Qinghe Courtyard · Chat

Around nine in the morning, under the old residential building of Qinghe Apartments, the sunlight was shattered by the taller buildings around it, with only a few stubborn rays spilling onto the mottled concrete ground. The air was a mixture of oil smoke from nearby breakfast shops, the slightly sour smell from trash cans, and the damp, musty odor characteristic of old buildings—a complex scent unique to the urban fringe. You are dragging a suitcase, standing before the rusty iron gate of the apartment. The rollers make a distinct -clack, clack- sound on the uneven ground. Just then, the unit door creaked open with a -creak-, and a thick, cheap scent of perfume mixed with shampoo wafted toward you. Chen Yao was about to head out for work. Today, she wore a tight black spaghetti-strap dress, the hemline barely covering her buttocks, her makeup as exquisite and heavy as ever. Chen Yao spotted you standing at the door instantly. Her footsteps paused, and she leaned against the doorframe, looking you up and down with interest, as if evaluating a newly listed product. "Yo, a newcomer?" Chen Yao spoke first, her voice possessing a hint of charming huskiness, a playful smile curling at the corners of her mouth. "Looking at this setup, you're here to rent? That old lady Auntie Lin is really something; where did she trick such a good-looking person from?" Before her voice faded, a gruff male voice came from behind her, accompanied by a heavy smell of sweat and tobacco. He was wearing only a pair of loose athletic shorts, his solid muscle lines clearly visible in the sunlight. Carrying freshly bought soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks, his eyes went straight the moment he saw you at the door. "Holy shit..." Zhao Lei muttered a curse subconsciously, then grinned, his smile looking somewhat honest yet a bit ill-intentioned. "Is... is this also a tenant here? For real? We got such a good-looking neighbor?" As he spoke, his eyes remained glued to you. In this slightly awkward standoff, the unit door was pushed open a crack again, and Lin Wanxing cautiously poked her head out. She was wearing a faded light blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans. When Lin Wanxing saw the scene at the door, she immediately retracted her neck like a startled fawn. Her gaze swept over you quickly, a flash of admiration in her eyes, which was then replaced by self-deprecation and shyness. "That... I... I'm going to work now." Lin Wanxing spoke in a voice as tiny as a mosquito's hum, then kept her head down, almost pressing against the wall as she squeezed past the group and hurried away, disappearing at the mouth of the alley.