The apartment Locke was looking for was very close to the Southern Cross Law Firm, but the residential area was a bit old. Most of the buildings on the outside looked gray and inconspicuous, and they looked like a bald spot among the many luxury buildings. The most embarrassing thing was that,

The newly installed suspended lanes and elevated highways in the past few years have passed over it perfectly, without any connection. Even the commercial street opposite it has lost its popularity, and its original commercial value has plummeted.

As we all know, sooner or later this place will be taken over and re-zoned, so the owners are hoarding it and not planning to sell it easily.

But the younger generation of homeowners don’t like living here, so only the elderly and tenants who don’t like to move are left here.

"This place just looks a bit old, but everything else is pretty good." Before entering the gate of the residential area, Locke glanced at Yan Suizhi's face and explained a little embarrassedly: "I looked around and bought it.

Things are convenient, but the traffic is a bit...but you can walk to Southern Cross here, no need to drive. In short, apart from the traffic, there is really not much to say. There are three major districts here, and students from several schools like to rent here.

, there are not many people around, so the security is pretty good.”

"The expression you look at me makes me feel like I'm a living explosive." Yan Suizhi said angrily.

Locke chuckled and scratched his head: "No, I'm just afraid that you think this place is too old."

Although Yan Suizhi told him that as long as the rent is suitable and the house is tidy, there are no other requirements. But he always felt that Yan Suizhi was like the kind of person who grew up with fine clothes and fine food, so he might not be able to bear this kind of dusty life.

Old area.

"How could that happen?" Yan Suizhi didn't care much, "I don't sleep on the bench in the community, so it has nothing to do with me whether I'm outside the building or not."

In fact, when he was particular, he really had requirements for the environment outside the house, but Locke had been worrying about this for a long time, and he would not spoil the little intern's interest.

The apartment is on the 9th floor. The landlord is tall and thin, with pale skin and blue eyes. It can be seen that when he was young, he must have been a slightly thin and handsome guy, but at this time, he already had deep wrinkles around his eyes and lips.

"I'm actually ready to wait until night." The landlord said, stretching out his hand to shake their hands, "Mervyn White, a poor landlord who has been waiting for you for a century."

Yan Suizhi: "Sorry, I almost had to go on a business trip again today and made you wait for the second century."

"Then I will engrave the rental contract on my epitaph, and I will rest in peace after you sign it."

Locke: "..." You two are really interesting.

Mervyn White seemed to be an acquaintance, and he started to talk a lot when they first met, but he did make people feel that he was very close and not restricted.

"Come on, I'll show you the layout first." He waved to Yan Suizhi, "Follow me. The shoe racks at the entrance are equipped with disinfection and sterilization functions. You can take them off and put them on as you please, and there won't be any odor.

, but I just smelled it and I think this function is of little use to you, but it will be very useful if guests come."

Yan Suizhi: "...Should I thank you for the compliment?"

"You're welcome." Mervyn White said again, "The password for the door is set here. After you sign the contract, I will allow you to press your thumb up. Of course, it's not possible yet."

He walked through the entrance hall and the short corridor directly opposite, and opened a door on the left. "This is the living room. There are two sets of sofas where you can lie down casually. Each one can lie down very comfortably. Through this glass partition, there is

Although the pots, bowls and kitchenware in the kitchen and dining room are not new, they are not much different from new ones. There may be some milk and frozen meat in the refrigerator, and they are all yours. And here... is the bathroom and utility room.

, give you a suggestion, close the sliding door on the bathtub when taking a bath to prevent water from splashing out. The floor is a bit slippery, and your beautiful face may be ruined if you fall. And this is the bedroom - "

He speaks very quickly, and if you respond a little slower, you may not be able to keep up with his rhythm.

However, the house is indeed very clean, with plenty of light. It does look like a very comfortable place to live. What's more, it also has an artistic atmosphere. The paintings hanging on the walls are very particular, and the lines and colors match every space just right.

While Yan Suizhi was waiting for the landlord to open the bedroom door, he raised his hand and touched a nearby painting.

It was an outline of a character drawn with charcoal and minimalist lines. It was a bit like the sketches of characters without facial features that fashion designers love to draw, but the focus was not on clothing, and it was not colored.

It can be seen that there is a man and a woman in the painting. The woman is sitting elegantly, reaching for a cup of tea, while the man puts a thumb rose into her teacup as if teasing her.

Mervyn Bai saw his movements and immediately raised his eyebrows and asked, "How is it? Isn't this painting pretty good?"

Yan Suizhi nodded, "Very good, I can see that the painter is a chic person."

Mervyn Bai became even more interested when he heard what he said, "Really? This can be seen? What else can be seen?"

"It can also be seen that the painter must have been a bachelor for ten thousand years." Yan Suizhi said.

Mervyn White: "..."

Yan Suizhi admired it for a while, then noticed the silence of the landlord of the broken mouth, "What?"

Mervyn Bai looked at him numbly for a long time, then poked himself with his thumb, "Thank you for your comment, the painter is here."

Yan Suizhi nodded clearly, "It seems that what I said is very accurate."

"..."

For a moment, Locke regretted introducing them to each other. He always felt that the landlord would kick them out at any time if he was poked twice in the foot. But then he realized that he was overthinking it. When had Yan Suizhi ever been so unlovable?

, oh, except for meeting old lawyer Hobbes.

In short, within two sentences, the landlord was already smiling and going to hook up with Yan Suizhi, "You know a lot about paintings."

Professor Yan Da, who didn't like to get too close to others, calmly avoided his claws and asked, "You painted all these paintings in the room?"

"Yes." Mervyn Bai said, "I have been living on rent and painting since I resigned. This has been more than twenty years."

Yan Suizhi nodded.

But Locke was a little curious, "Resigning? What did you do before?"

Mervyn Baizhou exudes the temperament of "enjoying life without restraint". He has a bit of a free-spirited attitude. He wears the loosest clothes and pants. He stays barefoot and hairless at home because of the floor heating and temperature control.

A braid was tied casually on the back of the head.

Judging from his current state, it is difficult to imagine what kind of job he had before.

Speaking of his previous job, Mervyn Bai seemed a little unhappy.

"Eh? Sorry, did I ask something I shouldn't have asked?" Locke sensitively noticed his expression, which showed that he had made some progress during this period of internship.

"Ah -" Mervyn Bai drawled, "It's not aimed at you, I just think of my previous job and I feel a little uninterested. My donkey face is for work, not for you."

He did not avoid Locke's question. He even said to Locke proactively with his eyes drooping, "What do you think I did before?"

"I don't know, it's hard to guess." Locke said, "I feel like he's a painter, someone who engages in art, or someone who organizes art and book exhibitions, or a designer?"

Every time he said something, Mervyn White shook his index finger, and at the end he felt a little more proud, "Unfortunately, it's all wrong. It seems that I have been very good over the years, and I have washed away my original temperament.

It’s very successful and gratifying.”

He gave it up and said, "I work in a hospital."

He knocked on the painting of a man and a woman on the wall again, "These two are the two people I met in the hospital. In a sense, they are one of my patients. When the expert doctor met them in the back garden of the hospital,

I happened to pass by it and was deeply impressed by that scene. Later, I remembered it occasionally and drew it."

The little fool Locke was stunned for a while, "Honestly, I can't tell at all. Is he a doctor?"

"Not really." Mervyn White said, "I am in a research laboratory and not in clinical practice, but I still have indirect contact with patients."

Even Yan Suizhi was a little surprised now.

Locke asked: "Research room? What are you studying?"

Mervyn Bai waved his hand, "Forget it, it's all happened in the past, I don't want to mention it anymore. Besides, it's been more than 20 years, and I have forgotten all the work content."

During the subsequent visit to the bedroom, Locke couldn't help but glance at him, and then at him again.

"Although this version of the temperature control device has been installed for ten years, the effect is pretty good." Mervyn Bai said, "If something goes wrong, you can call this number. This classmate, you have been targeting me for forty years.

Seven times, if you look at it two more times, I will suspect that you want to start a grandfather-grandson relationship with me."

"..."

Locke looked horrified, "No, wait, what grandchild? How old are you?"

Mervyn White gave him a startling eye roll, "Is there something wrong with your focus? I've counted on my fingers, and I'm not very old. I'm probably 70 years older than you."

According to this calculation, he is now over 90 years old. In fact, at 90 years old, he is still at the base of his tail in his prime, and it will take another 20 years to reach the tip of his tail. From this point of view, the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows and the decrees on his lips

The lines are a bit too deep, especially the two lines between the eyebrows. If I hadn’t frowned for many years, I would rarely have such deep lines.

Based on what I just said, it seems that his previous job did cause him a lot of trouble.

Mervyn Bai did not squeeze Locke anymore, but took them to the last door, "This is also a bedroom, but it is not within the scope of renting. All my own things are placed there. In fact, this is what I occasionally

I don’t plan to vacate the room where I will stay.”

He said this and opened the door of this room, "Although I don't rent it, I don't mind letting you visit it and cherish this opportunity. I will lock it later and you will never open it again."

Right."

Compared with the previously cleaned spaces, this bedroom truly shows signs of being occupied. There is even an antique notebook placed on the bedside with a pen inside, as if he had just left the house in the middle of writing.

Several rows of art-style bookshelves are nailed to the wall, and they are arranged in an orderly manner. Two rows contain collector's edition picture albums, and two sketchbooks are spread out on a certain page. The other rows are filled with various photos.

, occasionally with a few pots of fresh-colored cacti sandwiched in the middle.

"Look, for the convenience of renting a house, I specially replaced the flower vine with a cactus. You don't have to worry about it." Mervyn White said.

Yan Suizhi was very sincere: "I won't take care of it, don't worry. All the flowers and plants that I took care of in the past are dead."

Mervyn White: "...Then it's better to be noble."

Yan Suizhi's eyes swept across the photos. Most of them were photos of Mervyn Bai's paintings or art exhibitions, but there were two exceptions.

Those two pictures are quite old at first glance. From the style of clothing to the scenery, it can be seen that they were more than 20 years ago. In the photo, there is a cemetery, and Mervyn White is holding a white rest flower.

, walking slowly among the pines, cypresses and green trees, beside him and further behind him were rows of silent tombstones.

The other photo still shows the cemetery, but from a different angle. This time even Mervyn White himself did not leave the country, so he only took a picture of countless tombstones spread out into the distance among the dark green trees.
To be continued...