No way. Could it really be such a coincidence?
Without letting it show, Lin Muyan took the key out. She could clearly feel the vibration traveling up through her hand, the moment she let go, the key would surely go flying.
And right now she had another overwhelmingly strong feeling: this key could open the very door in front of her.
“So the owner of this place is finally going to show themselves? In all the time I’ve lived here, I’ve never once seen the owner of this household turn up.”
Rong Muchen sized up the villa, the one that sat one terrace above the Rong family home, with curiosity, then turned to Lin Muyan.
“Muyan, you lived here longer than I did. Do you have any impression of the people who own this place?”
Lin Muyan shook her head. Naturally, everyone living in this stretch of Half-Mountain Villas was from a wealthy family, but among them were no shortage of fiercely private types who never associated with the neighbors at all.
Though she’d lived here all those years, she’d only ever crossed paths with a handful of households. The Shen family had their own social circle, and the owner of this house clearly wasn’t part of it.
Lin Xiao took out the client’s key and opened the front door.
The furnishings inside were plainly some years old. With no one to tend the place for so long, cobwebs had gathered in every corner, which, in the Half-Mountain Villas, was nothing short of shocking.
In the most auspicious location by feng shui [1] the art of harmonious placement believed to bring good fortune jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2620905_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2620905_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); in all of S City, this multi-billion-yuan mansion had somehow become an abandoned house no one even glanced at. Who would believe it if you told them?
“It’s strange, too. The commission letter for this house turned up out of nowhere in our president’s office a few days ago. The more we looked into it, the more shocking it got, no one remembers how the commission came to us, but all the paperwork is in perfect order, and every bit of it is on file. The client is someone who died abroad, far from home.”
Lin Xiao said there was a huge sum of money held in escrow with a third-party institution. The instant their company completed this commission, that commission payment would land in the account, which was why their president had assigned someone to follow up.
Hearing this, Lin Muyan was already a little thrilled inside.
A commission letter appearing out of nowhere, origins unknown, the whole thing happening a few days ago, it all lined up.
The bullet comments blew up too.
【No way. There’s no way it’s really this much of a coincidence, is there?】
【No question now, the Golden Shovel is absolutely a mystical artifact far beyond this era. The key Lin Muyan dug up looks a lot like the one her brother just used, and the timing and everything else all line up.】
Lin Muyan drew a deep breath and said to Lin Xiao:
“Brother, would it be all right for me to take a look at the commission letter?”
Naturally Lin Xiao wouldn’t refuse his own little sister’s request. He handed the commission letter over to Lin Muyan, then said:
“The client didn’t directly provide any information about who the property is being transferred to, which is exactly why this has been so hard to handle.”
“Then how are you supposed to confirm it, to find the person?”
Lin Muyan had already finished reading the commission letter. To her surprise, the client had been kind enough to even prepay all the various fees the transfer required, deed tax included, which meant the person receiving the property would get this mansion for free.
Lin Xiao took out a fingerprint-comparison device and said, “The other party provided this. They said whoever’s fingerprints match is the person we’re looking for.”
The moment Lin Xiao finished speaking, Lin Muyan stuck out her finger.
A “beep” sounded, and then the mechanical voice slowly came on.
“Fingerprint match successful.”
Lin Muyan: …It really is me. The Golden Shovel is freaking awesome—!
Lin Xiao: !!
Rong Muchen didn’t understand what was happening, but half a beat later he suddenly pointed at Lin Muyan in astonishment.
“Muyan, you’re the transfer recipient on the commission? You know the owner of this place?”
Lin Xiao finally caught up too, and he was beyond thrilled.
“Sis, who’d have thought you were my client! This is just too incredible!”
Both of them were happy for Lin Muyan, and the bullet comments scrolled by in a blur.
【It really is. Could this Lin Muyan actually be the goddess of fortune reincarnated? Jiaojiao’s the protagonist, and even she doesn’t have luck this absurdly broken, does she?】
【Whatever the Golden Shovel digs up has to be a treasure, looks like it’s true. So far, every single thing Lin Muyan has dug up has been a huge boon to her. In her hands, the odds of the Golden Shovel turning up treasure are practically unbeatable, she’s already surpassed Jiaojiao.】
【This is a disaster. This was supposed to be Jiaojiao’s golden finger, and now she’s got it hogged. How is our Jiaojiao supposed to claw her way back to the top three months from now?】
By now Lin Muyan had taken out that key, and after a comparison, it really was the front-door key. Lin Xiao was over the moon.
“Muyan, I’ve already reported to my supervisor. We’ll get the paperwork done right away, and this house will be yours!”
Rong Muchen was excited too. “Muyan, my grandpa says we’ll be moving here to live for the time being as well. We can be neighbors again, back to the way it was, getting together to hang out.”
But at this, Lin Muyan’s expression stayed cool. She wasn’t as excited as the two of them.
Before, it had been the Shen family and the Rong family who were neighbors, now it was Lin Muyan herself who’d be the Rongs’ neighbor. How could that be the same?
Before, she’d been the Shen family’s young miss, and Rong Muchen was the future heir on whom the whole Rong family had pinned its high hopes.
And now? She was nothing but the poorest, most penniless homeowner in all of the Half-Mountain Villas. How could it be the same?
Still, getting a luxury mansion for free, and one situated even higher up the slope than the Shen villa, at that, meant she no longer had to fret over finding a place to ride out the apocalypse.
This would be the safe house from which she braved the end times. There was no way she’d refuse.
Just as the paperwork reached its final step, only a few signatures and seals left, with the mansion on the verge of becoming Lin Muyan’s, a shrill voice cut through the air.
“Hold it! Lin Muyan, you’d better explain yourself. How did you come to be the transfer recipient of this mansion?”
At some unknown point Mrs. Shen had appeared inside the villa with Shen Jiaojiao in tow, and they’d brought along quite a few staff members.
“Miss Lin, we’re the management of the property developer and the estate management. We now suspect you of unlawful seizure. If you can’t give us a reasonable explanation, we’ll be calling the police.”
A Half-Mountain luxury villa meant billions of yuan. Even a commercial powerhouse like the Shen family would covet it.
What’s more, plenty of hidden wealthy types out there couldn’t buy a house in this place no matter how much they wanted to, and yet here Lin Muyan was getting one for free, without having to fork out so much as half a coin. Anyone who heard would be green with envy.
Mrs. Shen’s eyes were already full of calculation as she fixed her stare on Lin Muyan.
Lin Muyan’s brows knit tightly. She’d guessed these people had all been summoned by her adoptive mother, the moment they walked in, they’d come on aggressive.
Sensing the situation turning bad, Lin Xiao took a stride forward and planted himself in front of Lin Muyan, his attitude hard.
“I’m the commissioned party for this villa. The client placed the full authority for the property transfer in the hands of my company. Through professional procedure, we have confirmed that Ms. Lin Muyan is indeed the rightful heir to this house. The paperwork and documents are all right here, you’re welcome to examine them closely.”
Hearing this, the several executives exchanged glances and hurried over to gather around and leaf through the relevant documents.
Lin Xiao threw Lin Muyan a look and said softly:
“Don’t be afraid, Sis, Brother’s right here. Nobody’s going to take your house from you.”
“If they dare threaten you, I’ll fight them to the bitter end!”
Lin Muyan was deeply moved. Her big brother had only just graduated too, with little experience of the world, and yet, facing these aggressive “people of higher standing,” he could stand up to them head-on for her sake. This protectiveness, she kept it in her heart.
While the executives were busy flipping through the documents, Mrs. Shen hadn’t been idle either.
She steadied herself and studied Lin Muyan for a while, unable to shake the feeling there was something fishy about all this. A fake heiress who’d only been driven out a few days ago, how had she become, in a matter of days, the new owner of a long-vacant Half-Mountain mansion?
“When was the transfer process for this house initiated? Lin Muyan, when did you come to know the owner of this villa?”
Faced with her former adoptive mother’s blunt interrogation, the last sliver of affection at the bottom of Lin Muyan’s heart was nearly worn away.
“Mrs. Shen, what exactly do you mean by that?”
References[+]