UD | Chapter 27 - The Coffee Table Was Fake, and the Landlady Had Problems Too

The coffee table was supposedly a foreign designer brand. It looked completely ordinary—a sheet of glass on top supported by a few wooden legs—but it was said to be worth nearly ten thousand yuan, and the glass was extremely fragile.

Li Yingzhe had destroyed it with a single punch.

"What kind of landlord puts a coffee table this expensive in a rental apartment? Is she insane?" he complained, wincing when he heard the price.

One punch had cost him nearly ten thousand yuan.

Way too expensive!

Rong Leying sighed.

"Exactly. What kind of saint puts a coffee table worth that much in a rental unit?"

When the landlady told her the price, she had been stunned too. A coffee table worth nearly ten thousand yuan had no business appearing in a rental apartment.

It was both expensive and fragile. If someone accidentally damaged it, they could lose one or two months' salary on the spot.

Tang Chengyun crouched down and examined the table carefully.

"This isn't authentic. It's a replica."

His family was wealthy, and they owned a genuine coffee table from the same brand, so he could easily tell the difference between the real thing and a fake.

This replica looked very similar to the authentic model, but it wasn't the real product.

The production cost was probably less than a hundred yuan.

Installing a cheap fake in a rental apartment and then telling tenants it was an expensive imported item that had to be compensated at full price if damaged...

The landlady definitely had issues too.

The moment he learned it was fake, Li Yingzhe visibly relaxed. Then his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.

"Trying to scam tenants? Investigate her!"

Rong Leying immediately echoed him.

"Investigate her!"

This was outrageous. Renting out a haunted apartment was bad enough, but using a fake luxury table to extort tenants was crossing the line. They absolutely needed to look into her.

Before leaving, Tang Chengyun updated Rong Leying on the recent progress regarding the traffic accident investigation, and he also mentioned Shen Honglian and the taxi driver, Chen Qiang.

Xu Fei's remains had been found in the cesspit behind Chen Qiang's old family home, and the police were currently confirming the identity.

Shen Honglian's remains had been brought back to Dongning, and her spirit had returned as well. Tang Chengyun had just escorted her to Old Master Guan's hospital room.

The main reason he had come to see Rong Leying was to buy more talismans.

He purchased six Advanced Ghost-Seeing Talismans.

Six talismans should have cost one million yuan, but he transferred one and a half million instead.

"Officer Tang, you transferred too much money," Rong Leying said.

"It's not extra. The additional five hundred thousand is a thank-you gift from Grandpa himself. He wanted me to thank you for helping us find Grandma Shen."

Although the old man still hadn't explained how he had met Rong Leying or why he had entrusted her with delivering the letter, she had done the Guan family an enormous favor. A proper thank-you payment was only appropriate.

Getting paid from both sides again.

Rong Leying was secretly delighted, though her expression remained perfectly calm.

"It's all part of my job. If you need more talismans later, feel free to contact me anytime."

"Definitely."

Li Yingzhe looked curiously at the talismans she had given them earlier.

"Master, how much do these kinds of talismans cost? They seem different from the ones Officer Tang bought."

"This is a Beginner Ghost-Seeing Talisman. It only lets you see ghosts for two hours. One costs three thousand yuan."

Then she added,

"But these two are free. Consider it a good deed—I need to accumulate some merit."

Since she had put it that way, neither Tang Chengyun nor Li Yingzhe insisted on paying.

The two officers left Zihua Residential Complex in a hurry. Tang Chengyun first returned to the hospital to deliver the talismans, while Li Yingzhe rushed back to the station to formally open investigations into both Zhao Yong and the landlady who was using counterfeit furniture to scam tenants.

By the time Rong Leying finished washing her clothes, it was almost dinner time.

She packed her important belongings, asked Xu Wei to watch the apartment, and prepared to return to the hospital.

"Master, don't worry," Xu Wei promised earnestly. "I'll keep watch. If anything unusual happens, I'll notify you immediately."

"Thank you."

Having a ghost guard the apartment made her feel surprisingly secure.

After leaving the complex, Rong Leying bought dinner for her grandfather: a serving of clear-braised chicken and another of pork ribs stir-fried with corn and sliced meat.

For herself, she bought a bowl of stir-fried yellow beef and a plate of eggplant with green beans.

Then she headed back to the hospital to eat with her grandfather.

"Grandpa, this chicken smells amazing. Eat some more."

She arranged the dishes one by one on the table and even prepared a plate of washed fruit for him.

Now that he could eat on his own again, his appetite was much better.

The old man looked distressed by the amount of food.

"That's way too much. Buy less next time—I can't eat that much."

The dishes clearly weren't cheap. He knew his granddaughter didn't have much money, and he didn't want her spending so much on him.

"Eat as much as you can. You're still recovering, so we need to make sure your nutrition stays balanced. If you can't finish it, I'll eat the leftovers."

Knowing he was worried about money, Rong Leying added,

"Don't worry about the cost. I have money. I earned five thousand yuan yesterday."

"But you still need money for university," he said. "Buy less and save what you can."

Aunt Wu was eating takeout by herself in the next bed. Her son wasn't there today, and she looked over with obvious envy.

"Old Master, your granddaughter treats you so well."

Look at other people's children. Most of the time she personally stayed at the hospital to take care of him, and when she couldn't, she arranged for a caregiver so the old man would never be left alone.

I should've had a daughter back then, Aunt Wu thought regretfully. At least someone would take care of me when I got sick.

Hearing someone praise his granddaughter, Old Master Rong puffed up with pride.

"Of course. My granddaughter is kind and filial."

Rong Leying asked casually, pretending it was an afterthought,

"Auntie, where's your son? Isn't he coming to stay with you tonight?"

Aunt Wu sighed.

"They have a company meeting today, so he'll be working very late. He's been exhausted recently, so I told him not to come tonight."

"Besides, I'm fine on my own."

Her condition was an old recurring illness. Every once in a while it would flare up, and she'd spend a couple of days in the hospital. She was already used to it.

Rong Leying didn't pursue the topic further.

Once her grandfather started eating, she moved her own dishes to the small side table and began her meal.

The old man looked at her fragrant stir-fried beef and eggplant with green beans, then at his own bland recovery food.

He looked like he wanted to say something.

"Xiao Ying..."

"What is it, Grandpa? Do you want some water?"

"No... Can Grandpa have a couple bites of your dishes?"

"The eggplant is fine—I can give you some of that. But not the beef. It's spicy, and you can't eat spicy food right now."

"...Then forget it."

The beef was exactly what he wanted.

He had always loved strong flavors and spicy food, but because of his kidney problems he had been avoiding chili for a long time. Now that he could smell the peppers, his mouth watered uncontrollably.

Rong Leying immediately saw through him.

"Grandpa, hang in there a little longer. Once you're fully recovered, I'll buy whatever you want and cook it for you."

The old man grinned and teased,

"Then Grandpa wants to eat giant prawns."

"Deal! We'll get a huge portion. We'll eat Australian lobsters!"

"What does 'Australian lobster' mean?"

"It means a dragon from Australia."

"There are dragons in Australia?"

"Of course! They're enormous."

"..."

The grandfather and granddaughter chatted nonsense while eating, and Aunt Wu couldn't stop laughing at their ridiculous conversation. She soon joined in, and the hospital room became warm, lively, and unexpectedly cheerful.