Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 911 - 912 Toxic Fatherly Love 44

Chapter 911: Chapter 912 Toxic Fatherly Love 44

While waiting for their university admission letters, Zhang Yu and Wang Lei kept themselves busy.

Under the blazing sun, they scoured for houses near F University. Each time they walked into a real estate agency and said they were there to buy a house, the staff would cast incredulous looks at them.

After all, the two of them came across as nothing more than school kids—how could they possibly be buying property?

Enduring the scorching heat of summer, taking two "kids" out to look at houses was something most real estate agents were unwilling to do. They felt that these two clueless youngsters were only here to kill time.

Eventually, a rookie agent stepped up. Her idea was simple: as a newcomer, she could gain experience. After all, clients who looked like serious buyers wouldn’t be handed to her anyway.

So this rookie agent began helping the two students search for houses. After running around for several days, the agency was filled with gossip.

Wang Lei was furious, feeling that those people were too out of line, but Zhang Yu held her back. "Let’s keep looking for houses," she said.

"Why waste time getting upset with them?"

"They’re just jealous," Zhang Yu said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Jealous that we’ve just finished the college entrance exams and already can own our own houses."

They continued house-hunting with the agent. Luckily, the properties were all nearby, otherwise this would’ve been far harder to endure.

After five days of looking, just as the rookie agent began harboring thoughts of giving up, Zhang Yu and Wang Lei finally picked houses they both liked.

"I’ll take this one," Zhang Yu said, choosing the upstairs unit.

"I’ll take the downstairs one," Wang Lei declared.

The agent had assumed they were only buying one house. "Which one do you want?" she asked, unsure what decision they had reached.

"I’ll take one; she’ll take the other," Zhang Yu explained. "Can you help us negotiate the price with the owner?"

The rookie agent was dumbfounded. Her voice trembled as she replied, having spent the last few days thinking of ways to tell them she wouldn’t continue showing them houses tomorrow.

The shock was overwhelming, like a bolt from the blue. She couldn’t stop swallowing nervously. "You’re sure you’re buying two houses?"

"Yes," Zhang Yu nodded after thinking for a moment. "Ask the owner if they can negotiate the price a bit."

Zhang Yu immediately shaved off several thousand from her offer. "If the owner agrees, I’ll let the parents step in."

Of course, if the owner wasn’t willing to lower their price, she didn’t feel the need to meet them.

"I’ll check with the owner." The rookie agent knew that as long as things went smoothly on the owner’s side, these sales were pretty much sealed.

After rounds of haggling over the price, the ownership of the houses changed hands, leaving the entire agency stunned. The people who had been skeptical moments earlier couldn’t believe it: these two who didn’t look like homebuyers actually meant business.

Regret hit hard. They had considered snatching the deal, but Zhang Yu insisted the rookie agent handle the transaction. "The one who braved the blazing sun to show us these houses deserves to close the deal," she said.

Once the property certificates were in hand, Zhang Yu immediately listed the houses with the agency. "For rent," she instructed.

When the staff at the agency learned that the rental income from the houses would fund Zhang Yu and Wang Lei’s university living expenses, they all became bitterly envious.

Though they muttered resentful comments, they secretly vowed that if they ever encountered such youthful-looking homebuyers again, they still wouldn’t bother taking them seriously.

With the issue of the houses settled, Zhang Yu and her group of four resumed their travels.

After some digging, Wu Hao finally learned where Zhang Yu now lived.

The most maddening part? The house had been bought outright in cash by Li Cuifen within a year, and the owner was none other than Zhang Yu.

Wu Hao was familiar with the community and had a rough idea of the price range for such a house.

He had been wanting to upgrade to a three-bedroom apartment for ages, but various setbacks kept delaying the plan.

Meanwhile, Li Cuifen and her family, with only two people living in their household, had casually purchased a three-bedroom unit. Wu Hao felt deeply resentful.

Walking through the neighborhood and observing its ambiance, he couldn’t help but admit that it was leaps and bounds better than his own complex.

Especially given its location—its affiliated middle school was one of the top schools in City S. Wu Hao could only imagine how wonderful it would be if Wu Jian and Wu Min could attend high school here.

As he strolled, envy burned through him. "Why hasn’t that old hag kicked the bucket yet?"

Even after being verbally sparred with by Zhang Yu’s sharp tongue, Wu Hao remained convinced that everything came down to Li Cuifen’s backing.

Once the old lady passed away, he believed Zhang Yu could be dealt with easily. He’d have no trouble handling her.

"Good middle school would lead to better high school opportunities," he muttered.

"Only then would my son outscore Zhang Yu in the college entrance exams," Wu Hao continued to grumble.

"Damn it, why won’t she just die?" Wu Hao now fervently wished for Li Cuifen’s early demise. Only if she were gone could he control Zhang Yu.

Finally, he arrived at Zhang Yu’s door after circling the place. He knocked repeatedly, but no one answered, which only incensed him further.

He figured Li Cuifen must’ve realized it was him at the door and chose not to respond deliberately. "That wretched crone," he cursed, "hiding inside and refusing to open the door—must be feeling guilty about something."

Wu Hao slammed on the door violently. At this point, considering he and Li Cuifen had already torn all semblance of politeness to shreds, it didn’t matter to him if their relationship deteriorated further.

The neighbor next door happened to arrive home from work and, noticing someone knocking on Zhang Yu’s door, wasn’t particularly bothered until he overheard Wu Hao’s insults.

"Who are you? No one’s answering the door, so why are you resorting to cursing?" the neighbor asked.

When Wu Hao turned to see a tall middle-aged man standing behind him, he instinctively backed down and stammered, "My daughter lives here."

As soon as he said that, the tall man stared at Wu Hao for a long time. "You’re Wu Hao, aren’t you?"

Flustered, the words barely left Wu Hao’s mouth: "You—you know my name?"

The middle-aged man smirked coldly. "Your name? Oh, it’s infamous—known far and wide."

"Stop knocking. They’re not at home," said the tall man as he walked to his own door next door, unlocking it and entering with swift, fluid movements.

Wu Hao’s expression darkened. He was sure he didn’t know the man, but this remark about his name being infamous was clearly a jab, revealing that people had gossiped poorly about him here.

Enraged, Wu Hao stormed off, determined this wasn’t the end of things. Once Zhang Yu and the bitter old woman returned, he planned to confront them. These people were beyond outrageous—it was simply too much.

As Wu Hao glanced once more at the neighborhood and compared it to his own, memories of the earlier pride he had felt upon moving into his complex resurfaced. Back then, he thought the place was wonderful, and he felt a certain bliss.

But now, the area Li Cuifen had chosen to live in was leagues better, utterly eclipsing his. Wandering this neighborhood, even casual strolls seemed to bring joy.

Especially when bragging to friends about living in such a community—they would envy him immensely.

Meanwhile, to earn enough money for his children’s summer tutoring classes, Wu Hao had started taking odd jobs nonstop. He had already looked into it—once they entered middle school, tutoring fees would spike even higher.

He knew that he’d have to work even harder starting now; otherwise, the pace of earning money wouldn’t keep up with the rate at which it was spent.

Compared to Zhang Yu and her peers, who simply packed up and went off on a vacation, Wu Hao sighed repeatedly at the stark contrast. Regret overwhelmed him.

No common ground? So what? At least life wouldn’t be this exhausting—just think of how delightful their carefree existence seemed.