The Tenant from Hell: A Landlord's Nightmare

Three days until rent collection, my tenant sent me a WeChat message:

"Give me a rent reduction."

Just like that, out of nowhere.

I thought she'd sent it to the wrong person and ignored it. An hour later, another message came:

"The rent is fucking high, are you going to reduce it or not?"

I paused for a few seconds, then calmly replied:

"Follow the contract. No increase, no decrease. Pay rent on time."

She got angry and threw out a threat:

"Then just you wait!"

I was stunned.

Who exactly was the landlord here?

Chapter 1

When Xia Xia first moved into my place, she never hesitated with rent payments. The annual rent of 18,000 yuan would arrive in my account instantly.

She was quite polite to me.

Of course, I treated her well too. When she moved in, she requested a new mattress and new washing machine. Thinking the appliances were getting old, I readily agreed to replace them.

Out of gratitude.

During those early days, whenever I came to the residential complex to handle matters, she would always make small desserts for me.

Of course, I would reciprocate with gifts in return.

Back and forth like this.

We had a fairly friendly landlord-tenant relationship.

She had been renting my place for almost a year.

With three days left until collecting the next year's rent, I suddenly received her WeChat message.

"Chen Jie, give me a rent reduction."

I thought it was a joke and casually replied:

"We already agreed on the price beforehand."

She immediately followed up with another message:

"But other landlords have reduced their rents! Your rent is fucking high! We usually have such a good relationship, just give me a symbolic reduction!"

I paused for a few seconds and politely told her:

"Xia Xia, we should follow the contract terms."

"Fine, you won't reduce it? Then you just wait!"

Her instant reply left me speechless.

I immediately made a WeChat voice call to her:

"Xia Xia, make yourself clear. What do you mean by 'just you wait'?"

"You're supposedly well-educated, can't you understand these few words?" she said sarcastically, her attitude turning nasty. "You won't even help with such a small favor, and after all the delicious food I made for you!"

"Have you forgotten the contract? Three-year lease, annual rent of 18,000. The yearly rent is already much lower than market rate, I can't reduce it. Follow the contract."

"Contracts are dead, people are alive. Why are you so rigid?" The young woman scoffed, then challenged me, "Are you going to give me a rent reduction or not!"

After she said this.

Xia Xia's previous humble and peaceful impression completely vanished.

She turned hostile in an instant, severing our amicable relationship.

Her domineering tone and rudeness were one thing.

Calling me rigid made me see red.

I no longer wanted to speak nicely to her.

"No reduction. Follow the contract!"

"Do you have any idea how bad the economy is right now? Jobs are impossible to find!" Xia Xia couldn't help but let out a curse.

"Oh? Is it that you can't find work, or that you're not even looking for work?"

I knew Xia Xia wasn't looking for work because my neighbor next door had complained to me about it from time to time.

She would tell me how cigarette smoke would drift from my balcony to hers from morning till night.

And how every day, people would constantly ring the doorbell at set times.

"What do you know? You're just a idle landlady living off rent, you can't understand our struggles! You won't even reduce the rent a bit, so stingy. I'm the one who signed such a long lease with you. Look around, who else signs three-month leases? With me as your stable long-term tenant, you should be grateful! Don't be so ungrateful!"

Feeling that wasn't enough, she started with emotional blackmail.

"I'm telling you, everyone is reducing rents. I rented at too high a rate before, you must reduce it for me now!"

Threatening me? I wasn't having it!

"Even if you put a knife to my throat, I won't reduce it! You can stay if you want, move out if you don't. But according to the contract, the deposit isn't refundable."

When I rented to her, considering it was a long-term lease, I had already reduced the rent significantly.

Plus, my place was a corner unit with great lighting and view. I never had trouble finding tenants.

"Fuck, you heartless landlord, just you wait!" Xia Xia cursed up a storm.

"Click" went the phone as she hung up.

The next evening.

I was applying a facial mask, about to go to sleep when my neighbor sent me a voice message:

"It's happening again! Cigarette smoke is drifting over, my son woke up choking!"

I wasn't on site, so I didn't know how serious the situation was, so I asked her:

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"You figure it out!!!!"

My neighbor used several exclamation marks. I knew she was getting angry.

But I was helpless.

After all, people were smoking in their own home, and the smoke drifted to hers. Air circulates, and with a breeze, it disperses.

Quite a dilemma.

Xia Xia had been confrontational with me today, trying to intimidate me into waiting for her rent payment.

I didn't want to provoke her further.

After thinking about it, I decided to wait.

"Alright, I'll talk to her."

After saying this, I tossed my phone aside and went to remove my facial mask.

Time for my nighttime skincare routine.

But before a few minutes had passed.

My neighbor's emergency calls started coming in.

"This is unbearable! Have you said anything yet? Now there's not just cigarette smoke, but dance music and occasional screaming! How is anyone supposed to sleep!"

I could tell my neighbor was completely furious.

"Go knock on the door first. I'll call the tenant immediately."

"I went, but no one answered. It was fine when I got there, but as soon as I left, they started wildly dancing and screaming again!"

"Wait, I'll call the tenant right now."

After hanging up with my neighbor, I immediately sent Xia Xia a WeChat message.

But as soon as the message was sent.

All I got was a red exclamation mark!

She had deleted me!

We had always communicated through WeChat.

We never called each other, so I hadn't saved her phone number.

I quickly pulled out the contract and found the phone number Xia Xia had left on it.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is not in service..."

I froze on the spot.

What was she playing at!

Deleted on WeChat, phone number out of service!

Unable to contain my doubts and agitation, I quickly got dressed.

Went to the garage, started my car, and sped toward my rental property.

Chapter 2

I knocked several times, but no one answered, though I could faintly hear voices from inside the room.

"Open up! Xia Xia!"

When I spoke, the noise from inside became even more unrestrained.

"Call the police," the neighbor said indignantly. "I think your tenant is trying to start a rebellion."

Because I had left in such a hurry, I hadn't brought my spare key.

I had no choice but to call the police.

Perhaps hearing the police sirens downstairs.

The room immediately fell silent.

"Find a locksmith to open the door," the police officer said calmly after understanding the situation. "Go ahead and open it. You're the landlord, you have the right to use your property."

One phone call from the police, and a familiar locksmith arrived within minutes.

After making a few professional strokes on the door lock with his tools.

Just as he was about to pick up another tool.

Xia Xia threw the door open with a "bang."

My neighbor couldn't help but peek inside the room.

"Get out! What are you trying to do! Take one more step and I'll report you for illegal trespassing!" Xia Xia was very rude, using her body to block my neighbor's view.

"Just try reporting me," I stepped forward, standing before Xia Xia. "You blocked your landlord, left a virtual number on the contract. When we go to court, you'd better be prepared to testify."

She started making things up.

"I just wrote the wrong number, you're being ridiculous. It's no big deal, I'll call you right now so you can save it. Making such a big deal out of nothing, you really have no experience."

Xia Xia's outrageous words even the police couldn't tolerate.

"Your landlord knocked on your door for a long time, why didn't you open it?"

"Knocking wildly on my door in the middle of the night, isn't that scary! Who knows what you were planning?"

"You know it's the middle of the night too, right? Disturbing the peace, do you understand? Such a small matter wasting police resources, I think you'd like to come back to the station for some tea?"

The police officer's comeback was music to my ears.

Xia Xia's face turned red with frustration, temporarily speechless.

"Enough. Quickly call your landlord," the police officer looked at me. "You save her number too."

"As a tenant, you should reasonably follow the apartment regulations. Making noise in the middle of the night is your fault. Quickly apologize to your neighbor!"

Under police supervision.

Xia Xia very reluctantly apologized to my neighbor.

After finishing, seeing the police off.

She glared at me and was about to close the door.

I quickly placed my hand on it and said seriously:

"Don't bother paying your rent the day after tomorrow. Just move out."

After all my anger had surged up.

I no longer wanted her to continue living there.

She looked at me in disbelief, arms crossed:

"You old witch, what do you mean?"

"You can understand the contract well enough, so you're not uneducated. Can't you understand these few words?"

I threw her own words back at her from before.

Her face twisted with anger, and after a few more curses, she said:

"Kick me out? You'll have to pay breach of contract fees!"

"No problem, I have plenty of money, as long as you leave."

She clearly hadn't expected me to agree so readily, which left her at a loss for words.

"Let me tell you, old witch. The lease isn't up, I'm not moving!"

With that, she slammed the door shut.

Two days later, I came to collect the rent.

As soon as I reached the door, I froze.

My spare key was completely useless because the lock had been changed to a combination lock.

I quickly called Xia Xia, and when she answered, she laughed mockingly:

"Yes, I changed the lock. I'm guarding against you. Let's see how you get in! The lease isn't up, why should I move?"

When people are speechless, they really do laugh.

"Get this straight, the house is mine, you have no right..."

Before I could finish, she hung up directly.

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

After several years of renting, this was the first time I'd encountered such an infuriating tenant.

Helpless, I called property management.

The maintenance technician from property management fiddled with it for a long time but couldn't open the lock.

Knocking, pleading nicely.

When that didn't work, I called the police again.

As soon as the police arrived, Xia Xia had no choice but to open the door honestly.

As soon as the door opened, she immediately started accusing me.

"She's unilaterally breaching the contract! You must uphold justice for me!"

Xia Xia started playing the victim.

After listening to the whole situation.

The police officer shook his head, helpless.

"I suggest you both communicate better internally, each give a little ground, alright?"

"No negotiation. The lease isn't up, I absolutely won't move!"

"No negotiation, I'm the landlord, and I'm not renting out my house anymore!"

Xia Xia and I shouted at the same time.

After speaking, she turned and glared at me, then slammed the door behind her.

Leaving me, the police, and property management standing there stunned.

"Your tenant, she's something else!" Before leaving, the property management worker patted my shoulder kindly.

That evening.

I was thinking about how to get Xia Xia to move out when her phone call came in.

"Chen Jie, I've changed my mind!"

Chapter 3

"I was wrong, Chen Jie, my attitude was bad before. Let me apologize to you. I hope you can continue renting the house to me. I've lived here for a year and have grown to feel it's like home. I hope you can continue renting to me. I won't ask for much of a rent reduction, just give me a symbolic discount. How about that? Oh, right, the combination, I'll tell you the combination for the lock I changed. The combination is..."

Hmph.

A cold snort echoed in my heart.

She sure changes faces fast enough.

A fake apology was one thing, but to still have the nerve to mention rent reduction.

To avoid future trouble, I had to come up with a ridiculous excuse.

"I'm sorry, Xia Xia, I've already decided to sell the house."

Xia Xia was stunned for a moment and didn't speak.

She clearly hadn't expected me to use selling the house as an excuse to brush her off.

"No, come on, Chen Jie, our contract hasn't expired yet. My older sisters also rented houses in this complex. I want to be close to them. Just rent to me for two more years, and then you can sell it. Besides, the economy is so bad now, the house won't sell immediately anyway," she said earnestly.

I could only continue making things up.

I refuse to believe I can't get my house back!

"What a coincidence, I've already sold the house to a relative. You should pack up and prepare to move out tomorrow."

"But even if I'm moving, you need to give me some time. I have a lot of stuff! How about this, give me a month, and I'll move out gradually."

Impossible. Three days. I'm only giving you three days. No negotiation." I issued my command.

My refusal probably made her even angrier.

She didn't speak for a long time.

But I didn't care. For such a terrible tenant, if I let her stay longer, she might hold a grudge and cause more trouble for me.

The air grew still for a moment.

I thought she hadn't heard me, so I repeated the moving instructions again.

I also added details about my compensation amount:

"According to the contract, I'll compensate you with 3 months' rent as breach fees. After you move out, I'll deduct any outstanding utility bills, and we'll settle the difference."

Still silence from her end.

"Can you hear me speaking?"

Suddenly she started cursing loudly.

"Hear your sister! I can hear you!"

"Fuck, who would be blind enough to buy your crappy house! Let me tell you! For a landlord with no contractual integrity like you, even if you sell the house, others will back out! This is your retribution."

Her words made me furious.

To be fair.

I hadn't treated her badly at all.

When she first moved in, she requested to replace old appliances and the old bedding set. I didn't go with cheap rental options but spent several thousand to replace them for her.

She made homemade desserts—how much were those worth?

The gifts I gave her in return were all quite valuable.

Thinking of how difficult it must be for a young woman living alone.

But all it took was one incident where I wouldn't help her with some online shopping game event.

She immediately shattered all our previous good impressions.

Added to my neighbor's frequent complaints.

After comprehensive consideration, I came up with this plan to pay breach fees just to terminate the contract.

I had originally planned to give her three days to move out.

But now, she kept testing my patience.

I couldn't wait even one more day. I issued my final ultimatum.

"Fine, since I'm a landlord with no contractual integrity, I'll just be thoroughly unprincipled. You don't get your 3-day buffer period either! Tomorrow at 12 PM, move out on time. I'll come to collect the property. Don't try any tricks with me!"

As soon as I finished speaking.

Naturally, I was met with a curse.

Then she immediately hung up.

What answered me was an angry "beep... beep..."

The next day.

I brought along my real estate agent friend to accompany me in collecting the property.

But unexpectedly.

Xia Xia completely ignored what I said yesterday.

Let alone collecting the property.

She still wouldn't even open the door.

I entered the combination she casually mentioned yesterday.

Prompt said: Incorrect combination, please re-enter.

Good grief, even the combination was wrong. Lucky I didn't soften my heart and continue renting to someone who can't keep their word.

Just as I was about to call the police again.

Xia Xia's triumphant voice came from inside the room.

"Don't bother calling the police again. Let me tell you, I'm not afraid even if the police come! I'm not moving, and that's that."

My anger level began to soar.

I can't even return to my own home?

Are tenants the masters these days?

"Xiao Fang, do you know any technicians who can open smart locks? Quickly ask him to come help open this door," I said to my agent friend while searching on my phone for nearby locksmiths.

"Jie, don't open the lock yet. Quick, look at this!"

As soon as he spoke.

Xiao Fang handed me his phone.

I opened my eyes wide for a closer look, and my pupils immediately dilated.

Chapter 4

One by one, shocking words appeared before my eyes.

"Avoid the owner with surname Chen in Building A, 18th Floor of Central Garden. Unilateral breach of contract, no integrity, and trying to kick me out."

Xia Xia had actually posted online to slander me.

Striking first!

And as soon as the post went up, she uploaded some important contract clauses.

Netizens began jumping on the bandwagon, condemning me word by word.

"Such a shameless landlord, support the original poster! Support using magic to defeat magic, you need to be more shameless than her!"

"Just keep squatting in her place, let's see who has more ability!"

"What's the door number, private message me, I'll definitely avoid this place!"

"Also from Central Garden, also Building A, all the owners on the 18th floor are old women, so noisy!"

Damn.

This had escalated to personal attacks on my appearance.

Absolutely intolerable.

I pressed the power button, returning the phone to Xiao Fang.

"Jie, what should we do now?"

"Skip the police, I'm going straight to the station."

Unable to hide my anger, as soon as I entered the police station, I ran into the same officer who had handled my previous home visits.

I went straight to the point.

I reported the entire situation to the police in detail.

"Is there any good way to get my house back?" At the end, I asked anxiously.

"Your tenant is indeed difficult to handle. For refusal to vacate cases, issue a formal demand letter. Serve an eviction notice."

With police assistance.

Things started to go more smoothly.

Over the next period.

I was busy running around, and after getting the necessary documents.

I immediately brought my lawyer and rushed straight to my doorstep.

Before coming.

I had already contacted a locksmith.

After some intense work, the door was pried open.

I saw Xia Xia standing with hands on hips, blocking the doorway.

Her face full of viciousness, with ferocious and malicious expressions completely inappropriate for someone of her young age.

"I'm going to report you for illegal trespassing, you bunch of..."

I didn't give Xia Xia the chance to continue speaking.

I directly unfolded the demand letter and held it before her.

"Rao Xia, please vacate my home! Immediately, right now." I shook the demand letter, emphasizing my tone.

Xia Xia's eyes widened as she leaned in for a closer look.

After quickly reading the contents.

I saw her brow furrow into a knot.

Without warning, she suddenly reached out, trying to tear the demand letter and eviction notice from my hand.

Fortunately, I was on guard.

With a sideways movement, the demand letter remained intact.

"You old woman, playing dirty tricks with me! Fine, you win! I'll move! Transfer the breach fee to me via WeChat immediately. Also, for the smart lock change, 500 yuan each, transfer that over too."

"You changed the smart lock without my permission, you bear that cost yourself."

"Stingy! Won't pay, right? I have plenty of ways to make you pay!"

As soon as she finished speaking.

She slammed the door shut again.

Xiao Fang sent me a screenshot.

It was from the same post where Xia Xia was warning others about me.

That account had posted another new entry.

The content was about how I wouldn't reimburse her for the smart lock I had "kindly" helped her change.

That was fast.

Fortunately, Xiao Fang, who knew the whole story, spoke up for me in the comments section and posted some before-and-after screenshots and evidence of the eviction notice.

Netizens all called her "shooting herself in the foot."

The backlash was too strong, and unable to handle the online harassment.

Not long after, Xia Xia deleted that post.

At this point.

She didn't mention making me pay for the 500 yuan lock change again.

With the eviction notice in hand, Xia Xia indeed didn't dare to disobey.

Soon, her small figure emerged pushing two 28-inch suitcases.

When she passed by me, she stopped.

Took out her phone, and "poked" me on WeChat.

"Hurry up and refund my breach fee. You're delaying me from finding a new place. I want an extra month's breach fee from you!"

"I told you, I need to check the utilities before I can refund you."

"Stop trying to fool me. For someone as dishonest as you, there's a probability you won't pay the breach fee in the end either!"

I scoffed coldly.

Took out my phone and opened the video recording function.

"Don't believe me? Fine, I'll record a video for you. If I don't pay, you can expose me or report me anytime."

After receiving the video recording I sent over, she had her evidence.

She had nothing more to say.

Then, pushing her luggage, she walked out of my sight.

After Xia Xia had completely left.

I saw the lawyer out.

Put on gloves, and began collecting the property.

But the moment the door opened.

Looking at everything before me.

I almost threw up.

Chapter 5

Approaching the house.

In the entranceway, the floor was scattered with clumped cat litter.

A breeze blew by, and the disgusting smell of cat urine assaulted my nostrils.

My head started to spin, I felt dizzy.

Continuing into the living room.

One leg of the sofa was broken, the edges had obvious indentations, feeling like the foam was completely damaged, with dirty socks flying about.

There were even black silk stockings stained with dried white fluid.

My expression completely darkened.

I unconsciously gritted my teeth.

In the bedroom, the mattress had the smell of stale urine soaked in, and the originally white floor was covered with a thick layer of what looked like mold or dirt.

I immediately lost control.

At that moment, the property management's utility information also came over.

For the last quarter.

3 months, utilities cost 5,000 yuan.

My pupils completely dilated.

Even with constant use.

My place doesn't have floor heating, and it wasn't the season for needing fans or heaters.

Normal electricity use—how did she manage to average over 1,800 yuan per month?

I thought perhaps my home's electricity meter was malfunctioning.

After asking property management to investigate, they informed me the meter was normal.

I took out my phone and forwarded the property management's billing screenshot to Xia Xia.

At this moment.

I suddenly remembered I had spent nearly 6,000 yuan on a set of height-adjustable desk and chair. Because my desk at home was perfectly adequate with no extra space, and the study happened to need a desk, I left it in this house for the tenant's use.

Thinking of this.

I turned and rushed into the study.

What I saw stunned me.

Where the desk once stood was now completely empty.

And the books that had been on my bookshelf were scattered about, some missing pages, others crumpled and wrinkled.

Even more infuriating.

The matching ergonomic chair I had was also falling apart.

Damn.

Even a cow rolling on it wouldn't cause such damage. How much force had been used!

I completely lost my composure.

She didn't reply to the forwarded utility information.

I directly called her.

"Where is my desk?" Not bothering with pleasantries, I went straight to the point.

"I moved it out. This counts as part of your breach of contract price. Taking your desk isn't excessive, is it?"

"Have you no shame? You left my place in this condition, I'm not even charging you cleaning fees, and now you're secretly taking my height-adjustable desk. If you liked it, you could have told me, I could have sold it to you at a discounted price. What is this, isn't this theft, do you understand!"

My words grew increasingly intense, but Xia Xia didn't seem intimidated.

"So what? Your breach of contract can offset everything!"

This sentence immediately maxed out my anger meter.

I originally felt there was no need to reason with her, but Xia Xia kept challenging my bottom line.

"So what if I breached the contract? This is my house, I just don't want you living here, so what?"

She was shameless, I could be more shameless.

Unexpectedly, this actually worked.

This sentence directly left Xia Xia speechless.

"I'm telling you, constant complaints from neighbors, the contract amount is crystal clear in black and white. You won't accept a rent reduction and then play dirty. For a tenant like you with no public morality, unwilling to vacate, trying to occupy the house, landlords should have avoided you long ago."

"Also, did you see the utility bill from property management? You exceeded normal usage last quarter, you need to pay 5,000 yuan. According to the contract, I should pay you 4,500 in breach fees, plus your 1,500 deposit, you should have 6,000 coming. But you took my several thousand yuan height-adjustable desk without permission and damaged my chair. I'm valuing that at half price, 3,000 yuan for you. Adding the utilities, that's 8,000 total. You still owe me 2,000 yuan."

Xia Xia actually scoffed.

"Hmph, your calculations are really something. Pay you 2,000? I'll pay your sister! In your dreams!"

"What trick are you trying to pull now?"

My heart tightened, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"You'll see if you just wait and see."

The next day, I finally understood what she meant by "wait and see."

I was about to continue pursuing my "debt" from Xia Xia when an unknown phone call came in first.

"Ms. Chen? Someone has reported you for tax evasion."

Chapter 6

"Please come to the tax system to pay the penalties..."

Before the other person could finish.

I instinctively thought it was a scam and hung up.

Until the phone rang again.

I froze.

After some information verification.

The staff member explained that because my rental business hadn't issued invoices to tenants, I needed to pay the penalties soon.

My knuckles gripping the phone turned white from anger.

I could guess with my eyes closed who had reported me.

When we signed the contract, I had asked if she needed an invoice.

Xia Xia had waved it off: No need.

Because communication had been smooth and she was very polite, I hadn't thought much of it.

Who knew she would keep this card up her sleeve.

I blame myself for really not having the mindset of someone born after 2000.

Now.

I could only suffer in silence, unable to speak of my bitterness.

I opened my computer and logged into the tax system.

"Fuck."

Seeing the tax amount due, I couldn't help but explode.

I had to pay nearly 3,000 in taxes.

Plus the height-adjustable desk set Xia Xia had taken.

Good grief.

All told, I might as well have worked for nothing for a year.

Reluctantly paying the taxes, I called Xia Xia again.

Who knew, the phone rang twice before she hung up.

I called again, she hung up again.

She wouldn't answer the phone, and WeChat was no better.

Sure enough, I was deleted from WeChat again.

I sent a text message:

"If you don't want me to sue you, you'd better show up voluntarily."

Not long after, the text reply came quickly.

It was a smug emoji.

"Was it you who reported me to the tax bureau? You were the one who refused my offer of an invoice!"

Xia Xia didn't directly answer my question but instead laughed on her own.

"Now you know how it feels to be 'debt-collected,' right? That's exactly the effect I wanted. I just wanted to see you in this pathetic state! Hilarious."

With things said to this point.

There was no way to part amicably with her.

"Fine, if you won't admit it. So you're not planning to pay me back for my desk and chair."

"Be more confident, remove 'not planning to.' I never intended to pay."

"You..." My anger surged, I was teetering on the edge of losing my mind.

But seeing me so enraged, Xia Xia seemed to have achieved her goal.

"Hahahaha, your face must be all wrinkled with anger now, great! This is all your retribution!"

She wasn't wrong.

My anger level was indeed at maximum.

These days.

Being a landlord is really tough, for a bit of rent, having to humble yourself.

Even so, I couldn't encourage Xia Xia's arrogance.

"Fine, just wait for the court summons. I'll make you spit out this money. If you don't want to pay, then return my desk and chair set to me. We'll see about that."

After sending the message.

I immediately arranged two things.

First, I scheduled the cleaning lady I regularly work with to do a full house cleaning.

Second, I called my lawyer friend and told her the whole story about Xia Xia.

"Do you have all the evidence?" my friend asked urgently.

I sent over text message screenshots and recent ineffective WeChat communications.

My friend tsk-tsked and shook her head:

"The evidence isn't sufficient. We're missing some more direct and effective evidence. See if you can collect any?"

"You can try to provoke her into saying something incriminating, then record it."

Following my friend's suggestion.

I tried to provoke some topics to get Xia Xia to incriminate herself.

But Xia Xia started playing hide-and-seek again, not replying to a single text message.

I was troubled for a day with no progress.

Just as I was puzzling over how to entrap Xia Xia.

The cleaning lady started sending me emergency calls.

"Xiao Chen, um, that..."

I asked her what had happened.

Sister Gu, the cleaning lady, hesitated, finding it difficult to speak.

"The things under the bed, you should come see for yourself." At the end, she said softly.

Chapter 7

After hanging up, I rushed to my rental property.

As soon as I entered.

Sister Gu led me to the bedroom, pointing to the dirty things she had sorted out.

I took a closer look.

Before my eyes were all sorts of brands and models of contraceptives, lingerie, sex toys, and disgustingly, even bread for people was banana-shaped.

Sister Gu and I put on gloves, and after squatting down, I picked up a playing card.

"Truth or Dare: Lick the other person's toes."

"Truth or Dare: Ride on the other person,牵着 them with stockings and crawl around the room."

"Truth or Dare: Stick your butt up for the other person to spank for 10 seconds."

"Truth or Dare: Lotus position for one minute."

Scattered next to the playing cards were various brands of condoms, Sagami 001, Elephant water lubricants...

In such quantities that one might think she was running a store specializing in adult products.

I picked up the banana-shaped bread.

So disgusted I almost vomited.

"Xiao Chen, look over here."

Following Sister Gu's finger, I stood up and opened the closet.

The cabinet was full of cigarette boxes piled so high that they all spilled out the moment the door opened.

"Your tenant has many tricks up her sleeve, I see she's not simple. You'd better investigate this thoroughly." Although Sister Gu was just a cleaning lady, from her years of experience, I read another meaning in her words.

Perhaps.

She really was engaging in some unsavory business in my house.

But this was just my suspicion.

I instructed Sister Gu to thoroughly disinfect the house inside and out.

If she was really doing that kind of business in my house.

I can't imagine how dirty it must be.

After arranging this.

I was about to send another text message to Xia Xia but received an unprecedented proactive message from her.

Earlier.

I had already asked my friend to file the lawsuit.

By now, Xia Xia should have received the court summons.

She was probably getting anxious.

"Chen, what do you mean by this? Tell me! So calculating, I really didn't see this side of you before!"

I replied with a cold smile:

"I should thank you for this. If not for that 2,000 yuan, I never would have discovered my talent for being calculating!"

"Crazy! All you think about is money, money, money. Have you fallen into a money pit? Don't you know how bad the job market is..."

"Hey, stop right there. Just because you don't go out to work doesn't mean you can't work from home."

I tried to fish for information, and also wanted to verify what I had seen in the room earlier.

Who knew, Xia Xia replied instantly without thinking:

"Those things aren't mine."

I paused, then smiled.

"Did I mention what things? Why are you so quick to shift blame?"

"Damn it, you're trying to trap me!" This retort really angered Xia Xia.

"I am trapping you. If you're sensible, quickly pay me the 2,000 yuan you owe me! Or just return my height-adjustable desk quietly."

The other person suddenly fell silent, the phone line quiet.

The sudden silence made me think things might turn around.

The text message didn't come again.

After a while, Xia Xia called from an unknown number:

"Chen, let me tell you, you won't get a single penny out of me! Sue me in court, I have plenty of time to waste. Even if they enforce the judgment, I have no money and nothing valuable. You just tried to trap me, didn't you? You provoked me. I'm going to make you pay for this! Trying to trap me, let you try. Ten minutes, just you wait."

Xia Xia spoke with undisguised curses.

Ten minutes later.

My doorway was chaotic.

Through the security camera.

I saw a group of unfamiliar young people "causing trouble" at my door.

Just as I was about to open the door, my friend's call stopped me.

"Is your house being surrounded? Don't open the door! Don't go out! Another post criticizing you is trending on social media, saying you're not paying the breach fees and the tenant has to pay extra! Your door number and photos of your door are clearly posted online, along with chat records between you and your tenant. The records are obviously Photoshopped. Now netizens only think you're a landlord with no integrity, and they're all on her side."

I tried my best to calm my emotions.

After calming down, I said:

"Don't argue with fools. When the time comes, the truth will reveal itself. Let's see how long she can hide."

"Don't worry, as long as you can wait, once she appears, it won't just be about the money. Fabricating negative facts and exposing others' privacy is enough for her to drink some tea too."

But even so.

No matter what method I used, I couldn't lure the snake out of its hole.

Waiting for the first court hearing would take too long.

Helpless, I could only use some crude methods, continuing to search for her.

This way, the battle line stretched out quite long.

Just when I was at my wit's end.

I came across a complaint post.

Chapter 8

"Strong cigarette smell drifting from the neighbor's at night, any good methods to persuade them to move out?"

This familiar pattern caught my attention.

I clicked on her homepage to look.

It was a newly created small account.

All the posts were complaint and help-seeking posts.

Almost every post repeated the same content: pungent cigarette smell, doorbell ringing at set times.

Oh, and one more addition.

Every day, she would find spoiled, rotten garbage at her door. Through the transparent garbage bags, it was all tissues.

I immediately opened the private message dialog with her.

"Is your neighbor male or female?"

"A very strange girl, almost never see her go out. Three meals a day are all takeout, and it seems like people are always looking for her."

"Do you have photos?"

"Who would think to take photos!"

"Where do you live?" I eagerly asked the key question.

"Who are you?"

Seeing her hesitation, I voluntarily shared with her the same thing that had happened to me.

And, I strongly suspected her neighbor.

Was my former tenant Xia Xia.

"Fuck, I live in Building B of Central Garden!"

Getting this answer.

I was amazed at such a coincidence.

Xia Xia was actually hiding in our residential complex!

"I'll take the initiative to knock on the door tomorrow and take photos directly," she volunteered.

"Good, waiting for your photos."

We added each other on WeChat.

After some communication, she told me she knew of my existence.

She had also seen that "Avoid the Landlord with No Integrity" post before.

Initially, she had sided with the tenant, but after I explained and sent her screenshots, she was determined to help me dig out this "rat."

After a night of people feeling unsettled.

It was the next evening when I received the photos she sent via WeChat.

"Take a look, is it your bizarre tenant?"

Clicking on the photo, the original image loaded.

It was her!

It really was her.

Now that I had found Xia Xia's hiding place.

I wasn't in a hurry to alert her.

I told my lawyer friend my suspicions about Xia Xia being involved in prostitution in my house, explaining the whole story.

My friend's righteous and fiery temper was even less patient than mine.

She directly took me to the police station.

What a coincidence.

The police station recently had a network set up in our residential complex, investigating a batch of hidden "brothels."

My effective evidence.

Accelerated their case progress.

Within two days.

The police went directly to investigate, starting with Xia Xia's home.

I followed behind the police.

When Xia Xia's door opened, a disheveled man opened it.

Seeing the police.

His face turned pale, and he helplessly squatted on the ground with his head in his hands.

When Xia Xia came out, she tried to turn and hide in the bedroom.

But it was too late.

She was immediately stopped by rushing police officers.

When the police led the handcuffed Xia Xia out.

Xia Xia saw me, and her eyes immediately filled with anger.

She wanted to speak but stopped.

Finally, she gave a cold snort.

Walking past me.

I didn't forget to pursue my debt: "And don't forget you complained about how hard it is to find work. My mere 2,000 yuan, don't forget to send it to me."

Xia Xia suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Turned around, and flipped me off.

I learned from my friend that.

The team led by "Xia Xia" providing sexual services had their operation in our Central Garden residential complex.

They occupied almost the entire building.

After Xia Xia confessed, the police, based on the apartment numbers she provided.

Wiped them out all at once.

Added to the series of incidents my friend had already filed regarding the debt case.

Xia Xia's charges increased by several more.

The result was just as my friend had said.

Enough to "drink some tea."

In court, her attitude was still arrogant, full of lies, refusing to pay me the 2,000 yuan she owed.

Finally, it went to direct enforcement.

I received the compensation that was originally mine.

Afterward.

I hired a renovation team to completely renovate the house with deep remodeling—what needed to be demolished was demolished, what needed to be built was built, what needed painting was painted.

After completion and handover, I arranged for Sister Gu to come for a week, conducting deep disinfection and cleaning of the house daily.

When everything was properly arranged.

The blogger from Building B who had posted also helped correct the previously sensationalized breach of contract incident for me.

A wave of people, attracted by the soft furnishings in my house.

All made appointments to view and rent my place.

Life returned to an orderly routine once again.

So, existence has its reasons.

Don't disregard the law for your own selfish interests and ruin your future.