Chapter 4

I turned around and saw a punk with blond hair and a sleazy air all over him swaggering over.

"I'm the landlord. You were looking for me?"

He squinted his eyes and sized me up from head to toe.

"Where's Mr. Lawson?" I frowned.

My apartment had always been managed by Mr. Lawson from the agency, and he had been very responsible.

"Looks like you've done your homework and know my uncle's surname," he said smugly. "I'll be honest with you, my uncle's on a business trip. This place is my turf now!"

He jabbed a finger at my nose. "I've already heard all about you from these beauties. I won't rent my place to someone like you! If you've got any sense, grab your junk and get the hell out!"

I looked at him coldly. "Do you know whose name is on the property deed before you tell me to get lost?"

"It's my uncle's place, of course, the deed should be in his name! What, are you saying your name's on the deed?"

The blond punk had a disdainful look on his face.

Wendy tried to persuade me. "Stop causing a scene, Jessica. Since the landlord is already here, you should just move out."

The punk ignored me and swaggered into the apartment, wandering around for a while.

When he came back out, he glared at me viciously. "Hey! Where's that Lego set on the TV cabinet in the living room? Did you steal it? That was a limited edition worth 40 grand! Hand it over right now!"

The Lego set?

My niece liked it when she visited last time, so I gave it to her.

"Why would I need to inform you when I'm giving my own belongings away?"

"Your belongings? That belonged to the landlord, which means it belongs to my uncle!"

The punk jumped angrily.

Sharon immediately stepped forward to back him up. "We can testify! That Lego was already there when we moved in. How could it be yours? It's obviously the landlord's!"

Wendy frowned. "Jessica, you'd better get it back quickly. Stealing is illegal. If the landlord calls the police, you'll be in serious trouble."

Watching them sing in perfect unison, I only felt it was utterly absurd.

"Alright, just call the police then," I said flatly.

My indifferent attitude completely enraged the punk.

"I can't believe you can still be so arrogant after stealing something!"

He slapped me hard across the face.

With a sharp smack, my ears rang, and a metallic taste spread at the corner of my mouth.

Wendy stopped the punk, who was about to strike again, and said, "Forget it. It's hard to get back something that's already been given away. Jessica, how about you just pay for the Lego set instead? Since the landlord says it's worth 40 thousand dollars, just pay him the money. It's easy for you to make money, so this is nothing for you. Just pay the landlord and get this over with."

I laughed angrily.

That Lego set looked big, but in reality, it was just a model I had bought for 600 dollars.

Now, I finally knew what was going on. The way they had been exchanging looks with the punk meant they had set me up together, trying to scam me out of money.

Seeing that I didn't budge, the punk shoved me hard again. "Did you hear me? Pay up now! Otherwise, I'll call the police and have you put behind bars!"

"Like I said, it was my own property!"

"Fuck! Looks like you want to do this the hard way!" the punk cursed and slapped me again.

I was knocked to the ground, my vision going black.

Helen's eyes spun, and she pointed at my luggage, shrieking, "She's a thief! I'd better check her bags carefully. Who knows what else she stole from me!"

As she spoke, she squatted down and started rummaging through my suitcase.

She pulled out a gold necklace, a flash of jealousy passing through her eyes. She immediately turned around and held it up, shouting, "Oh my god! My gold necklace! I lost it ages ago! I can't believe you're the one who stole it from me!"

"Wendy, Sharon! You should come and check her stuff too! She must have stolen a lot of our things!"

Hearing this, Sharon's eyes lit up, and she also began digging through my luggage.

Like bandits, the two of them pulled out jewelry and branded cosmetics from my suitcase, insisting they were things they had lost and stuffing them straight into their pockets.

Seeing this, the other neighbors who were watching also began to itch with temptation.

Wendy smiled faintly at the crowd. "Dear neighbors, you can go take a look too and see if she stole any of your things."

As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd swarmed forward like locusts.

Bang! The trophy I had won in university was smashed to the ground.

Rip! The sweater my mother had knitted for me by hand was torn apart.

My down jacket was slashed open, feathers flying everywhere.

I even saw a leering middle-aged man, who picked up my underwear, took a deep sniff, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Stop it!"

I screamed and rushed forward to stop them, only to be shoved brutally back to the ground.

Wendy looked down at me from above with an innocent smile on her face. "Don't you think the things she stole might be hidden in the clothes that she's wearing?"

Everyone's gaze snapped onto me at once.

The punk licked his lips. "Strip her! I want to see just how much she's hiding!"

I shouted angrily, "If any of you dare touch me, I will never let you get away with it!"

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see how you're gonna do that!"

As he spoke, the punk reached out to grab my collar.

I struggled with all my strength, but Helen and Sharon pinned my arms and legs tightly to the ground.

Wendy took out her phone and filmed my most miserable state, silently mouthing the words, "Serves you right."

At that moment, I truly regretted inviting them to live with me.

"Excuse me, which one of you is Miss Jessica Wilson?"

A courier in a Flash Delivery uniform held a document envelope and spoke up. "There's a document for her here."

Taking advantage of everyone's moment of stunned silence, I used all my strength to shove away the people restraining me.

I ran to the courier and tore open the envelope.

There was a property deed inside.

I held it high above my head and shouted sharply, "Take a look, everyone! I'm the landlord!"