Chapter 164: Steal the House! The Desperate Mother, Wang Qin!
"Alas, the money I have is dwindling. Should I find somewhere else to rent?"
Wang Qin's graceful oval face was tinged with worry as she looked around. Even though it was a bit out of the way, a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment with good renovations in a place like Shanghai cost six thousand a month.
[Location: Old Residential District - Corridor]
The hallway smelled of damp concrete and old cooking oil, a stark contrast to the sterile, lavender-scented air of the Xu Family manor she had called home for so long. Wang Qin sighed, her fingers tightening around the strap of her worn handbag.
Although her income at the Shanghai Xu Family had been substantial in the past—enough to buy designer bags without blinking—she had given most of her money to the true young master, Xu River, out of guilt and a sense of duty. Now, looking at her bank balance, she only had a few tens of thousands left. It was a terrifyingly small number for a woman who still had to support her son, Xu Ping'an. In the ravenous maw of Shanghai's economy, this money wouldn't last long at all.
"I must find a job as soon as possible, but at my age, will it be difficult to find work?"
Thinking of this, the worry on Wang Qin's face grew even deeper. A shadow of insecurity clouded her gentle eyes. The job market was cruel to women over thirty, favoring the young and energetic.
In reality, her worries were somewhat unfounded regarding her appearance. Although she was nearing forty, time seemed to have treated her with exceptional favoritism. Her figure and skin were still very well-maintained, glowing with the luster of a ripe fruit at its peak sweetness. She had a full, voluptuous figure, and her skin was as fair and smooth as fine porcelain. Many female office workers in their twenties, exhausted by overtime and takeout food, weren't as well-preserved as she was; she was naturally beautiful.
Especially her ample bosom, which was incredibly impressive. It was a weapon of mass destruction that defied gravity, heaving slightly with every anxious breath she took.
At this moment, Wang Qin was preparing to go out, dressed in an elegant floral long dress. The material was a soft, breathable silk blend that clung to her body as she moved, ruthlessly outlining her curvaceous, full figure. The floral pattern, rather than making her look old-fashioned, enhanced her gentle, maternal temperament. The undulations of her body as she walked made her appear even more mature and alluring, like a peony in full bloom, dripping with morning dew.
Her brown braided hair rested on her ample bosom, the dark strands contrasting sharply against the pale skin of her neck, making it difficult for people to look away. On her graceful and refined oval face, her sparkling almond eyes exuded a gentle, tender, and virtuous aura—the kind of face that made men want to tear down her defenses and see her lose that composure.
This was a mature and beautiful woman! A true "Milf" in every sense of the word.
Wang Qin finished tidying up and was about to leave. Just as she was about to lock the rusted metal door, the sound of heavy, shuffling footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by a voice that made her skin crawl.
"Ms. Wang, what a coincidence, I was just looking for you!"
Wang Qin froze. She recognized that voice—thick, phlegmy, and laced with false cheer.
"Oh, landlord, what do you need me for?"
Wang Qin turned around, suppressing the grimace threatening to break her polite mask, looking surprised at the middle-aged man in front of her, the landlord Qian Haofu.
The landlord, Qian Haofu, was in his forties, but looked older due to his lifestyle. He was pot-bellied, his shirt straining against a stomach built on grease and cheap beer. His face was perpetually shiny with sweat, and his sparse hair was combed over in a futile attempt to hide his baldness. At this moment, his narrowed eyes looked at Wang Qin with a beaming smile, but behind that smile, a flicker of ardour flashed—naked, hungry lust.
He had been eyeing Wang Qin for a long time. Ever since she moved in, he had found excuses to come by—checking the pipes, checking the meter, anything to catch a glimpse of her. Such a mature beauty was simply the best of the best!
He wasn't like those young men who appreciated thin, pale, and childlike figures. To a man of his experience, those were like unseasoned porridge. No, slightly plump was the true weapon for real action, he thought, his gaze lingering on the curve of her hips. It felt incredibly good to hold onto something substantial.
Wang Qin's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She could physically feel his gaze crawling over her body like slime. Although she was gentle and tender by nature, she wasn't foolish. Years of navigating the complex politics of the Xu Family servants' quarters had given her some intuition. How could she not know that the landlord, Qian Haofu, was making advances on her?
She immediately used her bag to shield her chest, blocking his lecherous line of sight, and subtly took a few steps back to maintain a safe distance. She forced a polite, stiff smile and said:
"Mr. Landlord, I have an urgent matter to attend to and need to leave. What is it you wanted to see me about?"
Qian Haofu chuckled, the sound wet and unpleasant. He stepped closer, invading her personal space, the smell of stale tobacco wafting from him.
"Nothing much, just to talk about raising the rent. Starting next month, the rent will be eight thousand!"
"What? Raised to eight thousand?"
Wang Qin's eyes widened in shock. The bag in her arms slipped slightly. She immediately showed a troubled expression, then said with some anger:
"Landlord, didn't we sign a yearly rental contract? It's only been half a year, and you're raising the price? That's a violation of the agreement!"
The landlord, Qian Haofu, simply spread his hands, feigning helplessness, though his eyes danced with mockery.
"If you're unwilling to accept, you can move out. Of course, I won't return the deposit. Prices in Shanghai are skyrocketing, Ms. Wang. I have to eat too."
"You…"
Wang Qin's face flushed with anger, a lovely shade of pink spreading from her neck to her cheeks. Her body trembled with indignation, causing a mesmerizing sway that Qian Haofu watched with greedy eyes. She finally gritted her teeth, her knuckles white as she clutched her bag.
"Alright, then I'll move out next month."
She felt a wave of despair. Moving required money. A new deposit required money. But staying here at this price was impossible.
If she were still half a housekeeper for the Shanghai Xu Family, Wang Qin could find a way to deal with this landlord, Qian Haofu. A single phone call to the Xu family's legal team would have crushed this man like a bug. But now? She was just a fragile woman with a child and no job, stripped of her backing. What could she do?
She could only swallow this insult!
Just then, the landlord, Qian Haofu, suddenly stepped sideways, blocking Wang Qin, who was about to leave. He chuckled, his gaze dropping to her chest again.
"Ms. Wang, don't be so hasty. You don't have to raise the rent, or even pay rent at all, but…"
At this point, the landlord, Qian Haofu, looked at Wang Qin with meaningful, shifty eyes, licking his lips unconsciously.
"We are both adults. If you could just… accompany me for a few meals, maybe chat a bit in my room…"
Wang Qin immediately understood what the landlord, Qian Haofu, meant. The insinuation was so vulgar it felt like a physical slap.
"You wish!"
She angrily retorted, her voice trembling not with fear, but with sheer repulsion.
After saying that, Wang Qin's pretty face showed a hint of anger, and she quickly tried to sidestep him to leave. She would absolutely not accept such a thing, and she felt utterly disgusted by this greasy, pot-bellied landlord, Qian Haofu. The mere thought made her want to vomit.
However, just at this moment, the atmosphere in the dingy corridor seemed to shift. The air grew heavy, and a faint scent of expensive agarwood incense drifted in, overpowering the smell of damp mold.
Wang Qin suddenly saw an incomparably handsome young man walking towards her from the stairwell.
He wore a bespoke charcoal-grey suit that fit his tall frame perfectly, devoid of logos but screaming of astronomical wealth in its cut and fabric. His hair was styled with effortless precision, and his face… it was a face that seemed carved by the gods, possessing an arrogant, noble beauty that demanded submission.
Her eyes lit up, and she thought to herself, this young man is so handsome, even more good-looking than those big stars on TV. He looks like a prince walking through a slum.
However, Wang Qin didn't pay too much attention beyond the initial shock. She wasn't that kind of frivolous woman; otherwise, with her looks, she wouldn't have been single for so many years. She lowered her head, intending to hurry past this noble stranger who clearly didn't belong in this rundown building.
However, just as Wang Qin was passing by, the handsome young man stopped and called out to her. His voice was magnetic, low, and smooth, like a cello being played in an empty hall.
"Hello, are you Xu Ping'an's mother, Ms. Wang Qin?"
Wang Qin stopped in her tracks.
"Eh, eh, I am. What's wrong?"
Wang Qin covered her small mouth with her hand, looking surprised at the handsome young man. Few people should know that she was Xu Ping'an's mother. Since leaving the Xu family, she had kept a low profile.
This handsome young man was, of course, Shen Anyu.
Shen Anyu stood there, his hands casually in his pockets. His gaze swept over Wang Qin, analyzing her instantly.
'Mature. Vulnerable. Desperate. The prompt regarding the 'Milf' archetype was accurate. She is indeed a high-quality resource,' Shen Anyu thought, his inner voice cold and calculating. He could see the stress lines around her eyes and the cheapness of her handbag, contrasting with the natural, high-maintenance beauty of her body.
He smiled, a practiced, charming expression designed to disarm, as he looked at the mature beauty in front of him, Xu Ping'an's birth mother, and slowly began:
"Regarding your son, Xu Ping'an, I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."
Wang Qin frowned, her maternal instincts kicking in. She scrutinized Shen Anyu. He didn't look like a thug or a scammer—he was too rich for that. He looked like someone from her old world, the world of the elite.
She thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.
"Please, come in."
She unlocked the door and invited him back into the rented apartment. She didn't close the door fully, though, leaving it ajar—clearly still cautious of being alone with a strange man.
"Damn it, where did this pretty boy come from?"
The landlord, Qian Haofu, seeing this scene, muttered softly under his breath. He stood there, forgotten, his face twisting with jealousy. He looked at Shen Anyu with extreme displeasure.
He hated handsome pretty boys like this the most. They had it so easy. A female university student he once supported—spent thousands on—was enticed away by a pretty boy with just a few sweet words, causing him to lose both money and face. And now, this stranger was walking into Wang Qin's apartment while he was left in the hall?
"Bah! Probably a gigolo," Qian Haofu spat on the ground.
He thought his voice was very low, barely a whisper, but Shen Anyu's hearing was excellent. As a martial artist at the peak of the Innate Realm, even the sound of a falling leaf was audible to him. He heard it clearly.
Shen Anyu stopped at the threshold. He didn't turn his body. He simply turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the landlord, Qian Haofu.
For a split second, Qian Haofu felt like he had been plunged into an ice cavern. Shen Anyu's eyes were indifferent, devoid of emotion, looking at him not as a human, but as a stain on the floor. A hint of coldness flashed in those deep pupils—a Killing Intent so concentrated it felt like a physical weight.
Shen Anyu gave a subtle, almost imperceptible look to a shadowed corner of the stairwell behind the landlord—a signal to Aunt Xiao, who was secretly protecting him from the shadows.
'Clean up the trash later. Don't let it stain my eyes,' was the unspoken command.
Then, he ignored the landlord completely, stepping into the apartment as if entering his own palace.
A mere small landlord in Shanghai wasn't worth Shen Anyu's personal intervention; it would be demeaning to slap such a lowly creature personally. A single glance was more than enough to seal his fate.
…
[Location: Wang Qin's Apartment - Living Room]
The apartment was small and somewhat cluttered, but Wang Qin had kept it meticulously clean. Still, Shen Anyu could see the peeling wallpaper and the cheap furniture.
"Please have a seat, sir, and some tea."
Wang Qin invited Shen Anyu to sit on the beige fabric sofa. She moved to the small kitchenette, her movements flustered. She brought a pot of tea and a plate of cheap snacks and sliced fruit, placing them on the coffee table.
Then, she smoothed her floral long dress beneath her hips before slowly sitting down across from him.
But even with such a graceful, modest movement, the physics of her body were undeniable. As she sat, her ample bosom bounced slightly with the momentum, the heavy spheres straining against the silk fabric, revealing just how substantial they were. The neckline of her dress dipped slightly, offering a tantalizing glimpse of the deep, snowy valley between them.
Shen Anyu's gaze inadvertently swept over the fruits on the small table—pears, ripe and full of juice—and then his eyes flickered to Wang Qin's chest for a fraction of a second, drawing a silent comparison.
Then, he looked at Wang Qin's face with a serious, grave expression.
Wang Qin's heart thumped against her ribs. Feeling such a serious atmosphere, and seeing the lack of a smile on this nobleman's face, she couldn't help but sit up straight.
She adjusted her posture, head up, chest out—a movement that unintentionally thrust her assets further forward—and looked at Shen Anyu nervously, her hands clasping her knees tightly.
"Sir, what's wrong? Has something happened to my son, Xu Ping'an?"
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. Her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling more rapidly.
"Is he in trouble? Did he offend someone?"
The more worried she felt, the weaker her mental defenses became. If something hadn't happened to Xu Ping'an, how would an outsider know about her mother-son relationship with him? Besides the people from the Shanghai Xu Family, others should not know.
As soon as she thought of this, Wang Qin became extremely anxious, her eyes reddening slightly with the threat of tears.
Shen Anyu was amused inwardly, enjoying the sight of her unraveling. This was the easiest way to control a mother—through her child.
'Panic. Despair. Rely on me,' he thought.
However, he maintained a serious, almost sympathetic expression on his face and said in a deep voice, lacing his tone with urgency:
"Xu Ping'an is currently in detention for fighting and injuring someone. The situation is very serious! The other party has powerful connections and is refusing to settle."
"Ah, is Ping'an injured? Sir, tell me, is my son Xu Ping'an injured?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Qin no longer cared about being cautious or reserved. The dam of her emotions broke. She lunged forward, closing the distance between them instantly. She grabbed Shen Anyu's sleeve with both hands, her grip desperate and trembling, and urgently questioned him.
She didn't even notice her ample bosom brushing against Shen Anyu's arm, the soft, warm pressure flattening slightly against his bicep as she leaned in, her tearful eyes pleading for answers.
Her son, Xu Ping'an, was the most important person to her. She cared too much. How could she not be anxious at the thought of Xu Ping'an being injured in a fight?
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