Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Wednesday, the day after signing the lease contract, at nine o'clock in the evening, Qinchi arrived at Ping'an Community again.

In the master bedroom of apartment 101, the double-layer curtains were tightly shut. Xu Qiao was controlling five water balls, each the size of a fist, moving along the curves she had imagined.

Under normal circumstances, each psychic's mental energy is fixed and can be replenished through rest or absorption of crystal cores after being expended. However, the level of skill with which psychics utilize their mental energy varies greatly. It's like two equally strong individuals: one proficient in combat, the other relying solely on instinct. The outcome of a fight would be clear and decisive.

After graduating from military school, Xu Qiao had completed three basic missions assigned by the base, each time accompanying Uncle Lu's mercenary squad. With Uncle Lu around, the squad members took good care of her, and Xu Qiao did her best to provide healing support.

However, without Uncle Lu, given the squad's level, they wouldn't have recruited someone as inexperienced as Xu Qiao fresh out of military school.

The mortality rate among mercenaries is too high. When people are gone, so are their connections. In the past six months, none of those squad members had visited Lu Yang, and Xu Qiao couldn't expect them to continue taking her on missions.

Given this, Xu Qiao needed to improve her combat skills to handle both external dangers and issues arising from other psychics when joining unfamiliar mercenary squads.

The five water balls moved along different curves; some ascending, some descending, and others moving horizontally.

Xu Qiao precisely controlled them to complete each curve trajectory at a uniform speed.

This practice had been ongoing for an hour.

The sound of a car parking outside made Xu Qiao raise an eyebrow slightly. Checking the time, she stopped the movement of the water balls. One water ball landed in a lemon tree pot in the corner of the bedroom, while the other four followed her into the living room, dispersing into several pots of low-growing fruits and vegetables. Once the moisture in the air had completely dissipated, Xu Qiao sat down on the sofa, waiting quietly.

Her communication bracelet lit up.

Qinchi: I'm here to see Lu Yang. I just contacted him, and he said he'll be back in about ten minutes.

To Qinchi, Xu Qiao was also his landlord. He guessed she must have heard him park, so he politely informed her.

Xu Qiao: So late, Mr. Qin. Is there something you need?

Qinchi: I want to renovate the room. The design plans came out this evening, and I wanted to get Lu Yang's opinion.

Xu Qiao once again felt the seriousness and politeness of Mr. Qin. Otherwise, he could have simply sent the design plans to Lu Yang instead of coming over in person.

Apartment 102 wasn't suitable for socializing, so Xu Qiao opened the door, just as Qinchi reached the entrance of the unit.

The temperature at night was seven to eight degrees lower than during the day. Qinchi wore black casual pants and a dark gray wool sweater, exuding an aura that still stood out from the local psychics but seemed more relaxed than yesterday's suit and shirt.

"Good evening, Miss Xu," he greeted her with a smile.

Xu Qiao wasn't used to such formal greetings, but Qinchi sounded so natural that she decided to get accustomed to his gentlemanly politeness rather than ask him to call her by her name.

"Good evening. Lu Yang will be back soon. Mr. Qin, come inside and wait. I'll make you a cup of lemon water."

For ordinary psychics, offering lemon water was already a decent reception.

Qinchi smiled. "Thank you."

He took off his shoes at the door and then retrieved a pair of home slippers that matched his demeanor, stepping into the hallway with grace.

Xu Qiao pointed to the sofa for him to sit, while she went to the kitchen to prepare lemon water. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Qinchi hadn't sat down but walked to the planting area near the balcony.

To harvest more fruits and vegetables, many wood-type psychics utilized indoor spaces, and the Xu family was no exception.

Xu Qiao planted scallions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, tomatoes, spinach, leeks, and strawberries. The pots were either placed on the ground or arranged neatly on metal racks.

The bright lights illuminated the lush greenery.

This was what Qinchi could see, aside from the lemon tree in Xu Qiao's bedroom, there were also fig and kumquat plants in the spare bedroom and study.

Xu Qiao had arranged the outdoor courtyard beautifully, and the indoor space was even more visually appealing.

Seeing Qinchi's interest in the fruits and vegetables, Xu Qiao smiled. "Once the vegetables grow, I'll send some to Mr. Qin. They're guaranteed to be pesticide-free."

Qinchi: "Thank you. I enjoy cooking. If you have extra vegetables, I hope I can buy them from you first."

Xu Qiao: "Of course, I usually sell some to neighbors in the same building."

Qinchi returned to the sofa.

Xu Qiao placed the tray on the coffee table, which held a pot of lemon water and three glass cups.

The lemon slices used for the water were dried and homemade from her own lemons, with a touch of honey, making it tangy and sweet, refreshing and delicious.

Qinchi politely praised it and then took out his tablet, opening the renovation design plans and asking Xu Qiao to take a look.

The first image was of the living room.

Deep red wooden floors, soft white walls, light golden ceilings, a luxurious crystal chandelier, and gold elements everywhere: light golden curtains, dark golden picture frames, and dark golden decorations on solid wood furniture. Even the long flower stand with a large pot of roses was light golden.

With the lighting rendering, the overall design presented a rich yet warm, luxurious yet elegant and serene atmosphere. To Xu Qiao, it was a world she could hardly imagine, but when she tried to imagine Qinchi in such a living room, everything seemed harmonious and natural.

Xu Qiao carefully examined the design for a long time before hiding her somewhat complex feelings and telling Qinchi, "It's a very comfortable design."

Comfortable enough to make her envious.

She swiped to the second image, which was the dining room.

The apartments in Ping'an Community weren't large, typically around 90 square meters. The dining room in the Xu family had a four-person square table and a sideboard, leaving little space.

Qinchi, however, had only placed a small round dining table that could hold at most four dishes, with only one chair, the dark golden tabletop seemingly made of very expensive wood.

The small dining table left ample space for the sideboard, which was grand and reflected the light from bottles and mirrors, creating a lavish ambiance.

The third image was the bedroom, which Xu Qiao didn't dare to look at for long. The fourth image was the study, similar in tone to the living room.

The fifth image was the walk-in closet, where Qinchi had converted the spare bedroom into a separate wardrobe!

Thinking of the wardrobe in her bedroom, Xu Qiao, feeling as if she had eaten a raw lemon, didn't even glance at the kitchen and simply started praising it.

Before long, Lu Yang returned, and Xu Qiao took the opportunity to have him entertain Qinchi while she retreated to the study to sulk for a bit.

Once Lu Yang had seen enough, Xu Qiao reappeared in the living room.

Lu Yang said calmly, "It's fine."

He had collected a high rent; thus, he would let Qinchi renovate as he pleased since it wasn't his credits being spent.

Qinchi: "I understand that my renovation style doesn't align with mainstream aesthetics. When I move out, you'll likely want to redo everything. As compensation, I'd like to give you a spatial crystal core capable of storing fifty cubic meters, which will also be convenient for keeping your original furniture from 102."

Xu Qiao: "..."

Fifty cubic meters—larger than her master bedroom!

Lu Yang: "...No need. The furniture is old and wouldn't fetch much anyway."

Spatial crystal cores were exceedingly rare. Even the lowest-grade one-cubic-meter core was hard to come by, and ordinary psychics could only obtain them by sheer luck from beasts. Money couldn't buy them.

Qinchi: "The furniture holds different meanings for you. If you dispose of it now, you might regret it later."

Lu Yang lowered his gaze, "Just lifeless objects; I don't need them."

Qinchi: "How about this? I'll use the spatial crystal core as collateral. When I move out, you can return it to me."

Lu Yang: "No need. What if I lose it? I can't afford to compensate you."

Qinchi: "I have spatial abilities and won't need compensation. If you don't trust me, we can include this in the contract."

Lu Yang: "..."

Do rich people feel compelled to spend their money just because they have too much?

Just as he was about to refuse again, his gaze fell on Xu Qiao's slippers. Pausing, Lu Yang changed his mind, "Alright, I accept your collateral."

Qinchi smiled, "If neither of you object, I'll have the renovation team come over tomorrow. The entire process should take about two days."

Lu Yang looked at Xu Qiao, who also turned to look at him.

To complete such a complex renovation in just two days, Qinchi must have opted for the company's premium service.

After signing a collateral agreement, Lu Yang accompanied Qinchi to 102 and stored all the old furniture and appliances inside the black crystal core Qinchi had pledged.

Once they finished, Qinchi drove away, and Lu Yang returned to 101, asking Xu Qiao, "In TV dramas, I've never seen wealthy psychics casually giving landlords spatial crystal cores. What do you think his background is? Could he be someone hiding from enemies, deliberately renting here under a false name?"

If that were true, his enemies might bring unnecessary trouble and danger to them.

Xu Qiao: "Look at how flashy he is. Does he seem like someone trying to hide? Besides, our neighborhood may be ordinary, but the Secondary Military Academy isn't. If he dares to work there, he clearly isn't afraid of being recognized."

Still unconvinced, Lu Yang searched "Qinchi" online again but found nothing except news articles about people with the same name.

Xu Qiao: "The contract is signed; thinking about it now won't help. Let's get some sleep."

After practicing her psychic abilities for so long, she was exhausted and needed rest to recover her mental energy.

Lu Yang: "You go to sleep. I'll read a bit more."

Seeing the student's tight grip on the mouse, Xu Qiao shook her head and left.

Lu Yang continued searching "Qinchi" for a while longer but found no new information. He then switched to searching for second-hand furniture companies and selected one with good reviews to contact.

On Thursday, when Xu Qiao went to work, Qinchi's hired renovation team hadn't arrived yet. By the time she returned in the evening, she saw a truck parked by the roadside, filled with debris from the old house.

Inspecting the courtyard thoroughly to ensure no damage had been done, Xu Qiao entered the building.

The door to 102 was open, and she peeked inside to see a transparent vacuum cleaner spirit body meticulously cleaning the brand-new dark floor without making any noise.

Looking up at the pale golden ceiling and soft white walls, it was clear that the hard renovation of 102 had been completed in just one day.

At that moment, a man in his fifties emerged from the kitchen area. Seeing Xu Qiao at the door, he quickly assured her, "You're a neighbor here, right? Don't worry, we'll finish mopping the floor and be done. We won't disturb your rest."

Mr. Qin had explicitly stated in the contract that all noisy work must be completed before five PM.

Xu Qiao surveyed the room and sincerely remarked, "You guys are really impressive."

The man, with a simple demeanor, replied, "Mostly thanks to my wife. Her spirit body is a toolbox, and she has an A-level renovation ability."

As he spoke, a middle-aged woman in work clothes, looking slightly tired, emerged from the bedroom carrying a camera.

The man tenderly said, "Let's buy extra groceries later and cook you a good meal tonight."

The woman nodded at Xu Qiao and then scolded the man, "Hurry up and finish. You're dawdling, and we still need to take photos here."

Though the man was being scolded, the transparent vacuum cleaner spirit body seemed to understand and sped up its work.

Xu Qiao smiled and returned to her own home.