The Gloomy Paper-Man Came to My Door to Pursue His Love - Chapter 29

There were only two or three days left before arriving at Planet Obsidian. Qin Fei wanted to finalize a housing lease as soon as possible. Living in a hotel always gave him a sense of instability, as if he were drifting in the wind and rain.

He actually had no specific requirements for a residence. As long as he could escape the control of others, he could even live under a bridge. However, since he had the money, he still wanted to live in a house.

Although Planet Obsidian was garrisoned by the First District, Qin Fei realized that if Song Yun truly wanted to cause him trouble, he would be found no matter where he went. At the very least, Planet Obsidian was far from the Capital Star, far enough that he could attempt to completely break free from the control of the Imperial family and the Qin family.

Because his 2D character also thought the two-bedroom apartment was nice, Qin Fei contacted the landlord of the property. He had never bought a house before and intended to pay the full amount immediately.

But someone beat him to it, being faster than Qin Fei by a single second.

Qin Fei felt a bit of regret. He sent a message to Sha Bei.

“I failed to grab the two-bedroom apartment. TOT.”

The 2D character replied stiffly.

“It is okay. Which one are you interested in now?”

Qin Fei replied, “That one-bedroom then.”

Qin Fei went to buy the one-bedroom unit. He had just contacted the landlord and chatted for a few words when the landlord said the house was sold. Qin Fei stared at the chat history with the landlord and fell into deep thought.

[Qin Fei: Hello, is the house still available?] [Landlord: Yes, do you want to come and see it?] [Qin Fei: No need, I will directly] [Landlord: Sorry, the house is no longer available.]

Qin Fei had no choice but to ask the terminal to organize some more listings. It did not matter if the location was a bit remote or if the building was old. He needed a house to settle down.

Soon, the terminal organized a few more listings. Qin Fei sent all of them to Sha Bei, hoping the 2D character could participate and offer some advice. However, after he finished sending the links and looked back, all those houses were also shown as sold.

Qin Fei was completely baffled and confused. “Is buying a house something that requires a mad scramble?”

The terminal replied, “Generally speaking, no.”

“Are there any other listings?” Qin Fei asked.

“According to your budget, there are currently no listings for sale. I will continue to keep an eye out for you. Once there is a suitable house, I will notify you immediately,” the terminal replied.

Qin Fei frowned deeply. It was hard to describe his current mood. It was like being about to arrive at his destination, only to learn that the First District was stationed on Planet Obsidian. Freedom seemed so close yet so far away. He felt a bit lost. He wanted to do something to strive for freedom, but he found there was nothing he could do.

He had accumulated many readers on Starblog. The leaderboard voting had ended, and his 2D character sat firmly in first place. Badis had not made any other moves yet. It was unknown if he was planning something big or if he had simply given up in resentment.

Qin Fei did not plan to announce the 100 percent intimacy with his 2D character yet. At the very least, he would wait until Badis made a move. This was the last absurd trump card left in his hand, and he did not intend to show it too early.

This state of having nothing to do did not make Qin Fei relax. He had intended to lie in the gaming pod, but in this state, he worried about affecting Sha Bei. So, he stood alone by the starship porthole, gazing at the sea of stars outside.

Inside the game, Xi Li was busy. Through the encrypted link provided by Song Yun, he was uploading housing listings. He had purchased multiple properties all at once, including not only the houses Qin Fei liked but also some well-located western-style houses and villas. After using his privileges to bypass the standard transfer process, he registered an account on the platform and was now listing these properties.

He wanted Qin Fei to live in a large house, but he was afraid Qin Fei would pick a small one. Therefore, he moved the small houses to the bottom of the list and put the large, nice houses at the front.

Each listing needed a title. Xi Li titled the two-bedroom unit as “Remote Two-Bedroom Where Birds Do Not Even Defecate.”

He titled the one-bedroom unit as “Cramped One-Bedroom That Cannot Fit a Gaming Pod.”

Once the titles were set, he used the original content for the descriptions. Then, Xi Li uploaded them. Soon, someone came to inquire about the listings he had uploaded.

[Guest A: The two-bedroom unit is priced at one million star coins?] [Guest A: Is the landlord free? I can come to see the house right now.]

Xi Li was still working on a small manor he particularly wanted to give to Qin Fei. The manor featured a mecha garage that could fit Queen-1. Seeing that it was not Qin Fei asking, he ignored it.

Likely due to the low price, there were many messages. Because Song Yun had provided a web link that was connected to the game, every message that popped up was extremely laggy.

Originally, he could have let Song Yun do this, but Song Yun had messed up before. Xi Li did not trust him now and had to handle it personally.

Xi Li was annoyed to death and replied.

[Xi Li: Not free.] [Guest A: Then when will you be free?] [Xi Li: Never free.] [Guest A: Then why are you selling the house?] [Xi Li: I am not selling it to you. Get lost.]

The Little Prince was just that irritable, earning him a complaint.

[Guest B: The houses on your homepage are all below market price. Could they all be problematic?] [Xi Li: Get lost.]

He received a second complaint.

[Guest C: Is this western-style house still available?] [Xi Li: No.] [Guest C: But does it not say “Currently for Sale” on it?] [Xi Li: None of your business.]

He received a third complaint.

Xi Li was thinking about the title for the small manor. He wondered what kind of title could attract Qin Fei’s attention and allow him to buy it smoothly. Like writing an invitation, he was not good at this sort of thing. After racking his brains for a long time, he thought of a title.

“Urgent Sale, New House, Excellent Location, With Mecha Garage, Only One Million Star Coins.”

Just as he was about to upload it, a system window popped up.

[Upload Failed. You have been temporarily restricted from some account activities due to multiple complaints. This does not affect current listings for sale.]

Xi Li took a deep breath to stop himself from hacking the webpage through the link. He was about to have Song Yun resolve it when a transaction message popped up.

[Guest 9204: Hello, Mr. Landlord.]

Xi Li’s heart tightened. He knew this was Qin Fei. The number 9204 was the last four digits of Qin Fei’s terminal. This transaction page would generate an initial nickname based on the last four digits of the terminal.

[Landlord 2468: Hello. Are you looking to buy a house?] [Guest 9204: Yes.]

Looking at Qin Fei’s reply, Xi Li could not help but smile. He was very polite and well-behaved.

[Guest 9204: Are the houses on your homepage all for sale?] [Landlord 2468: There is one more set that has not been uploaded yet. This house is the best. It is a manor with a mecha garage and an excellent location. Wait for me to upload it. It will be ready soon.]

Xi Li quickly had Song Yun find a way to unblock his account. He wanted to give the manor with the mecha garage to Qin Fei.

[Guest 9204: Oh, I am sorry. I am not considering a manor for now.] [Guest 9204: [Two-bedroom Link]. Is this house available?] [Landlord 2468: The manor is not expensive. It only costs one million star coins, the same price as the two-bedroom unit.]

Song Yun took action, and the account was soon unblocked. Xi Li quickly uploaded the manor. But there was no reply from Qin Fei. Xi Li was truly afraid that Qin Fei would not buy it, so he quickly typed.

[Landlord 2468: The price can be even cheaper. How about 500,000 star coins?]

As he spoke, he changed the price on the spot. He did not get a reply from Qin Fei, but Song Yun saw the price change and sent a message to remind him.

“Prince, a housing price that is too low will only make Mr. Qin Fei suspicious.”

Xi Li remained silent. He knew this all too well. He just wanted so badly to give Qin Fei good things and to make up for the past. Whenever he thought of Qin Fei’s words, “You will protect me, but that person won’t,” his heart felt as if it were being gouged by a knife. He could only endure and wait for Qin Fei to reply.

After a long while, Qin Fei’s message finally arrived.

[Guest 9204: I saw the new listing you uploaded. The house is very beautiful.] [Guest 9204: May I ask if there is any problem with this house? I am sorry, but it is simply too cheap.] [Guest 9204: The houses on your homepage are all much cheaper than the market price. I have seen the two-bedroom unit before; the selling price is about 3.8 million star coins. The market price of this manor should be around sixty million star coins.]

Xi Li stared nervously at the message from Qin Fei. He had indeed become suspicious. He took a deep breath and replied.

[Landlord 2468: Because I am in urgent need of money.]

After sending it, he felt this message was still full of holes. Housing on Planet Obsidian was in high demand, so there was even less reason to sell a house at a low price. Moreover, many of the listings on his homepage were houses he had snatched from Qin Fei and then listed at a low price.

Xi Li thought about it and typed again.

[Landlord 2468: I am a real estate speculator, but there are some problems with the capital chain. I had no choice but to sell them after purchasing them.] [Landlord 2468: The reason this manor is cheap is because]

Xi Li racked his brains.

[Landlord 2468: It was my new home, but I lost my fiancé. Our engagement has ended, so this manor is now vacant.]

After sending this message, Xi Li felt a bit lost. He silently typed more.

[Landlord 2468: The manor is in a good location, in a prosperous area of Planet Obsidian. It is fully furnished.] [Landlord 2468: And it is far away from the garrison of the First District.]

[Guest 9204: I am sorry for bringing up sad memories.] [Guest 9204: Did you say this manor is far from the garrison of the First District?]

When Qin Fei’s message came back, Xi Li did not know whether to laugh or cry. I know how much you hate me now. He personally felt how much Qin Fei disliked him. By extension, even the First District was disliked.

[Landlord 2468: Yes. Based on the principle of not disturbing the residents of the planet, all military garrisons will not choose the prosperous areas of the planet.]

[Guest 9204: If it is convenient, can I buy it now?] [Landlord 2468: Anytime.]

Soon, Xi Li received the amount paid by Qin Fei. He did not choose to pay a deposit first and then see the house; instead, he paid the full amount directly to the platform. Qin Fei paid four million star coins.

[Guest 9204: I am very sorry. I have still taken advantage of you, and I will not be able to compensate you for the market price of the manor later.]

Likely feeling guilty about taking advantage, Qin Fei sent another message.

[Guest 9204: I hope you can win back your fiancé.]