I looked again at this woman. She sat upright with slightly curled long hair draped over her shoulders. Her skin was fair, her figure slender, and the corners of her mouth turned up with a confident sharpness. All in all, she was a real beauty. At first sight of her, I had a feeling there was nothing in this world that couldn’t be forgiven!  

Ben motioned to me, “Yo, Sunny! Come here, I gotta tell you something.”   

“About the rent, right? I’ll pay next month when I get paid. Okay?” I said with an exaggerated smile. After all, I had owed Ben rent for so long.  

“It’s about the house...um...this girl bought the house.”   

“You sold the house?! What idiot would buy this shack that can’t even withstand an earthquake?!” I exclaimed after looking at the woman. Facing homelessness, I had no time to care about her elegance and beauty. I was angry first before saying anything else!

Ben looked awkwardly at the frowning woman for a long time before saying to me, “Pack up and move out tonight. I won’t charge you rent for the past few months!”   

“Ben, how come you’re getting dumber as you get older?! Even if you wanted to sell the house, you should’ve given me a heads up. Where am I supposed to find a new place in this heavy rain?!”  

“Just stay in a hotel for now.” Ben didn't care at all about my feelings.  

“You don't even own the house anymore. Don't talk to me!”  I snapped at Ben, then said to the strange woman, “The house is yours now. Do you want to rent to me?”  

The woman shook her head. “I bought it to live in myself. I don't plan to rent it out.”

I was instantly flustered. “Are you nuts, girl? You're driving a million-dollar luxury car to live in this shack?!Are you deliberately making trouble for me?!”  

The woman ignored my anger and said calmly, “You have one hour to move out...”  

Before she finished, I interrupted, “I’m not moving...Have you ever seen anyone move out without notice?!” Then I plopped down on the sofa next to her. She instinctively moved away.  

I lit a cigarette and surveyed the old house. A sense of loss welled up inside me. For the past two years since I came to Suzhou, I had lived here. In this house, I had gone through the most unbearable period of my life.  

Here I had cried to the clock in the living room and poured my heart out all night to the old floor lamp in the bedroom. Every item in here was like a companion who had suffered with me! Leaving here meant losing my only comfort in life.   

The smoke from my mouth made the woman stand up in disgust and walk to the other side.   

I felt increasingly unlucky, as if misfortune had conspired to run into me today and make me unhappy.   

After a while, Ben said to us, who were in a stalemate, “I have something to do at home. You two slowly figure out the house thing...” Without waiting for a response, as if dropping a hot potato, he slid out the door in a flash, bag in hand.  

Only the woman and I were left in the house.  

...   

Outside the window, the strong wind and cold rain started raging again. Such bad weather made me even less willing to move out. I decided to sit here and waste time with this woman. After all, time was all I had left.   

I struck up a conversation with her. “Miss, may I ask your full name?”  

She responded without a smile, “Is that important?”

“Of course. I have to know which immortal made me homeless on such a cold, rainy night!” 

She ignored the sarcasm in my words and replied coldly, “You now have only 40 minutes left. If you don't move in 40 minutes, I'm calling the police.”

I was about to blow up when my phone rang. I frowned at the woman and took out my phone. It was Lea calling, another annoying woman.  

Impatiently, I answered the call. “What now? Didn't I give you money already?”   

Lea was silent for a moment before saying, “Sunny, it's the weekend tomorrow...Can you come with me to the hospital for a follow-up?”  

“Is the baby in your belly mine? Can't you ask a friend to go with you? Do you think I have nothing better to do?” I retorted, trying to intimidate her into giving up this unrealistic idea.

“You're the only friend I have in this city.”   

“Lea, you're mistaken. We're f*ck buddies, not friends... Do you know what f*ck buddies means?”   

Without acknowledging my words, Lea said softly, “I'm really scared to go alone!If you don't come, I'll just let nature take its course. I won't get the follow-up done!”

I replied patiently, “Didn't you go by yourself yesterday? You should be more familiar with it today.”  

“It's because I went alone yesterday that I realized how terrifying it was!” 

Lea's persistence drove me crazy. I instinctively cursed, “F*ck you!The baby is the result of you f*cking. I should've let you have the baby, raise it to adulthood, and tell him, ‘Your dad is a beast!’” 

Then I heard the beep of her hanging up.  

...

“What a mess!” I lit a cigarette and slapped myself on the forehead. In two years, I had never met such a troublesome f*ck buddy as Lea. Although she swore up and down, I could also swear up and down that the baby wasn't mine! Her saying I was her only friend in this city made me feel even more that she was deceiving me. I saw her post a photo on Weibo last week of her partying wildly with a bunch of people at a bar.   

“Scumbag!”  

I looked up to find the woman had been watching me with extreme disgust the whole time. Since it was only the two of us in the house, the one cursing me as a scumbag was undoubtedly her.  

“Did you eavesdrop on my phone call?” I asked without emotion. I didn't mind her calling me a scumbag either because I couldn't even tell if I really was one.   

“You now have 30 minutes left.” The woman's tone was even colder than before.  

What a troublesome rainy night. After giving all my cash to Lea today, I was penniless. Where could I move to now? The world was so vast, yet there was no place for me, Sunny, to stay.  

After a moment of silence, I said to the woman, “Miss, look at how windy and rainy it is outside. It's getting pretty late too. I definitely can't move out tonight!”  

The woman looked out the window and finally left some room, asking, “When will you move out?”  

“Tomorrow.”  

“What time?”   

“Before 1 pm tomorrow.” I changed to a gentle tone because I was about to ask her for a favor.  

She nodded. “You can go now. Remember to move your things out on time tomorrow.”

I didn't budge and leaned toward her, deliberately acting coy. “Miss...Can you lend me some money?”   

She seemed quite surprised but resolutely said, “I have no obligation to lend you money.”  

“You won't lend me any? Then don't expect me to leave tonight. I have no money. I can't sleep on the streets!”  I said, sprawling on the sofa. “Whatever you do, don't even think about calling the police. This whole thing was unjust of you and Ben in the first place. You said it yourself, shouldn't you have notified me in advance at least so I could prepare?”

She stared at me like I was a plague, further proving her eagerness to get rid of me. Unexpectedly, she said to me, “I have no cash.”   

I stared at her wide-eyed. Saying she had no cash showed her high-end, luxurious and upscale status. Now wealthy people rarely carried cash in their wallets. Their tens of thousands in spending could not be satisfied by the little cash in their wallets.  

“Miss, this is fate! I don't like stuffing cash in my wallet either!” I shamelessly told the truth. There was rarely any cash in my wallet.  

She ignored me.  

I said again, “How about this? Lend me your card, and I'll spend a thousand. I'll pay you back tomorrow when I move out. Or there's an ATM 200 meters away downstairs. If you don't feel safe, come with me...”  

She took out a bank card from her wallet and cut me off, “The password is six zeros. Get everything done by 1 pm tomorrow.”

I took the bank card she handed me and said, "No problem!"

In fact, I wasn't surprised that she confidently gave me her bank card. Ben knew all about my phone number, workplace, and connections. Or perhaps there wasn't much of a balance left on the card.

...

She sat quietly on the sofa. I looked at her again. To be honest, in over 20 years of life, I had never seen such a beautiful woman. She seemed to have an aura that other women didn't. Unfortunately, it seemed we didn't get along well!

When leaving, I said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Miss, do you want to consider living with me? I can cook, give massages. When you're tired from work, I'll give you full service at home and make you feel good..." 

"Get out!" She finally got angry and threw a pillow at me with pinpoint accuracy.