This matter could wait. For now, they needed to find a place to live.
The lending company would probably be amenable to having him and Youxue stay at their old place for a few days, but living there would be unpleasant.
After some thinking, he called the coffee shop owner.
“A place to stay… I have a vacant apartment. I’ll show you.” The owner had something for them.
After reaching the coffeehouse, the owner took Xia Yu to see the apartment.
It was a high-level apartment next to Youxue’s school with two bedrooms. The place was renovated in a simple style and was much nicer than their old place.
“Big brother, I can see my school from here!” Youxue exclaimed from the terrace.
Kids’ emotions came quickly, and they left quickly too.
Xia Yu decided to stay here.
The owner drafted a contract.
“One thousand a month is too low,” Xia Yu said after looking at the terms.
This kind of place in a good school district, with great renovation, renting for only 1000 yuan a month, was practically a giveaway.
“It’s fine. It’s sitting empty anyway.” The owner didn’t mind. He didn’t have much cash but a lot of real estates. “Your sister is staying with you. It’s good to have more cash in hand.”
Seeing how the store owner really didn’t care about the rent, Xia Yu accepted the favor. He would return the favor one day.
Xia Yu signed the contract.
Putting away the contract, the store owner waved at Xia Yu. “You can get settled in. I’m heading out.”
After walking him downstairs, Xia Yu returned to their new place.
By now, Youxue had calmed down. She looked concerned. “Renting this place is really expensive, right? We just need a room!”
“It’s okay. It’s only 1000 a month,” Xia Yu answered.
“One thousand is a lot!” Youxue felt guilty.
Xia Yu didn’t tell Youxue his monthly salary. She assumed he was making one or two thousand a month.
“I make 10 thousand a month now. Can’t I rent for 1000 a month?” Xia Yu smiled as he sat on the sofa.
“Ten thousand?!” Youxue looked at Xia Yu in shock.
“That landlord was my boss.” Xia Yu was happy with Youxue’s expression. Given her personality, she’d probably give him a hug soon.
But the girl bit her lips. “Were you doing webcam stuff at night in your room?”
Seeing Youxue’s pained expression, Xia Yu knew she misunderstood.
“I wasn’t doing any kind of webcam stuff. How do you even know things like this?” Xia Yu frowned. He should have paid more attention to her.
“…” Youxue looked away.
After talking about the rent, Xia Yu told her about his part-time job as a pianist and violinist, promising her a tour of his workplace the next day.
When the misunderstanding was resolved, Youxue leaped into his arms just as he had predicted.
“Big bro is amazing!”
Holding Youxue, Xia Yu felt proud.
“But where did you learn to play the piano and violin?” Youxue asked.
Xia Yu didn’t tell Youxue because he didn’t have an explanation.
“Did mom teach you?” The girl looked for reasons on her own.
Xia Yu’s hand froze. He pinched Youxue’s cheek. “Yes, mom taught me.”
“That’s great…” Youxue’s voice became lower.
The two of them said nothing. The room became silent.
After 10 minutes, Xia Yu realized Youxue had fallen asleep in his arms.
She wasn’t picky about where to sleep.
After moving her to the bedroom, Xia Yu also organized their clothes. He then went back to their old place to bring over some stuff, such as his books.
By the time he was done, it was five-thirty p.m.
He went downstairs to get two burgers. He woke up Youxue for dinner. Then, he picked up the black cat and went into his room.
Now was the time to make trouble for Tumor Gong.
He lay in bed and logged onto the black cat.
He wasn’t quite used to the sensation after the exchange. He hadn’t been logged onto the black cat for many days.
After practicing a little bit, Xia Yu opened the door and left the apartment.
Tumor Gong lived a little far from here. He tried to sneak onto the subway but was shooed away by a conscientious employee.
He then tried to sneak onto a bus but was also driven away.
Some agencies had regulated that no pets other than guide dogs could ride public transportation.
This wasn’t a good plan.
After he went home, Xia Yu used his phone to call the taxi driver he met while looking for the black cat. He messaged the man and asked if he was free.
The driver quickly replied:
“I’m not nearby, but I can call a friend for you.”
Xia Yu agreed to the referral. He sighed at how inconvenient it was without a ride-sharing app.
Ten minutes later, the referred driver arrived outside Xia Yu’s neighborhood.
The man got out of the car. He looked around for the person who needed the ride. There was no one around.
Was it another fake passenger?
While the driver was feeling angry, he saw a black cat approaching him. There was a note written on a paper in the cat’s mouth.
Putting the note in front of him, the cat meowed.
“For me?” The driver was shocked. He opened the note.
There was 200 yuan inside the note, and on the note were these words:
‘Please send the cat to Yanghu New Village. Please also pick up the cat at 12:30 am at the same location. Thank you. You can keep the change.”
While the driver was still amazed at the note, the black cat had already opened the door and got inside the car. The cat meowed, impatient to leave.
With a shocked expression, the driver started the cab.
Forty minutes later, the driver parked the car in front of Yanghu New Village. He looked around, wanting to see who was picking up the cat. Instead, he saw the cat opening the door with its paw and leaving the car.
What kind of smart cat knew how to get a taxi and to get out of the car by itself? This was an enchanted cat!
The driver put away the cushion the cat had used.
Anything an enchanted cat had touched, especially since it was a black cat, could be used to ward off evil!
Meanwhile, Xia Yu had reached Tumor Gong’s house.
It was a small one-story house. The light was on. He was home.
Xia Yu had carefully considered how to take revenge against Tumor Gong. He first thought of possessing Tumor Gong’s wife or mom, and doing something to him that way, but this would be trouble for the body’s original owner.
He also thought of using the black cat to hurt Tumor Gong somehow, but he also decided against the idea.
Lying outside Tumor Gong’s place, Xia Yu waited.
At 9 p.m, Tumor Gong left his place. Xia Yu followed him.
After several turns, Tumor Gong reached the Yanghu Old Village nearby. The Old Village had been demolished and was filled with debris.
Tumor Gong didn’t go inside the area right away. He looked around.
It was late at night. The street lights were dim.
Crack–
A sound came out suddenly.
Tumor Gong was shocked. When he saw it was a black cat making the noise, he relaxed.
It was just a cat.
Smiling, Tumor Gong entered the demolished site.