My 26-year-old female tenant

Chapter 7: The baby is yours

The entire day passed in a daze for me, and it wasn't until the lazy sunset glowed through the transparent glass that I realized it was time to leave work.

Fang Yuan, at the desk next to me, was still busy, while I had some idle time and went to the restroom to smoke another cigarette, waiting for the end of the workday.

Upon returning, I found Yan Yan sitting in my office chair, apparently waiting for Fang Yuan to finish work.

I teased Yan Yan, "Yan Yan, your butt has gotten even more voluptuous; my chair is about to be too small for you!"

"Stop it, you're so annoying!" Yan Yan rolled her eyes at me.

I raised my eyebrows and smiled at her. In truth, she is a beautiful woman, the sexy kind, especially her buttocks, which are round and firm, and her legs are slender and long, complementing her tall figure. Together, they form a perfect combination. If you were walking on the street and looking at the silhouettes and curves, the most beautiful one would undoubtedly be Yan Yan.

I approached Fang Yuan and patted his shoulder, asking, "Have you finished the overall framework for that planning case?"

"The overall idea and framework are done; just a bit of descriptive text is left," Fang Yuan replied.

"I'll take care of the rest. You should leave work now, don't keep Yan Yan waiting."

Yan Yan, with both hands on my face, excitedly said, "Zhao Yang, you're so thoughtful. You have no idea how busy we are later!"

"Getting married, of course there will be a lot to do," I said, removing Yan Yan's hands from my face.

Fang Yuan finally stretched his body, got up, and said to me, "Alright, I have to go to the wedding company with Yan Yan right away, and we also need to go to the bridal shop... If you have any questions, we can communicate by phone at any time."

"Don't worry, go ahead and get busy," I said, sitting down in Fang Yuan's office chair.

Fang Yuan quickly packed up his things, and Yan Yan hooked her arm into his. Before leaving, she seemed to remember something and said to me, "Zhao Yang, our company's building is about to be launched. If you want to buy, I can get you an internal price, 1500 yuan cheaper per square meter!"

Yan Yan is the head of sales at a real estate company in the city, and the internal price she can get is definitely attractive. You could save at least a hundred thousand on a house, but even so, I don't have the ability to buy a house.

"Let's talk about it later," I replied.

Fang Yuan asked Yan Yan, "Which property is being launched this time?"

"The second phase of Zhongyuan Eco-City," Yan Yan answered.

Fang Yuan put down his briefcase and said to me seriously, "Zhao Yang, buy it. This property is really good. If you miss this opportunity, you don't know how long you'll have to wait for the next one, and housing prices will definitely soar in the future!"

"What are you talking about? You know my financial situation."

"Yan Yan and I have some savings, we can lend it to you first. You can also go back and see if your father can help, and come up with a down payment, right?"

"You two still have mortgages and car loans to pay off, and you're getting married soon. You need money everywhere. Really, don't worry about me."

Yan Yan added, "It's easy for us to pay off the mortgages and car loans together. Zhao Yang, buy the house first, it will be convenient for you to find a girlfriend in the future. We really don't want to see you just muddling along like this, it's frustrating, really frustrating!"

"Paying off your loans might be easy for two people, but have you considered how I would pay off the mortgage after buying a house? I can barely support myself, let alone pay off a damn loan! ... Alright, don't stand here, it's getting dark."

Yan Yan and Fang Yuan exchanged glances, both letting out soft sighs, and after looking at me again, they left.

...

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, I watched as Yan Yan, arm in arm with Fang Yuan, walked towards their newly bought white Mazda 6 downstairs. I felt a strange mix of emotions.

Fang Yuan, Yan Yan, and I all graduated from Suzhou University. They already have their own house and car in this city and are about to enter the palace of marriage. I don't quite understand why the gap between us is so large. Is this a joke from the heavens, or have I degraded myself?

In my lonely gaze, I couldn't help but think: If Jian Wei and I hadn't broken up, would we be getting married too?

...

At 9 o'clock in the evening, I finally finished the planning case left by Fang Yuan, stretched my body, and walked towards the staff lounge with my cup, preparing to have the last cup of coffee before leaving work.

Lost in thought, I listened to the sound of the coffee liquid falling from the coffee machine into the cup, like a gentle call, so that even desire had nowhere to hide.

I took a big sip of coffee, looked at the heavy night outside the window, the struggling neon lights, and really wanted to get rid of this tired body!

...

The phone rang, and I took it out of my pocket and saw that it was Le Yao again.

I answered the call, and Le Yao said to me in a weak voice, "Zhao Yang, where are you?"

"Working overtime," I responded ambiguously.

"Can you come and help me wash clothes? My hands can't get wet."

"Damn it, don't you have a washing machine?" I angrily asked in my irritation.

Le Yao said wearily, "You come and do it."

I was a bit speechless and said after a while, "My point is about the washing machine, not about being intimate with you!"

"Some clothes can't be washed in a washing machine."

"Then take them to the dry cleaner. I've been working all day, I'm as tired as a dog, I don't have the energy to do it." I firmly refused.

"Underwear and socks can't be dry-cleaned, right?"

"Are you crazy? Let me wash your underwear and socks!"

"Zhao Yang, I just had surgery, my hands really can't get wet. Can't you show some compassion for me?" Le Yao choked up.

"I know you graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, please don't act with me, okay?"

Le Yao actually cried out: "I was pregnant with your child, and this is how you treat me? Have you ever considered my feelings? Do you have any idea how heartbroken I am?"

"You're performing a Qiong Yao drama with me, asking in parallel!"

Le Yao sobbed uncontrollably: "Zhao Yang... you beast... Do you believe me or not, I'll die in front of you!"

I was really at a loss with Le Yao: "Grandma, I'm afraid of you, I'll go, alright?"

Le Yao's tone instantly turned calm: "Hurry up and come, I'll wait for you!"

Listening to the "beep beep" sound of the phone hanging up, I suddenly felt: if Le Yao doesn't make it to the level of a film queen, it's definitely blind to the entertainment industry, her acting is simply divine!

People who study acting are really scary, and women who study acting are even scarier!

...

I left the company and stood on the side of the road waiting for a taxi, suddenly remembering that I promised Mi Cai to move after work, and it's almost 9:30 now!

"Didn't they move my stuff out again, did they?" I muttered to myself.

A taxi had already stopped beside me, and I thought: Since I've already broken the promise, I'll go and wash Le Yao's clothes first, and the moving issue will be dealt with later.

About 15 minutes later, I arrived at the single apartment where Le Yao lived, and I stood at the door pressing the doorbell frantically to vent my dissatisfaction at being forced to come.

Le Yao, wearing pajamas and holding a stuffed toy, opened the door for me with a haggard face. Her pitiful appearance made me swallow all the harsh words I had prepared, and I just complained, "You are such a troublemaker!"

"If you hadn't slept with me, there wouldn't be all these troubles," Le Yao said, moving aside to signal me to come in.

I was not in the mood to banter with Le Yao, so I walked into the house and asked her, "Where are the clothes?"

"In the dirty clothes basket in the bathroom."

I went to the bathroom and was startled to see that two extra-large dirty clothes baskets were stuffed full of clothes. I angrily said, "Did you deliberately save a year's worth of clothes to t*****e me?"

Le Yao ignored me, and the volume of the TV in the living room was turned up even louder.

I was so angry that my liver hurt, but I gritted my teeth and dumped all the clothes from the dirty clothes basket, separating them into piles for machine washing, hand washing, and a separate pile for underwear.

In the following time, I worked together with the washing machine, and it took a full hour to wash all these clothes.

Carrying the washed clothes to the balcony, I hung them up for her one by one. After everything was done, I stood on the balcony and lit a cigarette to relieve my fatigue.

Le Yao came to my side with a fruit plate and asked softly, "Do you want to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," I said, taking a deep drag of the cigarette.

Le Yao took the cigarette from between my fingers and took out a tissue from her pocket to wipe the sweat from my forehead. She said softly, "Zhao Yang, magazines say that a man who is willing to wash a woman's underwear must be a gentle and reliable good man."

"Get lost, do you think I want to help you wash them!"

Although scolded by me, Le Yao still put her arm around me and nestled against my body, asking, "Have you ever washed for any other woman besides me?"

"No," I replied impatiently.

"Not even Jian Wei?" Le Yao pressed.

"Are you annoying or not, what kind of nonsense questions are you asking!" I said, pushing Le Yao away.

Le Yao was already used to my attitude, not angry or speaking, just looking at me.

I put on my coat and said to her, "I'm leaving, don't call me again in the future."

Le Yao grabbed me: "I won't allow you to leave."

"Get out of the way," I raised my arm and shook off Le Yao's tight grip.

Le Yao blocked the door again and said, "Don't leave yet, I have something for you." She took out a bank card that seemed to have been prepared in advance from her pajama pocket and handed it to me, saying, "It's for you, there's ten thousand yuan in the card, I know you spent a lot of money this time."

I was taken aback and said, "Where did you get the money?"

"I got an advance from the film crew."

"Are you having a guilty conscience now?"

Le Yao stared at me with a grievance in her eyes for a long time: "The child is yours after all... I said, I just want to see that you are willing to take responsibility, of course I will pay back the money you spent."

The more serious Le Yao's expression was, the more I felt she was acting. In my eyes, she was just the kind of woman who liked to indulge in a life of revelry. The responsibility she talked about was not reliable at all, and I was the same, so I understood too well.

The reason she insisted the child was mine might just be a kind of sustenance after emptiness, or perhaps she herself didn't know whose child it was... This kind of strange sustenance is hard to explain in words, but people living in this decadent circle understand... We seem to be unrestrained, but our hearts are empty!

...

In the end, I didn't take Le Yao's card either, even though I was short of money. As for why I didn't take it, I can't quite explain it. Perhaps deep down I sympathized with Le Yao. I scolded her verbally, but I would still help her when she needed it.

No matter how bright she appears on the surface, I understand the emptiness behind her, because we are the same kind of people. The only difference is that one day she may really become famous in the entertainment industry, while I am destined to live an ordinary and lonely life!

...

After leaving Le Yao's place, I immediately took a taxi to my former residence, really hoping that Mi Cai wouldn't move my luggage out because I didn't keep my promise. I don't want to work overtime, nor do I want to be pestered by Le Yao to wash clothes! But life is full of so many unexpected things that I can't help it.