My parents taught me from a young age that “wealth should not be flaunted” (one should not show off their money).

So when my roommates had to squeeze into a remote suburban area, waking up at 4 a.m. every day to commute three hours to work,

I didn’t reveal that the house in the prime location right next to the company was actually a graduation gift from my parents.

Instead, I lied, saying that a relative had an empty house that could be shared, charging only a symbolic rent of one thousand dong per person, covering electricity, water, and management fees.

Three months later, one day I came home from work early and overheard the three of them talking in the living room.

“I checked, the rent in this area is at least ten thousand, but the whole house we’re renting only costs four thousand. How about we sublet the master bedroom and get four thousand for it? That way we won’t have to pay rent anymore.”

“Okay, let’s do it! On what basis does Wen Qing keep occupying the master bedroom, acting as if this house belongs to her?”

“Anyway, this quarter’s contract only expires in three days, so I can just not renew it with her.”

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

…

The laughter in the room instantly ceased, and the atmosphere froze in an instant.

Lin Xia was the first to react, forcing a smile onto her face.

She cleared her throat and then said:

“Ting Ting, we’re not planning on renewing the contract.”

“We found a cheaper place,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “You asked us to share the rent before because you were too stressed out and couldn’t afford the rent for the whole place, right? Now that we’re not renting anymore, I guess you’ll be giving up your place too, won’t you?”

My voice was calm:

“No problem. If you guys don’t rent it, I’ll rent the whole place myself. The project I’m working on is almost finished, and I’ll receive a pretty good bonus.”

Lin Xia’s expression changed slightly.

“It’s such a waste for you to live here all alone in this big place, isn’t it? Listen to me, rent a smaller single room, and you’ll save a lot of money.”

If I hadn’t overheard their plan with my own ears, I might have actually thought she was thinking of me.

“I’m used to living here, I’m too lazy to move.”

“Wen Qing!”

Jiang Hua, sitting next to her, finally couldn’t hold back any longer and slammed her chopsticks down on the table.

“I originally wanted to give you some face, but I didn’t expect you to be so ungrateful!”

“Let me be blunt, we don’t want to share the apartment with you anymore. Please vacate the apartment voluntarily; don’t force us into a confrontation!”

I stared at her coldly.

“I found the house, and I signed the contract. On what basis do you say that if I don’t rent it, you can force me to move out?”

From Wanyan, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up:

“Ting Ting, it’s really awkward for us to live with you. If things continue like this, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to be friends anymore.”

Tu Uyen is my best friend.

Her family situation is terrible. Her mother abandoned her after she was born, and her father is a gambling addict who beats her whenever he’s drunk.

She risked everything to get into university, yet her father wanted to sell her to an old, single man for a dowry. I helped her escape in the middle of the night, assisted her with student loan applications, and even shared half of my living expenses with her during her university years. We struggled and persevered, eventually managing to get her through university.

After graduation, I felt sorry for her frail body having to squeeze onto crowded buses and trains every day, so I suggested we share an apartment. I even added two more people to the list, fearing she might feel embarrassed.

From Wan bit her lip, looking at me timidly:

“You’ve always been the one who thinks of me the most. If you agree to move out today, we’ll still be good sisters.”

I looked at her expressionlessly, then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Okay, I’ll move.”

Upon hearing this, the three men’s eyes lit up.

He kept saying that even though I moved out, we would still be good friends.

I didn’t want to hear them say any more, so I turned and went back to my room.

I closed the door, took out my phone, and called Uncle Liu.

“The rent has increased to twelve thousand.”

Shortly after, there was a loud knock on my door.

I opened the door, and the three of them were standing outside, their eyes filled with anger as they glared at me.

Jiang Hua aggressively pushed me:

“You’re the one who contacted the landlord to increase the rent, right?”

My back hit the corner of the table, and it hurt so much I winced and gasped for air.

From Wan’s eyes were red and swollen:

“Here’s the deal: just tell your relatives to keep the rent at the old four thousand yuan rate, and give up the main bedroom, and we’ll still agree to share the rent with you.”

I crossed my arms across my chest and stared coldly at her.

“So where am I?”

“You can sleep on the sofa.”

Lin Xia replied, her tone as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I pay the rent, and yet I have to sleep on the sofa?”

“Make it clear, you’re the one shamelessly clinging to us and demanding to live with us. Letting you sleep on the sofa is already being very kind.”

From Wan took my arm:

“We’re best friends, how could I not count you in?”

“I’ve already found you a new apartment, fully furnished with appliances, just bring your suitcase and move in. Most importantly, it’s only ten meters from the company, perfect for you – a workaholic.”

“Where?”

She covered her mouth and giggled secretly.

“That’s Vuong Tai’s dog kennel.”

“Right outside the company’s security guard’s office, how close is that? In the middle of winter, Wang Cai can even warm your blanket for free!”

I stared at them coldly.

“Either you move out, or I move out. You each pay the 12,000 yuan rent.”

After saying that, I slammed the door shut.

Outside, the sounds of their furious anger could be heard.

“Wen Qing, you’re being ungrateful for the courtesy we’re offering, aren’t you?”

“Don’t force us!”

The next day, it was eleven o’clock at night when I finished work.

I walked to the front door of the house and froze.

My luggage was scattered all over the hallway like trash.

I entered the password several times in a row, but the door wouldn’t open. They clearly changed the password.

A surge of anger shot straight to my head. I called my father:

“Dad, please call an express delivery service for me and bring an item here…”

After hanging up, I started banging on the door.

The rumbling sound in the middle of the night was particularly jarring.

The noise annoyed the neighbors, who one by one opened their doors to question me about why I was causing trouble. Some even called security.

More and more people gathered, and finally there was some activity inside the house.

With a click, the door opened.

Jiang Hua, wearing pajamas and a face mask, frowned and said:

“What are you shouting about so late at night! You’re disturbing my beauty-enhancing sleep!”

I tried to suppress my anger, pointing down at the luggage on the ground:

“On what grounds are you throwing my things out?”

Hearing the sound, Xu Wan stepped forward, timidly glancing at me:

“Wen Qing, we really have no other choice, please let us go…”

After saying that, she glanced and gestured to Lin Xia.

Lin Xia immediately understood, turned to the neighbors and the security guard, and said loudly:

“Please help us settle this! We share a house, but every night she brings different men home and they ‘engage in activities’ in the room, making so much noise that we can’t get any sleep.”

She turned to me again, her voice full of pleading:

“We understand your job is unique, that you have to ‘do business’ at night, and we don’t discriminate against your profession. But we have to get up early for work the next morning! Please find somewhere else to live.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the look in my neighbor’s eyes changed instantly, as if they were looking at something dirty.

From Wan bowed before them, her face full of remorse:

“Sorry for the inconvenience. Her lease has expired, and we’ve made it clear we won’t be renewing it. Even the landlord doesn’t agree to let her rent again.”

“But she stubbornly refused to leave. We really had no other choice but to do this… I’m so sorry for keeping everyone up so late.”

The neighbors started whispering and gossiping:

“She’s so pretty, why would she do that kind of job…?”

“No wonder he comes home so late every day…”

“Living on the same floor as someone like her is really bad luck!”

A middle-aged woman pointed directly at me and angrily said:

“Were you out dancing disco late at night a few days ago? The speakers were blasting so loud they shook the whole house, I couldn’t sleep all night!”

I was away on a business trip all week and only returned yesterday.

A hint of guilt flashed across Jiang Hua’s face as she pointed at me:

“Yes! It’s her!”

Then another neighbor came out to ask a question:

“Did your long hair clog the drain earlier, causing my house to flood?”

From Wanyan – the one with the longest hair and who had never cleaned a sewer drain – paused for a moment, then immediately frowned and looked at me:

“Wen Qing, how many times have I told you to clean your hair after showering? Why don’t you listen?”

“Was she planning to demolish the load-bearing wall? She almost made the entire building unsafe!”

Lin Xia – who once wanted to tear down the wall to expand her room – touched her nose:

“That’s right, it’s her! We couldn’t stop her no matter what we did!”

The neighbors’ outrage was completely ignited.

“What a disaster! Get her out of here!”

“Security! Get her out of here!”

“Call the police, arrest her!”

Seeing this, the security guard grabbed my arm and tried to drag me away.

I was both anxious and angry, and I shouted:

“I am the landlord! You have no right to evict me!”

Jiang Hua sneered:

“You’re the homeowner? Then I’m Qin Shi Huang!”

From Wan also feigned embarrassment:

“Wen Qing, stop making a fuss. I’ve already called the landlord, and he’s on his way. If you leave now, you can still save face. It would be embarrassing if the landlord kicked you out in front of everyone.”

They provoked me so much that I was trembling.

“Alright! Call the landlord over! I want to see how he’ll kick me out!”

Chapter 3

“Who’s looking for me?”

I turned around and saw a guy with dyed blonde hair, looking like a hooligan, staggering towards me.

“I’m the landlord. Are you looking for me?”

He glanced sideways, sizing me up from head to toe.

“Where is Uncle Liu?”

I frowned. My house has always been managed by Uncle Liu – the real estate agent – ​​and he’s very responsible.

“You’ve investigated quite thoroughly, even knowing my uncle’s surname is Liu. Let me tell you, my uncle is away on business, so I’m in charge of this house now!”

He pointed directly at my nose:

“I’ve heard about your story from these pretty girls. My family won’t rent to someone like you who corrupts morals and customs! If you know what’s good for you, grab your rubbish and get out of here!”

I stared at him coldly:

“Do you even know whose name is on the land deed that you dare tell me to get out?”

“This is my uncle’s house, of course the land deed is in his name! Surely it wouldn’t be in your name, would it?”

The blond-haired man spoke with a look of disdain.

From Wanyan, standing beside her, offered words of advice:

“Wen Qing, stop causing trouble. The landlord has arrived, you should accept it.”

The blond guy ignored me completely, swaggering into the house and taking a walk around.

Outside, he angrily yelled at me:

“Hey! Where’s the Lego set on the TV stand in the living room? Did you steal it?”

“That’s a limited edition, worth two hundred thousand yuan! Hand it over to me immediately!”

That Lego set?

My niece loved it when she came to visit last time, so I gave it to her as a gift.

“Do I have to inform you if I give away my things to someone else?”

“Your things? Those belong to the landlord… to my uncle!”

The blond guy was so angry he jumped up.

Lin Xia immediately stepped forward to chime in:

“We can testify! That Lego set has been here since we moved in, how could it possibly be yours? It clearly belongs to the landlord!”

From Wan frowned:

“Wen Qing, you need to get it back quickly. Stealing is illegal, and if the homeowner reports you to the police, you’re finished.”

I watched them playing off each other, and found it utterly ridiculous.

“Then report it to the police.”

My indifferent attitude completely enraged the blond guy.

“You bitch! You’re a thief and you dare to be so arrogant!”

He swung his hand and slapped me straight across the face.

With a sharp “slap,” my ears buzzed, and a metallic taste of blood filled the corner of my mouth.

From Wan held back the blond man who was about to attack again, pretending to try and reason with him:

“Okay, okay, it’s hard to get back something that’s already been given away. Wen Qing, how about you compensate him with some money? If the homeowner says it’s worth 100,000 yuan, then you should compensate him with 200,000 yuan. You… you make money quickly, you probably won’t mind this little bit. Just give him the money, and we’ll consider this matter settled.”

I was so angry I burst out laughing.

That Lego set looks big, but it’s actually a model kit I bought for three thousand yuan.

Now I understand, those flirtatious glances they exchanged with the blond guy were actually a setup to extort money from me.

Seeing that I remained unmoved, the blond guy aggressively pushed me again:

“Damn it, did you hear me! Pay up! Otherwise, I’ll report you to the police and have you arrested and thrown in jail for years!”

“I told you, it’s mine!”

“Damn it, you’re being ungrateful even when I give you face!”

He cursed at me and then slapped me again.

I was knocked to the ground, and everything went black before my eyes.

Jiang Hua glanced around, pointed at my luggage, and shrieked:

“She’s a thief! I need to thoroughly check her luggage, just in case she steals mine too!”

Having said that, she squatted down and began rummaging through my suitcase.

Chapter 4

She pulled out a gold necklace, a glint of envy in her eyes, and immediately held it up high, shouting:

“Oh my God! My gold necklace! I lost it so long ago, I can’t believe I found it with you!”

“From Wanyan, Lin Xia! Come quickly and search! She must have stolen a lot of our things!”

Hearing this, Lin Xia’s eyes lit up, and she also started rummaging through my luggage.

Those two were like bandits; they pulled all sorts of designer jewelry and cosmetics out of my suitcase, insisted they were theirs, and without a second thought, stuffed them straight into their own bags.

The neighbors who were watching also started to stir.

From Wan turned to the crowd, smiling gently:

“You all should go and look for her too, see if she stole anything from anyone.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd swarmed forward like locusts.

“Crash!” The trophy I won in college was smashed to pieces on the ground by them.

“Rip—” The sweater my mother had knitted for me was torn apart.

The life vests were ripped, and feathers were scattered all over the hallway.

I even saw a middle-aged man with a disgusting face pick up my underwear, take a deep breath, and then stuff it into his pocket.

“Stop! Stop what you’re doing!”

I shouted and rushed forward to stop them, but someone else pushed me to the ground.

From above, Từ Uyển looked down at me, smiling innocently:

“Tell me, do you think she might have hidden the stolen items on her person?”

Everyone’s eyes simultaneously turned towards me.

The blonde girl licked her lips:

“Strip her clothes off! I want to see how much stuff she’s hiding on her!”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab my collar.

“Excuse me, who is Miss Wen Qing?”

A delivery man, holding a file bag in his hand, spoke up and asked:

“Some of her documents are here.”

While everyone was still stunned, I used all my strength to push the person who was pinning me down away.

He ran up to the delivery man and tore open the file bag.

Inside was a dark red notebook.

I held up the certificate and shouted:

“Look closely! I’m the homeowner!”

The blond man snatched the land ownership certificate, flipped through it casually twice, a mocking expression on his face.

“Ha, forging documents? You’re quite interesting!”

He sneered, tore the land deed into pieces, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it straight in my face.

“You think you can fool my grandfather with this fake document?”

He yawned a long, drawn-out yawn.

“It’s midnight, I don’t have time to stand here watching your antics. Pay upfront! One hundred thousand, not a single penny less! Otherwise, you won’t be leaving this hallway unscathed today!”

Around them, the neighbors were whispering and gossiping.

A few people showed a hint of skepticism, but more were intimidated by the aggressive demeanor of the blond man, and no one dared to step forward.

From Wanyan, Jiang He, and Lin Xia clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and a smug smile appeared on their faces.

From Wan took a step forward, squatted in front of me, and said softly:

“If you kneel down now and kowtow three times to apologize to us, I’ll speak to the boss and ask him to make you pay less compensation.”

“Get out!” I gritted my teeth.

The blond man’s lecherous gaze swept over me, and he chuckled:

“It’s okay if you don’t have to pay compensation. You’re quite pretty with that petite figure. If you don’t have money, you can pay it off with your body! Stay with me for a few days, and maybe I’ll let you off the hook for these two hundred thousand yuan.”

As he spoke, he reached out to touch my face.

“Get out!”