The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu stood at the entrance of the residential area. The morning sun was a bit dazzling, and he squinted as he looked at the street with passing vehicles.

A short while later, a bread truck that looked like it was about to fall apart came from a distance.

Ye Shu's lips twitched involuntarily as he looked at his "old buddy," his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Back in his junior year of college, Han Yang suddenly had a crazy idea and insisted on buying this "seven-times used car" for transportation. Everyone in his dorm tried their best to stop him, their lips practically worn thin from pleading with him not to fall for it.

This guy is like a turtle eating a weight; he's made up his mind to buy it no matter what, and he absolutely won't listen to any advice.

Finally, having exhausted all other options, the entire dorm scraped together some money to buy him this "old-fashioned car" that's older than his dad.

Sure enough, it became a burden after I bought it.

This car is one where "everything is working except the headlights, everything makes noise except the horn, and everything leaks air except the windows."

It was either short-circuited and wouldn't start today, or the chassis would make a rattling noise tomorrow. For the first three months after buying it, I went to the repair shop more often than I went to class.

In the end, the car cost 12,000 yuan to buy, and the subsequent repairs cost nearly 40,000 yuan.

For this, Han Yang was laughed at by his roommates for almost a year.

"Squeak—"

A screeching sound of brakes pulled Ye Shu back from her reverie.

The van stopped abruptly in front of him, and the passenger door opened, revealing Han Yang's face, grinning broadly and carefree.

"Get in the car quickly, parking is not allowed in this lousy place, or the traffic police will give you a ticket soon."

Ye Shu looked at that familiar face, heard that familiar loud voice, and saw the familiar beat-up car next to him. He smiled, opened the car door, and sat in the familiar passenger seat where the seat springs were a bit uncomfortable.

As soon as you sit inside, a mixture of engine oil, old leather, and a faint smell of smoke hits you.

The car swayed and bumped onto the road. Han Yang held the steering wheel with one hand, the other casually resting on the window. He glanced at Ye Shu with a sly smile on his face.

"Little Shuzi, you're something else. You were complaining about being poor on the phone just now, and now you're living in a place like this? Tell me the truth, are you being kept by a rich woman? I could tell from the beginning that you have the potential to be a gigolo with your delicate and fair skin."

"Get lost! You're the one who's been paid to stay with someone else! I'm a roommate! Don't you understand what a roommate is?"

Ye Shu laughed and cursed as he struggled with the seatbelt, which seemed to be welded shut. He tugged at it several times, but the belt didn't budge.

"What kind of junk is this? Why can't I move it?"

Han Yang glanced at it and said:

"Oh, it's been broken for a while, you can't fasten it. Just pretend to tug on it with your hand and fool the camera."

Ye Shu sighed silently and gave up on the pursuit of safety.

Feeling a bit stuffy, I subconsciously reached for the window button on the door panel. It took me a while to realize what it was, and I rolled down the window with some difficulty. The noisy wind and the sounds of the city outside rushed in instantly.

The car rattled and clattered all the way, the shock absorption system was basically ineffective, and every small bump was clearly transmitted through the seat to Ye Shu's tailbone.

Han Yang remained calm, even swaying slightly with the bumps, as if enjoying some kind of rhythm.

After finally arriving at a familiar barbecue stall near the university town, Ye Shu pushed open the car door before the car had even come to a complete stop. The moment his feet touched solid ground, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Your old car is so bumpy, it almost made me carsick."

Han Yang slammed the car door shut with a "bang," fumbled with the key for a while before finally locking it, and nonchalantly patted the hood:

"What do you know? This is called clear road feel! It's all manual physical shock absorption, plus a full-body massage function, how comfortable! It's just that your physique is not good enough, you're out of shape."

The two of them, one after the other, pushed open the glass door of the familiar barbecue restaurant.

Welcome!

The electronic sensors on the door emitted a dry, recording sound.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, before lunchtime, the restaurant was empty, completely lacking the lively atmosphere of the night.

Uncle Sun, the owner, is a kind-looking middle-aged man who is sitting behind the cashier with his legs crossed, listening to a loud short video on his phone.

Hearing the door open, he looked up, squinted to make out who it was, and immediately a warm smile spread across his face:

"Isn't this Han and Ye? You two disappeared after graduation, what brings you back today?"

"Uncle Sun, you've been craving this, haven't you? You couldn't sleep because you were craving it, so you came all the way here first thing this morning!"

Han Yang grinned, walked familiarly to the freezer, and pulled out a case of beer himself.

"Same as always, twenty meat skewers and twenty pieces of beef tendon to fill our stomachs first, then ten chicken wings, and some chili eggplant too. Could you help us with that? It's just the two of us. Let's start with a case of beer, and ten large kidneys for him to replenish his energy. He looks really weak."

As he spoke, he patted Ye Shu's back forcefully and made a face.

Ye Shu stumbled from his slap, glaring at him with disdain.

"Get lost! You're the one who's weak!"

Uncle Sun dusted off his hands, looking troubled:

"You two really know how to pick your time. The store just opened, and the new meat hasn't been skewered yet. All we have right now are some leftover skewers from yesterday, which are in the refrigerator. Is that alright?"

Ye Shu and Han Yang exchanged a glance and both smiled. Neither of them were particularly particular about such things. Han Yang waved his hand dismissively:

"It's okay, as long as it's not broken."

Uncle Sun stood up and walked towards the kitchen, saying:

"Then you two should find a place to sit for a while. The rest of the meat is still frozen solid in the freezer. It'll take some effort to thaw it and skewer it again."

"It's okay, no rush, just use whatever's available first."

As Han Yang spoke, he picked up the case of beer and found a seat by the window with Ye Shu.

As soon as they sat down, Uncle Sun brought over a large platter of peanuts and edamame, and the two of them started drinking from this "peanut and edamame combination".

Ye Shu picked up the bottle opener on the table, opened a bottle of beer, and handed it to Han Yang.

Han Yang glanced at it, waved his hand dismissively, and said with a look of disdain:

"Tch, only little girls use bottle openers. A grown man using one to drink? Watch me!"

After saying that, he picked up a new bottle of wine, bit the cap with his teeth, and with a jerk of his chin, the cap popped off with a soft "pop".

He raised his eyebrows smugly and gulped down a large mouthful from the bottle.

Ye Shu looked at his amazing skill, smiled helplessly, and joked:

"Yang-ge, let me ask you a question. Do you know what the most fundamental difference is between humans and animals?"

Han Yang wiped the foam from his mouth with his sleeve, puzzled:

"What?"

"It's the first sentence in the junior high school biology textbook."

Ye Shu chuckled mischievously and slowly began to speak:

"Humans are capable of making and using tools."

After saying that, he shook the bottle opener in his hand.

Han Yang, of course, understood that Ye Shu was insulting him, and laughed as he retorted:

"Get lost! If you're weak, just say so. Stop spouting nonsense."

The two sat in the shop, chatting away, sharing their troubles with each other over the cold beer and in the morning sunlight.

Brother, what more do you want?