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

The evening breeze blew in through the window on the eighteenth floor, making the little ghost-like wind chimes hanging on the window tinkle.

Chen San San sat cross-legged in the computer chair, wearing pajamas with the same little ghost print. The buttons were all crooked, and her lower right belly was showing a little, but she didn't care.

She stared blankly at the computer screen, then reached into the half-full bag of potato chips on the table and pulled out a chip.

On the computer screen was a clip of a popular celebrity's sweet romance video, which was playing in slow motion. The male lead's hand hovered over the female lead's waist for a long time, but he didn't dare to touch her. The background music was one of those overly sweet love songs, and it was also accompanied by a pink filter with hearts around it.

Two weeks ago, Chen San San could hug a pillow and scream at this thing for half an hour, but now she just finds it boring.

She put the potato chips in her mouth, chewing and muttering to herself:

"I don't even dare touch that waist, it's so fake... so boring."

Thinking back to the interaction between the store manager and Sister Xiaoxue, that was truly a high-class sweetness.

Having tasted high-quality sugar, she found herself completely unable to stomach this pure industrial saccharin.

It's been almost a week since I last went to work, who's going to make up for all this sugar I'm missing?! My mouth is practically tasteless.

She casually picked up her phone, opened her WeChat Moments, scrolled down, and found the official announcement Ye Shu had posted a few days ago.

She'd practically worn out that marriage certificate; she even remembered the angle of the stamp and the slightly flushed face of her sister Xiaoxue in the photo.

I didn't understand the three hand-drawn pictures of Chen San San that came after. The photos showed two people, but their names were different.

It's really sweet though, maybe it's just a little romantic gesture between couples.

But now, Chen San San can only rely on this thing to quench her thirst; when will this miserable life ever end?

She was experiencing low blood sugar when the door was suddenly pushed open, and a young man walked in. He was the same person who had gone to the corner tea house with Chen San San last time.

Chen San San turned his head and glanced at it, saying with a hint of helplessness:

"Brother, is that 'No Trespassing' sign on my door just for decoration? I'm a grown woman, can't you give me some privacy?!"

San San's brother seemed to be a good-natured, doting brother. He was only somewhat helpless after being scolded by Chen San San, and he was still holding his phone in his hand.

"Can you please remove Dad from the blacklist first? He's been calling me, saying he hasn't been able to reach you for three days."

"Why bring this up? Every time you call, it's to pressure me to find a partner. I'm only twenty, what's the rush?"

Chen San San sat cross-legged in the computer chair and spun around, potato chip crumbs still on his pants.

"It's either a barrage of phone calls or a 60-second voice message barrage, all about so-and-so's daughter having a second child or so-and-so's daughter having changed boyfriends three times. It gives me a headache."

"Your dad is doing this for your own good. What will you do if you don't look for someone now?"

"Chen Hui, have you been brainwashed by Dad?!"

Chen San San stared at her brother, then stood up abruptly and shoved him out the door, pushing him from behind.

"I've already said I'm against marriage! I find other people's relationships more appealing than my own! Get out, get out!"

Chen Hui wasn't angry when she pushed him away, but he still said:

"Okay, Chen Jiu, that's it. From now on, I won't pretend to be your boyfriend to shield you from trouble when we go out. I'll just hold up a sign that says, 'This is my sister. She's single and urgently needs a boyfriend.' You decide what to do."

Chen San San was completely unfazed by the threat; instead, she was concerned about another point:

"How many times have I told you not to call me Chen Jiu! It sounds awful, like a drunkard. Why are you and my older sister in heaven while I have to hide in a wine cellar?! My name is Chen San San, I even changed my ID card, try calling me that again!"

They shoved and jostled Chen Hui out of the room, then slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside. The sign on the door that read "Pleasant to watch, no entry without permission" shook from the impact.

After locking the door, Chen San San turned around, walked to the bed, and lay down. She could still hear Chen Hui saying at the door:

"Okay, okay, Chen San San, you're amazing. You..."

"Get away!"

Chen San San shouted something towards the door, then thought for a moment and added:

"You still haven't paid me back for the hot pot we ate together last time! Let's split the bill! Hurry up!"

After saying that, she reached for her phone and started scrolling through Ye Shu's WeChat Moments. Although there were only two posts, one an official announcement and the other a guarantee, they were really so sweet.

"It still smells as good as my real candy."

A ragdoll cat climbed out of its bed, jumped onto the bed, and rubbed against Chen San San's face.

Chen San San put down her phone, hugged the cat, took a sniff, and sighed.

"You're so good, you don't pressure me to find someone. We'll spend the rest of our lives together, and whoever wants to get married can get married, but I'm not getting married."

Chen San San hugged the cat and scrolled through her phone. Looking at Xiao Xue's blushing, shy face in the photos and Ye Shu's smile, she suddenly laughed as if it were a self-deprecating laugh.

Find a partner... It's not like she hasn't tried before.

It was not long after the start of the college semester, backstage at the welcome party, that she first saw that senior.

A white shirt, playing guitar, his profile was dazzlingly handsome under the stage lights, and he had a shallow dimple when he smiled, just like the male protagonists on the covers of romance novels.

At that time, Chen San was just beginning to experience romantic feelings and fell in love with this senior student immediately. She was incredibly naive.

She mustered up her courage for half a month, and one evening after school, she blocked his way with a bottle of iced cola.

She could barely speak properly, stammering as she confessed her feelings to the senior. He was stunned for a moment, then smiled even more broadly, and only replied with one sentence:

"OK."

That period was so sweet. The senior would bring her milk after class and push his bicycle to take her home after school.

She felt that what was portrayed in the TV series was real, and that the senior was the male lead who was handsome, had a good temper, and an invincible personality.

And I am the female lead in that TV series, and I will definitely have a passionate love affair in the future.

There was certainly something passionate and intense, but it wasn't love.

As they spent more and more time together, she got to know her senior better and better, and the filter of love began to peel away.

The senior student doesn't seem to have such a good temper anymore. He'll utter a curse word over the smallest thing, followed by a barrage of swear words she's never heard of before, cursing everything and everyone, even the passing dog gets a curse.

Moreover, when he chats with others, he always talks about vulgar things, and he can come up with all sorts of dirty jokes without hesitation, and he thinks he is very humorous.

When his mother calls, he bows and scrapes to her on the other end of the line, but as soon as he hangs up, he grumbles and complains about how annoying it is.

It turns out that the so-called good personality was just a facade at first glance.

Faced with these words and actions, even his handsome face seemed less so.

Less than six months later, Chen San San took the initiative to break up with him.

The senior student was playing a game at the time, not even looking up, frantically pressing buttons on his phone, and simply replied:

"OK."

This was Chen San San's first love, and also the shatterer of her romantic fantasies.

However, this brief romance taught her a lesson: there are no perfect people in the world, and what's portrayed in novels and TV dramas is all a lie.

Beneath everyone's glamorous exterior lies a pile of rotten mud; if you get close, you'll smell the stench.

As Zhou Dunyi aptly put it, it is something to be admired from afar but not to be trifled with.

So she chose another path.

I don't talk about love, I don't care about reality, I only look at other people.

She discovered that shipping couples is a great hobby; other people's sweet moments always seem sweeter.

Real-life relationships are like peeling back the skin to see the rotten flesh, while shipping couples is like admiring specimens through a glass case.

Specimens are always beautiful; they never spoil or smell bad.

She doesn't care about any romantic partner; that kind of thing would only shatter her beautiful illusions about love.

With Ye Shu and Xiao Xue as a ready-made sweet couple, that's enough.