Chapter 143: Finding a House
The "President's Wife's Permanent Ownership House" in the urban village, which was modified by the "Jianbing Man Foundation", stood silently behind Yu Ling like a huge, cold irony.
Yu Ling stood in a narrow, sewage-filled alleyway, a small suitcase at her feet. The chill of the early autumn evening breeze blew through her thin clothes. She hugged her arms tightly, her fingertips digging deep into the flesh, trying to use the pain to suppress the oppressive cold and humiliation.
Gu Qianqian's face filled with malicious glee, the property deed with a twisted cover soaked in dirty coffee, and the silhouette of Zhao Chen standing by the window of a private jet on her phone screensaver... played over and over in her mind like the cruelest slow motion, cutting into her last bit of defense.
Ran away.
He really ran away.
He bought out everything between them with a "permanent ownership" house soaked in coffee.
The immense sense of absurdity and a feeling of being completely hollowed out made her almost unsteady. Her stomach ached with emptiness, cramping. She needed food, shelter, and... to survive.
Work.
Yes, she still has a job. She is also the chairman of Starlight Technology and the largest shareholder with a 35% stake! This is her only, last resort and dignity!
This thought was like a shot of adrenaline, forcing her to straighten her back. She dragged her suitcase and stumbled to a relatively clean corner at the end of the alley. Ignoring the strange looks from passersby, she slid down to the cold wall and sat down. With trembling hands, she dug her phone, its screen cracked but barely working, from her shoulder bag.
The screen lit up, cracks spreading like a spiderweb. She took a deep breath, and with a determination bordering on self-torture, she opened the mobile banking app.
Log in.
The Account Overview page loads.
Yu Ling's eyes were fixed on the screen.
The first account: Xinghui Technology shareholder dividend account.
Balance: 0.00.
Second account: personal savings account.
Balance: 3.87.
The third account: securities account.
Holdings: Starlight Technology (SH)... Quantity: XXX million shares... Market capitalization: A dizzying string of zeros, followed by units: 100 million yuan!
A fortune of billions!
Available balance: Three dollars and eighty-seven cents!
The huge sense of irony was like an icy tide, instantly drowning her! She was like a beggar guarding a mountain of gold but about to starve to death!
Xinghui's stock price has soared due to the joining of Wang Chongshan's team and the buying spree of the "mysterious major shareholder". Her wealth has also increased, but this pile of cold numbers cannot be exchanged for a bowl of hot soup noodles or a roof to shelter her from the wind and rain!
No dividends!
As the chairman and largest shareholder, she holds the power to make decisions, but the company is in a period of rapid expansion, with all profits being reinvested in production and strategic reserves! She receives no cash dividends! This is the rule of the game of capital!
Yu Ling bit her lower lip so hard she could taste blood. She exited the banking app, her fingers white from the strain, and opened the apartment rental app.
The screen shattered, the image warped, but she forced herself to focus. Her finger slid down the "price range" filter, from "unlimited" all the way down, and down again... Finally, trembling, it settled on that glaring number: "500-1000 yuan/month."
Haicheng, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money. She knew exactly what this price range meant.
The app page refreshed, and the listings that popped up were like cold slaps in her face:
"I built a loft next to the railway tracks in the north of the city. The monthly rent is 600 yuan, one month deposit and one month payment. I pay for my own utilities. There's a shared bathroom and no gas."
Image: A dark, narrow space with a sloping roof that almost touches the head, mottled and moldy walls, and a worn steel bed as the only piece of furniture. Outside the window is the blurry outline of a train whizzing by.
"A single room in the West City Chemical Industry Zone, rent is 550 yuan per month, one month deposit and three months payment, move-in ready (one mattress only), good ventilation (next to the chemical plant exhaust vent)."
Image: A small space crudely partitioned off with plywood, barely able to fit a stained mattress. Outside the window is a huge factory chimney belching grayish-white smoke.
"A cozy basement in the south of the city, 800 yuan a month, two deposits and one month's rent, private bathroom (requires manual water pump), warm in winter and cool in summer (summers are hot and humid, winters are freezing cold)."
Image: A cavernous space, walls dripping with water, the floor damp, a single dim lightbulb as the sole source of light. The so-called "private bathroom" is little more than a simple squat toilet and a rusty faucet.
Yu Ling's fingers slid across the cold screen, her heart sinking with each listing. Humiliation coiled around her heart like poison ivy, tightening ever tighter.
Once upon a time, she was the hostess of Yundingshan Villa 1601, enjoying top-notch security and butler services. Now, she had to find a place to live in this pile of "cockroach houses" that exuded the smell of mold and despair?
The huge gap and a deep sense of powerlessness made her almost breathless. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced them back.
cry?
Who are you crying for?
Gu Qianqian is waiting to see the joke!
Zhao Chen is having fun in the Caribbean Sea!
This world will not be kind to you because of your tears!
She clutched her phone tightly, her nails practically digging into the cracked screen! Her gaze, like a sharp knife, scanned the disgusting listings. Finally, she stopped at a listing for a shared room not too far from Xinghui Technology (meaning the commute was acceptable) for 900 yuan a month.
"Sharing a second bedroom in a run-down old apartment in the east of the city, 9 square meters, one-third deposit, female only, clean and with a regular sleep schedule."
The room is pitifully small, barely crammed with a single bed and a shabby wardrobe. The walls are covered in peeling wallpaper, and outside the window is a clutter of antennas. There's no picture of the common area (the living room), but Yu Ling can imagine it.
That's it!
No matter how bad it is, it’s better than sleeping on the streets!
She seemed to have used up all her strength and clicked the "Contact Landlord" button.
The call was answered almost instantly! An extremely impatient male voice with a thick local accent blared like a machine gun:
"Hello?! Renting an apartment? Which one? The one with the second bedroom for 900? One-third deposit and three-thirds payment! Cash! Can you book it tonight? If not, don't waste my time! There's a line behind you!"
"Cash?" Yu Ling's heart sank. "Can't I transfer the money?"
"Transfer? That's too much trouble!" the other party scoffed. "Cash! Hand over the money and the keys! Rent it if you want!"
One deposit and three payments, 900*4=3600 yuan.
She only had three dollars and eighty-seven cents in her card.
The huge despair once again flooded Yu Ling like a cold tide! She could even hear the landlord's rough breathing and impatient smacking of lips on the other end of the phone.
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