Chapter 2 Rent It to Me

"Indeed," Father Ning said, almost clutching his chest at the mere thought of how badly the nice apartment upstairs had been wrecked. "The flooring, the furniture, the walls—practically nothing is left intact upstairs. Who would have thought that a few young men who looked perfectly respectable and with whom we had no grudge could manage to trash a good home like that!"

"That's why I told you before, renting out a place is a nerve-wracking and exhausting business," Nie Guang chimed in with an air of hindsight as soon as his father-in-law finished speaking. "You two are getting on in years. If you're lucky enough to get a hassle-free tenant, then fine. But if your luck is bad like this time—judging a face but not the heart—you end up with such a wretched bunch. At best, it disrupts your rest downstairs; at worst, you get the situation you have now, where the losses outweigh any gains. The rent they paid probably won't even cover the cost of repairs and replacements."

"Who could have known things would turn out so unfortunate this time!" Father Ning sighed.

"It happened this time, but how can you be sure you'll vet them properly the next time and find a good tenant?" Nie Guang shook his head repeatedly. "It's a blessing in disguise that our own home is right underneath. The ceiling got stained, but we can paint it over later, and for other minor damages, we just chalk it up to bad luck and replace them ourselves. If this had affected other neighbors, the compensation we'd have to pay wouldn't be anywhere near our current estimate! This time, it's truly the greatest misfortune among fortunes."

Father Ning nodded and let out a long sigh.

"So now that the place has been messed up like this, what are we going to do?" Nie Guang asked with a deeply worried expression. "If we want to keep renting it out, it needs a major overhaul. A major overhaul means expenses, not to mention time and energy. Nowadays, renters have pretty high expectations for the facilities inside. In its current battered state, finding another tenant will probably be difficult! Besides, renovating takes a lot of time, and the apartment would just sit empty during that period. The clanging and hammering during remodeling would still disrupt your regular rest... Not to mention, whether the next tenant has any decency would purely be a matter of luck!"

Father Ning glanced at Mother Ning. Mother Ning remained silent, and Father Ning merely sighed without responding.

Seeing that neither of his parents-in-law said anything, and with his sister-in-law also keeping quiet, Nie Guang continued, "So, if you ask me, we might as well solve this once and for all! Later, I can help you find some laborers to rip out all the ruined flooring upstairs and throw it away, and toss out the damaged furniture. Once the place is cleaned up, we can put it on the market as a second-hand raw-condition apartment. Who knows, we might even fetch a good price! Housing prices are full of bubbles right now; nobody knows when the market might crash, and by then we'll be stuck holding the bag. It's better to cash out now so you won't ever have to be bothered by tenants again. I have a friend at a real estate agency. If you don't mind, I can have him come over to take a look later. If it's feasible, he can help us figure out how to stage it and sell it for a decent price. Money in the bag is peace of mind—am I right?"

Father Ning was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't want to sell the apartment. I still want to rent it out."

"Dad, you're getting older, your thinking is rigid, and sometimes you're just too stubborn!" Nie Guang's expression turned slightly displeased, and his tone unconsciously grew heavier. "You saw what the place upstairs looks like with your own eyes just now! In that condition, who is going to rent it? Aren't you afraid of running into another group of nightmare tenants who will give you grief?"

"Well... I'll make sure to find someone whose background I know well!" Father Ning stiffened his expression.

Although his eldest son-in-law's words were objective facts, bringing them up like this made Father Ning feel somewhat stifled. Moreover, he wasn't entirely certain he could avoid running into another deceitful tenant. Once bitten, twice shy; having experienced it once, the mere thought of leasing the place out again made Father Ning instinctively feel a vague dread deep down in his heart.

Sensing that his father-in-law's words lacked conviction, Nie Guang smiled and shook his head. "Dad, this isn't the time to be stubborn or act on impulse. You say you want to find someone whose background you know—where are you going to find them?"

That remark left Father Ning completely speechless.

Both Father Ning and Mother Ning had originally come to the city from elsewhere. They did have a few relatives in the city, but they rarely visited them day-to-day, and their friends were basically from their former workplaces. This meant those people had long since settled down and established their lives—where would they find so many people who needed to rent a place and whose backgrounds were thoroughly known?

Father Ning fell silent, and a trace of hesitation appeared on Mother Ning's face.

Naturally, the elderly couple had never intended to sell the apartment in the first place. If they had wanted to sell, they would have done so long ago instead of holding onto it until now. However, what their eldest son-in-law said wasn't completely unreasonable. At their age, getting scammed by tenants like this once was already enough to shorten their lives; if they ran into another unreliable bunch, they really would need heart medication!

The two elderly folks sat in silence, wearing expressions of deep internal conflict. Nie Guang said nothing more, sitting quietly as his eyes swept back and forth across their faces, his calm demeanor carrying a subtle air of inevitable victory.

"Uncle, Auntie," Huo Yan, who had been sitting quietly without speaking, suddenly broke the silence.

Father Ning and Mother Ning instinctively looked over at him, assuming he felt it was inappropriate to stay while they were discussing family matters and wished to take his leave.

"Rent the apartment upstairs to me," Huo Yan said.

As soon as those words left his mouth, the expressions of Father Ning, Mother Ning, and Nie Guang changed instantly.

Father Ning was astonished, Mother Ning was pleasantly surprised, and Nie Guang frowned, looking at Huo Yan with a hint of suspicion.

"Rent it to you?" Father Ning was stunned for a moment before remembering that Huo Yan currently lived in the unit's dormitory. Ning Shuyi had mentioned to them before that the public security bureau's dormitory conditions were far from ideal. "Of course you can! If you come to live there, I'd certainly be more than willing! It's just that since you're by yourself, I figured you wouldn't need a place this big, so it never crossed my mind to ask!"

"That's right! If Xiao Huo can move in upstairs, that would be wonderful!" Mother Ning was even happier than Father Ning upon hearing the news.

For one thing, the previous group of young troublemakers had caused endless annoyance and fear, making her anxious; switching to Huo Yan would definitely provide peace of mind. For another, criminal investigation work meant leaving early and returning late, with completely irregular hours. Although Ning Shuyi was a criminal police officer, in her mother's eyes she was still just a girl. Seeing her daughter constantly coming and going alone at odd hours always left her feeling a bit unsettled.

This young man, Huo Yan, was tall and sturdy, rumored to be highly skilled, and moreover their daughter's colleague. If he lived right upstairs, it would mean an extra layer of security for her youngest daughter in daily life, bringing genuine peace of mind.