Chapter 33

The other person didn't reply after hearing Yoda's words. The quiet room allowed the sound of their breathing to be heard. Shi Xing and Yoda held hands tightly; the momentary silence made them both tense.

Yoda glanced at the slightly ajar front door. He hadn't closed it when he came in, thinking he'd be leaving quickly after taking the measurements; it was just ajar. Now, that was perfect. If anything happened, the two of them could simply run over and lock the door.

Yoda gently tugged at Shi Xing's sleeve and traced a line on his palm with her finger. Shi Xing immediately understood Yoda's meaning and gently squeezed her fingertip to indicate that he understood.

Perhaps because Yoda was a woman, the other person's posture softened after she spoke. Noticing this subtle change, Yoda relaxed and continued talking to the person above.

"Who are you? I was here during the day. You can't get in without a key. You must have come to the wrong place." Yoda just wanted to calm both sides down. No matter how the other person got in, as long as he firmly stated that the other person had come to the wrong place, and put the person in a good preconceived position, the other person would be more likely to subconsciously make a choice based on the standard of a good person.

Although still silent, there were no other dangerous reactions. Yoda softened his tone, his words full of consideration for the other person: "There are no windows installed here, it's very dangerous. There are no handrails on the stairs either, it's not safe for you to stand on the top door. You should move in a bit, the ground is all messy from construction, it wouldn't be good if you fell."

Yoda spoke to the other person while glancing at Shi Xing. An eerily quiet atmosphere prevailed; the person above remained motionless, which was strange. Just as Yoda was contemplating whether to continue speaking or seize the opportunity to leave, the person above finally responded.

"I'm from the renovation team. I'm leaving late, I'll be leaving soon."

Upon hearing the other person say he was from the renovation team, Shi Xing gave Yoda a questioning look. Yoda carefully recalled the renovation workers he had encountered, but couldn't quite remember if this person was among them. Each time Yoda came, he spoke with the foreman, though the accent seemed somewhat similar to the foreman's.

Yoda shook her head slightly, unsure herself. But she continued speaking familiarly to the person above: "Ah, it's you, Master. It's so late, it's too dangerous for you to be doing renovations alone in there. Besides, I already told Master Liu this morning that work must stop during non-renovation hours. This community is very strict now. If renovations outside of designated hours affect other residents and get complaints, it will affect the renovation progress."

Shi Xing was right behind them, and the people on top didn't sense any danger. Yoda gradually became bolder and even said considerately, "Master, you should hurry up and leave. There's no water or electricity in here, and you can't do any work by yourself."

Yoda was playing better and better when suddenly another person popped out from behind him. Yoda was startled, and his words, which had been flowing smoothly, suddenly became stammering. Just how many more people were hiding here?

However, the person behind them was carrying a glowing, lantern-like object, but with an extra base. By the light, Yoda and Shi Xing finally saw the people on it: a man and a woman, neither of them very tall.

The woman who came out later moved quickly, laughing and saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, we're just staying here for a bit. Our hometown is just too far away, so we're doing renovations here. Staying for a while is no big deal, right?"

The man next to her tugged at the woman's hand, causing the lamplight to flicker.

The woman didn't understand her family's meaning; she genuinely felt there was nothing wrong with living there and was open about it. Both were casual laborers in the team, and they had secretly hidden here when no one was looking, planning to settle in once everyone else left. Since they were both doing renovations, living here meant they could start work earlier in the morning—what was wrong with that?

The woman's voice sounded young, but her personality was quite straightforward: "I listened in there for a while. My husband is just not good with words. We live far away, and the round-trip fare is quite expensive every day. Don't worry, young lady, we are honest people with good reputations, and we would never damage anything inside. Besides, it's all empty here, so there's nothing that could be broken, right? Haha."

Yoda saw that the other person spoke sincerely and didn't seem to be lying. He completely relaxed, but was puzzled: "Do you all stay here at night? But how do you stay without windows? It's so high up, and it's so windy at night."

The woman didn't seem to care at all, and smiled frankly: "What's the big deal? We're all out here working, aren't we? It's okay if there are no windows. I'll just use that oil paper to seal it up for now. Anyway, we carpenters don't see this as a big deal. We can just seal it up and live there."

He then proudly told Yoda, "We're not staying here for free. We get up as soon as we open our eyes in the morning and start working, and we don't rest until very late at night. All the extra work we do for the owners is free, which makes up for the cost of staying here. Everyone benefits."

Yoda wanted to try to persuade the other person to leave, mainly because it was really unsafe here. She never thought that anyone would live in an unfinished house. Not to mention that it was dusty everywhere, it was impossible to live in without water and electricity.

Before Yoda could even speak, Shi Xing already knew what she wanted to say. He gently squeezed Yoda's hand, met her gaze, and then gently shook his head, signaling her to leave.

Yoda was confused, but still went along with Shi Xing's meaning: "Please be careful. We're leaving now."

As the two came out, Yoda couldn't help but say to Shixing, "It's too dangerous for them to live inside. We should let them go to a safe place to live."

Shi Xing looked at Yoda, who had been carefully observing the movements inside the room and suspected there were still people inside: "You don't know how many people are living inside. If a conflict breaks out, it won't be good for us. Your safety is the most important thing. You can go back and talk to the designer in charge here. But these kinds of things usually just end up being left unresolved."

Yoda was somewhat agitated: "How could this be? This is unreasonable! We can stop it, why don't we?"

Shi Xing: "Even the most unreasonable things have happened. If he stays there, he can save on travel and accommodation costs. If you don't let him stay, who will be responsible for his losses?"

Yoda was disappointed. Logically speaking, Shi Xing's method was correct, and he had been somewhat naive, not considering things more thoroughly. But he couldn't help looking at Shi Xing. If he hadn't been injured, Shi Xing wouldn't have been so worried about his safety. Would Shi Xing have made the same choice in this situation?

"hiss."

Yoda fell into deep thought, blindly following Shi Xing. It wasn't until he heard Shi Xing cry out in pain that Yoda looked down and discovered that Shi Xing's elbow was badly scraped. As they walked, tiny beads of blood seeped out, forming a continuous stream that dripped down.

"When did you get injured? It's quite serious." Yoda stopped and pulled Shi Xing's arm to examine it carefully.

"It's nothing, I just accidentally scratched myself. Let me take you home first." Shi Xing casually wiped away the blood that was about to drip down, his tone calm. The situation was urgent just now, and Shi Xing had shielded Yoda behind him. There was a half-built staircase next to them, filled with various miscellaneous items. That's probably when he got scratched.

How could Yoda possibly go home by himself at this time? He insisted on taking Shixing to get his wound bandaged. Even a minor injury can cause discomfort for a long time if not properly cared for. Fortunately, Yoda persisted. When they arrived at the hospital, they discovered that not only was his elbow scraped, but his ankle had also been bumped, and it was already swollen.

Only after carefully checking and confirming that Shi Xing had no other wounds did Yoda let Shi Xing go back.

When Yoda told Designer Wang about the workers living on the construction site without permission, just as Shi Xing had predicted, no one spoke up.

No one objected, and the project was completed smoothly. Progress was rapid, the homeowner was satisfied, payment was made quickly, and both the workers and the designer were happy. Yoda felt helpless; it seemed only he had taken this matter seriously.

Although Zhou Liu had left, the two still kept in touch occasionally. When Yoda mentioned people living on the construction site, Zhou Liu's reaction was indifferent: "What's the big deal? In my hometown, many people build a frame house first and then slowly renovate it when they have more money. Some even build it floor by floor, and people still live there. Sister, if I didn't not have a key, I would want to move in too."

Yoda retorted irritably, "What did I say? That's dangerous. The wind is so strong in high-rise buildings, and there are no windows, no electricity, and no water. How can anyone live there?"

Zhou Liu said helplessly, "You're a local, so of course you haven't experienced this. The first thing most people do after graduation is rent a place. I used to complain about the environment in the university dorms, but now I can't afford to rent a place in the same area and with the same environment. I looked for apartments from the Second Ring Road to the suburbs. If I didn't want to be a little more respectable, I would have liked to live under a bridge."

Yoda was completely speechless and stopped thinking about the topic. Instead, she asked Zhou Liu, "Have you found a new job?"

Zhou Liu said smugly, "Of course, they don't even know who I am. With my brains, I found it as soon as I left the company."

Yoda asked curiously, "Which company?"

Zhou Liu: "Who would still go to a company? The pay is low and there's so much to worry about. I'm going to work for myself now."

Yoda: "What?"

Zhou Liu said enthusiastically, "I now specialize in designing for online stores, providing a one-stop service from navigation to product listings and product details. Moreover, I can make modifications according to the client's requirements at any time."

"Many online stores nowadays, especially women's clothing stores, update their products incredibly quickly, so there's never a problem finding orders. And if you do a good job, your products will sell well. I haven't been doing this for very long, but I've already built up a small reputation."

Yoda listened to Zhou Liu's detailed explanation and teased him, "Wow, you're something else. I bet before I even design a house for you, I'll be looking at the product details page you designed when I buy clothes."

Zhou Liu: "Then I'd better hurry up and work hard. Every page of the design is like a brick and tile of my future house."

Hearing Zhou Liu's lively and energetic tone, showing none of his previous listlessness, Yoda felt relieved.

New things are constantly emerging, and perhaps we should learn to accept the ways other people do things now.

Thinking this, Liu Si's message popped up: "Sis, it's extremely urgent, come back immediately."