DLRC – Chapter 20 Hui and I Are Moving Out

Over the years since things opened up, many people had come to work hard in Lucheng. For landlords like these, they already had their own well-established, systematic way of renting out properties—so smooth and practiced that even Yu Wei was a little surprised.

Paying a deposit wasn’t a big deal; she could afford it. It was just that the rent itself…

Don’t underestimate that extra 4 yuan—it might not seem like much, but in this day and age, for a single mother raising a child, an additional 4 yuan every month was still a significant burden.

Fortunately, she still had her livestream channel to fall back on, so life wasn’t unbearably hard.

Thinking this, Yu Wei kept a neutral expression. Instead of agreeing right away, she imitated those experienced homemakers and began bargaining with the landlord.

“Auntie, your place really is nice, but…” She squinted as she smiled, holding her son’s hand and leading him forward. “You see, I have a child with me, and I’m the only one earning money at home. So, this rent… it’s honestly a bit pricey for me.”

The landlord knew perfectly well that her rent was high, but also—look at this neighborhood! Where else could you find a place this clean and neat?

Don’t be fooled by the good hygiene around here—it was all thanks to her waking up early every day to clean. What other landlord would clean the public areas for you daily?

Let’s be real. No way.

So yes, the rent was expensive—but for good reason. And hey, despite the cost, she’d already rented out two floors!

This was what the landlord told Yu Wei. She nodded in understanding and even complimented the auntie’s diligence, though she still wore a conflicted look.

“Auntie, is there really no way to make the rent a bit cheaper?”

The landlord noticed that Yu Wei genuinely liked the place. She wasn’t like those other tenants who picked everything apart before asking for a discount. Her attitude softened.

“Well, how much would you be comfortable with?” The landlord spoke in a thick Lucheng accent. Yu Wei found it a little hard to follow, but not incomprehensible.

Yu Wei gave a modest smile. “I wouldn’t feel right taking advantage of you. Honestly, even just one or two yuan less per month would really ease my burden.”

The landlord was reassured. At least she wasn’t asking for a big discount like four or five yuan or trying to round things down.

This girl had a good temperament—wasn’t trying to take advantage. The rent had been raised by the landlord herself, so knocking off a yuan or two was no big deal.

She thought about it for a bit, then smiled and said, “Alright! I like your vibe. And yeah, it’s not easy raising a kid alone. I’ll knock off 1 yuan for you. How’s that?”

She said 1 yuan, not 2. Yu Wei had expected as much—these days, aunties were sharp with money. It was no small feat trying to get a deal out of them.

Yu Wei hadn’t really meant to haggle seriously—just doing it for formality’s sake, like everyone else. She wasn’t fussed about 1 or 2 yuan. But seeing the landlord relent still made her smile with genuine gratitude. “Great, thank you, Auntie!”

Yu Wei had never been stingy with spending on herself. Especially now that she had a child with her, she couldn’t afford to live in a poor environment. So just like that, the deal was settled.

“Oh, don’t mention it!” the landlord waved her hand. Seeing how sensible Yu Wei was, and having rented out another unit, her mood visibly improved. “I know it’s tough raising a child on your own. Honestly, I wouldn’t give most people a discount.”

Yu Wei thanked her again and began discussing move-in dates.

“What? You’re moving in tomorrow?” The landlord was startled. That was fast. She’d thought Yu Wei would go home and think it over—especially considering the rent wasn’t cheap.

Yu Wei smiled and explained, “Yeah. To tell you the truth, things have gotten tense at home lately. So I need to move out quickly. Is it okay if I move my stuff in tomorrow?”

“Sure, sure, no problem! I’m always here anyway. Just bring your things over tomorrow and call me from the first floor—I’ll give you the key then.”

“Great, thank you, Auntie. I’ll pay the rent when I come over tomorrow.”

She waved it off generously. “No big deal. We’ll settle it tomorrow.”

Who knows—maybe the woman would change her mind by then. Either way, she’d just wait and see.

After viewing the apartment, a weight lifted from Yu Wei’s chest. Excited, she took Hui’s hand and walked out of the courtyard—only then remembering that her phone was still live streaming in her pocket.

She pulled it out and started scrolling. The screen was still flooded with virtual flowers, and the viewer count had shot up from 3,055 before the apartment visit to a whopping 7,710!

Over 7,000 viewers?!

She nearly gasped out loud. Checking the comments, she found them full of lively discussion.

【8 yuan rent? I spend more than that on breakfast—LOL and crying emojis】

【I didn’t live through that era, but this is shocking!】

【I grew up back then—8 yuan was actually expensive. Is that place even 50 square meters?】

【Why do I feel like the streamer isn’t good at bargaining?】

【Right? Totally overpaid. Didn’t other places say 5 yuan?】

【Is she really going to live there? The environment does seem okay, though.】

【I liked the previous place with a kitchen better—only 6 yuan too.】

Seeing that no one was debating the authenticity of her “time travel” and instead discussing rent prices, Yu Wei actually felt… a bit relieved?

In the end, she finally noticed the numbers in the bottom right corner: 884.3.

Yu Wei covered her mouth in surprise, joy overflowing from her eyes. She suddenly clutched Yu Hui’s small hand tightly, her whole hand trembling.

Yu Hui didn’t understand what was going on with her. He looked up at his mother with wide eyes, clutching a little panda in his hands. Each of his jacket’s front pockets held a small toy, and his pants pocket had a little green frog stuffed inside.

Suddenly, his stomach rumbled twice. Yu Wei glanced at the time—it was already noon. Time really flew by.

“Let’s go, good boy, time for lunch!”

Yu Wei didn’t turn off the livestream. After all, she had earned way too much money that morning—she didn’t dare end it so casually.

While no one was around at the building entrance, she quickly switched the app to the home screen and snapped a photo of the residential building before taking Yu Hui to eat.

But she couldn’t let herself get too excited just yet. Attracting viewers with novelty could only earn her fast money for a short while. Once this wave of popularity passed, if she just kept taking people on casual strolls, her income would likely drop sharply.

Still, she wasn’t in a hurry for that now. She wouldn’t worry about future livestream content just yet. Her top priority now was moving—she had to move. Tomorrow. She couldn’t delay it any longer.

Since she had already found a place, Yu Wei decided she’d go home in the afternoon to pack up and prepare for the move tomorrow. She also needed to figure out how to explain everything to her family.

They had lunch at a state-owned restaurant, and Yu Wei ordered an extra meat dish this time.

Now that she had earned some money, she wasn’t going to shortchange herself. Even when her stomach was about to burst, she still forced herself to finish every last bite.

Still, with a stomach as tiny as a bird’s, maybe she shouldn’t waste money like this in the future.

Yu Hui, on the other hand, was genuinely delighted. After the meal, he turned back several times to look at the restaurant’s signboard with a serious expression, as if trying to memorize it—despite not knowing how to read.

On the way back, Yu Wei told her audience more about her current family situation. She had briefly mentioned it in the morning, but this time she went into more detail. Comments in the stream occasionally scrolled by about screenshots or time travel.

But once they got home, not only did Yu Wei feel deflated—even Yu Hui, usually so calm-faced, looked a little listless.

She stuffed her phone into her pants pocket, only leaving the camera exposed.

At home, only Yuan Guifang was in the courtyard doing laundry; everyone else was at work. The moment she saw Yu Wei, she blew up like a bomb.

“You little brat, where have you been again? You can’t sit still for even one day!” She glanced at the red plaid dress Yu Wei was wearing, sneering as she scrubbed her sleeves hard in the water. “All dressed up like this, and you even took Dabao out with you—what for?”

If someone happened to take a liking to her, and then saw the little kid she was dragging along, they’d instantly lose interest. She really was such a headache!

Yu Wei went straight to her room and began rustling around. Yuan Guifang yelled from outside, “What are you doing in there? Come out and help me with the laundry!”

No one responded. Feeling like she was yelling into a void, Yuan Guifang dropped the basin of clothes and stormed into the room, only to find Yu Wei packing clothes—not into the wardrobe, but into a cloth bag.

“What are you doing?” Yuan Guifang asked, puzzled.

Yu Wei answered calmly, “Yu Hui and I are moving out.”

Yuan Guifang was so shocked by her words that she couldn’t react at first. Then she reached out to smack her. “What nonsense are you spouting! Move out? You and Dabao—just a woman and a child—where are you going to live?”

“I rented a place. You don’t have to worry,” Yu Wei said, turning away to avoid her and continuing to pack with a frown.

Yuan Guifang had a habit of using her hands when she talked. Seeing that she was about to smack Yu Wei’s shoulder again, Yu Wei moved two inches to the left—avoiding the hit.

Yu Hui knew his mother was packing to move. But now that his grandma had started yelling at her again, he tightened his grip on the little panda in his hands and slid off the bed, standing between them with a fierce determination to protect his mother. The sight made Yu Wei’s eyes go moist.

“Dabao, what are you doing? Get out of the way—we’re just talking!” Yuan Guifang barked impatiently.

Yu Hui was stubborn. He had just seen Grandma hit Mommy, and he didn’t want that to happen again. He stared at her with wide, deer-like eyes and clenched his teeth, refusing to back down.

Yuan Guifang was so mad she laughed, her expression twisting into a snarl as she grabbed Yu Hui to pull him away. Yu Wei shouted, “Don’t touch him!”

She pulled the child onto the bed and continued packing—noticeably faster now.

She had no idea what was going on in the livestream and didn’t have time to care. The lighting in the room was dim, and although the phone camera was left exposed on purpose, it couldn’t capture anything clearly—only the conversation could be heard.

【Damn, this must be the original host’s mom the streamer talked about】

【A total nightmare?】

【Honestly not that bad—my mom also yells at me like that all the time】

Yuan Guifang was already fuming at Yu Wei. Seeing her act so unbothered, she felt like she had lost all authority as a mother. Her tone rose sharply.

“Yu Wei! You’ve grown up and sprouted wings, huh? Moving out for no reason—taking Dabao with you! Can you even afford to raise him?”

“Ask yourself—who’s been taking care of that little brat all these years? If it weren’t for your father and me, that kid wouldn’t even be alive!” Probably would’ve been starved to death by this careless girl!

“I know, and I’m very grateful to you both. I’ll come visit often. But this house… I still have to leave,” Yu Wei replied.

The wardrobe was almost completely packed. The bag she was using was full, so she placed the remaining clothes on the bed to find another bag later.

“Move out? Why the hell are you moving? Renting is expensive—why not use that money for something useful?” Yuan Guifang asked suspiciously. “Don’t tell me someone tricked you?”

Otherwise, why would her silly daughter suddenly want to move out for no reason?

“No one tricked me. I already paid the rent—two months’ worth—and the landlord said it’s non-refundable. So I have to leave tomorrow. As for raising Yu Hui, I’ve already found a job. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

“A job? What job? Who got it for you?” So that’s why she’d been leaving so early and coming back so late these past couple days?

But why would she take Dabao with her to find a job? Could it be… she sold the kid?

Thinking about her daughter’s past behavior, it didn’t seem impossible.

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. She shouted, “Yu Wei! Don’t do anything stupid! Even if you don’t like Dabao, he’s still your son! How could you sell him?! Are you even fit to be a mother?!”