With the help of the landlady auntie, Ji Nian carried two large suitcases and went up to the third floor.
"Walk over there and turn the corner. There is a small supermarket with mattresses, shampoo and other things," the landlady auntie said, feeling that the young girl looked confused. "Remember to buy buckets and basins for washing clothes."
"Okay, thank you auntie," Ji Nian answered obediently.
By the time Ji Nian was done, it was already three or four o'clock in the afternoon. Although she didn't do much, she still felt exhausted.
The monthly rent was 1,000 yuan, which was already a bargain price in Beijing. Out of the 200,000 yuan she had, she had paid back 195,000 to Cheng Liran, leaving 5,000 for herself. She paid a deposit of 1,000-2,000, and spent 500 on daily necessities like an electric cooker. Ji Nian sighed, thinking about how money goes so quickly and things are so expensive.
Looking at the tidy room with the mattress on the bed and the cotton quilt underneath sent over by the landlady auntie, saying her family didn't need it and it would make sleeping on the mattress more comfortable, Ji Nian was deeply moved. The landlady really was too kind.
After boiling water and tearing open the instant noodle package and soaking it in a large bowl, she sat at the table looking utterly miserable, not even being able to afford bucket noodles.
The phone rang and seeing it was He Yi, Ji Nian picked up.
"He Yi."
"Did you move?" He Yi asked over the phone.
"Yes," Ji Nian answered while eating instant noodles.
"Where did you move to?"
"The suburbs, three hours from the city center," Ji Nian replied.
"That far!" He Yi exclaimed over the phone.
"Weren't you the one who told me to live cheaper?"
At that moment, Ji Nian could hear people calling He Yi over the phone. It sounded quite noisy. He Yi hurriedly said, "I'll come find you when I have time. You just recovered, can't skimp on food. If you really have no money, come to me and I'll give you credit through Flower Pay."
Ji Nian laughed. Deeply moved, she said, "I also have Flower Pay. You earn money for yourself first."
She then heard a "beep" indicating the call had ended. Calmly finishing her noodles, she drank up all the soup.
Leaning against the bed, she now had to think about her living expenses. First, not only did she have to pay off her debts, she had to maintain her livelihood. With so much debt, it would be difficult to pay it off with an ordinary job, although she used to be a teacher. But the original owner didn't have any credentials, so that path was out.
Ji Nian flipped through Weibo worriedly. Her trending searches had died down, but there were still people commenting nasty things under her Weibo posts every day. She was indifferent to it―the criticism was directed at the original owner, not her.
Suddenly she came across a post. The original poster said a funeral home was hiring, 700 yuan a day for the day shift, 1,600 a day for the night shift, limited to males only.
The comments below by other people made the already gloomy Ji Nian laugh to death.
"1,600 a day for the night shift―even if someone runs away, I'll carry them back for you."
"Forget someone running away, even if they all wake up together I'll lock them back up."
"If he doesn't become a zombie, it would be letting me down for that 1,600."
Ji Nian laughed out loud. Reading this post cheered her up. She decided to chime in as well, commenting: "1,600 yuan for the night shift. If you don't meet your quota I'll make up the difference."
This blogger also liked to post all kinds of weird questions, and Ji Nian saw another new one he had just posted.
His question was: If a family married you into it but the husband felt no emotion toward you, giving you 300,000 yuan a month as pocket money but leaving you alone in a huge empty house, never coming back, what would you do?
Ji Nian thought about it. If something this good really happened, that would be great. She swiftly commented back: "Burn incense and worship Buddha, praying that the rich daddy lives to a hundred years old in wealth and honor!"
Ji Nian yawned. As she scrolled through her phone lying down, she fell asleep without realizing that her comments had pushed her onto the trending searches again.
At this time, netizens were puzzled―throughout the whole scandal exposure, debt and contract termination, she never came out to clarify anything. Other than the hospital video, it was as if she had vanished.
And this blogger was also a well-known internet celebrity, becoming popular from these kinds of weird questions.
He was shocked to suddenly realize there was an officially verified "Ji Nian" commenting under him. Clicking through to the homepage, it really was her.
The blogger was dumbfounded, commenting under her: "Is this really you?"
Because of this series of silly comments like "1,600 yuan for the night shift. If you don't meet your quota I'll make up the difference" and "Burn incense and worship Buddha, praying that the rich daddy lives to a hundred years old in wealth and honor," Ji Nian's Weibo made it onto the trending searches again.
Fearless netizens commented:
"Has she gone crazy from the huge debt?"
"Is this Cheng Liran's shameless ex-girlfriend?"
"I don't know why, but I'm sensing a strong silly aura."
"A no-name D-list celeb thinks she deserves Cheng Liran? Get lost. Sinking so low as to leech popularity from an internet celeb."
When He Yi saw herself on the trending searches, she was frightened and hurriedly called.
Ji Nian who picked up the phone was sleepy and listless. "Hello?"
"Did you go mess around on Weibo with your main account?" He Yi asked.
"What happened?" Ji Nian sat up and turned on the light.
"Sis, you're trending again," He Yi said.
"Huh? But I didn't do anything. I was just lying at home." Ji Nian said, astonished.
"See for yourself." He Yi said helplessly. "I know you're washed up, but don't be so reckless. Disappear from the public eye for a while until people forget about you. Then maybe you'll have a chance at coming back."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway I'm already ruined with huge debt and no works or skills. Don't you worry about me!" Ji Nian said laughing.
"Alright, alright. I'm busy so I'm hanging up." He Yi finished and hung up.
When Ji Nian opened Weibo, she saw she was number three on trending. She had turned off her private messaging due to too many people harassing her. She then opened the comments.
She saw the blogger's "Is this really you?"
Ji Nian took a sip of water and replied: "Yes, you're very interesting."
At this time, the blogger who received her reply was eating. He almost choked and coughed for a long time before confirming and seeing her comment reply. He was stunned for a bit before politely answering: "Thank you."
