Chapter 2

I glanced at the livestream. The concurrent views had already hit over 100,000.

I suppressed my anger and forced myself to speak calmly. “Alright, Naomi. Name your price. I’ll give you my answer in two days.”

Naomi snorted coldly, picked up her bag from the sofa, and shot me another disdainful look.

“You should’ve been this cooperative earlier. Now you’ve ruined my mood. I’ve changed my mind. In two days, you’ll pay me 55,000!

“After all, you’ve got some public exposure. You must have plenty of followers, right? Don’t ruin your career over a measly sum.”

She looked smug, certain I had no choice but to swallow the silent humiliation.

I gritted my back teeth and agreed with a forced smile.

After she vanished from sight, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When I opened the livestream, the comments were already exploding.

[Goodness, I’ve never seen such a disgusting landlord. This is extortion, right?]

[This feels scammy. Even the pickiest form of damage assessment doesn’t calculate damage like that. Her beat-up table isn’t worth 25,000 dollars!]

[Exactly! Sasha’s renovation videos are still online. She spent at least thousands on this place. This landlord is clearly doing this on purpose!]

[And her words were disgusting. She actually spread degrading rumors about Sasha!]

[Did she just bite off more than she can chew? Our Sasha has taken down unscrupulous businesses before. Taking down a shady landlord should be a piece of cake, right?]

Many comments were cheering me on. As I read these heartwarming words, the anger in my heart subsided considerably. I looked into the camera and genuinely smiled.

“Everyone, don’t worry. I know how to deal with people like her.

“But as you all saw, she tried to twist facts around. If she posts any nonsense, everyone in the livestream can be my witness.”

The comments flooded with words of agreement. I added a few more reminders, asking them not to share any clips or videos for now.

With Naomi being so confident, I naturally had to give her a little “surprise.”

I could get a lot of things done in two days.

First, I moved my belongings to the new place.

Naomi’s relentless rent hikes had finally pushed me to buy a home.

A well-furnished second-hand apartment in the neighboring complex caught my eye. My savings on hand were enough to cover the full purchase price, so I secured it on the spot after viewing.

Renewing the lease? Not a chance!

She wanted to try and squeeze more money out of me? There was no way!

Still, seeing the place I had meticulously planned over countless sleepless nights, I could not help but feel a pang of sadness.

I truly believed I would stay here for a long time.

From the coffee mug on the shelf to the cream-colored new flooring, every detail was arranged exactly to my taste.

This room had been with me from the days when my social media following started from tens of thousands and eventually grew to millions. Whenever I introduced it to friends and fans, I called it “my home.”

In this unfamiliar city, it was once my only sense of belonging. I even considered using my savings to buy it outright.

Little did I know that, in the end, fate would not allow us to be together.

After moving all my belongings, I called a few handymen over.

I had been smart enough to stash the worn-out wooden floorboards and rusty appliances from back then in a rented storage unit.

She said others might not like my renovations? Fine. I would tear out my modern cream aesthetic decor and restore it to its original state!

In just one afternoon, my flooring was laid, and I flipped the old stuff on second-hand sites. I even saved enough for a nice steak meal.

Anyway, I was not about to leave my belongings for someone like Naomi.

The big TV, the smart toilet, and all the cabinets I had bought myself. I had them all dismantled.

I restored the place to its original state based on photos, and even the hook holes were filled back with putty. The two days were soon up.

Naomi showed up again, banging on the door like a madwoman.

I opened it just a few seconds late. Her tone was already unbearably impatient.

“Sasha, are you deaf? Open the door now!”

When I opened the door, I was nearly blinded by her outfit.

Fur coat, designer handbag, and a chunky gold necklace around her neck. The textbook definition of a nouveau riche look.

Come to think of it, she had earned over 5,000 dollars a month in rent alone without lifting a finger. Over three years, she had made nearly 200,000 dollars off me.

But human nature was always greedy.

After taking my 200,000, she was not satisfied at all. Before even stepping inside, she reached out for more money.

“The two days are up. How do you plan to pay me? Cash or transfer to my card?”

Her words were direct, and she deliberately shifted her stance to reveal a heavily tattooed man with marked sleeves following behind her.

My heart dropped.

Alright then, was she planning to start politely and then resort to threats if the negotiation failed?

But I still mustered up the courage to speak up despite the menacing glare from the tattooed man. “Ms. Lane, I’m not planning on giving you this money.”

Lane froze for a second. Just as she was about to snap, she suddenly thought of something, and her face lit up with surprise.

“You’re renewing the lease, right? No offense, Sasha, but you’ve been living here just fine. Why move at all?

“Sure, the rent went up a bit, but you make decent money with your content, right? For a girl living alone, staying in a familiar place is safe and reassuring. It’s perfect!

“This time, let’s sign a five-year lease. Don’t worry. The rent stays at 10,000. I promise not to raise it again for five years.”

Compared to her first arrogant and domineering attitude, Naomi now seemed downright pleasant.

That was easy for her to say!

5,000 to 10,000? That was double the rent! 120,000 a year, 600,000 over five years. Adding on the 200,000 I paid over the past three years, it was even enough to buy a small apartment.

She really dared to ask for the moon!

I thought sarcastically but kept my smile intact.

“Ms. Lane, why don’t you come inside and take a look first?”

When she noticed I had not mentioned renewing the lease, Naomi’s expression froze for a moment.

Stepping inside, she saw the completely different decor from just days ago and sucked in a sharp breath. Her face darkened like a storm cloud.

“Sasha, what do you mean by this?”