Chapter 5: A Deadly “Brother-in-Law”

    Hu Yifei nodded and pointed at Chen Yuze, beginning her introduction: “This is…”

    “Brother-in-law!” Lu Zhanbo blurted out.

    The moment those words left his mouth, Chen Yuze nearly collapsed to his knees. The surrounding crowd stared at him with the awe reserved for a man who had just walked into certain doom. Cold sweat drenched Chen Yuze’s entire body.

    Even Hu Yifei was stunned. She turned to glance at Chen Yuze, only to see him bolt away like a gust of wind. This could get me killed!

    “Get lost! We just met!” Hu Yifei tried to explain, but before she could finish, Lu Zhanbo’s imagination was already running wild.

    With a look of pity, Lu Zhanbo gazed at Chen Yuze. “Love at first sight? Seems like you two haven’t gotten to know each other that well yet!”

    “What the hell are you thinking? We literally just met, I don’t even know his name yet!” Hu Yifei was seriously considering strangling this idiot. What’s with that look? Are you really my brother? And that guy, why are you running? Like you’re the one at a disadvantage here?

    She turned to glare at Chen Yuze, who was keeping a safe distance. “Hey, you! Get over here and introduce yourself properly. We’re going to be roommates, after all!”

    “O-okay!” Chen Yuze nodded frantically, scurrying over like a frightened chick. Still, he made sure to keep a respectful gap between himself and Yifei. After all, she’s Teacher Zeng’s future woman. Wouldn’t want to make him jealous.

    “My name is Chen Yuze. ‘Yu’ as in ‘stormy rain,’ ‘Ze’ as in ‘the grace of dew.’ Profession…” He paused, thinking. The original owner of this body was a lazy bum, and before I transmigrated, so was I. Definitely can’t say that out loud!

    “What’s wrong? Hard to say?” Lu Zhanbo eyed him curiously. Chen Yuze was decently handsome, not angelic or anything—but he carried a certain charm. It was hard not to let the imagination wander.

    “Nothing, it’s just… you might not believe me.” Chen Yuze hesitated. “I’m an explorer. Or, well, an adventurer. Not many people are familiar with the profession. You could also call me a polar guide.”

    “A tour guide? Just say that!” Hu Yifei waved it off, completely missing the nuance.

    Chen Yuze sighed. How am I supposed to tell them, ‘Actually, I’m a rich second-gen heir, and my future job is grave robbing’? Yeah, right. They’d never believe me anyway. This explanation would have to do.

    “Sis, a polar guide is different from a regular tour guide. It’s a newer profession abroad, didn’t expect to see it here too!” Lu Zhanbo, ever the well-traveled scholar, spoke with the air of a seasoned returnee.

    “A guide is a guide!” Hu Yifei dismissed it entirely before turning away. “The bride and groom are here!” She immediately dragged the three of them aside and resumed her role as the wedding’s commanding force. Chaos erupted once more as everyone scrambled into action.

    Finally, Zeng Xiaoxian took the stage and announced the official renaming of the apartment complex to Love Apartment—with a special offer: couples moving in would get half off rent and free utilities. The crowd cheered, while Lu Zhanbo and Lin WanYu exchanged eager glances.

    Lü Ziqiao (disguised as the priest) and Chen Meijia were equally thrilled, whispering about pretending to be a couple to move in. Chen Yuze knew this was coming, but he didn’t care much. Truthfully, Love Apartment was huge, with plenty of space.

    The setup was simple: each floor had two suites, and each suite contained four individual rooms. Moving in was easy—just bring your luggage. The rent for each suite was ￥5,000 per room.

    That might sound expensive, but it was actually a steal. The rooms were spacious (just look at Guan Gu’s place), fully furnished, and move-in ready. Essentially, it was a home, not just an apartment.

    A full suite brought in ￥20,000 per month. You could rent individual rooms or the entire suite, it was up to you. If you rented just one room, the others remained available unless you paid for the whole suite yourself (￥20,000).

    Before, tenants had to cover utilities, but Chen Yuze didn’t mind. Money flowed in effortlessly. Now, with half-rent and free utilities, he still wouldn’t lose out. If two people rented two rooms in a suite, the rent would be ￥5,000 total, and the other two rooms could still be leased, unless someone took the whole suite for ￥10,000.

    As for couples faking it (like Lü Ziqiao and Chen Meijia), Chen Yuze didn’t care. There’d be more of them, but he wasn’t desperate for cash. Even if some rooms stayed empty, it didn’t matter, he’d never operate at a loss.

    Chen Yuze scanned the room: XiaoXian and Yifei, Ziqiao and Meijia, Zhanbo and WanYu, plus himself and Guan Gu. Eight people, perfect. But why do I feel like Guan Gu and I are the pitiful ones here? And when he remembered Guan Gu’s future “aunt” in Season 2, he felt even worse.

    Sigh. Transmigrators have no rights. Sear?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sure enough, Lü Ziqiao and Chen Meijia lived up to their troublemaker reputations. Ziqiao, still posing as the priest, completely ignored the bride and groom, turning instead to “confess his love” to Meijia in the audience—who, of course, played along with fake tears.

    Hu Yifei stormed onto the stage. “Hey, priest! You’re stealing the spotlight! What about the actual wedding?”

    “Oh! Right, right!” Ziqiao snapped back to reality and launched into his officiating duties, in what could only be described as “Lü-brand English.” Even Chen Yuze, a self-admitted academic slacker, knew his English was at least eight levels above this mess. And that included EQ and IQ.

    “What’s so funny? Got a problem with my priest?” Hu Yifei glared at Chen Yuze, who was clutching his stomach from laughter.

    “N-no! It’s just… very on-brand for you, Yifei-jie!” Chen Yuze shot a glance at Lu Zhanbo, whose overseas education made Ziqiao’s English especially painful to endure.

    Zhanbo straightened up and mimicked Ziqiao’s tone: “Ahem! Tiezhu Wang!”

    Chen Yuze immediately chimed in: “Erniu Tian!”

    Even Hu Yifei, who had been struggling to keep a straight face, burst out laughing.

    As the wedding wrapped up, Yifei dragged Chen Yuze over to Zeng Xiaoxian. “Xiaoxian, this is Chen Yuze, our future roommate. Don’t you dare bully him!”