Chapter 9 – House Viewing

The next day, the money arrived in the account. Not only was there the promised 300,000 yuan from Boss Wang, but an additional 100,000 yuan was included as a “consultation fee” for the master’s guidance. Combined with the earlier earnings from the Bronze turtle and the Jade Lotus Platform, this single deal had brought in over 1.4 million yuan. For Jieshui Studio, which often went three years without a major job, this was a substantial windfall.

The old swindler, Sun Chengfeng, was beaming with joy. He eagerly called Wei Yang into his office and slapped a bank card on the desk. “Ah Yang, here’s 500,000 yuan. The password is six eights. We’ll stick to the 60-40 split. I know you put in a lot of effort, but the studio still needs funds to operate. Once our business really takes off, I’ll definitely switch to a shareholding system…”

Wei Yang waved his hand, cutting off the rambling nonsense. “Uncle Sun, you’re being too formal. In our line of work, connections are everything. If it weren’t for the solid foundation you’ve laid over the years, no amount of effort would’ve made a difference.”

These words were music to Sun Chengfeng’s ears. He chuckled and stroked his beard. “Ah Yang, with you saying that, I feel much more at ease. As they say, what’s most important in the 21st century? Talent! Hahaha! With your skills in setting up schemes and me holding the fort, how could Jieshui Studio not soar to great heights? Let’s work hard and make some serious money first!”

The old swindler’s tone was full of ambition, and Wei Yang didn’t bother to contradict him. He simply smiled and said, “I’ll follow your lead.”

“Good! By the way, I have a meeting with Director Li this afternoon. We might need to check out his new villa. Are you free today?” Having secured Wei Yang’s cooperation, Sun Chengfeng quickly moved on to the next task.

Wei Yang nodded. “I’m going to look at a property this morning, but I should be free in the afternoon.”

“Decided to buy a house?” Sun Chengfeng immediately adopted a generous boss-like demeanor. “If you’re short on funds, let me know. We’ll pay for it outright—no need to waste money on bank loans!”

Wei Yang smiled and shook his head. “500,000 is more than enough. I’ve been eyeing a good property recently, and it’s time to close the deal.”

“That’s great! If you need more, just tell me! It’s good to settle down. Our line of work might keep us on the move, but a home is essential. Renting all the time isn’t ideal.” Hearing that Wei Yang was planning to buy a house, Sun Chengfeng was genuinely pleased. Buying a house meant Wei Yang wouldn’t be as eager to leave, which put his mind at ease. Naturally, he was all for it.

“Thank you, Uncle Sun. I’ll head out to view the property now.” Wei Yang took the bank card and left the office. After changing into a suit in his own workspace, he calmly walked out. On his way, he ran into Sun Muhua, who had just woken up and was coming to work. At first, Sun the Otaku didn’t recognize Wei Yang and had already passed him when he suddenly turned around and stammered, “Y-Yang… Brother Yang?”

“Don’t recognize me?” Wei Yang adjusted his glasses. “How do I look?”

How the hell do you look? Sun Muhua’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He gaped like a goldfish for a moment before finally spitting out, “Brother Yang, it’s a shame you’re not an actor. You’d definitely be an award-winning one…”

Wei Yang was now dressed in a well-tailored suit, with thin-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He exuded a sense of calm and professionalism, his maturity and reliability skyrocketing. He looked every bit the elite businessman. What the hell? Were you planning to pick up girls now? Why abandon the tech geek persona?

Seeing Sun Muhua’s stunned expression, Wei Yang nodded in satisfaction. “I’m planning to take on some front-facing work from now on, so I’m testing the waters. Woodenhead, you can’t just live off your dad’s reputation forever. You need to learn some skills too.”

With that, he sauntered out the door, leaving Sun the Otaku devastated. His father was an old swindler with an immortal’s air, and his best friend was a chameleon-like little con artist. Couldn’t the world just let him be a quiet computer nerd?!

Ignoring Sun Muhua’s wounded pride, Wei Yang hailed a taxi and headed to Chaoyang Community in the northern part of the city. His mention of “closing the deal” wasn’t a joke. The post he’d made on a local forum had already gone viral. In this day and age, superstitious people were everywhere, and topics like haunted houses were especially attention-grabbing. In just a week, several second-hand housing websites had seen a surge in listings for the community, all priced surprisingly low. After some preliminary research and a couple of rounds of screening, Wei Yang had settled on a property. He’d arranged to meet the owner today for a viewing. Since they hadn’t used an agent, they’d agreed to meet directly at the community.

The taxi ride took about forty minutes. Chaoyang Community was located in the northern new district, an extension of the city’s expansion plan. The area was a bit remote, but it was close to the new district park, with pleasant surroundings. A few blocks away was the new government building, so it was no surprise that the area was poised to become a new commercial hub. The infrastructure was top-notch, and the occupancy rate and popularity were quite high. However, the scene that greeted Wei Yang was quite different. The community grounds were nearly deserted. The usual groups of housewives chatting and gossiping were nowhere to be seen, and there were hardly any children playing outside. Everyone seemed reluctant to linger in the open.

The property Wei Yang was interested in was in Building 3, located in the western part of the community. The area around this building was even more deserted, with only the occasional curious glance from passersby. But that wasn’t surprising. The developer who had committed suicide had jumped from this very building. Even though the bloodstains had been cleaned up, many residents still remembered the tragedy. It was no wonder no one wanted to linger nearby. Wei Yang, however, didn’t mind. He called the landlord, who said she’d be home shortly. He stood calmly at the building entrance, ignoring the strange looks from passersby. After about fifteen minutes, a bright yellow Beetle slowly pulled up. A young woman in her early twenties stepped out. She had a petite figure, dressed in a Chanel dress, carrying a new Louis Vuitton bag, and wearing brown Gucci sunglasses that covered most of her face.

The woman spotted Wei Yang and was clearly surprised by his appearance and attire. After giving him a once-over, she snorted lightly. “You’re here to see the property? Follow me.”

Without heading straight for the main entrance, she took a detour, avoiding the front door and entering through a side ramp for the visually impaired. Wei Yang smiled and followed the fashionable young woman inside. If the atmosphere in the community was merely quiet, the building interior was downright eerie. A Feng Shui Bagua mirror hung inconspicuously at a corner of the hallway, and the potted plants had been rearranged, as if someone had tried to adjust the feng shui. The woman didn’t linger at the staircase entrance but instead strode into the elevator. She didn’t remove her sunglasses and kept her arms crossed, her expression stern, showing no interest in conversation.

The elevator soon arrived at their floor, but the woman didn’t step out immediately. Wei Yang, ever the gentleman, held the door open and gestured for her to exit. She hesitated for a moment before cautiously stepping out and walking toward the apartment. Watching her slightly trembling steps from behind, Wei Yang’s lips curled into a faint smile as he followed.

“This is it. Two bedrooms, one living room, fully furnished. 700,000 yuan, no mortgages accepted,” the woman said quickly, standing at the doorway and not stepping inside.

Wei Yang didn’t mind her haughty demeanor and walked into the apartment. It was a standard two-bedroom unit, facing south with a simple yet elegant interior. The furniture and household items were all in place, clearly indicating that someone had lived here for a while. However, a thin layer of dust had settled on the sofa armrests, and some miscellaneous items were scattered across the coffee table, suggesting the previous occupant had left in a hurry. From the living room window, the view of the area below was unobstructed. The spot where the car should have been parked was empty, eerily clean.

After walking around the apartment, Wei Yang seemed unsatisfied and tried to open the bathroom door. This time, however, the door wouldn’t budge. From outside, a nervous voice called out, “Seen enough? So, are you taking it or not?”

Wei Yang turned around to see the woman standing halfway inside the room, clutching her handbag strap tightly, her lips pressed into a thin line and her jaw tense. He gently released the doorknob, and her expression relaxed slightly. He smiled faintly. “Miss Yan, can’t I see the bathroom? What if there’s a leak?”

“There’s no leak!” Miss Yan’s tone was sharp, but her resolve was clearly wavering.

Most people would’ve backed off at this point, but Wei Yang didn’t flinch. Instead, he nodded amiably. “Alright, no problem. But Miss Yan, you must know there’s something off about this apartment, right? Could we negotiate the price a bit?”

This was the 12th floor. The developer, who had gone mad for reasons unknown, had opened the window of the vacant 13th-floor apartment and jumped to his death. This apartment was directly below that one, and most people wouldn’t dare take such a risk. Miss Yan immediately denied it. “What’s off about it? Don’t talk nonsense! I’m just in a hurry to sell because I need the money. Look at the interior—where else can you find something like this for 700,000 yuan in the city? And it’s the 21st century—stop with the superstitious nonsense! You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think you can haggle with that kind of talk!”

Wei Yang adjusted his glasses and smiled gently. “I didn’t mean it like that. If I were superstitious, I’d have gone for the apartment above. It’s just that after looking at the layout, I noticed this place has a classic ‘concave wind evil’—the bedroom is sandwiched between two protruding sections, which can create strong air currents. This usually leads to irritability and, in extreme cases, even bloodshed. But I can fix that—it’ll just take some effort. That’s why I was hoping you could lower the price a bit to offset the cost of the feng shui adjustments.”

“Wh-what feng shui…” Clearly caught off guard, Miss Yan’s face stiffened. “What are you talking about? What does my apartment have to do with feng shui?”

“Of course it does,” Wei Yang’s voice lowered slightly, exuding confidence. “People are easily influenced by the feng shui of their living spaces. At best, it can cause discomfort; at worst, it can lead to tragedies like what happened upstairs. Fortunately, the person jumped, so the apartment isn’t too tainted. If someone had died inside, it would’ve been much worse. But Miss Yan, your apartment doesn’t have that issue…”

At this point, Wei Yang noticed Miss Yan’s expression had changed dramatically. He frowned slightly, as if suddenly realizing something, and quickly glanced toward the bathroom before stopping mid-sentence.

Seeing him pause, Miss Yan pressed, “What’s wrong with my apartment?”

Wei Yang shifted uncomfortably and forced an awkward smile. “Nothing. I must’ve misread the situation. I’ll look at other properties then. Sorry to bother you.”

With that, he turned to leave. This time, Miss Yan panicked and grabbed his arm. “What’s going on? The price isn’t set in stone… You need to explain yourself first. What did you mean by that?”

Caught by the beautiful woman, Wei Yang hesitated for a moment before sighing. “Miss Yan, I shouldn’t be the one to say this. I’m just an environmental consultant. I’m afraid I can’t help you with your problem.”

Miss Yan’s expression didn’t relax. If anything, she grew more anxious. “Why are you being so cryptic? What’s an environmental consultant? Oh… you’re not…” She stiffened, as if she’d figured something out.

“That’s right. In layman’s terms, I’m a feng shui master,” Wei Yang admitted, pulling out a business card from his shirt pocket and handing it to her. “I work at Jieshui Studio on Fanglin Road. I’ve learned a few things from my master, but my expertise is limited to feng shui adjustments and environmental consulting. I’m not qualified to handle more advanced cases.”

Hearing that he was a feng shui master, Miss Yan took a step back and eyed him skeptically as she took the card. “So… what’s wrong with my apartment?”

Wei Yang looked at her wary expression and sighed. “I thought the person upstairs might’ve been affected by the concave wind evil, but now it seems the situation is more complicated. Whether the upstairs affected the downstairs or the other way around… I think you know more about it than I do.”

Miss Yan’s face turned pale, and she took another step back. “What do you mean? My place is perfectly fine…”

Wei Yang gave her a complicated look. “Whether it’s fine or not isn’t for me to say. But Miss Yan, I think you should get someone to take a look. Moving out won’t solve the problem. Have you been sleeping worse lately? Having nightmares? Hearing strange noises?”

“Y-you’re scaring me…” Miss Yan leaned against the wall, clearly shaken.

“Infant spirits aren’t something to joke about,” Wei Yang shook his head, revealing the truth as he stepped out of the apartment. “I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. Miss Yan, you should… well, take care.”

With that, he walked toward the elevator, his pace deliberately slow. It didn’t take long for Miss Yan to react. She quickly caught up and grabbed his sleeve. “Mr. Wei, since you’re in this line of work, can you help me? I can lower the price. Let’s talk. I… I never expected things to turn out like this…”

She began to sob, the kind of delicate, tearful crying designed to tug at a man’s heartstrings. Faced with such a pitiful beauty, Wei Yang seemed at a loss. He sighed. “These things are hard to predict. It all depends on luck and fate. But I really have something to attend to today. How about this: if you have any thoughts, we can discuss it another time?”

His voice was soft and reassuring, his tone steady and trustworthy. Even the warmth of his hand on her shoulder was comforting. After a while, Miss Yan seemed to calm down and nodded slightly. With her consent, Wei Yang didn’t linger. He quickly left Chaoyang Community. Outside, the sun was still shining brightly. But as soon as he was out of the community, the seriousness on his face melted away, replaced by a relaxed expression as he hailed a taxi and headed back to Jieshui Studio.