Chapter 19: He's Saying All My Lines!

At the word "son," the smug expression on the proprietress's face instantly froze.

Jiang Yubai held up his phone, his tone helpless. "Yeah, Mom. Didn't you ask me to come over and collect the rent?"

"Oh, right. I was having so much fun out here that I almost forgot," the voice on the other end of the line immediately lightened up. "You handle it however you see fit. I'm hanging up now."

Unable to hold back any longer, the proprietress took a step forward and shouted anxiously at the phone, "Mr. Qin! We clearly agreed on five thousand a month!"

"The previous agreement doesn't count," the voice replied lazily. "Discuss it with my son."

The proprietress's face turned stark white, and her voice pitched up. "You two are just teaming up to mess with me! Rents don't just hike up like this! How am I supposed to dare renew the lease under these conditions?!"

"If you don't want to rent, move out early," the voice on the phone grew impatient. "If you won't rent it, there are plenty of others who will. Talk to my son for the details. Hanging up."

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP—

The dial tone rang out crisply and decisively.

Jiang Yubai shrugged and set his phone back on the counter. He had to admit that playing the villain felt pretty damn good.

The proprietress standing across from him turned pale, then green. Eventually, she managed to squeeze out another strained smile. "Landlord Jiang... seven thousand for rent is really too high. My small business truly can't afford it. Do you think we could..."

Seeing this, Jiang Yubai raised an eyebrow, quietly marveling at the situation. Even with his attitude on full display, Boss Zhao still hadn't walked away from the deal and actually wanted to negotiate further. It seemed this little shop was quite profitable after all.

And his assumption was correct. Even though this was the oldest part of the old town—meaning rents generally stayed stagnant—it was right next to several schools. It was a genuine prime location.

Seeing the proprietress throw the problem back at him, Jiang Yubai sighed and unexpectedly began to air his own grievances.

"Boss Zhao, it's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you. As you can see, life as a landlord hasn't been easy lately.

"Bank interest rates keep rising, and the expenses for shop maintenance and other things are huge. We need money here, there, and everywhere... Cash flow is just really tight."

The proprietress cursed inwardly, "What kind of bullshit are you feeding me? You literally collect rent in your sleep and you have the nerve to complain?"

Outwardly, however, she had to keep an apologetic smile plastered on her face. "I know, I know. It's not easy for you landlords either. We understand.

"But... I previously discussed five thousand with Mr. Qin, and Mr. Qin agreed. For you to suddenly hike up my monthly rent by two thousand right off the bat, isn't that a bit too..."

Jiang Yubai waved his hand, looking as though he couldn't be bothered to explain.

"This is our family's shop. You've been using it for two years. These bookshelves and counters were newly added by you, right? The paint on the walls has been scuffed up in several places.

"I didn't make a fuss about any of that, and I'm still willing to rent to you. It's just a slight increase in rent, and you want to be picky?"

He paused, as if recalling something, and added, "Besides, does the contract specify an exact amount? It doesn't, right? So I can raise it by however much I want.

"If that really doesn't work for you, hurry up and pay last month's rent. Once you've paid, don't bother coming back. My humble shop can't accommodate a VIP like you."

Hearing this entirely antagonistic speech, the proprietress felt the breath catch in her chest; she nearly choked. Yet, amidst her anger, she faintly felt that his tone was somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

With no time to think deeply about it, she took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. "Landlord Jiang, there's no bad blood between us. Why are you targeting me like this... What exactly are you after?"

She honestly couldn't understand how she had provoked this unreasonable tyrant. Who collected rent like this? Was he genuinely not afraid of driving his tenants away?!

"What am I after?" Jiang Yubai scoffed, but didn't answer directly.

He turned his head just in time to catch sight of a sneaky little head poking out from behind the doorway, peering inside. The moment she met his gaze, the head SWISHED right back out of sight.

"Stop hiding," Jiang Yubai said, amused. "Hurry up and come in."

After a few more seconds, a figure finally peeked out from the doorway and hesitantly walked inside. Following Jiang Yubai's line of sight, the proprietress finally got a clear look at the person before her. Her eyes immediately widened.

"Oh, Lin..." She forced a highly unnatural smile onto her face, her voice dry. "Haven't seen you for a day. Are you, uh, doing well?"

The awkwardness and strain in her tone practically overflowed. She finally understood with absolute clarity why those words had given her such a strong sense of déjà vu...

Those were all her own lines!

Lin Jianxia kept her head bowed as she shuffled over to Jiang Yubai's side. She pressed her lips together, at a loss for words. Seeing her again after just one day, she could still vividly recall the proprietress's overbearing demeanor from last night, as well as the lingering sense of grievance in her own heart.

"Hey," Jiang Yubai said in an exasperated tone. "What's with this punching-bag act, looking like you're the one in the wrong?"

Despite her tumultuous emotions, Lin Jianxia couldn't help but snap her head up and glare at him upon hearing this. She fumed inwardly, "What do you mean, a punching bag?!"

Seeing this, how could Boss Zhao still not understand the reason she was being targeted at every turn today?

She quickly spoke up. "I was wrong. It was my fault."

Jiang Yubai shifted his gaze and raised an eyebrow. "What were you wrong about?"

The proprietress fell utterly silent. She took a deep breath and squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"I shouldn't have deliberately made excuses to dock Lin's pay just because she's young and easily embarrassed."

Lin Jianxia jerked her head up. Biting her lower lip, she said stubbornly, "Those pages were already wrinkled when the books were delivered! And I never secretly stole any books either!"

It was obvious that these words had been pent up in her heart for a long time; her voice even trembled slightly.

How could the proprietress dare to argue? She could only nod. "You really didn't take them. I knew what actually happened; I just said that on purpose at the time."

Glancing at the slightly relaxed Lin Jianxia, Jiang Yubai's tone softened as well.

"Alright, Boss Zhao. If you show a sincere attitude, the rent isn't entirely non-negotiable."

The proprietress immediately caught his drift. She turned around, quickly counted out six hundred-yuan bills from the cash register, and handed them to Lin Jianxia.

"Here, here, Lin. This is the salary I should have paid you yesterday. Please take it."

Lin Jianxia looked at the money in her hands. She pressed her lips together and remained silent.

The proprietress opened her mouth, then cast a hopeful glance at Jiang Yubai.

"Why are you looking at me? Look at her," Jiang Yubai shrugged with his arms crossed. "If she doesn't accept it, the rent stays at seven thousand. If she does, then it's not impossible to negotiate further."

Steeling her resolve, the proprietress pulled out another five bills and stuffed them into Lin Jianxia's arms, her tone now carrying a hint of pleading.

"Consider this a bonus for your hard work. You come over after school every day and spend hours organizing books. Paying you only six hundred was definitely too little. Mrs. Zhao was in the wrong.

"Lin, please put in a good word with your friend... and let me off the hook this once."