Chapter 536 That’s Not Fruit, That’s Our Peaceful Life

Chapter 536 That’s Not Fruit, That’s Our Peaceful Days

True to form, Zuo Zuying worked quickly. Just a week into the semester, he showed up to see Su An, toting a huge bag of fruit with him.

"Hey, gorgeous, is Su An in the dorm? Can you call her for me?"

Zuo Zuying stood downstairs, shouting up at the girls above.

Jiang Liping, who was upstairs, spotted him and hurried to Dorm 206 to fetch Su An.

"An An, An An, your... *ahem*... very good friend is here to see you."

Su An stuck her head out of the dorm and looked down, only to see Zuo Zuying standing below like a preening peacock, casually greeting the onlookers.

She barreled downstairs. "What are you doing here?"

Zuo Zuying narrowed his eyes. "I’ve got news for you. Didn’t you ask me to look for a place for you? Found a good one—let’s go check it out."

Su An eyed him skeptically. "Really?"

Zuo Zuying thrust the bag at her. Su An looked down and saw a large bag of oranges and a bunch of bananas. "What’s this for?"

Zuo Zuying flipped his hair dramatically. "Oh, my mom told me to give them to you. Take them upstairs first."

"Uh-huh." Su An carried the fruit upstairs. Zhang Chunling and the others, having heard Jiang Liping’s call, curiously stepped out of the dorm and leaned over the corridor railing to look down. When they saw Su An coming up, they quickly ducked back inside.

Su An placed the fruit on her bed and turned to leave, but after a few steps, she halted mid-step. She glanced back at the others in the dorm and growled, "If anyone dares touch my fruit, I’ll end you!!!"

Zhang Chunling, Zhou Yuanning, and the others flinched instinctively, lowering their heads in silence.

Su An huffed and walked away.

Only after hearing her footsteps fade did the dormmates finally breathe again.

Zhou Yuanning’s gaze swept from Liu Jinmei’s face to Zhang Chunling’s. Coldly, she said, "Did you hear her? Whoever touches her fruit—I’ll end you. Don’t even think about it! If anyone screws me over, they’ll die before I do!"

Zou Yan stared at the large bag of fruit on Su An’s bed and scowled. "Not only can’t we touch it, we have to guard it. No one from other dorms can come in and mess with it either. We don’t have Chen Hongyan’s pull to switch dorms whenever we want!"

"Let’s take turns staying in the dorm during meals. No outsiders can come in. That Su An is a total psycho—she might actually make our lives hell."

"We’ve finally got some peace, we can’t afford any more trouble."

For once, the entire dorm was in agreement—they would protect the bag of fruit on Su An’s bed together.

That wasn’t just any fruit. It was their peace of mind. It was their future.

Su An followed Zuo Zuying outside. After exiting the university gates and turning left, she stopped and pointed at his car parked by the roadside. "We’re not driving?"

Zuo Zuying halted, turned back, and gave her a light push on the shoulder. "It’s just a short walk. Why drive? Come on, it’s right ahead."

"Ahead?"

Su An was puzzled. The nearby housing had been snatched up ages ago—how could there still be vacancies? The only time places became available was when seniors graduated each year, but by then, new students would flood in. Housing near campus was always in high demand.

Zuo Zuying grunted. "Money talks—there’s always a place. Stop asking and just come see."

Just three minutes from the school gate, diagonally across the street, they arrived at a building where the landlord lived downstairs, running a small shop. The entire second floor was available.

"See this door? It’s separate. Even though the landlord lives downstairs, you’d have your own private space—no hassle." Zuo Zuying pointed at a small metal door next to the shopfront.

"The landlord originally used this place herself, but I managed to talk her into vacating it. Her son works on Central Street, and the daily commute was wearing him out. I offered a higher price, enough for him to rent a place near his workplace with some money left over each month. After discussing it, they agreed to clear out the second floor."

"You wanted a place that could double as an office, right? This should be enough for you. It's three bedrooms and a living room with a bathroom. If you're serious about setting it up, I can find some workstations, chairs, and dividers later to arrange in the living room—you’ll be all set."

Su An followed him upstairs to check it out. Safety-wise, it was fine—it was close to the university, and the ground floor was lined with small shops, so there’d probably be folks around late. There was a metal gate downstairs and a heavy wooden door on the second floor.

The place was bright, roomy, and clean. The only downsides were the high rent and it might get noisy late.

Zuo Zuying clapped his hands, strutting like a proud rooster. "So? Touched?"

Su An nodded. "Yeah, touched. How much?"

"750 a year."

"Whoa—" Su An let out a low whistle.

"Do you know how much a full-time factory worker in A City makes in a year?"

Zuo Zuying gave her a look. "Just tell me—do you want it or not?"

Su An hesitated, then relented. "Yeah, I’ll take it."

"Here, the keys. The two big ones are for the metal gate downstairs, the small one’s for upstairs, and this one’s for the bedroom."

"I’ve already paid the rent for a year."

Su An quickly said, "750, right? I’ll pay you back."

Zuo Zuying waved her off. "No need."

Su An froze, then protested, "No, I can’t have you covering that."

"C’mon, don’t be like that? I still owe you money—you think I’d pay for you? I’ll deduct it from the 200,000 I owe you."

With that, he pulled a deposit slip from his pocket and handed it to her. "It’s February now, so I’m paying you back a month early. I owed you 200,000, minus 750 for rent and 100 for the deposit. The slip shows 199,150—we’re square now."

Su An took the slip and checked it. "Alright, you really thought of everything. I hadn’t even agreed yet, and you already deducted the money."

Zuo Zuying grinned. "Big dreams don’t worry about small change. Besides, are you short on cash? Why sit on all that cash if you’re not gonna use it?"

"No classes this afternoon, right? Come on, I know a great spot."

Su An looked up. "What kind of place? Now that the place is rented, I should get it ready."

Zuo Zuying tugged her toward the door. "Just toss a few bucks to someone to clean it top to bottom—no need to do it yourself. Give the landlady downstairs some money later, and she’ll take care of it. Let’s go eat something good. While I was house-hunting, I found a food street out back—they’ve got everything—pastries, barbecue, fresh sugarcane juice, the works."

Su An’s eyes lit up. "Grilled meat?"

"Yeah, all kinds."

"You’re on!"