70: Chapter 70 Empress

Salesman Xu Sen took the phone number he had gotten from a colleague, took a deep breath, and dialed it.

The phone rang three times before it was answered.

"Hello, who is this?"

It was a middle-aged man's voice, steady but tinged with a hint of wariness.

Salesman Xu Sen licked his slightly dry lips, trying his best to make his tone sound professional and sincere.

"Hello, sir. I am Salesman Xu Sen, a sales consultant at Yunduan No. 1. I apologize for the intrusion, but I would like to speak with you regarding the property you own, unit 1202."

"What about it?"

"It's like this: a client of mine is very interested in your property and wanted to ask if you have any intention of selling."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line.

Then, the middle-aged man's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Who told you I wanted to sell my house? Who gave you my phone number?"

His tone was filled with obvious displeasure and accusation.

Salesman Xu Sen's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, it was bound to happen.

In this society, calling someone out of the blue to ask if they want to sell their house is about the same as asking them to their face if they are short on money.

Anyone would be unhappy about that.

But Salesman Xu Sen had no way out.

With a client of Zhang Qi's level, he had to get it done, even if he had to get on his knees.

"Sir, please don't misunderstand, that is absolutely not the case."

Salesman Xu Sen steadied himself and spoke a bit faster.

"It's just that a boss is willing to purchase your apartment at a twenty-percent premium."

"You rented out this property immediately after buying it, so it was intended for investment purposes, right?"

"Now someone is willing to pay a twenty-percent markup to acquire it. You've only held this property for a few months, and you could net a profit of over a million just by flipping it."

"In the entire Shenzhen real estate market, you won't find another deal as lucrative as this."

The line went quiet.

Salesman Xu Sen held his breath, waiting for the other party's reaction.

About five or six seconds passed.

The middle-aged man's tone softened significantly, even showing a hint of interest.

"A twenty-percent premium?"

"Yes, twenty percent, not a cent less."

Salesman Xu Sen struck while the iron was hot.

"And this client is very sincere; he will pay in full, no loans, so the paperwork is simple and the process will be very quick."

There was another few seconds of silence on the other end.

Salesman Xu Sen could hear the other party tapping on something, probably calculating.

A property bought for over five million a few months ago could now net an extra million just by flipping it.

This rate of return is top-tier in any investment field.

"Where is this gentleman who wants to buy the house?"

The middle-aged man's voice was completely devoid of the previous anger, replaced by the shrewdness and decisiveness typical of a businessman.

"I'll come over for a face-to-face meeting now."

Salesman Xu Sen almost jumped for joy.

"We are at the Sales Office. You can come over anytime!"

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

The other party hung up the phone decisively.

Salesman Xu Sen gripped his phone and let out a long breath.

It was done.

He turned his head to look at Zhang Qi, who was sitting on the sofa in the reception area with his legs crossed, flipping through a brochure, and felt a wave of emotion.

In this society, money is still the most effective tool.

That owner was clearly angry just a moment ago, but as soon as he heard about the twenty-percent premium, his attitude changed instantly.

The speed of his change in attitude was faster than flipping a page.

But then again, what truly shocked Salesman Xu Sen was Zhang Qi himself.

To secure an entire floor, he offered a premium of over a million without a second thought.

This way of spending money was completely removed from the normal thought patterns of an ordinary person.

Salesman Xu Sen walked quickly back to the reception area, his face full of smiles.

"Brother Zhang, the owner has agreed to a meeting. He said he'll be here soon."

"Mm."

Zhang Qi didn't even look up as he turned a page of the brochure.

"Prepare the contract for 1203 as well. We'll sign them together."

"Alright!"

Salesman Xu Sen replied and trotted off to prepare the materials.

---

At the same time.

Yunduan No. 1, Building 1, Unit 1202.

Lin Yuxi sat in front of the computer in her study, having just clicked the publish button for her video.

The video she filmed today was an Empress transformation video.

From bare-faced to fully made-up, from a t-shirt and shorts to a gorgeous set of Empress robes.

The entire transformation process was a single continuous shot, paired with carefully selected background music, providing maximum visual impact.

At this moment, she hadn't yet had time to change out of her filming outfit.

That Empress robe was something she had spent a large amount of money to have custom-made. The dark red brocade fabric was embroidered with golden phoenix patterns, and a wide, gold-woven sash was tied around her waist, cinching her already slender waist even more tightly.

The collar of the robe was cut just right, revealing a segment of her blindingly white neck and the delicate lines of her collarbones.

Her makeup was specially applied to match the robes.

Her eyebrows were arched, sharp and heroic.

The corners of her eyes were shaded with dark red eyeshadow, creating a cold and glamorous allure.

Her lip color was a true red, applied fully and precisely.

Her waist-length hair was coiled into a complex bun, secured with a few golden hairpins, revealing her smooth forehead and a pair of cold, clear eyes.

Standing at 1.73 meters tall, combined with this attire, she radiated an aura that was imposing without being angry.

If it weren't for the pair of fluffy slippers printed with spongebob that she was still wearing on her feet, this image could have been a direct screenshot for a period drama's promotional photo.

Lin Yuxi stared at the computer screen, watching the data below the video jump rapidly.

Less than three minutes after posting, the view count had already exceeded five thousand.

The comment section was buzzing.

"Mom, I've seen a goddess."

"What kind of peerless beauty is this? Begging for the source."

"Empress, please accept this subject's bow!"

"Sister, did you walk out of a painting?"

"The contrast before and after the transformation is too big. You were already pretty without makeup, but after the makeup, you're god-tier."

The corners of Lin Yuxi's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a satisfied arc.

She had been a transformation blogger for almost two years, going from a few hundred followers at the beginning to nearly seven hundred thousand across the entire web now.

Although she couldn't be counted as a top-tier influencer, she had carved out a place for herself in the transformation niche.

With monthly ad revenue plus platform earnings, she could take home thirty to forty thousand.

Among her peers, that was already quite good.

But her expenses were also high.

Just the expenses for various costumes, props, and cosmetics burned through more than half of it every month.

Plus the ten-thousand-yuan monthly rent for this apartment.

When it all added up, the money she could actually save each month wasn't much.

Thinking of this, Lin Yuxi's smile faded.

Her gaze inadvertently swept over the desk calendar.

Today was already the twenty-eighth of the month.

"Time to pay rent again."

Lin Yuxi sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Ten thousand a month—the price is really not cheap."

But she liked it here.

The property management at Yunduan No. 1 was excellent; the security was strict, and the environment was quiet and secluded.

For a social-phobic homebody like her who rarely went out and hated being disturbed, this place was simply an ideal sanctuary.

Plus, when she went out to take out the trash this morning, she had met a few new neighbors who had just moved in.

They were all young and pretty girls.

Although they just exchanged simple greetings, Lin Yuxi inexplicably felt at ease.

Before, she was the only one living on this floor; the hallway was empty, and sometimes at night, she would feel a bit creeped out.

Now it was better; there were people on both sides.

And they were all girls.

Her sense of security was maxed out.

"I wonder what they all do."

Lin Yuxi tilted her head and thought about it.

The one wearing Brunello Cucinelli this morning—it looked expensive at a glance, and she was carrying a Hermès.

The other one wearing a Chanel suit was the same; from head to toe, she smelled of money.

To be able to live in a place like Yunduan No. 1 and dress like that, they either earned it themselves or had someone backing them.

Lin Yuxi considered herself to have achieved some success as an influencer, and she was only just barely meeting the threshold for the rent here.

An ordinary office worker?

Their monthly salary probably wouldn't even be enough to pay the rent.

She didn't think about it any further.

Other people's lives had nothing to do with her; it was better to just live her own life.

Lin Yuxi opened WeChat and flipped to the chat window with her landlord.

She tapped a few times on the screen, transferred ten thousand yuan, and wrote two words in the note: Rent.

After sending it, she threw her phone on the table and turned around to continue editing the material for her next video.

She edited for about ten minutes or so.

Lin Yuxi reached for her phone to see how the data for the video she just posted had grown.

When she unlocked the screen, she glanced at WeChat.

The transfer was still hanging there.

The landlord hadn't accepted it.

Lin Yuxi frowned.

This landlord's surname was Zhou, a middle-aged man in his forties.

Usually, the two had basically no communication; their only interaction was this monthly rent transfer at the end of the month.

In the past, every time she transferred it, the other party would basically accept it in seconds.

At most, it would be delayed by a few minutes.

But today, over ten minutes had passed, and there was no movement on that end.

"That's strange."

Lin Yuxi muttered, but didn't take it too seriously.

Maybe he was busy.

She waited another ten minutes.

Still not accepted.

Lin Yuxi started to feel a bit uneasy.

She wasn't the type of person who would proactively urge others.

But with something like rent, leaving it hanging always felt uncomfortable.

She had finally found such a satisfactory place to live and didn't want to lose it because of some misunderstanding.

Lin Yuxi hesitated for a moment, but still sent a WeChat message to the landlord.

"Brother Zhou, I've transferred the rent; please check it."

She sent the message.

But there was still no reply for a long time.

After more than an hour passed like this, the other party finally replied.

A voice message was sent over.

Lin Yuxi tapped it and heard the slightly dull voice of the landlord, Mr. Zhou.

"Little Lin, don't worry about the rent for now."

"Uh... let me tell you something."

"I have already sold this apartment."

Lin Yuxi was stunned.

She stared at the phone screen, her brain unable to process it for a moment.

Sold?

What did that mean?

The apartment she was renting—the landlord was selling it?

Lin Yuxi's finger hovered over the screen, motionless for a long time.

Then what was she supposed to do?

Move out?

She had finally adapted to the environment here and finally felt a sense of security.

She had even added her new neighbors on WeChat and created a group chat this morning.

And now, in the blink of an eye, she was going to be kicked out?

Lin Yuxi's brows were tightly knitted together.

She quickly typed a reply.

"Brother Zhou, is the new owner going to live there or is it an investment? I still want to continue renting."

The other party replied very quickly.

"I don't know about that. Our paperwork will be finished soon. We are at the Sales Office. If you want to rent, come over and talk to him yourself."

Lin Yuxi looked at this reply, her eyes filled with confusion.

What should she do now?

Should she go and meet the new landlord?

For someone with social phobia like her, this kind of thing was simply too difficult!