Chapter 20 Rent Collection
Fan Wujiu thought that after a good night’s sleep, everything would improve.
The next morning, he stepped out of his bedroom and saw Xie Bian filling a cup with hot water from the water dispenser in the living room. With a forced smile, he greeted him, “Xiao Bai, good morning.”
Xie Bian didn’t respond. He simply grabbed his cup and returned to his own room, treating Fan Wujiu like air.
Fan Wujiu: “……”
It seemed things weren’t going to get better.
Recently, Xie Bian had found a new drama series that had run for over ten seasons, enough to keep him holed up in his room for at least ten days or half a month. He locked himself in his bedroom and refused to communicate with Fan Wujiu unless Fan Wujiu broke the door down, forcefully confessed, kissed him, and took him to bed in one fell swoop. Only then could he salvage Xie Bian’s previously shattered dignity.
But Fan Wujiu didn’t dare.
So, the cold war dragged on.
Fan Wujiu longed to see Xie Bian, but he knew that Xie Bian didn’t want to hear anything right now. He lingered outside the door for a long time, sighing silently.
Once the golden arrow lost its effect, Xiao Bai would understand his suffering, Fan Wujiu thought, trying to find solace in his misery.
If the golden arrow had hit any pair of strangers with no prior connection, they would have effortlessly fallen for each other without a hitch. But it just so happened that one of them was a stubborn, dead-set person, who had spent millennia doubting himself and couldn’t bring himself to take advantage of the situation, even knowing the other was under the arrow’s spell. The other had already harbored feelings for a thousand years, and the arrow made those feelings grow stronger, yet it also magnified the insecurity of his long-held secret love. Upon sensing the other’s hesitance, he too retreated into self-preservation.
Under the influence of the golden arrow, Xie Bian had already crossed some boundaries several times. However, Fan Wujiu stubbornly believed that Xie Bian only wanted to be with him because of the arrow. Each time he tried to avoid him, Xie Bian would pull back even further.
It was a hopeless situation.
Those involved were too confused, but the onlookers were getting anxious.
Their neighbors were particularly worried about them.
In Room 202, Cupid asked Venus, “Father, should I shoot golden arrow at Hei Wuchang to speed things up for them?”
Cupid believed that love among mortals was simple. There was nothing a single arrow of love couldn’t solve. If there was, then two arrows would do the trick.
Venus recalled the seriousness in Fan Wujiu’s eyes that night, his words so careful and weighted: “I didn’t dare pluck it. Even to smell its fragrance, I had to be cautious.”
He shook his head. “Forget it. He cherishes Bai Wuchang so much that he would never want to be with him in such a crude and forced way. To him, that would be a desecration of his flower. He must come to his own realization and pluck it with his own hands.”
Cupid sighed. “This is the most complicated love I’ve ever seen.” The gods on Mount Olympus were passionate and bold in their pursuits. He had never seen two people so clearly in love yet so restrained and hesitant.
During these days, Fan Wujiu rarely saw Xie Bian. The only time he would catch a glimpse of him was when Xie Bian, dressed in his impermanence uniform, was needed for work. If it weren’t for the fact that collecting souls required both the Black and White Impermanence, one responsible for gathering the soul, the other for scattering the spirit, Fan Wujiu might have suspected that Xie Bian didn’t even want to work with him anymore.
Even when they were forced to work together, Xie Bian remained distant. He didn’t speak to Fan Wujiu, even when Fan Wujiu tried to start a conversation. Coldly, he would finish his task and leave, completely acting like a colleague just going through the motions, as though it were all business.
Their bond, the brotherhood they once had, seemed to be completely gone.
Cupid even began to wonder if Xie Bian had been struck not by a golden arrow, but by a lead arrow. Only someone struck by a lead arrow would avoid others so thoroughly. After all, a golden arrow should make someone want to throw themselves at the other person. Convinced that his arrows must have been defective, he hadn’t watched any cartoons lately and had been focusing on improving the golden arrows instead.
The cold war between Fan Wujiu and Xie Bian was so obvious that even the usually indifferent King Yan had noticed.
One day, after Fan Wujiu finished reporting his work to the King of Hell, Yanluo asked, “Why isn’t Bai Wuchang with you today?”
The Black and White Impermanence were usually as close as brothers, inseparable even outside of work. They had even gone together to request a change of uniform before. But recently, they seemed to be keeping their distance.
Fan Wujiu: “……He’s busy today.” Busy watching dramas at home, to be exact.
Yanluo: “Has he been busy these past few days?”
Fan Wujiu: “……Yes.” Xie Bian had been home, binge-watching dramas for the past few days.
Yanluo didn’t meddle in the private lives of his subordinates, so upon hearing this, he simply said, “Then when you both have some free time, remember to collect the rent for the apartments this month.”
Fan Wujiu’s face went numb. “Understood.”
King Yan never missed an opportunity to squeeze every bit of effort out of his subordinates.
After receiving the task, Fan Wujiu returned to the apartment and stood alone in the empty living room. Suddenly, he realized that maybe it wasn’t so bad for King Yan to keep overworking them.
The task assigned by King Yan meant he had an excuse to ask Lao Bai to join him, which meant he could finally see and talk to him!
Fan Wujiu had been reduced to such a pitiful state.
In the past, collecting rent was something Fan Wujiu and Xie Bian always did together.
He gathered all his courage and knocked on Xie Bian’s door. “Xiao Bai.”
There was no response.
Fan Wujiu pressed on, speaking to the silence. “King Yan asked us to collect the rent together.”
Inside the room: “……”
Not a single movement.
Fan Wujiu pressed his ear to the door and waited for a while, confirming that Xie Bian had no intention of even getting out of bed and moving.
Fine. It seemed that even invoking King Yan didn’t make Lao Bai want to respond.
An angry Xie Bian was incredibly stubborn.
Fan Wujiu sighed. It looked like he would have to go collect the rent alone this time.
“I’m leaving now.” He called out to the door, not caring whether anyone inside responded.
Inside the bedroom, Xie Bian stared absently at the computer screen, seemingly engrossed in his show.
However, the video had long been paused, and his ears were attuned to the sounds outside. Once he heard the sound of the door closing, confirming that Fan Wujiu had left, he finally hit play again.
The drama on the screen was still as exciting as ever, but Xie Bian was distracted.
He slipped off the bed, bare feet meeting the floor, and walked to the window. He lifted the corner of the curtain and watched as Fan Wujiu walked out from the building, preparing to start collecting rent from each unit.
Xie Bian bit his lip, recalling that the complex housed many beautiful female and male demons, all of whom had no boundaries and loved to tease others.
He lowered the curtain and turned to shut down his computer.
Yunluo Apartments housed many demons, all with seductive appearances and bold personalities.
Many of the demons were fond of beautiful appearances and loved to tease attractive people. The skins they took on as demons were fake. Their true forms were a mix of various animals. They could see through each other’s true nature and didn’t care much for one another. The Black and White Impermanence were revered as the two most handsome men in the complex, considered treasures of the district. After all, they had both been human in their past lives, naturally gifted with good looks.
Recently, Venus had drawn attention. Unfortunately, he didn’t like to go out much, so only a few had seen his true form. Those who did were so stunned by his beauty that they declared Venus to be the real epitome of charm, leaving the other demons curious. But until they saw him for themselves, the Black and White Impermanence’s status as the district’s treasures was unshakable.
King Yan was also quite handsome, but his noble status and constant presence in the underworld kept him elusive. The demons didn’t dare to make a fuss about him. The Black and White Impermanence, on the other hand, were handsome but also ordinary workers. They were constantly around the complex, easy to run into, and more relatable. While they were gods, they dealt with ghosts, so the demons didn’t fear them.
In the past, whenever the Black and White Impermanence collected rent, they were always warmly received by the residents. The demons would tease them with their words and linger on them with admiring glances, appreciating the sight of such handsome men.
The Black and White Impermanence knew the demons didn’t mean any harm. They were just following their nature, and over time, the two had become skilled at handling their attention.
But today, with only Hei Wuchang coming to collect rent, the demons were especially excited.
It should be known that although the two handsome men were pleasing to the eye, if they stared at one of them too much, they would attract the icy gaze of the other, making it so that no one dared to look at them freely. Bai Wuchang, though a handsome man, had an air of coldness that made the demons shy away. They didn’t dare to entertain impure thoughts, and even uttering frivolous words felt like sulling him.
Hei Wuchang, however, was a different story. With his long legs, exuding a powerful aura of attraction, he was the perfect dream lover for the demons. They couldn’t help but imagine ripping off his clothes and shouting, “Come to me, hubby!”
Before, with Bai Wuchang always by his side, the demons didn’t dare to say anything too explicit. But now that only Hei Wuchang was around, they felt free to let loose.
As Xie Bian walked downstairs, he saw Fan Wujiu surrounded by a group of beautiful demons.
“Eighth Master, why didn’t Seventh Master come today?”
“Eighth Master, this servant hasn’t gathered enough rent for this month. I wonder if I can repay with my body……”
“You snake demon, if you want to have a one-night stand with Eighth Master, just say it! Being so coy is truly beneath a demon’s dignity. Let me do it, Eighth Master, take me now!!!”
“Ah, you fox demon, aren’t you ashamed? Eighth Master, if the older sister can do it, so can the younger sister!”
“Eighth Master, don’t be so fixated on gender. Little brothers can do it too!”
Surrounded by these flirtatious comments, Fan Wujiu remained expressionless. “Line up, one at a time.” One at a time to pay rent.
“Line up, one at a time, to be served by you?” A cold voice interrupted.
Fan Wujiu, feeling a headache from all the attention, muttered, “You go line up too.” It didn’t matter whether they were asking to sleep with him or not. These demons, who had no sense of human morality, had been flirting like this for days. Fan Wujiu simply translated everything into “line up and pay rent.”
He was just a cold, heartless rent collector.
Fan Wujiu hadn’t fully registered what was happening when the demons suddenly fell completely silent, even parting to create a clear path.
He froze, then looked up to see Xie Bian standing at the edge of the crowd. He was dressed in white, his long hair flowing, and his features as cool and distant as ever.
Fan Wujiu: “……”
Xie Bian let out a soft laugh, his tone impossible to read. “So, the reason you rejected me was because you prefer this style?”
He spoke softly, “You should’ve said something sooner.”
Fan Wujiu: “……” Could he request to be sent to hell? Right now, the human world felt like hell to him.
Fan Wujiu thought Xie Bian would turn around and leave in anger. He was already preparing to push through the crowd to chase after him and explain, but to his surprise, Xie Bian didn’t walk away.
Instead, Xie Bian walked forward, step by step, and under the watchful eyes of the demons, he raised his hand and threw the soul-binding chain. It immediately coiled around Fan Wujiu’s wrist.
“Come with me,” Xie Bian said, his voice cold and deliberate as he glanced around.
“Your soul can only be captured by me.”
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
