Chapter 8: I Know How to Play Landlord

Tang Wan herself didn’t know why, but after tossing and turning on the train, unable to sleep, she had even resolved to have a proper heart-to-heart with Xia An when she decided to come find him.

Yet, the moment she sat down, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion swept over her. When Xia An asked whether she wanted to eat or sleep first, Tang Wan finally revealed a hint of shyness, admitting she was so sleepy she wanted to sleep first.

"We’ll talk when you wake up."
"Mhm, that works too."

Then, she keenly noticed a flicker of hesitation and struggle in Xia An’s expression. Though she lacked romantic experience, Tang Wan was twenty-five; she wasn’t a fool. The crisis of her severe illness had passed, yet the memory of her own "bizarre" behavior during the journey back made her cringe so hard she couldn't bear to look back on it. And now, showing up so abruptly... her words just now were arguably ambiguous, certainly enough to make someone’s imagination run wild.

But! How could he just accept it so naturally?! What was he looking around for? Was he wondering whether to do it in the big room, the small room, or the living room? Did a high school graduate like him often have one-night stands? Tang Wan nearly bit through her lip, curling her toes in embarrassment as she tried to justify herself.

"I’ll go to sleep first, I won't disturb your internet time. When I wake up... I’ll treat you to a meal."
"Ah, sure."

When she saw Xia An let out a sigh of relief, as if a burden had been lifted, Tang Wan felt disgruntled instead. Was he repulsed? With a stomp of her foot, she darted into the room, kicked off her shoes, hopped onto the bed, and burrowed into the quilt. Her movements were smooth and natural, as if this were her own home.

After two days and two nights, the only change in the small room was that the sheets and duvet cover had been replaced, leaving a fresh, lingering scent. The dust had been wiped away thoroughly. Tang Wan thought for a moment, tiptoed to the door, gently locked it, and then hid back under the covers. The bed seemed to possess a strange, magical power, naturally lulling her to sleep. If he had a key to his own room and decided to come in... She didn't have time to finish the thought before she drifted off in the warm afternoon, almost without transition. Her eyelashes fluttered, a soft curve hung on her lips, sweet and peaceful.

Xia An stood in the living room for two minutes. He had heard the sound of Tang Wan locking the door. He thought: *Trying to keep me out? It’s useless.* Unlike those born after 2000, the school life of those born in the 80s afforded no human rights. To prevent Xia An from slacking on his homework or staying up late reading novels, the small room's door had no locking mechanism, all the better for surprise inspections.

The moment he opened the door and saw Tang Wan, he noticed her change. There was light in her eyes, she had changed into new clothes, and her complexion had improved. Her demeanor had undergone a complete transformation from a few days ago. Xia An had previously hypothesized that once Tang Wan broke free from the clutches of her false illness, she would most likely come to him. She surely had her own place, but returning there rashly wasn't a good choice. He understood that Tang Wan coming here held a simple meaning—she needed time in a relatively safe place to sort out her path forward.

He was a good judge of women, especially young girls like Tang Wan—simple, naive, transparent in character, and without family or friends. Yes, at twenty-five, she was still a little girl in his eyes. Such women were like duckweed or orchids; besides lodging and seeking support, they had almost no hope of surviving on their own. If he pushed the door open now, Tang Wan would have no room to struggle, and in all likelihood, she wouldn't even try. Since she dared to come, she must have been prepared for some degree of sacrifice. They were both adults; those were the rules. Thinking this, Xia An scratched his head, turned with a smile, and returned to the computer in the master bedroom.

'When you are controlled by your "little brother," it becomes the boss, and you become the secondary. Even though I’m still a virgin in this life, I know what women are like; it's not that I don't want to, but that I can control myself.'
'Little Youzi is in Beijing for the Taoli Cup, and you’re messing around at home?'
'What about the original intention of your rebirth?'
*Form is emptiness, emptiness is form; a good man shouldn't be lecherous just because he has the free time.*

Maintaining a rhythm of refreshing the webpage every three minutes, Xia An drank three more cups of coffee until Tang Wan woke up.

...

It was pitch black outside. When she opened her eyes, the moonlight was shining right on her face, and the room was exceptionally quiet. This gave Tang Wan the illusion of having passed into another lifetime. It wasn't her home, and no family was by her side, yet she felt as if she had returned to her childhood. Safe, comfortable, and grounded.

The living room lights were off, and she could smell the aroma of food. The master bedroom door was open; in the glow of the computer screen, Xia An was bowing his head, resting his chin on his hand. Tang Wan, feeling refreshed, felt a playful urge and tiptoed closer like a cat. She realized Xia An’s eyes were closed, his breathing rhythmic—he seemed to have fallen asleep. She didn't have the heart to startle him.

She circled behind the chair. The screen didn't show the games or "unhealthy" movies she had expected, but rather an all-English webpage. After a few glances, she was even more surprised. *His English is this good?*

"If you're hungry, eat. I just made whatever, I don't know if it suits your taste. We'll have the dumplings tomorrow."
Xia An spoke out of the blue, startling Tang Wan so much she jumped and tumbled backward onto the bed his parents used. In the moonlight, her T-shirt rode up, revealing a patch of skin brighter than the moonlight itself. Her waist was slender enough to be held in a single palm, and beneath her denim shorts, her legs—not quite as thin as ivory chopsticks, but like long, plump sausages—were exposed.

Tang Wan gasped and sat up, rubbing her calf and muttering, "You! I wasn't even trying to scare you."
Xia An rested his arms on the back of the chair and turned sideways. "You smell too good. I smelled you before you even entered the room."

...

He reheated the food; it was all home-style cooking. Tang Wan had been independent since she was young and had some culinary skills of her own, but she could never reach Xia An's level.
"You're amazing. You can cook? Do your parents go out often?"
The first thing to recover after a serious illness is one's appetite. Tang Wan had been filled with worry for so long that she had lost her appetite, but now she shoveled rice into her mouth rapidly, even faster than Xia An.

Xia An said, "My mom's cooking is terrible, so I'm self-taught."
That wasn't true, of course. Lin Jiajia had come yesterday and left Xia An twelve thousand yuan for the website design fees, and had helped prepare some food for the kid while she was at it. Xia An asked himself, if Tang Wan wasn't so pretty, he wasn't sure if he'd be willing to share Auntie Lin's cooking with anyone.

Tang Wan secretly hiccuped, rolled her eyes, and pointed at the stir-fried eggs with tomatoes and the cabbage with tofu. "I can make these two. Tomorrow, you can taste my flavor."
"..."
Xia An almost choked. *Taste your flavor?* Even for a math major, surely she should have the basic expressive abilities of a graduate student? Speaking with such ambiguity would lead to big trouble.
"No need to rush. Maybe in a few days."
"Okay."

Halfway through the meal, Tang Wan put down her chopsticks and spoke to Xia An solemnly: "As you said, we are 'comrades' now. As I understand it, that means friends, right?"
Xia An nodded while holding his rice bowl.
Tang Wan smiled, and with the one on her face, there were three crescents in the world at that moment.
"That's good. You helped me when I was at my absolute lowest, so I consider you a friend, from now on."
"..." *Quite the little inversion of syntax.*
"But Xia An, I don't know how to make friends. Let's shake hands. I really thank you."

Across the table, Tang Wan extended her hand. Xia An took it briefly.
Tang Wan: "Your hands are very nice."
Xia An: "Yours too."

Tang Wan acting so solemn was just her way of saying: "Give me a few days, I need to think about what to do next. Don't—please don't give me any hints, let me think for myself. Life has to go on eventually."
Xia An stopped talking, nodded, and smiled at her, showing encouragement.
At this, Tang Wan truly became happy and stopped pretending to be at ease. She took the initiative to wash the dishes and asked in the kitchen, "Why do you want to register a domain name?"
"That Auntie Lin who scolded you for being 'improper' is planning to invest in an internet project, so I'm helping her with it."
Xia An knew she had seen it on the computer just now; with the ability of a top student from Zhejiang University, understanding mere English was perfectly normal.
Tang Wan laughed openly, "She helped me a lot too. When I get the chance, I want to treat her to a meal as well."

Xia An finally understood. This girl was so simple that she expressed her gratitude by "treating the other person to a meal." *Very good, that’s very Northeast.*
Xia An said, "Like you, she’s a woman with a lot of backbone. She’s looking for like-minded partners to research a plan to get rich. Once you sort out your next steps, you might as well work with her on something."
Tang Wan tilted her head and thought for a long time before saying, "But I don't know anything about the internet."
"What do you know?"
"Dou Dizhu."
*Playing cards, huh?* Xia An was good at that too.

...

Tang Wan wasn't sleepy anymore, but Xia An was exhausted. After learning he had stayed up for two days and two nights, Tang Wan urged him to sleep, warning him he might die from overwork.
"I'll help you with it." She pointed at the domain registration page and said, "I don't know how, but you can teach me."
*You teaching me to help you is fine, I suppose...* Xia An couldn't quite adapt to her language expression system, but he accepted her suggestion.

He taught Tang Wan how to press F5 to refresh the page. "Every three minutes. As soon as you see this button turn green, it means it's available for submission, so click to apply immediately."
Tang Wan nodded firmly, indicating there was no problem.
Xia An said, "This is important, very important. It's worth a lot of money."
*How much could a webpage be worth?* Tang Wan wanted to ask, but she didn't.
Xia An offered, "It's worth tens of millions. If we miss it, it will have a huge impact on me."
"Pfft."
Tang Wan sat cross-legged on the chair, waved her hand, and said, "Go to sleep. As soon as you wake up, I'll have earned you those tens of millions."
Then, she expertly opened the Dou Dizhu game on Xia An's QQ, wearing a serious expression, ready to sweep the board.