Reincarnated as a Poor Little Green Tea, Am I Destined to Be Bullied? - Volume 1 Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Still Pitiful to Behold

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There’s… there’s no other way. Even if my “medical skills are poor,” I have to make do with what I have now!

“Meow!”

Lin Yueye first lifted the bedsheet to cover Yuebing, causing her to meow in protest, and wrapped her up like a dumpling to prevent her from causing trouble.

She strode towards the door, cleared her throat softly, and pushed open the rusty iron security door that had been there for years and might no longer serve its anti-theft purpose.

Then…

— A wrinkled face of a plump, unkempt middle-aged woman with a fierce expression came into Lin Yueye’s view.

“……”

It’s not a dude.

Is your class monitor aging a bit too quickly? She looks at least 40 or 50 years old!

“Class monitor…?” To outsiders, Lin Yueye’s voice sounded like that of a weak and sickly person.

But the middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. She impatiently stepped into the small room and sat down on the not-so-sturdy chair without invitation, looking quite annoyed.

“Class monitor? I’m the cook here. It took you so long to open the door after knocking for ages. Why are you young people so inefficient at everything?”

Uh…

It should… not be the class monitor.

As Lin Yueye turned back from the door, she was also thinking that in this situation, it must be someone who came uninvited before the class monitor arrived, and she didn’t know why they were here.

Judging by her attitude, the previous Lin Yueye should have known her; it wasn’t their first meeting.

That’s alright.

Lin Yueye had an all-purpose probing method, a good way to ease the pressure of conversation.

“You… do you have any business today?”

“Didn’t I already tell you when we met the other day? I also sent you a message.” It was hot outside, and the middle-aged woman wiped sweat with her arm. The temperature also added fuel to her already irritable temper. “It’s about the rent. Your contract expires next week. Are you going to pay more for it, or are you not renting anymore and moving out? You said you’d think about it for a few days and give me an answer. I see you haven’t packed your things, though?”

I get it now.

This tone of voice, this air of superiority, this landlord mentality.

She must be the landlord of the rental place, here to collect rent.

Lin Yueye had already glanced at the map on her phone earlier.

This place is very close to Qihai No.1 High School, with good sunlight and ventilation. The rent isn’t too high either, making it a high value-for-money option. It was the result of careful selection by the previous Lin Yueye. It’s a bit small, but with limited finances, there’s no need to waste energy moving and changing places at this stage.

While Lin Yueye was thinking, she looked like a pitiful, bullied person, making the landlady frown and hold back from pressing further for a moment.

— Although Lin Yueye herself wasn’t aware of this at all, she was just lowering her head to think about things.

Having made up her mind, Lin Yueye gently parted her cherry lips and responded softly.

“I want to renew the lease.”

“Are you sure?” The middle-aged woman seemed surprised by this answer. She stood up, puffing, and pointed around, though it wasn’t clear what she was showing Lin Yueye. “If you want to renew, you’ll have to sign for 3 years, and the rent will double. I’ve told you all this before.”

“?”

Do you have any shame?!

The small spark of anger in Lin Yueye’s heart instantly ignited. She knew all too well the face of some landlords who take advantage of people they think are easy to bully and make outrageous demands, but this was the first time she had seen such a brazen face as this middle-aged woman, trying to squeeze every last penny.

But even in an angry state, this little pushover spoke as if she was holding back eight tones of grievance. It was innate and couldn’t be changed.

“Why… I’m in my second year of high school now, and I’ll be taking the college entrance exam soon. I can’t rent for 3 years.”

“You’re still planning to go to college?!”

Why can’t I go to college?! Aren’t my grades pretty good?

Suddenly.

Lin Yueye saw a hint of different emotion in the landlady’s harsh eyes.

It was hesitation, surprise, a bit of relief, but also a stubbornness born from worry about something that made her unwilling to back down.

In the past, Lin Yueye would never have noticed this.

Is it because becoming a girl has made her more sensitive, more observant…? Anyway, this penetrating feeling was quite amazing.

And it was through these subtle emotions, combined with some recent events in Lin Yueye’s life, that she thought of a possibility.

— Could it be that this landlady is afraid I might attempt suicide again and die in her rental property, thinking it would bring bad luck?

If that were to happen, her house would instantly become a haunted house where someone had died, with the soul of a high school girl who died from resentment lingering here. If she wanted to rent it out again in the future, she might not find anyone willing to come even if she lowered the rent by half.

So that’s why she asked earlier, “You’re still planning to go to college?” The meaning was probably, weren’t you depressed and suicidal before? How come you suddenly want to study for college now?

“Anyway, there’s no room for negotiation on this!” But after the final moment of hesitation, the part of the middle-aged woman’s eyes that found it troublesome took over. She waved her hand in refusal, “Anyway, if you want to renew, you have to sign for 3 years, and the rent will double. I’m not targeting you specifically, everyone knows it’s hard to make money this year.”

“……”

This is bad.

She’s planning to go all out, to settle this once and for all.

A brief brainstorm was brewing in Lin Yueye’s mind, which had become much sharper in this life.

Now, what should I do?

If it were her in the past, she would definitely have lost her temper and launched into a barrage of arguments, trying her best to explain the reality that she no longer had thoughts of suicide, attempting to correct the other person’s thinking from her own standpoint.

But in the past, when she did this, the results were almost always ineffective.

In the past, Lin Yueye didn’t know why. Isn’t “reasoning” an effective way to deal with people and situations?

Sometimes, it really isn’t.

For some reason, Lin Yueye’s mind was now incredibly clear.

Since the other party came over so aggressively, it means she had already made up her mind about something from the beginning. If you try to reason with her in this situation, you’re undoubtedly providing reverse proof that her thoughts were correct.

— Because only people in conflict would argue, and where there’s argument, there’s a problem. This would make the troublemaker more convinced of their original thoughts, resolving the conflict by driving away these people they don’t trust, to have some peace and quiet.

If even the temper from when I was a boy is gone, and I have no heart to even argue forcefully…

What do I have now that I’ve become like this…?

What do I have?

A spark of inspiration, a drop of clear thought, fell into the deep ravine of the girl’s heart, stirring up a new train of thought completely different from the past.

【Even I can’t bear to scold you looking like this, of course, I’ll still scold you when I should, hahaha.】

That’s right, Yuebing… what you just said, you’ll scold me when you should.

But that’s because you’re despicable enough, and you know my background and inner thoughts.

But what about those strangers who know that Lin Yueye’s past was indeed painful enough?

Instead of declaring war on the stubborn part of their hearts.

Taking the opposite approach, could it also be a way…

“Lin Yueye? Why aren’t you saying anything? What are you thinking? I’m not forcing you, I haven’t charged you extra, right? To put it bluntly, signing a contract is a mutual agreement. I have other uses for this house, I don’t want to rent it out anymore. If you want to rent, you’ll have to pay more, it’s that simple.”

That simple?

Huh, indeed, for you, driving away a troublesome person is a small matter.

But for me, being homeless, exposed to wind and sun is a big deal, not as simple as you say~

In the next few seconds, the landlady, who was increasingly determined to drive people away, could never have imagined how the situation would change.

That was simply because a layer of misty tears suddenly appeared in Lin Yueye’s eyes after a brief brewing.

There was a bitter smile on her face, showing “the helplessness towards life of someone who originally had thoughts of living but now has thoughts of dying again at this moment”.

Willow by the lake, the sorrowful and pitifully charming girl in the writings of ancient people, looking at it this way, was actually nothing more than this.

“Mm, I’ll leave… I won’t cause you any trouble. Even if you didn’t say it… I would move out on my own. I know, you’re worried that I might still be like before, feeling hopeless and suicidal. Although I felt I’ve been adjusting quite well recently… mm… but you’re right, I shouldn’t just think so myself, I shouldn’t be here.”