Chapter 48: The House

The red booklet was handed directly to Li Yaqin by Zhao Chengyu, his movements swift and decisive.

It was the property ownership certificate.

Li Yaqin's gaze fell upon the open pages.

The three delicate yet powerful characters of "Li Yaqin" were clearly and neatly printed in the homeowner's name section.

Each stroke seemed to carry an invisible imprint, proclaiming an established fact.

The car door closed again, the engine restarted, and the car smoothly drove away.

Li Yaqin was seated in the passenger seat. She turned her head slightly, casting her gaze out the window.

The street scene outside rushed past, blurring into a flowing, bizarre patchwork of colors.

Her gaze slowly returned from the window.

Her eyes, like feathers, lightly swept over the silent man in the driver's seat beside her.

Zhao Chengyu… he really kept his word; the house was in hand so quickly.

This speed, this energy, was indeed her best protection and springboard at the moment.

However, this didn't mean she would be grateful to tears.

Li Yaqin's gaze lingered on his cold, hard profile for only a moment.

Assessing his current emotions—nothing came to mind.

Good. Men who don't show their emotions are harder to deal with, but that also means they're more stable.

Then, she calmly looked away, as if she had only glanced at ordinary scenery outside the window.

In her mind, however, she was quickly calculating: with a house and a job,

the next step was to take advantage of the slaughterhouse to quickly fill her space; this was the foundation for survival.

As for this man…

For now, maintaining the status quo was fine.

Zhao Chengyu gripped the steering wheel, his well-defined fingers unconsciously tightening suddenly, his knuckles turning slightly white.

His tongue pressed forcefully against his back teeth, a subtle but impatient movement.

A nameless anxiety, like fine vines, rose silently from the depths of his heart without warning and spread rapidly.

Li Yaqin's indifferent and aloof demeanor at this moment was much like a cat that could never be tamed.

She appeared cold and unapproachable, yet exuded an innate air of nobility.

This contradictory quality made her seem so elusive, so uncontrollable.

The car finally stopped in front of a detached two-story house.

The greyish-white walls appeared somewhat solemn under the gloomy sky.

The gate was open, revealing a spacious interior.

A neatly trimmed lawn extended to the porch.

In the corner, neatly trimmed flowers and trees grew, and next to them stood a small white gazebo.

It was clear that the former owner of this place was a person who appreciated the finer things in life.

Li Yaqin's gaze slowly swept over the meticulously maintained lawns and flowerbeds.

Her attention wasn't on the vibrant colors or unusual shapes of the flowers.

She was simply calmly estimating the actual usable area of this land.

Having lived through the information age, the importance of resources was self-evident.

The potential threat of famine, like a sword hanging over her head, was deeply ingrained in her understanding.

These things, flashy and merely for show,

would add luster in prosperous times, but in times of famine, they would be less than grass.

In Li Yaqin's eyes, their current value is...

It's far less important than food that can actually fill your stomach.

This fertile yellow earth beneath her feet could only be sustained by planting crops that could sustain life.

Only then could she obtain the most basic stability she sought.

Now, the house had been definitively handed over to her; she, Li Yaqin, was the registered owner.

The deal was done.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Having achieved her goal, she naturally didn't want to be watched by her "creditor" any longer.

This man had too much presence, and his mind was too deep.

Being around him always gave her a sense of being seen through.

Now she just wanted to be alone and properly plan out this newly acquired "territory."

Shouldn't Zhao Chengyu...

leave too?

Zhao Chengyu reached out and pushed open the slightly heavy door.

He stepped aside, gesturing for her to follow him inside.

The room was indeed spacious, more than twice the size of the mud-brick house in the countryside.

The furniture was arranged neatly, showing that someone had once carefully arranged it.

However, now, a thin layer of dust covered the smooth wooden floor.

Fine particles danced in the light streaming through the window; cleaning would be a major undertaking.

A faint, chilly atmosphere, reminiscent of a long-abandoned home, mingled with the smell of dust, filled the air.

"Can I renovate it?" Li Yaqin's voice suddenly broke the silence.

She deliberately made her tone flat and emotionless, revealing no emotion.

It sounded like she was stating a self-evident fact, but it was actually a test.

She wanted to see just how much control Zhao Chengyu had over this house he'd "given" to her.

If he interfered even with something this small,

then it wouldn't be so easy for her to use it for anything in the future.

"I'm from the countryside, I'm not used to living in this kind of Western-style house."

She paused slightly, her gaze sweeping over the exquisite furnishings, and continued to elaborate on her reasoning.

"It's more reassuring to grow some vegetables."

Li Yaqin raised her finger and gestured casually towards the neatly trimmed lawn outside the window.

"It's a shame this lawn in the front yard looks so bare, why don't we turn it over and plant vegetables?"

"The backyard looks quite spacious, perfect for building a greenhouse."

"That way, we can have some fresh leafy greens to eat in the winter."

Thinking of the diverse vegetable seeds she had stored in her magical space...

Then she imagined the future, a courtyard brimming with greenery and fragrant fruits, a scene of abundant harvest.

Only then did Li Yaqin feel a sense of peace.

A barely perceptible smile curved the corners of her lips.

She imagined the entire courtyard filled with vegetables, the greenhouse in the backyard evergreen year-round.

She could also use this as an excuse to gradually utilize the resources in her spatial storage…

This sense of self-sufficiency, this feeling of security in control of resources,

brought a surge of barely suppressed joy and a confident sense of control over her future.

This smile, like ripples on water, was forcibly suppressed as soon as it appeared.

She suddenly realized Zhao Chengyu was still there; she couldn't let him see her true feelings.

She looked up warily, her gaze meeting Zhao Chengyu's deep, all-seeing eyes.

Zhao Chengyu's gaze was tangible, fixed firmly on her, with an undeniable focus.

He stood there quietly, tall and straight, like a silent sculpture, gazing at her intently.

Those deep pupils seemed to churn with complex and unfathomable emotions, like a bottomless, icy pool, impossible to fathom.

Li Yaqin's heart clenched sharply, as if gripped by an invisible hand.

The last trace of emotion on her face vanished instantly.

Replaced by her usual aloofness and indifference.

She slightly turned her head, her jawline tense, a subtle gesture conveying her question.

Her gaze remained calm as she looked at him, silently conveying a clear message: "The house has been received. Why haven't you left yet?"

Zhao Chengyu almost laughed in anger at her "Why aren't you leaving yet?" expression.

He cursed inwardly, thinking, "What a heartless little thing, turning her back on me after getting what she wanted."

Suppressing his displeasure, Zhao Chengyu took a long stride and moved closer to Li Yaqin.

His tall frame instantly cast a shadow, enveloping Li Yaqin's petite figure, an invisible pressure spreading outwards.

Zhao Chengyu leaned slightly closer, his lips near her ear.

His deep, magnetic voice, like a lover's whisper, deliberately lowered as he asked, "You really don't like me?"

As he spoke, his warm breath intentionally or unintentionally brushed against the sensitive skin of her earlobe and neck, sending a slight shiver down her spine.

His arm rose, his palm slamming against the cold wall beside her.

This action imprisoned her entirely between his firm chest and the cold wall.

Creating an airtight, invasively confined space.

Zhao Chengyu leaned down further, his head lowered slightly, closing the distance between them.

His nose almost touched her soft hair.

His warm breath brushed gently against her earlobe again, its presence undeniable.

He took a deep breath, greedily capturing the unique scent in the air—a blend of faint herbal fragrance and the natural aroma of a young woman.

Every movement he made carried an irresistible, forceful approach, as if silently declaring his ownership of her.