Because it was raining and it was lunchtime, there weren’t many people in the library. Even the librarian was asleep, sprawled across the service desk.

That left me with no choice but to return the books at the self-service machine nearby.

“You usually read books about beauty?”

Tan Yong watched from the side as I scanned the books and placed them into the return slot. He awkwardly tried to start a conversation.

“Of course! If you don’t take proper care of your skin and develop good lifestyle habits, your skin can get damaged very easily.”

I replied playfully, “Do you think all those pretty girls are naturally beautiful? Even someone like me needs meticulous skincare, nourishment, and a whole pile of makeup before I can achieve this effect.”

While deliberately making my looks sound like the result of skincare products, I pulled Tan Yong toward the elevator beside the library.

“Do you usually watch anime?”

When we entered the elevator, I pressed the button for the third floor.

“Sword Art Online? Attack on Titan? Four-four-four-four-sword style!”

After the elevator doors closed, I energetically struck a silly sword-wielding pose like Kirito.

“Starburst Stream!”

“What are those things you’re talking about?”

Tan Yong looked a little awkward.

“I’ve watched One Piece and Naruto. I only watched a little of Naruto, though. It didn’t seem very good, so I stopped.”

“What about Attack on Titan?”

I raised my right hand to my left chest and said solemnly, “Dedicate your hearts to Commander Erwin!”

“I haven’t watched it.”

Tan Yong gave a bitter smile.

“I don’t usually watch this kind of thing.”

Perfect. Not watching these things meant there was a huge generation gap between us.

I secretly rejoiced.

Yes. Time to increase the firepower.

“What does Brother Tan Yong usually watch, then? The Sun Penetrates the Phantom? Riddle Story of Devil? Dream Eater Merry?”

I deliberately named several obscure anime series.

“N-no…”

“What about Mawaru Penguindrum? From the New World? Yuri Kuma Arashi?”

“I haven’t watched those either…”

Just then, the elevator doors opened.

“If you don’t watch anime, then you must watch TV dramas, right?”

I stretched out both arms to form a cross. Then I imitated Misuzu Kamio from *AIR*, wobbling as I walked out like she had on the bridge.

I turned around and looked at Tan Yong with hopeful eyes.

*The Big Bang Theory? Friends? The Outsider’s Bride, the Local Husband?*

Tan Yong still wore that bitter smile.

“No.”

“Then you must play games, right? Online games? You boys like those best.”

Earlier, when I returned to the dorm, I’d deliberately grabbed Chen Xiaorui while she was chatting with her boyfriend on the bed. I’d questioned her about Tan Yong in a stern, accusatory tone.

“Talk! Why did you sell me out?”

“I didn’t!”

“And you still say you didn’t? Tan Yong already confessed. You told him about me! You said I’m very frugal with food every day, and you even told him all kinds of things about me in the dorm!”

“Uh, well… that’s because he bought me a cup of bubble tea. Besides, I didn’t tell him anything particularly important…”

“Oh, really? You sold me out for one measly cup of bubble tea? Chen Xiaorui, just watch me have my way with you today!”

“Ah… no, no! Xiaoxue, don’t get handsy… Ahaha… Not there!”

And so, under my “threats,” Chen Xiaorui told me the basics about Tan Yong.

She told me about his personality, what he usually liked to eat, the games he enjoyed, and so on.

Like most male college students, Tan Yong had been “forced” by his roommates to play games like *League of Legends* and *PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds*.

As for mobile games, he’d played *Game for Peace* and *Honor of Kings*.

They were almost all mainstream games, and Tan Yong was terrible at every one of them.

That’s just how boys are. I understood.

If everyone in a dorm played a certain game and you didn’t, you’d be labeled “antisocial.” Before long, the entire dorm might isolate you.

So sometimes, gaming culture was just like drinking-table culture.

Both were forms of socializing.

“I play games. I often play with the class monitor and the others…”

“Do you play *World of Warships*? WoWS, that is. Big guns, giant warships—the romance of men! Boom, boom!”

I cut Tan Yong off immediately.

“I love *World of Warships*. I’ve played the Japanese Tier X destroyer Shimakaze, and the German Großer Kurfürst. The GK’s main strengths are its toughness and secondary guns. It’s hard for DDs to sneak up on it. It can lead a charge through smoke…”

“Uh…”

A huge string of technical terms spilled from my mouth. Tan Yong looked as if he’d been choked by them.

“It’s called *World of Warships*, right?”

After a long while, my classmate finally managed to force out a smile.

“I’ll take a look when I have time.”

That was exactly what I wanted.

By now, he should’ve realized that even in gaming—the field boys were supposedly best at—we had absolutely nothing in common.

He should give up while he still could.

“By the way, Brother Tan Yong, are you planning to rent or buy a place after graduation?”

After leaving the elevator, I went straight to the economics section. I pulled out a book about real estate.

“I’ll definitely rent at first. Otherwise, I’ll have to keep living with my family.”

After all those blows, Tan Yong looked completely dazed. He could only follow along as I led him to the economics shelves.

“Can you understand books like this?”

“Of course. I’ve been studying this subject lately.”

“Huh? Really? Aren’t we computer science majors?”

“But this is closely connected to our lives.”

I answered seriously, “Someone asked us before about our plans after graduating from college. If we don’t start learning about these things now, it’ll be easy to suffer later.”

Tan Yong sounded disdainful.

“You mean getting scammed by an agent and renting an overpriced place?”

“That’s not what I mean!”

I put my hands on my hips.

“Renting a place nowadays isn’t that simple.”

“One of my high school classmates didn’t get into college. After graduation, he went out to work and got scammed by an agent when he rented a place. But as long as you’re careful and check the property deed, you’ll usually be fine.”

“That’s why this involves some basic economics.”

I returned the book in my hand to the shelf and began searching for another one.

“Vanilla City has developed rapidly. Now there are lots of long-term rental apartments. The companies behind them are legitimate, publicly listed corporations.”

“They mainly acquire properties from landlords, renovate them, and rent them out to students like us. The apartments come fully furnished, so we can move in with just a suitcase. They offer regular cleaning, zero deposit with the first month paid upfront, and dedicated service staff.”

“When we rent, we sign a contract with them. The longer we stay, the cheaper the rent becomes. Brother Tan Yong, do you think that sounds reliable?”

“If it’s a major company, it should be more reliable than some shady agent.”

Tan Yong looked confused.

“What’s the problem with that?”

“There is a problem. These long-term rental apartments usually make us sign one- or two-year contracts. The monthly rent is much cheaper than ordinary rentals outside, and the apartments are nicely furnished, so college students love them.”

I found a book about market economics.

“Most college students don’t have much money when they first leave school. Most landlords require three months’ rent upfront, plus one month’s deposit. In other words, you have to pay four months of rent all at once before you can move in.”

“Sometimes we simply can’t afford that much at once. But long-term rental apartments don’t require a deposit. You can move in with your luggage after paying only one month’s rent.”

“The condition is that you have to stay for at least a year. But because it’s convenient and cheap, many college students choose this option. They sign the contract without even reading it carefully.”

“The problem is that this business model uses your name to borrow money from a third-party lending company. The moment you sign the contract, you’ve already taken out a loan with that company.”

“You repay it in twelve installments, while the entire amount is transferred to the long-term rental company at once.”

“For example, suppose the rent is 1,000 yuan per month. After you sign the contract, the company borrows 12,000 yuan from the lender in your name.”

“They receive the entire 12,000 yuan immediately. Each month, they pay the landlord’s rent, while you repay the lending company in twelve installments.”

I opened the book and followed the table of contents until I found the relevant section. Then I held it up for Tan Yong to see.

“Using this method, if they sign contracts with one hundred or one thousand college students, the long-term rental company gets a huge amount of working capital.”

“One student gives them 10,000 yuan. A thousand students gives them 10 million.”

“They only need to pay the landlords month by month. During that period, they can freely use the enormous amount of money still in their hands.”

“Usually, these companies use it to acquire more properties, cooperate with more landlords, and sign contracts with more tenants.”

“Oh…”

Tan Yong looked utterly confused.

“I think I understand. Those companies use our loans to make more money.”

“For this model to stay competitive, they have to keep pushing rents down.”

“On one side, they charge tenants less. On the other, they pay landlords more to secure their properties.”

“That creates enormous hidden risks. Long-term rental companies don’t actually make money from this model. They may even lose money.”

“Some companies lower the rent for students to 1,000 yuan a month, but pay landlords 1,500 yuan. They also have to pay their customer service staff, cleaners, and other employees.”

“They do all that just to borrow more money and expand their capital pool and influence.”

“Once the entire chain of funds breaks, everything collapses.”

“The company files for bankruptcy and runs away. Since the company stops paying rent, the landlord takes back the tenants’ apartments.”

“But because the tenants signed contracts, they still have to keep repaying the lending company for the next year—even though they no longer have a place to live.”

In the quiet library, I explained everything to the boy beside me in as calm a tone as possible.

“So, Brother Tan Yong, have you considered situations like this?”

“I’ve been preparing for my future life. You should know that my family is poor. My parents have already exhausted themselves just to send me to college.”

“So I don’t want my future partner to have no plans for the future at all.”

“Renting a place isn’t something you only need to consider after graduation. Even now, during our first or second year of college, a couple with a strong relationship can apply to move out of the dorms and rent a place together.”

“You can study while working part-time and saving money. But what if you aren’t prepared, and you and your girlfriend end up trapped in one of these rental loans?”

“You have nowhere to live, yet you’re saddled with tens of thousands in debt. What would you do then?”

“I…”

Tan Yong felt so ashamed that he lowered his head. After a long while, he finally stammered,

“I’m starting to think I might not be good enough for you…”