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

What's the situation now?

Ye Shu moved a small stool and sat in the corner of the living room, next to a row of potted plants against the wall. He stared blankly at Sister Zhi Qiu, his grandmother, and his aunt on the sofa, at the warm scene of the three of them chatting happily.

About ten minutes ago, Zhi Qiu held his face and made him say "Dear Sister Zhi Qiu".

Just as his heart was pounding, his brain was oxygen-deprived, and he was about to speak, his grandmother's voice called from the inner room:

"Xiao Shu."

Ye Shu, as if grasping at a lifeline, immediately said to Zhi Qiu, whose eyes were smiling, "..."

"Grandma's calling me! I have to go see her!"

After saying that, he broke free from the gentle embrace of Zhi Qiu, who was holding his cheeks, like a fish, and fled into his grandmother's bedroom without looking back.

Zhi Qiu, left standing there by him, still maintained her slightly tilted head back. Watching Ye Shu's hasty retreat into the inner room, the seductive smile on her face had not completely faded, mixed with a hint of disappointment at being interrupted.

Although the alluring blush on her cheeks had not yet faded, her eyes, which were always filled with warmth, slowly narrowed, returning to the kind of calm smile that Ye Shu was most familiar with, as if it could encompass everything and see through everything.

She didn't rush inside, but stood up, gently patted off any non-existent dust from her pants, and straightened the wrinkles in her shirt.

She then casually untied the high ponytail that Xiao Nuan had tied up on her head for convenience, and coiled it into a gentle bun at the back of her head, securing it with a hair clip that she had somehow found.

In an instant, her demeanor changed.

After tidying everything up, Zhi Qiu stepped forward and followed her into her grandmother's bedroom.

As soon as I entered, I saw Ye Shu bending over, carefully helping her grandmother who was about to get down. The old lady had gray hair, but seemed to be in good spirits, though her movements were a little slow.

Zhi Qiu immediately stepped forward, a respectful and friendly smile on her face, and said:

"Hello Grandma, I'm Xiaoshu's friend, my name is Zhi Qiu. I heard you've just recovered, I'm sorry to bother you while you were resting."

The old lady seemed to have just woken up and been helped down by her grandson. When she looked up, she saw a pretty and gentle girl standing at the door, and her eyes lit up immediately.

She glanced at the girl at the door, then at her grandson beside her, and suddenly the old lady seemed to understand something. Her face immediately filled with a loving and warm smile, and she grabbed Zhi Qiu's hand as if afraid that this good girl would run away.

"Wow, great! This girl is really pretty! She looks well-educated and refined, that's wonderful!"

The old lady couldn't stop smiling. She kept touching Zhi Qiu's hand while looking him up and down, becoming more and more satisfied. Her mouth started chattering nonstop:

"Child, your name is Zhi Qiu? What a nice name! Where are you from? How old are you? What do you do for a living? How did you meet our Xiao Shu?"

As she spoke, she pulled Zhi Qiu's hand and walked out of the bedroom. Ye Shu stepped forward to help her, but her grandmother shook her off.

"Get out of my way!"

Grandma bluntly expressed her disdain for her grandson, her eyes never leaving Zhi Qiu's face:

"Xiao Qiu, come on, come sit with Grandma on the sofa in the outer room. It's tiring to stand and talk here. Grandma just woke up and is in great spirits!"

Ye Shu watched as the old lady, who had just been needing his help to get out of bed, now held Zhi Qiu's hand and walked with great vigor, as if she were in another world.

My back doesn't ache anymore, my legs don't hurt anymore, and I can easily take the elevator up to the fifth floor without any trouble.

Zhi Qiu answered her grandmother's questions in a gentle voice while helping her grandmother, and the two of them chatted and laughed as they walked into the living room.

Ye Shu followed her into the living room, where she heard her aunt's loud voice coming from the yard:

"Really? Xiao Shu brought a girl back? Come on, come on, hurry up!"

The door was practically ripped open, and the old hinges emitted a mournful, almost unbearable sound.

As soon as her aunt entered the door and saw Zhi Qiu, her reaction was exactly the same as her grandmother's earlier; they could only be described as mother and daughter.

And so, the scene has become like this:

Grandma and Aunt sat on either side of Zhi Qiu, holding her hands and asking her all sorts of questions, their laughter never ceasing.

Zhi Qiu sat in the middle, her smile gentle and her responses appropriate. Sometimes she would lower her head and smile softly, and sometimes she would add in a low voice, making the two elders beam with joy.

Soon, the coffee table was set with the fruit and melon seeds that my aunt had brought, and the atmosphere was as lively as during the Chinese New Year.

And Ye Shu...

Ye Shu moved his small stool and sat down next to a potted aloe vera plant. He got up and went to the coffee table, tentatively saying:

"Auntie, I'd like to get an apple."

His aunt didn't even look at him, and casually took an apple from the fruit plate and put it in his hand:

"Go, go, go eat over there."

Ye Shu became a complete background figure, a passerby, and an insignificant presence.

No one gave him a second glance; all attention was focused on Zhi Qiu, who had her hair in a bun and was all smiles.

He took a bite of the apple and felt a little sour, not from the apple itself, but from his heart.

Ye Shu looked at Sister Zhi Qiu on the sofa, feeling a mix of emotions.

I'm somewhat relieved that my family likes her so much.

It's a little bittersweet; it feels like I've been forgotten.

I'm a little worried; is this misunderstanding getting worse?

There's also a tiny bit of... inexplicable, a little bit of pride that I'm not even willing to admit myself.

Look, this wonderful person came because of me.

He silently munched on his apple, watching as Zhi Qiu glanced at him seemingly unintentionally during a break in their conversation.

His somewhat silly appearance was clearly reflected in those gentle eyes, and then a sly yet reassuring smile flashed across them, as if to say:

Look, your sister has taken care of things at home for you, don't worry.

But Ye Shu clearly felt that there was something else in that smile:

The escape incident isn't over yet, little Shu.

Ye Shu suddenly lowered his head and took a big bite of the apple. He then noticed his father standing at the bedroom door, beckoning him over.

Ye Shu, holding an apple, followed her father into the bedroom.

As soon as he entered the house, his father gently closed the door behind him, cutting off most of the conversation in the living room.

Ye Shu's father didn't speak immediately. Instead, he walked to the window, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. Then he turned around, leaning against the windowsill, his gaze fixed on his son's face, and got straight to the point:

"What's your relationship with this girl?"

He gestured vaguely towards the living room with the hand holding the cigarette.

Ye Shu had anticipated that his father would ask this question, and immediately replied:

"As I already introduced, we're just friends, ordinary friends. The apartment I rent in Nancheng belongs to her family, it's that simple. She just happened to be passing by and heard that my grandmother was sick, so she stopped by to visit."

He emphasized the relationship between "ordinary friends" and "landlord and tenant," attempting to define the nature of the relationship within the safest possible scope.

Ye Shu's father listened without speaking, only his brows furrowed slightly, his worldly-wise eyes scrutinizing his son through the smoke. He took another deep drag of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled, his voice deepening:

"Just friends? I can tell what you're up to the moment you bend over. Don't give me that nonsense. Tell me the truth, are you interested in that girl?"

"this……"

Ye Shu was speechless at his father's pointed question. His face flushed, and his eyes darted around. He wanted to deny it, but under his father's gaze, which seemed to see right through him, the perfunctory words stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered. Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, he was too lazy to make up any more excuses.

He sighed, his shoulders slumped slightly, and his voice lowered, carrying a complex mix of helplessness, inferiority, and clear-headed awareness:

"Even if I were interested, so what? You know what kind of family they are, and what kind of family your son is now. Do you think they would even look at me? I have nothing..."

He's not stupid; on the contrary, he's exceptionally clear-headed in some ways.

The Cloud Garden, with its decor and location, only costs 800 yuan a month? That's not even a friendly price; it's practically free.

Their daily lives, from what they eat and wear to their occasional glimpses of their lifestyle and knowledge, and the ease with which they seem to have no worries about making a living... all these details, pieced together, point to an obvious conclusion.

Their family backgrounds are from a completely different world from his.

After hearing his son's words, Ye Shu's father fell silent.

He didn't immediately refute or offer comfort; he simply lowered his head and silently took two more puffs of his cigarette. The smoke rose slowly between father and son, and the only sounds in the quiet bedroom were the faint sounds of the city outside the window and the soft hissing of his father as he smoked.

After a long while, Ye Shu's father finally raised his head and looked at Ye Shu. His face didn't show any particular expression, but his eyes were even more profound than before.

"You can think about this yourself; I won't interfere. But here's one thing: if you really like that girl, treat her well. Don't be like those superficial people, and don't shrink back just because you feel inferior. Take responsibility when you should, and work hard when you should. Understand?"

Ye Shu was taken aback by his father's words, his heart filled with a mixture of gratitude, pressure, and a touch of bewilderment. He opened his mouth, but ultimately only managed a helpless grin:

"Dad... what are you thinking... it's not even close to happening yet... they might not even be interested in it at all."

He emphasized the word "maybe," but his mind involuntarily drifted back to all the things he had done with them... Was it really meaningless?

He himself was confused.

Seeing his son's conflicted yet somewhat naive expression, Ye Shu's father reached out and patted his shoulder, the force neither too light nor too heavy.

"Whether there's any hope or not, you know it in your heart. I've put my words here; you figure it out yourself."

After saying that, he walked out first, leaving Ye Shu alone in the bedroom.

Ye Shu kept repeating his father's words in his mind:

If you really like someone... then treat them well...

He raised his hand to rub his face, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

Some things can no longer be fooled.