Chapter 3: Eat Whatever You Want!
1340 Words
After finishing his meal, James returned to his messy and chaotic room.
He needed to wait for tenant 912, the policewoman Janet, to come back from work.
As for Shirley, there was no need to wait for her today.
Given her line of work, if she returned by tomorrow morning, it would be considered early.
He left a small gap in the door so he could hear any sounds when the elevator opened; after all, with his current hearing, closing the door meant he wouldn't hear a thing.
As a police officer, Janet usually didn't come back on a strict schedule.
He waited until nearly seven in the evening when the elevator doors opened once more.
Janet stepped out, dragging her tired body behind her.
James took a step forward... but then stumbled slightly.
Rubbing his aching old back, he pushed the door open.
"Hey there!"
Janet turned around, and despite her exhaustion, she managed a smile, "Uncle James, you're still awake?"
James looked back at the clock in his room—it was only seven. Why was she asking if he was still awake?
"Not yet, but I will soon. You just got off work, right?"
Janet nodded, "Is there something you need, Uncle James?"
James pulled out the diagnosis report and handed it to Janet, "My eyes aren't so good; can you help me read what's written here?"
Janet, without suspicion, took the report and began reading it closely.
As she read on, her anxiety grew.
Late-stage cancer?
Severe diabetes?
Stage 3 cerebral thrombosis?
And the name "James" scrawled at the top.
Janet's expression darkened, "Uncle... you..."
【Ding】
【Received surprise from Janet, increasing lifespan by sixty days.】
James couldn't help but chuckle.
Feeling quite pleased, he earned himself another two months.
Janet, however, was bewildered—how could Uncle James be laughing?
As a police officer, she had researched James's family situation before renting; he had no children and was all alone.
If he knew he only had a few days left, it would be too much for him to handle.
While contemplating how to gently break the news, James reached for the report again, "Can I have that back? What does it say?"
Janet stuttered, finally touching her nose nervously, "Um, Uncle James, it doesn't seem like you have any major problems," and she returned the report.
James silently chuckled; the girl was kind, unable to bear telling him the truth.
"Thanks, I'll head back now."
Just as James turned to leave, Janet called out from behind, "Uncle James."
"Yes? What is it?"
Janet licked her lips, "Take care of yourself! If you want to eat something, just go ahead. If you're hesitant to spend, just let me know, and I'll buy it for you."
James couldn't help but give Janet a thumbs-up.
"Alright, if you need anything in the future, feel free to ask me for help."
As Janet watched James return to his room, she felt even more fatigued.
At the same time, she pondered how she could help James before his time was up.
Once back in his room, James was suddenly hit by sleepiness.
He glanced at the clock—it was 7:10. "Damn it, am I really going to sleep at seven?"
His body could hardly support him, so he lay down on the old bed and quickly fell asleep.
The next time he opened his eyes, it was already five in the morning.
James sighed; he used to be a champion of staying up late.
He had always looked down on those who went to bed early and rose early, and now he had become one of them.
"Ugh!"
But waking up was somewhat good news; Shirley should be returning soon.
Of course, that was assuming nobody kept her overnight.
Cracking the door open slightly, he waited. About half an hour later, with a ding, the elevator doors opened.
Shirley stumbled out, reeking of alcohol and lugging a bag.
"Shirley!"
Shirley winced and instinctively tried to dodge him.
"Hehehe, Uncle James, you're up so early! Didn't you have breakfast? Let me go get you some!"
James knew she was just trying to make an excuse to slip away.
He pulled out the diagnosis report hidden behind his back, "No running off; I'm not here to collect rent. Can you help me read what it says?"
Seeing the diagnosis report, Shirley exclaimed, "Oh?"
Why does she want me to look at this? Could there be a trick?!
Nonetheless, she took the report from James.
Upon reading the details, Shirley scoffed, "Old man, I just owe you two months' rent! Do you really need to go this far?"
Shirley assumed he was fabricating a diagnosis to pressure her into paying rent.
James was taken aback—this wasn't how he expected things to unfold.
"It's real!"
Shirley shoved the report back into James's hands.
"Fine, fine, I know it's real. I'll definitely pay the rent before you die. But now, I'm going home to sleep."
With that, she swayed her way back to her room, 911.
James sighed, "Ah! What a misfortune."
He should have known Shirley was unreliable.
"System, can I change tenants?" James mentally asked the system in his mind.
【Ding】
【System has already bound to three tenants; others cannot be replaced.】
【If the tenants choose to vacate, the host will lose one source of rewards.】
"Damn it!" James cursed in the hallway.
Looking at room 911, he refused to believe he couldn't secure a reward from Shirley.
"It's just working at a bar; I'll definitely pay you a visit tonight."
Just then, the door to 913 swung open, and Hannah stepped out.
"Oh, Uncle James? What were you saying about ordering something tonight?"
James replied, "Ordering a chicken."
Hannah smiled with satisfaction, "Well, if you want to eat something, just go ahead; that's great."
James was puzzled, what was going on? Why was everyone encouraging him to eat whatever he wanted?
It made him somewhat suspicious that he'd be gone tomorrow.
Hannah pressed the button for the elevator, "Take care of yourself, Uncle. I'm off to work."
James waved her off and returned to his own room.
Looking at the messy space, he realized that since he wasn't dying anytime soon, he needed to start living well.
With nothing pressing during the day, he thought about calling a cleaner to do a thorough clean-up.
Living in a neat space would be much more comfortable.
Finding a small ad for cleaning services on the wall in the hallway, James thought, "You know, these little ads can be quite useful sometimes; just don't stick them on people's doors!"
After calling the service, it was just half an hour before they arrived.
Two women in their forties showed up.
James went to greet them at the elevator, "Five hundred yuan to clean the whole place, right?"
One woman nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, sir; we're professionals."
James asked, "You'll even help with taking out the trash, right?"
The other woman replied, "Of course, sir; we're professionals."
James nodded in satisfaction, "Then follow me."
When they opened the door, the two women were left stunned by the clutter piled up in the room.
"Sir, if I gave you five hundred yuan, can you tell me how all this garbage made it up here?"
James placed his hands behind his back; he certainly knew.
This junk had taken the original owner months of work, like an ant carrying things back from the bottom.
"Get started; you can keep the money from any junk you sell."
Only then did the women's expressions look slightly better.
"Sir, this job will take us all day; you should find somewhere to rest while I call in more help."
James wasn't worried about theft; he left calmly, heading straight to the largest phone market in the city.
It had been several days since he last played League of Legends, and he was feeling a bit itchy to play again.
- Writer
