Chapter 18: I'm Just Here to Collect Rent

Saturday afternoon, exactly three o'clock.

Jiang Yubai stepped through the door of the bookstore, the wind chime above the lintel letting out a crisp DING-A-LING. Hearing the sound, the proprietress behind the counter looked up. Seeing it was just a young man who looked like a student, she lowered her head again and continued cracking melon seeds. Jiang Yubai didn't say anything. With his hands shoved in his pockets, he walked inside, looking around.

The bookstore was small and its layout simple. Against the wall on the left was a row of slightly worn bookshelves, piled haphazardly with old books—literature, textbooks, and encyclopedias. On the right, a large, long table covered with a cloth was stacked high with colorful romance novels and comic books. A few students in school uniforms were huddled there, picking through the selection. The inner counter specialized in various stationery and small notebooks, while a small wooden rack stood by the door, hanging with trinkets like keychains and postcards. It was less of a bookstore and more of a hodgepodge of a bookstall, a stationery shop, and a bookstore.

Jiang Yubai flipped through the books on the shelf casually, pulled out a novel, and walked toward the counter.

"Boss, how much is this book?"

The proprietress took the book and glanced at it. "Thirty-five."

"That expensive?" Jiang Yubai picked up the book, examined it, and clicked his tongue. "Are the pages made of gold, or is the cover inlaid with it?"

His flippant tone made the proprietress frown. "Everything here is clearly priced."

"Clearly priced?" Jiang Yubai frowned as well. "Why do I remember this book only selling for twenty-something at other bookstores?"

"Then go buy it somewhere else." Her tone was stiff as she reached out to snatch the book back.

"Forget it, here is more convenient." Jiang Yubai twisted his wrist, pulling the book into his chest, and nodded. "Speaking of which, are the books here... guaranteed to be new?"

Seeing that he seemed to intend to buy it, her tone softened slightly. "New. Our books are stocked straight from the printing factory. I guarantee they're all brand new."

Jiang Yubai casually flipped open a few pages and, as if discovering something, sounded dissatisfied. "There's a crease here. How is this brand new? Go get me another one."

There was indeed a shallow crease on the page. The proprietress shot him a glare but took the book anyway, turning to enter the storage room in the back. Not long after, she came out with a new one and slapped it on the counter. "Here."

Jiang Yubai picked it up, flipped through it, and frowned again. "There's dust on this cover. It's filthy. Go get a clean one."

At this point, even an idiot could tell what was going on. The proprietress knitted her brows, her tone turning entirely hostile. "You little brat, you're just here to pick a fight, aren't you?"

Jiang Yubai didn't answer. He simply looked around the shop. "Boss Zhao, business at this shop... should be pretty decent on normal days, right?"

To be honest, although this wasn't a bustling commercial district, the location was truly excellent. Aside from Lin Third Middle School next door, there was also a junior high school and two primary schools nearby. The foot traffic from the students alone was enough to keep this shop afloat.

"What are you here for? Get out right now!" Her tone was already tinged with anger.

Jiang Yubai acted as if he hadn't heard the warning in her words, continuing at a leisurely pace. "Since business is getting better, shouldn't the rent go up a bit too?"

"What does the rent have to do with you?" Her face darkened completely. "If you don't leave, I'm calling for help."

"What does the rent have to do with me? Naturally, it has everything to do with me." Jiang Yubai tossed the book in his hand onto the counter, crossed his arms over his chest, and raised an eyebrow. "I'm here to collect the rent."

Hearing this, the proprietress's explosive expression immediately stalled. She raised her eyes and carefully sized Jiang Yubai up from head to toe, her tone full of suspicion. "What did you say?"

"This month's rent." Jiang Yubai's tone was flat. "I'm here to collect it."

The proprietress kept her frown. "Doesn't Boss Qin usually come?"

"Yes," Jiang Yubai nodded. "Today it's me."

Before she could speak again, he continued on his own, "This shop of ours... has been rented out for about two years now, right?

"For the first year's contract, the monthly rent was four thousand two hundred. When it was renewed last year, it went up to four thousand six hundred. Now the contract is about to expire, so shouldn't we renegotiate the rent?"

The moment these words came out, the initially suspicious proprietress believed him a little more. After all, the rent amount and the lease duration matched perfectly, and these details were essentially only known to the tenant and the landlord. She hesitated for a moment. "Didn't we already agree on the rent with Boss Qin? Also, may I ask your surname?"

"My surname is Jiang." Jiang Yubai showed a polite smile. "Whatever was discussed before is void. We'll go by what I say."

The proprietress couldn't help but frown again, instinctively reaching for her phone to call and confirm. After all, how could rent negotiations be this much of a joke, changing just like that? Not to mention, the person in front of her looked like a student no older than eighteen or nineteen; he really didn't seem like a proper landlord. Yet, he had recited the rent details word for word, making her afraid to outright deny him. Adopting a better safe than sorry attitude, she ultimately suppressed the lingering doubts in her mind, planning to hear what he had to say first.

"So," she softened her tone a bit and probed, "what do you mean...?"

"I mean... this year's monthly rent will go up to seven thousand," Jiang Yubai said casually.

The proprietress froze in place, taking several seconds to react before her voice shot up, "Seven thousand?! Didn't we agree it would only go up to an even five thousand?!"

"Yes." Jiang Yubai nodded, his expression unchanging. "Now it's changed to seven thousand."

The proprietress narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a long moment before suddenly snatching her phone from the counter, quickly pulling up a number, and dialing it. The ringback tone played for over ten seconds before a female voice came through the line. "Hello?"

The proprietress hastily pressed the phone to her ear, softening her tone. "Hello, Mr. Qin, it's me, Zhao Chunhua, the one renting the shop next to Yunlan Primary School.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, it's me. I wanted to ask, this year's rent... is still what we agreed on before, right?"

The person on the other end seemed to give her the answer she wanted, and Zhao Chunhua's face immediately brightened. She shot a fierce glare at Jiang Yubai and casually pressed the speakerphone button. "Sigh, Mr. Qin, someone ran into my shop today claiming to be from the landlord's family. As soon as he opened his mouth, he said he was going to raise my monthly rent to seven thousand."

The female voice on the other end carried a hint of amusement. "Seven thousand? He's the landlord just because he says so? You'd believe some swindler out of nowhere?"

"I didn't want to believe it either," Zhao Chunhua immediately started complaining. "But he recited our rent and lease terms, not missing a single detail, which is why I..."

Hearing this, the female voice on the phone grew noticeably serious. "Such a thing happened? It's probably some competitors getting jealous of our good business and deliberately sending someone to cause trouble. Describe what he looks like."

"He's right here in the shop right now. You can talk to him yourself." Having gained confidence, Zhao Chunhua thrust the phone forward and sneered, "Here you go, our great landlord."

Jiang Yubai took the phone, and a clearly irritated female voice came through the line. "Who are you? Which company sent you? Haven't you heard my name before? You dare step right onto my turf now?"

"I've heard it, I've heard it," Jiang Yubai replied in an exasperated tone. "I've been hearing your great name since I was in the womb."

The other end of the phone fell dead silent for several seconds. "...Son?"