My 26-year-old female tenant

Chapter 4: The Evil Weekend

By the time I got back to my old place, it was almost 2 o'clock. I paid the taxi fare and walked towards my building, not really worried, since it was the weekend and being late was not a big deal. However, I was troubled by the 4016 yuan I owed her; I couldn't come up with that much money even if I sold myself at this moment.

Arriving at the bottom of my building, I was stunned and then furious to the point of chest pain. My luggage was moved to the corridor of the building, and some of it that didn't fit in the corridor was already wet from the rain, including a pair of black leather shoes that Jian Wei had given me a long time ago.

I threw away my umbrella, fumbled for the keys in my pocket, and ran upstairs.

The key turned the lock, and I kicked the door open, standing in the living room and angrily shouting, "You b***h, get out here!"

After shouting three times with no response, I kicked open the door to her room, only to find it empty.

Looking at the spotlessly clean room and thinking of my luggage being rained on outside, the fire in my heart burned even stronger. I threw her quilt on the bed to the ground and, still not satisfied, I overturned the mattress, scattering pillows and blankets everywhere.

...

After the outburst, I stood in Mi Cai's room, smoking a cigarette to ease my anger.

Mi Cai appeared at the door, holding a mop and a convenience bag filled with daily necessities; she must have just come back from the supermarket.

She glared at me, and I grabbed her shirt at the chest, pulling her into the room with such force that she dropped the bag and mop, scattering the contents on the floor, turning the spotless room into a mess in an instant because of my anger.

I dragged her to the window, opened it, and made her look at the luggage getting rained on, shouting, "Are you crazy? Why did you throw my luggage out in the rain?"

Mi Cai broke free from me and coldly said, "You didn't come at the agreed time, so I had someone move your things out. Is there a problem?"

"I was delayed by other matters. What's the big deal about being late?"

"Be here when you say you will be," Mi Cai refused to back down, her eyes filled with determination.

"You're being unreasonable!" My anger intensified, and I raised my hand as if to slap her.

I expected her to instinctively dodge or close her eyes, but she continued to look at me coldly, not even blinking.

I lowered my hand and said to her, "Put everything back where it was, and I'll pretend this never happened."

"I won't," Mi Cai said with tears in her eyes but determination in her voice.

I nodded, "You won't, huh?"

As soon as I finished speaking, I threw the quilt and blankets on the ground out of the window with a sense of venting and revenge.

In the wind and rain, the falling quilt and blankets looked so lonely and innocent, like deep and shallow scars being mercilessly exposed. I was a bit dazed and regretful; I shouldn't have been so impulsive, I shouldn't have treated this stubborn woman like this. Perhaps it was the black leather shoes in the rain that stimulated me, and I felt a series of convulsions in my heart. In the afterimage of the rain falling on the black leather shoes, I seemed to see my dead love with Jian Wei.

...

The quilt and blankets finally fell to the ground, and I said to Mi Cai with some guilt, "Now we're even!"

After my words fell, tears fell from Mi Cai's fair face, and she bit her lip and looked at me.

Looking at the devastated room, a sense of guilt suddenly filled my heart, but I still glared at Mi Cai and said, "I know you're not happy with me, you look down on me. Yes, I'm poor, I'm useless, but that's absolutely not the reason you can disrespect me and my luggage. You're a woman, and today I'm showing you some chivalry by throwing out your quilt and blanket. Next time, I'll throw you out too!"

Then I took out the bank card she gave me yesterday from my wallet and put it on the table, saying, "I took a total of 4016 yuan from the card. I don't have money to pay you back now, but I will try my best to pay you back as soon as possible."

Tears were welling up in Mi Cai's eyes, "Scumbag, all of you are scumbags who don't keep promises..."

I looked at her unexpectedly, with an indescribable feeling in my heart, and after a while, I said, "I'm leaving, and I will definitely pay you back the money I owe you. Although it's late to fulfill my promise, it's not what you think of as not keeping my promise."

Mi Cai didn't respond to me, still staring at me with resentment.

...

I left, unsure if Mi Cai was still crying, but knowing that staying in that mess I'd made must have been unbearable.

Just as she had cursed at me before, I was indeed a scumbag, a beast as Le Yao had called me, a beast that couldn't control its emotions, a scumbag that acted on a whim!

I hailed a taxi and moved my luggage to a roadside pavilion that could shelter from the rain. For a while, I didn't know where to go. The money I had left was not enough to rent a place, staying in a hotel was not a long-term solution, and the only person I was willing to borrow money from, Fang Yuan, was also upset with me for not listening to his advice yesterday and temporarily refused to contact me.

Yes, over the years, I only borrowed money from Fang Yuan. I considered him a close friend and never cared about showing him my embarrassment and destitution, but I wouldn't do that with others.

It seemed like I was suddenly abandoned by the world!

...

I lit a cigarette and sat on a stone bench in the pavilion, a little dazed watching the passing vehicles.

My life shouldn't have been like this, but for the past two years, I've been living alone and helpless like those silent buildings in the city, all because of that woman. I knew I would never have a chance to hold her hand again in my life, but I was still stubbornly unable to jump out and leave her tenderness.

The wind was a bit cold, so I found a scarf in my woven bag and put it on, finally blocking some of the endless cold wind that was pouring into my chest.

For the next hour, I sat in the pavilion repeating the insignificant activities of daydreaming and smoking until the sky gradually darkened, and I truly started to desire to be saved.

The sudden ring of the phone startled me. I wiped my face and took out my phone from my pocket. It was a call from my "Ban Die" (which means "Rigid Dad" in English).

Ban Die is my father, a man of old-fashioned and taciturn personality, who has worked in the procurement department of a small-to-medium state-owned enterprise for 15 years. He was the deputy head of the department in his first year, and after 15 years, he still couldn't remove the "deputy" from his title. What's more, even though the procurement department is a place where one can get kickbacks, he didn't take any gifts or kickbacks in 15 years. This ironclad integrity led his colleagues to privately respect him as "Ban Ke" (which means "Rigid Section" in English), and I also changed to call him "Ban Die" when I was 17, but he always thought I was calling him "An Die" (which means "Our Dad" in English).

I answered the call and heard Ban Die's voice, as emotionless as ever, saying, "Zhao Yang, I'm arriving in Suzhou soon. I have an exhibition to attend tomorrow morning, and I'll stay at your place tonight."

I felt a wave of misery. This weekend was really cursed, and I was afraid of what was coming. I couldn't let Ban Die know that I was penniless and homeless! Although he was old-fashioned, it didn't mean he didn't have a temper.

I quickly thought and said, "Ban Die, can you find a hotel near the station to stay at? I'm having dinner with colleagues tonight, and it will definitely take a long time."

"You eat your dinner. Don't you always hide the key under the door frame? I can get in."

"Recently, there have been a lot of thieves, so I didn't leave it there."

Ban Die insisted, "Then I'll wait for you. Don't play around after dinner, come back early."

"Ban Die, considering you've been on the road for a long time, you must be very tired. Just find a hotel nearby to stay at. You don't even take a taxi when you come to my place. It's rush hour now, and your arms and legs won't stand the crowd on the bus!"

No matter how much I tried to dissuade him, Ban Die wasn't worried. Finally, he said, "Your mother knitted a sweater for you, and I'm bringing it to you."

...

Hearing the "beep" of the call ending, I was stunned for a moment, then I reacted quickly, immediately shouldering the luggage bag and dragging the suitcase to the roadside, looking for a taxi. Tonight, I still had to stay in that apartment which now belonged to Mi Cai.

Whether she was willing or not, I had to stay. If Ban Die knew about my situation, he would be very upset.