He promised himself a long nap until the afternoon, and Gu Zhinan was always true to his words—never breaking a promise.

  When he opened his eyes, his phone showed that it was already past 2 PM!

  "I haven’t completed today’s task yet!" Gu Zhinan suddenly remembered. His daily task was to recall memories. As a qualified replication expert, he had to dedicate time every day to remembering things!

  He couldn't sck off. Gu Zhinan quickly got up and rushed to his computer—he hadn't pre-uploaded today's chapter either!

  That’s my meal ticket!

  Opening his computer and logging into the novel publishing ptform, sure enough, he was te. Gu Zhinan’s novel was published on Baidu, the rgest online novel ptform in China of this world.

  Almost all online authors published their works here, and Gu Zhinan was no exception.

  "Scumbag author not updating?"

  "He's gone MIA, folks! Stop waiting!"

  "Oh no, it's been over an hour! Did the author die suddenly?"

  "What a shame, the story’s really good. (Sending flowers, sending flowers)"

  The test comments on his novel Qin's Moon filled his screen. Just an hour of dey, and people were already going wild.

  If this were his original world, those big-name authors he followed—especially the one who wrote Chinese Padin—were the kings of ghosting their readers!

  If I were them, this would basically mean I'm skipping updates!

  Feeling inspired, Gu Zhinan smirked as he read the readers’ passionate compints. While basking in their "love," he casually uploaded the test chapter and left a little heartfelt note below:

  PS: Got held up. Love you all, mwah!

  Perfect. Now no one would care that he overslept!

  He initially pnned to wash his face and grab some snacks, but then he remembered—the ndlord was probably still outside. That cold and intimidating aura… Yeah, maybe snacks weren’t that important after all.

  Mainly, he just didn’t want to risk running into her, getting embarrassed, and messing up his creative flow. That would suck.

  Opening his Chinese Padin draft, Gu Zhinan skimmed through his test notes and started brainstorming. His memories slowly resurfaced—the te nights he spent binge-reading the novel, the smooth scrolling text on his phone.

  Was this his golden finger?

  Whenever he recalled something, the scenes in his mind became clearer, depending on how focused he was. If a memory got stuck, he would just repy it over and over until it sharpened!

  Today’s recall session was particurly smooth. As his fingers flew across the keyboard, he muttered the lines to himself, fully immersed in the flow of the story.

  By the time he stopped, his hands were sore, but he had already outlined the mid-to-te parts of the novel. Everything was progressing smoothly. Once Qin's Moon was finished, Chinese Padin would absolutely blow people’s minds!

  If this speed came purely from his own creative thinking, back in his original world, people would call it nothing short of genius!

  Or, in two words: Absolutely insane!

  Other web novel authors would think he was hacking!

  But Gu Zhinan knew the truth—he was just riding on the coattails of the greats. At best, he was a mediocre memory-based copy machine.

  His stomach growled. Time to eat.

  But then he remembered—someone was still outside. Annoying.

  When he finally opened the door, a girl was sitting quietly at the dining table. Who else could it be but Xia An’ge? She was eating takeout in silence, using her left hand a little awkwardly. Even so, the way she ate had a strangely elegant charm to it.

  Who says good looks can't be a meal on their own? This was definitely eye candy!

  Xia An’ge barely spared him a gnce before looking away.

  Her leg still hurt, she was all dirty and couldn’t even shower because of the wound.

  "Uh, good afternoon." Gu Zhinan broke the silence first.

  Xia An’ge ignored him completely.

  He didn’t mind, just went ahead and started cleaning up his breakfast dishes before heading to the kitchen.

  "Wait."

  A cool voice stopped him. Xia An’ge had spoken.

  Gu Zhinan turned, a little confused, waiting for her to continue.

  She looked at the chair across from her. Understanding her cue, he put down the dishes and sat.

  "Can you move out? I want to live alone."

  After a long pause, she finally spoke again, her voice soft, almost guilty. After all, she was the one who had arranged for Ruan Ying to rent this pce out, and now she was kicking him out.

  "Huh?"

  Gu Zhinan hadn’t expected that. How do rich people operate in this world?

  He didn’t want to move. The pce was comfortable, and it was the first pce he’d lived in since transmigrating. He had even thought about buying it if he got rich someday!

  "We won’t bother each other. You do your thing, I do mine. Plus, I’ve already paid a whole year’s rent."

  "I can refund you."

  Xia An’ge’s voice was small, her peach blossom eyes darting away. She still had 30,000 yuan, enough to return his rent.

  So there was no room for discussion?

  Gu Zhinan sighed. He really didn’t want to move, but she was the ndlord, and she was even willing to break the contract and refund him.

  "Alright, hold on."

  He got up and went to his room. Two minutes ter, he came back with a printed A4 document, sliding it toward Xia An’ge.

  "When I signed the lease, the contract clearly stated: shared apartment, secondary bedroom, 1,200 yuan per month, utilities not included. If I break the lease before six months, I forfeit both my deposit and rent."

  As Xia An’ge picked up the document, he continued.

  "I’ve lived here for five months now. But since you want me to move, it doesn’t count as me breaking the lease. Now, read the next part—if the ndlord asks the tenant to leave before the lease is up, they must pay triple the penalty. I paid 14,400 for a year, plus a six-month deposit of 7,200. So, just 64,800 yuan, and I’ll be on my way. Thanks, boss! You’re so generous!"

  Gu Zhinan was truly grateful to his past self for insisting on this cuse. He had been completely broke back then, but it was worth it!

  Xia An’ge stared at the contract, her small lips slightly parted, her peach blossom eyes looking even more enchanting in shock.

  "Xiao Ying never told me about this…?"

  She was beyond surprised. She vaguely remembered Ruan Ying showing her a contract back then, but she had been practicing her singing and told her to hold onto it. She had no idea these were the terms!

  And there was no way she could cough up over 60,000 yuan!

  Gu Zhinan watched her stunned expression, a little suspicious. Did she really not know?

  Did that shady agent scam him?!

  "Uh… You go ahead. I—I need to think about it."

  Xia An’ge finally spoke again, her voice unsteady.

  "Oh."

  Gu Zhinan shrugged, picked up his dishes, and walked into the kitchen.