40: Chapter 40 The Top-Tier "Beggar"

"I want to move into your house."

Accompanied by the howling wind on the rooftop, this sentence sounded exceptionally clear and—absurd.

Huang Mao looked at Su Muxue, who was bowing at a ninety-degree angle in front of him, and his brain went momentarily blank.

He instinctively turned his head, his gaze sweeping like radar toward Leng Qingxuan, who was standing to the side with her arms crossed, watching the show. His eyes were full of interrogation:

"Didn't you say you were going to see a friend just now? Is this the result of you seeing a friend? Luring a friend into my house? What kind of new human trafficking or pyramid scheme is this?"

Leng Qingxuan keenly received Huang Mao's signal. She shifted her gaze away feeling somewhat guilty, staring at the cracks on the concrete rooftop as if flowers could grow from them.

"Don't look at me." Leng Qingxuan's voice was cold, but it lacked confidence. "She was the one who begged to see you. The mouth is on her face, what does that have to do with me?"

Huang Mao's mouth twitched. This girl, she was certainly practiced at shifting the blame.

He cast his gaze back to Su Muxue.

This legendary Miss Su of the Su Family was still maintaining her bowing posture at this moment.

That proud curve, which was enough to make countless girls jealous and boys glance sideways, presented a breathtaking arc under the influence of gravity.

"Classmate Su, get up and talk first." Huang Mao sighed, his tone helpless. "Although I don't know what kind of shock you've received, my place is a private residence, not a refugee camp, and certainly not a wishing well."

Su Muxue straightened her waist. Her gentle and pretty face was filled with urgency, and there was even a trace of fear of being rejected.

"I know this is very presumptuous." Su Muxue twisted her hands together, her knuckles turning white. "But I really... really need a place where I can catch my breath. Leng Qingxuan said your place would work."

Leng Qingxuan couldn't help but roll her eyes on the side. *I was using a metaphor! A metaphor, do you understand!*

"I can pay rent!" Seeing that Huang Mao didn't agree immediately, Su Muxue hurriedly threw out her bargaining chips. "I have an apartment under my name in the city center with a monthly rental income of about fifteen thousand. Plus my pocket money, I can give you twenty thousand every month..."

"No, thirty thousand as a lodging fee!"

Before Huang Mao could speak, Leng Qingxuan's expression changed first.

Thirty thousand? A month?

Leng Qingxuan instinctively touched her empty pocket.

In the few days she had been living at Huang Mao's house, besides sponging off his food, drinks, internet, and air conditioning, it seemed... she hadn't paid a single cent?

Not only did she not pay, but she also made Huang Mao cook for her, scrub her back, and even play games with her.

"Also, I won't live for free." Su Muxue continued to add to her offer, her eyes so sincere they were heartbreaking. "I can do housework."

"Sweeping, mopping, laundry, ironing suits, tidying the room... I can do all of these."

"I also have a senior nutritionist certificate and a pastry chef certificate. Chinese cuisine is no problem either. I can take care of three meals a day and midnight snacks."

Critical hit.

If the "money offensive" just now only made Leng Qingxuan feel a bit embarrassed, then this "skill showcase" was simply a comprehensive dimensionality reduction strike against Leng Qingxuan.

Leng Qingxuan froze in place, her mind filled with images of herself unable to distinguish green onions from garlic sprouts, and her state as a living failure who couldn't even put on a quilt cover.

It's over.

This woman was rich, capable, had a good personality, and what's more... Leng Qingxuan's gaze uncontrollably glanced again at the despair-inducing scenery on Su Muxue's chest.

It was too supermodel-like.

In comparison, she, this "Iceberg Campus Belle" who only knew how to play games and sponge off others, was simply a complete burden.

A sense of crisis, an unprecedented sense of crisis, surged into Leng Qingxuan's heart like a tide.

"Huang Mao..." Leng Qingxuan couldn't help but speak, her voice carrying a trace of tension she hadn't even realized.

However, Huang Mao ignored the two girls' psychological activities. He just looked at Su Muxue quietly, his eyes gradually becoming profound.

From Su Muxue's eyes, which were like deep pools, he saw something familiar.

It was the same thing that was in Leng Qingxuan's eyes at some moment.

The wind was still blowing, kicking up dust on the ground.

In just a few dozen seconds, Huang Mao had roughly sorted out the current situation.

First, this Classmate Su Muxue likely had some "problems" in her head.

Of course, this wasn't meant in a derogatory sense, but rather referred to some kind of deficiency on a psychological level.

To be able to raise such a young lady who was perfect on the surface but longed to "run away from home" inside, the environment of the Su Family was probably not much different from Leng Qingxuan's family.

Logically, shouldn't such prestigious families have more perfect upbringing? How did they raise so many people with issues?

Second, she really regarded his place as some kind of "sanctuary" or "Shangri-La."

Perhaps Leng Qingxuan had said something she shouldn't have, causing her to have some kind of beautiful misunderstanding, thinking that as long as she lived under that roof, she could find salvation.

Finally, and this was the most troublesome point—she was offering too much.

Money was secondary. Although Huang Mao loved money, he also believed that a gentleman should acquire wealth in a proper way. What really shook him was the phrase "full responsibility for cooking and housework."

The two lodging members currently in the house were purely two children. If an all-around maid-type character joined...

And, it was indeed really big...

*Ahem*, stop!

There were already two troublemakers in the house.

If another Su Muxue, whose mental state might not be very stable, came along... did he still want his peaceful life?

Three women make a play; if these three got together, it would be a nuclear test site.

Refuse, must refuse.

However, looking at Su Muxue's wet, pleading eyes...

Damn it, bleeding hearts really deserve to die.

He should really change this lousy personality; he would definitely suffer losses in the future.

Although in the current situation, a top-tier campus belle, all-around in housework, hardworking, and paying money—it seemed he didn't lose out no matter how you looked at it...

So... what if he tried to make her retreat in the face of difficulties, making her feel afraid and run away on her own?

Huang Mao lowered his eyelids slightly, hiding the gleam that flashed through his pupils.

Since he thought of it, why not give it a try?

His originally upright posture suddenly collapsed. Huang Mao slightly hunched his back, hands in his pockets.

The originally upright and gentle temperament vanished instantly, replaced by a frivolous and ruffian-like air of a street hoodlum.

He stepped forward, less than half a meter away from Su Muxue.

This distance had already broken through the social safety zone for strangers.

"Miss Su, did you get something wrong?" Huang Mao's voice lowered, carrying a trace of hoarse laughter, sounding somewhat frivolous.

"I don't run a charity, and I'm not a psychiatrist."

Su Muxue was stunned for a moment and instinctively wanted to retreat, but her heels seemed to have taken root and didn't move.

Leng Qingxuan's eyes widened on the side.

What is Huang Mao... doing? Who taught him this ruffian look?

Wait, he wouldn't actually be tempted by this big meal delivered to his doorstep, would he?

"Money? Although I'm not as rich as you Su Family, I won't starve to death."

Huang Mao's gaze unscrupulously sized Su Muxue up and down. That look was extremely aggressive, as if wanting to see the scenery inside through that expensive high-fashion dress.

This kind of gaze made Su Muxue tremble, and a layer of fine goosebumps rose on her skin.

"As for housework..." Huang Mao chuckled, a standard scumbag tone. "How much does it cost to find a part-time cleaner? I don't lack a nanny."

"Then... then what do you want?" Su Muxue's voice trembled, but she still didn't run away.

Bystanders see clearly. After a brief shock, Leng Qingxuan quickly calmed down.

Based on her understanding of Huang Mao, he could remain composed and even logically deduce things when teased by her to that extent in the bathroom; how could he suddenly turn into a lecherous ghost now?

He was acting.

He was trying to use this crude method to scare away this young lady who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

Having figured this out, Leng Qingxuan's tense nerves immediately relaxed. She even had the leisure to change her posture, preparing to enjoy this good show called "The Villain Deters."

Huang Mao didn't know that his acting had been seen through by Leng Qingxuan. He was still professionally playing the image of the "ill-intentioned" bad man.

He pressed closer again.

The tips of their noses were almost touching. Su Muxue could even smell the faint scent of shower gel on Huang Mao.

"A lone man and woman... oh no, counting them... anyway, there's only one man, which is me. If we live under the same roof..."

Huang Mao reached out a hand and braced it against the railing behind Su Muxue, forming a non-standard "wall slam" posture, trapping her in his shadow.

"Classmate Su, we are all adults."

Huang Mao leaned down slightly, his lips close to Su Muxue's reddened ear, his warm breath sprinkling on her sensitive skin. He said in a low, slow voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Since you want to move in so much, I don't need the money."

"However, in exchange..."

"Can you accept paying the rent with your body?"

The dagger was revealed at the end of the map.

For a young lady from a prestigious family who had received higher education and strict upbringing since childhood, this kind of naked, insulting "unspoken rule" proposal was absolutely a minefield that touched her bottom line.

Under normal circumstances, Su Muxue should be filled with shame and anger, perhaps even slap him hard, call him a "scoundrel," and leave immediately.

That was how the script should have gone.

Leng Qingxuan thought so too.

She was even prepared to go and mock Huang Mao for his clumsy acting and his spirit of sacrifice in defiling himself just to drive someone away, after Su Muxue ran off.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The anticipated slap did not fall. The anticipated scream did not ring out.

The air seemed to have frozen.

Huang Mao was a bit confused. *What's going on? Was she scared silly? This reaction isn't right.*

He pulled back slightly, wanting to confirm Su Muxue's state—whether she had actually fainted from fright.

However, when he met Su Muxue's eyes, his whole body froze.

There was no anger, no disgust, and even... no fear.

In those eyes that were originally melancholic like deep pools, a layer of misty confusion was now rising.

That originally pale and pretty face was now being dyed with a vivid crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye, spreading all the way to her earlobes and slender neck.

It wasn't deep, but it was very obvious.

Su Muxue's breathing became rapid and chaotic, her chest heaving violently, bringing up a wave that was dizzying.

She looked at Huang Mao, her lips slightly parted. What was revealed in her eyes was actually a... complex look mixed with some kind of twisted anticipation.

"If... if that's the case..."

Su Muxue's voice was as thin as a mosquito's, but it carried a tremor and submissiveness that made one's scalp tingle.

"If it's your request..."

"I can."

"Huh?"

The "villain mask" on Huang Mao's face cracked instantly, and he let out an extremely stupid monosyllable.

Leng Qingxuan, on the side, staggered, almost falling to the ground, with a face full of expression as if she had seen a ghost.

*No, big sister, what are you blushing for?!*

*He was asking you to pay with your body! Pay with your body, do you understand!*

*This is the script of a black-hearted landlord who wants to eat you up without spitting out the bones! How can you have the expression of 'finally waited for this day'?!*

At this moment, a thought flashed through Huang Mao's and Leng Qingxuan's minds simultaneously:

*Oh no, this backfired.*