - filled bookshelf and all those miscellaneous items.
To be honest, moving was a very complicated matter. It wasn't a good idea to trouble her friends with so many things.
Moreover... she had a special situation.
"I'm fine. You should quickly start packing your things. Don't you still have to go to your internship company to quit tomorrow? You don't have much time left."
Su Yang shook her head and gently pushed her roommate, telling her to get busy and not to worry about her.
Xu Lize had just emptied the wine glass in his hand when he received Su Yang's call.
The phone on the table lit up. He squinted at it for a few seconds before reacting. Then he directly reached out to stop his childhood friend from pouring him more wine.
His childhood friend was taken aback and whistled playfully. "Third brother, you're the one who organized this drinking party. How come you're the first one to avoid drinking?"
Xu Lize gave him a sidelong glance. When the other man shrank his neck, he silently picked up his phone, pulled out a chair, and walked onto the terrace.
The silent and dark night surrounded the brightly - lit winery in the mountains. The hem of Xu Lize's clothes fluttered in the mountain wind, making a rustling sound on the empty terrace.
He softly said "Hello" into the phone, and immediately, a delicate and soft cry came into his ear.
"What are you doing?" Feeling that the little woman on the other end seemed startled, Xu Lize suddenly laughed.
"Umm... nothing. I thought... you wouldn't answer..." Su Yang on the other end of the phone was very nervous. She even forgot to use a respectful title for Xu Lize.
In fact, it took Su Yang a full hour of hesitation before she finally decided to call Xu Lize. The moment she dialed the number, she even felt her stomach start to cramp.
As the "beep - beep -" sound came, Su Yang's mind started to wander.
She thought that she hadn't had dinner yet after being busy until this late hour. She was also worried that Xu Lize might be busy and not see the call, or that he might see it but not want to answer...
These conflicting thoughts were fighting in Su Yang's mind. Then, as a deep male voice came through the phone, her heart instantly jumped into her throat.
"Just say it. What's the matter?"
Listening to the laughter and clinking glasses sounds behind him, Xu Lize slowly lit a cigarette for himself. There was no sign of impatience in his tone.
Su Yang sat cross - legged on the floor, her back straight against the edge of the bed. She took a deep breath and then seriously told Xu Lize what had just happened, as if she were giving a graduation defense.
Over the phone, Xu Lize lit his cigarette and listened absent - mindedly.
The little woman's voice was clear and pleasant. Occasionally, there was a touch of the soft and gentle accent in her tail - sounds, which made Xu Lize think of the sweet glutinous rice balls in fermented rice he had eaten half a bowl of on the table just now.
Soft and sweet.
However, after a few minutes of talking, even Xu Lize had already understood the purpose of her call, but the little woman still hadn't gotten to the point.
"Su Yang." Xu Lize hooked the corner of his mouth and took a puff of his cigarette. When he spoke again, he had already used his usual tone. "Get to the point."
"... I... I just wanted to ask if I could move in early?"
After Su Yang said this, she felt her ears burning hot.