Chapter 13

The agent understood at once. “In that case, would you consider a shared rental?”
Ji Zhou said, “No group rentals. At most I can accept sharing with one person, and the bedroom must have its own private bathroom.”
Ji Zhou had mild germophobia. He absolutely couldn’t stand sharing a bathroom and toilet with strangers. Especially if he ran into someone who didn’t clean up after showering and didn’t sanitize the toilet regularly—it would drive him insane.
“Understood. If there’s a suitable listing, I’ll contact you again.”
“Thank you.”
After hanging up, the car had already entered the parking garage.
The phone chimed once—a familiar notification sound.
Ji Zhou unfastened his seat belt and tapped his phone open.
Mianmian: [[Image]]
Mianmian: [Does it look good?]
In the photo, the person wore a white strapless dress. This time there was no face—only a half-body shot from below the neck to above the chest.
Her collarbones were pronounced, with smooth, delicate lines—a very beautiful clavicle line. The hollows beneath dipped like they could hold water. At the outer end of the left collarbone was a tiny, pale red mole.
The owner of the photo had obviously added a bit of intentional charm: fine glitter dusted on the collarbone and sternum, beautiful enough that it was hard to look away.
Joice: [Beautiful.]
Mianmian: [What part is beautiful?]
Joice: [All of it.]
Coming out of the parking garage and into the apartment building, his phone rang again.
Mianmian: [I was asking about the necklace. What exactly is the doctor saying is beautiful?]
On her fair neck was a layered pearl tassel necklace. At the center of the longer chain was an inlaid camellia. The necklace was beautiful too, but only a bonus.
Ji Zhou repeated the same word: [All of it.]
Mianmian: [Does “all” include me too?]
Joice: [Mm.]
Mianmian: [Are you really the doctor I know? Did your account get hacked?]
Joice: [No.]
His apartment was on the third floor; he got home quickly.
Ji Zhou wasn’t much of a cook. He usually ate outside before returning home, and today was no different.
He found the remote and turned on the AC, took off his shirt, and got ready to shower.
Another message popped up.
By now, Ji Zhou was used to Mianmian’s chat rhythm—and oddly, he enjoyed it.
It felt like he had never been this patient with anyone before, chatting aimlessly about random things and even accepting her occasional teasing.
The feeling was subtle, like...
Like he was really in a relationship.
Mianmian: [Then...]
Joice: [?]
Mianmian: [Doctor, let me see your hand again.]
Ji Zhou: […]
He knew everyone had different preferences. Like Mianmian—she was clearly a hand fetishist.
Ji Zhou didn’t think his hands were especially pretty; his fingers were just a bit longer than average.
He raised his hand and looked at it. This time he stood somewhere with good lighting, palm facing up, fingers naturally curved, took a photo, and sent it.
A moment later—
Mianmian: [Husband, please touch me!]
Mianmian: [Husband, touch me!]
Ji Zhou’s brow twitched. He didn’t quite understand, but he respected it and chose to read without replying.
_
Ye Muyang lay on his stomach on the bed, legs kicking in the air, staring at the now-gray avatar, laughing uncontrollably.
He could picture it: the man behind the screen must be flustered and helpless, face red all the way to the ears.
The profile clearly said twenty-seven, yet he behaved more like a shy seventeen-year-old boy.
Too adorable.
Though... he wasn’t sure whether calling an “older” man adorable was appropriate.
Ding—WeChat popped up with a new message.
Ye Muyang tapped through from the notification and saw it was from Fan Jia.
He immediately put away his grin and sat up straight.
Since that day, Ye Muyang had never seen Fan Jia or Lin Liang again.
He didn’t know what happened to them afterward, or whether Lin Liang had tried to sweet-talk his way out again.
He had felt awkward, so for the past two days he even stayed at Yu Bei’s place, thinking the couple should be able to close the door and handle their own problems.
Now that Fan Jia had reached out first, he didn’t know whether she had already made her decision.
The screen switched to the WeChat chat page, and Fan Jia’s messages came into view.
Sister Fan: [Yangyang, are you home?]
Little Sheep Ye: [Yes, Sister Fan.]
Sister Fan: [I’m in the living room. Is it convenient for you to come out?]
Ye Muyang immediately got out of bed, slipped into his slippers, opened the door, and walked out.
Fan Jia was still in a sharp business suit. Her hair had been trimmed slightly, just brushing her shoulders, making her look unbreakable.
The failed relationship didn’t seem to have done her much visible damage—at least on the surface.
Hearing footsteps, Fan Jia looked over at Ye Muyang.
Still smiling gently, she asked, “Want a drink?”
Ye Muyang shook his head. “No, sis. I’ve had a toothache lately.”
Fan Jia: “Still haven’t had it pulled?”
“Mm.”
Fan Jia poured herself a drink and said, “When something is rotten, you should get rid of it quickly. The longer you keep it, the more it hurts you.”
Ye Muyang didn’t know whether she meant something deeper, but he still nodded obediently. “I already made an appointment. I’m going tomorrow morning.”
“Mm.” Fan Jia took a sip, then pushed over an exquisite gift box. “For you.”
“Huh?” Ye Muyang blinked in surprise. “Sis, this...”
“A parting gift.” Fan Jia smiled openly.
“Parting?”
“The company is preparing to transfer me to Harbor City. There’s more room for growth there, so I’m getting ready to leave. I also can’t renew the lease on this apartment.”
Ye Muyang froze. The news came too suddenly.
“Why that expression?” Fan Jia waved a hand before his eyes, then added, “Don’t think I’m escaping because of the breakup. This is the reward I earned from working hard. Congratulate me—I was promoted to director.”