Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 6 - Fear of Suffocation

School was good.

(TL: He talks about School, there are uniforms and all of that but he is in University. So don't get confused)

But Ye Chuan didn't want to go.

While the boys and girls at school were enjoying their youth, he had to worry about what to eat for his next meal, or where to get money. 

His phone was a seven or eight-year-old Redmi, bought second hand for 70 yuan.

Enjoying youth seemed a bit of a luxury.

He just needed to be a sewer rat and die quietly, whether from hunger or illness.

But he quickly discarded that thought. At least now he didn't have to worry about food. 

Two thousand yuan a day was simply too great, and if he got some pills or other items, he might even be able to cure his terminal illness.

As long as Bai QianShuang didn't run away.

Wait, she wouldn't run, right?

Just as Ye Chuan was feeling uncertain, he suddenly noticed footsteps approaching, and then his arm was nudged.

"Hee hee, morning, ChuanChuan!"

The voice was as clear and vibrant as a silver bell. When Ye Chuan turned around, he saw a girl with a ponytail grinning at him. 

She was wearing the same school uniform as him, her long, straight legs moving with a light gait, her ponytail swaying energetically.

"Morning, beautiful Luo Xi," Ye Chuan greeted the girl.

"Seeing you're still alive, I'm relieved."

"Bah, bah, bah, even after you die, Daddy will still be alive." Luo Xi playfully stuck out her tongue, then leaned in closer, her lively eyes sparkling. 

"Eh, why do you look so pale? Did you overexert yourself last night?"

"Yeah, using you as inspiration." 

As soon as Ye Chuan finished speaking, his arm was punched by her small fist.

After all, they had grown up together. After some light banter, Ye Chuan seemed to remember something and took out his phone to transfer 1000 yuan to Luo Xi.

"I owed you 1000, I can pay you back now."

After receiving the 1000 yuan, Luo Xi seemed surprised. This was money Ye Chuan had borrowed from her a long time ago when he couldn't afford tuition. 

She knew his situation, how could he suddenly have money to repay her?

Luo Xi hesitated, but still asked, 

"So, did you… sell something?"

"Actually, I found a rich woman," Ye Chuan said with a straight face.

Luo Xi obviously didn't believe him. She lowered her head slightly, her blinking eyes as if saying, "Keep making things up, I'm listening." 

Ye Chuan said exasperatedly, "I rented out a room in my place, so I'm paying you back first."

"Really? How much rent?" Luo Xi seemed quite surprised to hear that Ye Chuan had rented out his house. 

There were many houses for rent in Ye Chuan's area, and his was quite average in terms of both location and quality, which was why it had been difficult to rent out.

"Two thousand."

"Wow." Luo Xi exclaimed. Seeing her expression, Ye Chuan naturally wouldn't say it was two thousand per day. If he did, the girl in front of him would definitely become suspicious.

Luo Xi looked at the transfer on her phone, but she didn't accept it, shaking her head and sending it back. 

"I won't take it for now, keep it for yourself."

"Why?" Ye Chuan was taken aback. 

Luo Xi's family wasn't well-off either. Her parents had divorced, her mother had remarried and was paralyzed in bed, relying solely on her stepfather's stall for income.

In fact, Luo Xi was slightly better off than him, an orphan. At least she had someone to rely on.

"You're poorer than me. What if you decide to… restart one day? Daddy would be very sad." 

Luo Xi put her hands on her hips and shook her head, then patted Ye Chuan's shoulder earnestly,

"Promise me, you'll keep living."

Ye Chuan: "..."

The next second, he expressionlessly raised his foot and lightly kicked Luo Xi's backside.

"What are you doing?!" Luo Xi hopped a few steps, clutching her bottom, her face red. "I'll bite you!"

"Nothing, just felt like kicking."

"So mean!"

After walking side-by-side for over twenty minutes and then taking the bus for another ten, they finally arrived at the school gate. 

The school they attended was the most famous in the area, boasting not only a large campus but also a large number of students and teachers.

[Silver Mountain Academy] The four large characters were engraved on the giant school gate, looking magnificent and imposing.

"Oh right, ChuanChuan, I heard you broke up with Zhao Ruyan?" 

After entering the school gate, Luo Xi and Ye Chuan walked along the path around the academy lake, and she asked.

"The news travels fast, huh?" Ye Chuan twitched the corner of his mouth. 

It had only happened yesterday, how did Luo Xi know?

"Of course, I'm the academy's little loudspeaker. I have ears everywhere." Luo Xi grinned. 

"Tell me, did you do something to wrong her?"

"It's green" Ye Chuan said simply.

(TL: Being Green or wearing a Green hat is a Chinese slang for being cheated on.)

"Huh?" Luo Xi was stunned, her cheerful expression freezing for a few seconds, replaced by indignation. 

"How could that be? If you don't love someone anymore, you should break up properly. That's too much!"

"Let's go, I'll take you to confront her!" Luo Xi said, grabbing Ye Chuan's hand and heading towards the classroom.

"Forget it, it's over," Ye Chuan shook his head.

"How can you let it go? She betrayed your true feelings!" Luo Xi said.

"I didn't have any true feelings," Ye Chuan curled his lip. 

"I was just after her free meals every day, saving on food expenses."

Luo Xi: "...?"

"Now I've lost my free meal ticket. It's a bit of a pity, but it's no big deal, I don't care anyway." 

Ye Chuan shrugged, feigning indifference. He noticed Luo Xi staring at him, and asked, puzzled,

"What?"

"You're lying," Luo Xi said seriously.

Ye Chuan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Give me some face."

Luo Xi released his hand. She looked at Ye Chuan's expression and said, "Are you about to cry? I can lend you a shoulder to cry on."

Ye Chuan glanced at her. "Your backpack's too big, I'm afraid of suffocating."

He grinned, "Don't tell me you have feelings for me and are trying to take advantage of the situation?"

Hearing this, Luo Xi's cute face puffed up. 

"Hmph, I was worried for nothing!"

With that, she kicked Ye Chuan's shin, her ponytail bouncing as she ran off.

Watching Luo Xi's retreating figure, Ye Chuan's expression gradually calmed, and he silently looked at the scenery across the walkway.

"You're really not honest at all." A voice came from behind him. 

He turned around and saw a girl with short hair looking at him.

She was also wearing the school uniform skirt, her shoulder-length hair as sharp as a knife, looking at him with disdain.

"Only you would tease me, An Shiyu," Ye Chuan said. "Your best friend ran off because of me, you should go coax her."

The short-haired girl, An Shiyu, shrugged. "One lunch."

"Deal."

"Oh? Hit the jackpot?"

(SHMOLL: Who checked the tags? Please tell me it’s not a harem. But seriously, it’s too much to ask from a Chinese web novel. So, let’s go~~)

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.