Les fleurs cannibales aussi à tenir

Chapitre 1

Chapter 1: Can a down-on-his-luck writer dream of cheap rental housing?

"Now I announce that the author who has won the 2020 Donggua Literature Network's Newcomer King award is—"

The male host on stage smiled and opened the envelope in his hand.

"Congratulations to Teacher Yao Yao Ling!!"

Zhu Yao, dressed in a red evening gown, stood up from her seat and waved to the people behind her with a smile.

"Ms. Yao, what are your thoughts and feelings after winning the award?"

"Mr. Yao, could you please share your experience on how you went from being a complete failure to a platinum player in just one year?"

"Teacher Yao, is there any special reason why you have always insisted on writing supernatural yuri stories?"

"Teacher Yao..."

Zhu Yao held the trophy, smiled at the camera, and was about to say those motivational platitudes she had prepared when she flopped in order to win the award.

"Ring ring ring..."

Zhu Yao struggled to reach one hand out from under the covers, and after feeling around the headboard a few times, she finally grabbed the phone that was pressed between the headboard and the mattress.

She relied on muscle memory to swipe across the phone to answer the call, held the phone to her ear, and weakly said "hello."

"Yaoyao, why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Are you still asleep? It's already 2 pm," it was her roommate Xiaofang's voice.

"Wake up, wake up," Zhu Yao said, her eyes still closed. She kicked off the covers and struggled to sit up. "Why did you suddenly call me?"

Zhu Yao and her roommate Xiao Fang were not close.

Zhu Yao writes novels full-time, leading a chaotic work-rest schedule with working during the day and sleeping at night; Xiao Fang works for an internet company and is often stuck at the company and unable to return to his rented apartment. The two rarely see each other and are just familiar strangers living under the same roof.

Recently, Zhu Yao noticed from her WeChat Moments that Xiao Fang had a boyfriend and was spending even less time at her rented apartment. The two hadn't seen or spoken to each other for almost a week.

"Here's the thing, our shared lease is about to expire, and I'm going to live with my boyfriend, so I don't plan to renew it."

On the phone, a male voice came from Xiao Fang's end, muttering, "Why bother explaining to her?"

But Xiao Fang shut him down with a simple "Don't talk."

Upon hearing that Xiao Fang did not intend to renew the lease, Zhu Yao, whose mind was still in a daze and immersed in the awards ceremony, instantly snapped out of her daze.

She finally opened her eyes, which she had kept tightly closed in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Now I'm completely unable to sleep...

After exchanging a few polite words with Xiao Fang, Zhu Yao hung up the phone and went to the bathroom to wash her face with cold water to clear her head.

There are ten days left until the lease renewal date.

Zhu Yao now has three solutions:

1. Quickly find someone to share an apartment with.

2. Quickly find yourself a new house.

3. Use the royalties from unsuccessful authors to cover all rent.

Unfortunately, the social skills and social circle of a female writer who stays at home writing online novels are limited, and she really can't find a reliable roommate for the time being.

It's even more impossible for me to use my meager royalties to pay rent; I'm almost at the point where I can't afford to eat.

Zhu Yao was inwardly wailing.

She opened the rental app, browsed nearby apartments, and called some landlords offering cheap rentals.

Four of them have already been rented out, but I forgot to update the information on the app. Two are currently being looked at and will be signed soon. The last one is a bare-bones apartment without even a bed.

An adult's breakdown often happens in an instant.

But Zhu Yao was an optimist, and her breakdown only lasted for a moment before she secretly began planning to renovate the unfinished house.

No bed? Then sleep on the floor, in a Japanese style!

No painted walls? Then wallpaper, custom-made!

There are no dilapidated houses that are uninhabitable! There are only poor people who are wise and love life!

So here's the question—

She needs to find a roommate to share the joys and sorrows with her, to renovate the unfinished apartment together, to turn the sleeping floor into a romantic Japanese tatami room, and to use the dusty cement walls as poster boards.

After going around in circles, the problem has returned to the social circle of the stay-at-home girl.

Suddenly, Zhu Yao saw that Xiao Fang recommended someone to her: Sister Wang, a real estate agent.

It turned out that Xiao Fang, knowing the inconvenience that suddenly breaking the contract would cause Zhu Yao, asked a colleague for help and found a "reliable" intermediary who was rumored to have many channels and resources.

Zhu Yao saw the string of A's at the beginning of the person's WeChat name and felt a little apprehensive. She hesitated for a moment before dialing the number.

Sister Wang answered the phone quickly and greeted Zhu Yao warmly, asking about her basic situation and requirements for the house.

Even when she heard that the rent she could afford was very low, Sister Wang's enthusiasm did not diminish, which shows that she is quite reliable in this respect.

But Sister Wang started asking some more personal questions.

"Xiao Zhu, what do you do for a living?"

Asking about jobs is normal; nobody wants a tenant who's a shady character.

"I'm a freelancer. I write articles in my spare time to earn a living."

Zhu Yao was a little embarrassed to tell people in real life that she wrote online novels, especially since she wrote yuri novels—she didn't want to be completely transparent.

"Oh, a freelancer? That's great! How many hours do you spend at home each day?"

That's a strange question. Do we now consider the occupancy rate of a property when renting it?

If we didn't have to worry about food, this homebody could stay home forever!

Zhu Yao thought for a moment and then gave a standard answer: "Because I often work remotely, I'm basically at home 24 hours a day unless I go out to eat."

"That's great! What's your usual routine, Xiao Zhu? What time do you go to bed?"

Even through the phone, Zhu Yao could hear the joy in Sister Wang's voice.

But this problem is getting weirder and weirder.

But it's also reasonable, Zhu Yao convinced herself, after all, irregular schedules would disturb her roommates and neighbors, and some landlords mind that.

"My sleep schedule is quite flexible because my job is rather unstable; sometimes I have to stay up all night."

Zhu Yao felt particularly guilty when she said this; didn't she know her own night owl nature?

I can't write supernatural yuri novels during the day at all.

Only when it's late at night, with the lights off and only the computer on, surrounded by darkness, with the computer screen glowing faintly and occasional neon lights flashing outside the window.

At this moment, there were no human or vehicle sounds; the world was deathly silent, belonging solely to Zhu Yao.

Only at times like these does Zhu Yao's inspiration flow like a spring, and the supernatural tales and mythical creatures that she couldn't imagine during the day will emerge from the distant legends and be written into her novels.

"I'm quite careful when I work, so there won't be much noise," Zhu Yao added. "I also prefer quiet, so you don't have to worry about me disturbing others."

“Great, Miss Zhu, I have a house here that would be perfect for you. Would you like to consider it? But before you can see the house, the person in charge of the property would like to meet the tenant.”

These days, do people still "interview" potential tenants before viewing a rental property?

Zhu Yao had a vague feeling that this "8A reliable real estate agent" was not so reliable.

But she still tidied herself up and agreed to the "interview".

After all, the housing conditions are good, the furniture is complete, and the price is low.

The price they offered was too tempting.

The disadvantages of the house—inconvenient transportation and no restaurants or shopping malls nearby—are not a problem at all for a freelance homebody like her.

Zhu Yao even suspected that this might be a new type of scam, specifically designed to lure poor, reclusive women like her, who usually have no one to contact, to remote, deserted places, then tie them up and sell their organs, or sell them to some remote mountain forest.

Fortunately, the interview location arranged by the other party was in the city center, in a coffee shop in a crowded shopping mall.

If all else fails, I can just run away halfway through, since I still have the unfinished apartment as a safety net—I can manage the rent for the unfinished apartment by myself if I grit my teeth.

Chapter 2 Zhu Yao Signs the First Contract

Zhu Yao did a simple makeup look in front of the mirror. She was pretty and fair-skinned because she stayed at home. Ample sleep and not having to wear makeup for a long time made her skin look great.

With a good foundation, makeup is the icing on the cake. She lets down her waist-length hair, which she usually keeps tied up, and pairs it with a white shirt, a yellow and white bow tie, and a light blue trench coat—as an author, she has basic taste in clothing.

Zhu Yao practiced smiling in front of the mirror.

Great, that innocent, white lotus-like smile of a female protagonist is so sweet it melts my heart.

Right now, she looks like a female college student who hasn't graduated yet, a bit like a naive girl next door who's just entered society—a 27-year-old girl next door who's almost 30.

This should leave a good first impression on the homeowner across the street.

Zhu Yao went downstairs to have breakfast first—a unique afternoon tea for night owls—before slowly taking the subway there.

When they arrived at the coffee shop, even though it wasn't the agreed time yet, Zhu Yao saw that two people were already sitting at their reserved spot.

The middle-aged woman sitting in the chair, wearing an inexpensive suit and an ID card, with her hair tied up and a big smile on her face, was clearly the real estate agent, Sister Wang, who was known for her high-level job.

The other woman wore a fitted burgundy suit and skirt, adorned with elegant jewelry and sporting long, wavy blonde hair. She was distinctly different from the stereotypical big-breasted, brainless blondes in British dramas; her features were refined, and she exuded an air of sophistication.

At this moment, she was leaning back on the sofa with her legs crossed, typing on the laptop on the table, presumably handling official business.

When the woman saw Zhu Yao approaching, she closed her laptop, sat up straight, and nodded to her.

Zhu Yao returned her a smile.

"You must be Xiao Zhu. This is our General Manager Li, who is also in charge of the housing."

Sister Wang enthusiastically introduced the blond elite, but because she spoke with a slight regional accent, she pronounced "zhu" as "yi".

You're the pig! Your whole family are pigs!!

Zhu Yao inwardly complained about Sister Wang's broken Mandarin.

But why call "General Manager Li" the person in charge of the house? Shouldn't we just call her the homeowner?

After shaking hands with the blond elite CEO, Mr. Li, as if it were a business collaboration, Mr. Li glanced at Sister Wang out of the corner of his eye.