Song Yunshen waited at the door for a moment before seeing Yan Zhenxia hurrying over through the half-open door.
"Sorry, I was in the bathroom." Looking haggard, Yan Zhenxia wore an apologetic expression as she stepped forward and opened the door. "You don’t need to change your shoes. Just come right in."
"I just mopped the floor..." the girl beside her muttered softly.
Song Yunshen, however, was well-prepared. Following the "Landlord’s Code of Conduct" Song Mingyuan had sent him yesterday, he pulled out two shoe covers and put them on.
"This will do," Song Yunshen said. "Where’s the bathroom? Let me see what’s wrong with the water heater."
"Okay, okay. Sorry to trouble you," Yan Zhenxia said, leading Song Yunshen toward the bathroom.
Song Yunshen followed behind her. Past the front door was a short, narrow entryway with a shoe cabinet on the left and the kitchen on the right. Yan Zhenxia’s kitchen was very clean. It didn’t have much, but it was fully equipped with the most basic cooking utensils and seasonings.
Further inside was the living room. The Song family’s small, 50-square-meter apartment originally had a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout. Yet, as Song Yunshen walked in, he noticed the living room had long been converted into a makeshift second bedroom. A double bed occupied the space where the sofa should have been, while the original sofa and coffee table provided by the landlord had been shoved toward the side closer to the door.
This instantly made the entire space feel cramped. Song Yunshen didn’t mind much, though. After all, parents naturally wanted their children to have their own space; it was impossible to share a room with them forever.
Song Yunshen just took a quick glance to confirm there were no rule violations, spending the rest of his time admiring the girl nearby. Yan Zhenxia’s daughter was very cute. She wasn’t tall, but she had a great figure. Even though she was wearing loose loungewear, her curves were still full and perky. As a normal guy, Song Yunshen couldn’t completely avert his gaze and couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.
"Ningning, isn’t there still an unopened bottle of soda in the fridge? Go get it for our guest," Yan Zhenxia instructed as she walked.
"Huh?" The girl called Ningning looked a bit reluctant, her displeasure written all over her face. "I’ve been saving that for myself..."
"I don’t drink soda," Song Yunshen said, shaking his head. "A glass of water is fine."
"Okay, okay." Yan Zhenxia offered a fawning smile, terrified of offending him. "Ningning, go pour a glass of water then."
"Okay." Yan Zhenxia’s daughter nodded and obediently went to get the water.
By this time, Song Yunshen had already followed Yan Zhenxia into the bathroom. This bathroom featured a dry-wet separation design. The sink was outside, while the actual bathroom area further in contained a toilet and a shower stall.
Spotting four toothbrush cups on the sink, Song Yunshen raised an eyebrow. As he walked inside, he casually asked, "You have a large family?"
"Y-Yes..." Yan Zhenxia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking slightly embarrassed. "There are four of us in the family."
"In that case, besides the girl nicknamed Ningning, there should be another child," Song Yunshen guessed inwardly. He didn’t press the matter and simply walked over to the electric water heater to begin a basic inspection.
His dad, Song Mingyuan, worked in the power grid sector. Having been exposed to it since childhood, Song Yunshen used to love tinkering with household appliances, so he was quite experienced in this regard.
"Judging by your uniform, are you still in high school?" Yan Zhenxia initiated some small talk to prevent the atmosphere from getting awkward.
Song Yunshen hummed in agreement. As he inspected the heater, he replied, "Right next door at Ningjiang Middle School."
"Oh, right! No wonder your uniform looked familiar." Yan Zhenxia smiled. "One of our children goes to school there too."
"Is that so?" Song Yunshen looked toward Ningning, who was handing a water cup in from outside the bathroom. "Does she study at Ningjiang Middle School?"
"No, no," Yan Zhenxia said, passing the cartoon cup to him. "Ningning is still in junior high."
"Oh, I see." Song Yunshen nodded in understanding. "I won’t drink just yet. Just put it over there."
"Okay, okay. Let me know if you get thirsty." Yan Zhenxia placed the cup outside.
"So this girl is still in junior high..." Song Yunshen thought to himself. "Are junior high girls already this well-developed?"
Closing the water inlet valve, Song Yunshen unscrewed the inlet pipe joint. After some inspection, he finally found the problem. He removed the small metal filter mesh inside, rinsed away the accumulated sand and mud, cleaned it thoroughly, and reinstalled it.
Song Yunshen stood up, dusted off his hands, and said to Yan Zhenxia, "The filter mesh in the inlet pipe was clogged with sand. That’s why the water temperature kept fluctuating and the water pressure was low.
"It should be fine now. Try it tonight, and if there are still any issues, let me know."
With that, he walked out of the bathroom, picked up the cartoon cup on the sink, and downed the water in one gulp. Ningning had been standing to the side, staring intently at the cup in his hand. The moment he finished, she snatched it away, ran back to the kitchen, and began scrubbing it vigorously, paying special attention to the spot where Song Yunshen’s lips had touched. Song Yunshen didn’t think much of it, simply feeling that the cartoon cup looked quite nice.
"Thank you, thank you. Thanks for your hard work," Yan Zhenxia thanked him repeatedly.
Song Yunshen waved his hand to show it was no big deal, ready to head home. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now."
"Okay, okay. I’ll see you out."
Yan Zhenxia didn’t just walk him out the front door; she escorted him all the way to the elevator, closing her apartment door behind her as she did. Just as Song Yunshen was about to press the elevator button, Yan Zhenxia revealed a troubled and embarrassed expression. Wringing the hem of her shirt, she whispered, "Um... Song..."
"Just call me Song," Song Yunshen said. "If you have something to say, just say it, but keeping cats or dogs is a no-go."
"No, no, no, we definitely don’t keep pets." Yan Zhenxia quickly waved her hands. Then, fidgeting again, she asked subserviently, "Um... Song, I just wanted to ask... about this month’s rent..."
"What about it?"
"Could we possibly delay the payment for a few days?"
"Delay until when?" Song Yunshen asked, his heart skipping a beat. He thought to himself, "Is my summer allowance going to be delayed too?"
"Next month... the 12th of next month—oh no, the 11th will do!"
"That’s almost half a month’s delay..." Song Yunshen thought, feeling a bit conflicted. He briefly recalled the WeChat messages Song Mingyuan had sent him last night.
[Song Mingyuan]: This family has it tough. You can help them out with daily difficulties, but rent cannot be reduced or waived. This is a matter of principle. Don’t let yourself be a pushover.
"Delaying isn’t reducing or waiving, so it should be fine, right?" he reasoned to himself.
Song Yunshen could see Yan Zhenxia’s family was struggling financially. Even her daughter would bicker over a single bottle of soda in the fridge. They clearly didn’t have much spare cash.
"I know the landlord has already helped our family a lot," Yan Zhenxia said softly, her head bowed. "In this area, a 50-square-meter apartment goes for 2,200 to 2,500 a month.
"It was out of the landlord’s good heart that the rent was lowered to 2,000 a month for us. Our whole family is incredibly grateful for that.
"But this month is truly a special circumstance. I accidentally injured my leg at work, and I really can’t scrape the money together right now.
"But next month, I promise I won’t fall behind!"
Listening to her rather humble plea, Song Yunshen reached out and pressed the elevator button. "I understand. Then hand it over on the 11th of next month."
Amid Yan Zhenxia’s continuous, grateful thanks, Song Yunshen left Building 17 and returned to Unit 1801, Building 24 in the West District of the neighboring Tangning New Mansion. After pushing open his front door, he returned to his bedroom and took the letter out of his backpack.
"Hmm... Let’s put the tenant and rent issues to the back of my mind for now. I need to seriously consider how to reply to the letter," he thought.