113: Peeling ginger

On his way back, Yu Heng stopped by the supermarket in the residential complex.

He strolled through the vegetable section, originally intending to buy some greens, when he suddenly saw stacks of ginger.

With a sudden thought, he walked over, planning to pick up a couple of pieces.

He bought a few more vegetables, then Yu Heng checked out and walked out of the supermarket carrying the bags.

When he got home, it was just past two o'clock.

Since it was the weekend, Qin Lu usually brought Qin Ya over a bit later, so he had at least an hour left.

That was enough.

"Did you go to the supermarket?" Bai Xinran took the bags as she saw him enter.

"Yeah, I bought some ginger too," Yu Heng said.

"Okay, I'll put the vegetables in the fridge." Bai Xinran carried the bags toward the kitchen.

"I'll need the ginger in a bit," Yu Heng instructed.

"Huh?" Bai Xinran paused. "Are you going to make ginger tea?"

"Right," Yu Heng smiled. "Ginger tea."

"Ah?" Bai Xinran was stunned; she noticed his last word wasn't the second tone, but the first.

"Haha," Yu Heng walked over after changing into slippers. "Go put the vegetables away first."

Bai Xinran pursed her lips, turned around, and opened the refrigerator door.

She placed the greens inside one by one, her movements slower than usual, almost as if she were stalling for time.

Yu Heng leaned against the kitchen doorframe and watched her. "Nervous?"

Bai Xinran closed the fridge door and turned around.

"A little," she said honestly. "I haven't... tried it before."

"That's why we're starting with something simple," Yu Heng said. "I'll prep the ginger."

Bai Xinran nodded and stood to the side.

Yu Heng pulled a fruit knife from the rack and took a piece of ginger out of the plastic bag.

As the blade scraped against the ginger skin, Bai Xinran shifted half a step forward, her eyes fixed on his hands.

Yu Heng's fingers were long, and his grip on the knife was steady.

Bai Xinran turned and opened a cabinet, taking out a white porcelain plate.

Yu Heng placed the peeled ginger onto the plate, then turned on the faucet to rinse the knife, shook off the water, and put it back in the rack.

"Go to the living room," Yu Heng smiled. "Get yourself ready. I'm going upstairs for a moment."

Bai Xinran walked to the living room and began to undress. Yu Heng went upstairs to his room and pulled a small suitcase out of the closet.

This was something he had brought over from the dormitory earlier.

—

An hour later, Bai Xinran sat up from the sofa.

"Mmh..." Bai Xinran frowned. "Could I ask a favor of you?"

"What is it?" Yu Heng asked.

"Can we just do a normal stream tonight? If I stream like this, I won't be able to hold on." As she spoke, Bai Xinran kept observing Yu Heng's expression, fearing he might get angry at her for trying to evade his orders.

"Hmm..." Yu Heng thought for a moment. "Alright, let's just do a normal stream tonight."

"Thank you!" Bai Xinran smiled and got off the sofa. "Then I'll go take a shower and start the stream in a bit!"

—

On Monday morning, after being woken up by Bai Xinran, Yu Heng didn't get out of bed.

"I'm not going to class this morning," Yu Heng told Bai Xinran. "I'm going to look at a house. Have breakfast and head out first."

"Oh," Bai Xinran nodded. "Then I'll head down first."

Yu Heng rolled over and picked up his phone to send a WeChat message to Qin Lu.

"Counselor, I'm requesting leave this morning to go check out a rental."

Two minutes later, Qin Lu replied: "Understood."

Just those three characters. Yu Heng looked at his phone screen and smiled.

Last night, Brother Wang told him that the landlord was free today and scheduled a viewing for 10:00 AM, then gave him the landlord's number.

Yu Heng left the Villa and walked toward the other side of the residential complex.

He had lived in this complex for over a month, but he had never really explored it thoroughly.

The house was located further inside, about five or six rows away from the one he lived in; the layout was identical.

When Yu Heng arrived, he saw someone already standing at the door.

It was a woman, looking to be in her late twenties, wearing a long trench coat and ankle boots. Her hair was pulled back, revealing small pearl earrings.

Judging by her attire, she was a professional woman.

She saw Yu Heng approaching and asked with a smile, "Are you here to see the house?"

"Yes, that's me." Yu Heng walked over. "Are you the landlord?"

"Sort of," she smiled. "This house belongs to my mother. She's busy today, so I'm here in her place."

Chen Wanting pulled out a key from her bag and opened the door. "Come in and have a look. The house is cleaned regularly, so it's quite clean."

Yu Heng followed her inside. The layout of the living room was almost identical to the one he was currently living in, though it had less furniture, making it feel more spacious.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, highlighting the fine dust motes floating in the air.

"The renovation was done a few years ago, and hardly anyone has lived here since," Chen Wanting said, walking to the window. "This house was for my younger sister while she was in school, but it's been empty since she graduated."

Yu Heng looked around the living room, then checked the kitchen and the bathroom.

It was indeed very clean, with water and electricity connected; it would be ready to use with just a bit of tidying up.

"What are you renting this house for...?" Chen Wanting turned around, leaning against the windowsill to look at him.

"I've started a small studio with a few classmates," Yu Heng said. "We do streaming. The dorms aren't convenient, so we thought about renting a place."

"Streaming?" Chen Wanting arched an eyebrow. "That industry is quite popular these days."

"Yes, it's the era of universal streaming now," Yu Heng said.

"There are indeed many female Streamers now," Chen Wanting laughed. "A lot of the clients coming to our hospital lately are Streamers."

Yu Heng's heart stirred. "Are you in... the cosmetic surgery business?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Chen Wanting asked.

"Haha, well, female Streamers make up a significant portion of the plastic surgery demographic." He looked at Chen Wanting. "Maybe we can even cooperate in the future."

When a female Streamer goes to a hospital, it's most likely for either gynecological issues or plastic surgery.

Chen Wanting didn't quite seem to understand. "Cooperate? How?"

"If any of the Streamers signed with me want to do some minor adjustments or skin management, I can recommend them to your place," Yu Heng said naturally. "You give the Streamers a proper discount, and as for my company... if you're interested, we can talk in detail later."

In fact, cooperation between streaming companies and medical beauty institutions was very common at this time.

Moreover, most of them involved those 'trap loans' or 'medical beauty loans.' Yu Heng could have played it that way too, but he felt that would be a bit too unscrupulous.

"Sure," she nodded. "Then add me on WeChat, and we can discuss the specifics later."

Yu Heng took out his phone and scanned Chen Wanting's QR code.

Chen Wanting accepted the friend request and sent over her name and phone number. Seeing this, Yu Heng also sent his name and number.

"As for the rent..." Chen Wanting returned to the main topic. "My mom said four thousand a month, one month's deposit and three months' rent upfront. Can you accept that?"

"Could it be a bit cheaper?" Yu Heng said. "I can decide today."

"Then let's make it three thousand five hundred. If we're going to cooperate, a few hundred won't make a difference. I'll make the call for my mom." Chen Wanting put her phone back in her bag. "If there are no issues, shall we sign?"

"No problem! Let's sign."