As anyone familiar with the underlying lore of the series knows, the residents of the iPartment complex are, for the most part, incredibly wealthy.
Hu Yifei is a fierce PhD candidate and a lecturer at the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University. While she might not possess billions in liquid cash, her social standing is ironclad. After all, being a professor at a top-tier national university commands absolute respect and a stable, high-level income anywhere in the country.
Zeng Xiaoxian is a salaried host at the Shanghai Radio Station. Even though his late-night program, Your Moon, My Heart, has abysmal ratings and practically zero listeners, it is still an iron rice bowl—a secure, government-affiliated broadcasting job!
Guan Gu Shenqi is a published manga artist who enjoys moderate fame in his industry. More importantly, he is the direct heir to the legendary Guan Gu culinary dynasty in Japan, making him a legitimate, wealthy second-generation aristocrat.
Tang Youyou might seem like an unreliable, struggling actress who is notorious for dying in every minor extra role she takes, but in the brutal reality of the entertainment industry, regularly securing speaking roles means she has long since clawed her way out of the bottom tier. At the very least, she is a highly paid, top-notch supporting actress.
Lin Wanyu and Lu Zhanbo are naturally in a league of their own. Wanyu is the runaway heiress to the Lin Financial Banking Dynasty; she has literally never comprehended the value of money since birth. Zhanbo is a certified genius with a PhD from MIT—a title that alone guarantees a multi-million yuan starting salary in Shanghai's tech sector.
And then there is Zhang Wei!
Do not let his pathetic, miserable image fool you. He is a certified attorney—a highly lucrative, elite profession. He isn't poor; he is just pathologically, comically stingy.
In reality, the core cast of iPartment would be considered high-level, white-collar elites even in a suffocatingly competitive metropolis like Shanghai. Ordinary, working-class civilians simply do not possess the financial or social qualifications to enter their social circle. Therefore, they are rarely sensitive to standard monetary transactions. To people of their status, losing a few thousand yuan is barely a blip on the radar.
Of course, even the grandest emperors have a few impoverished relatives. Among this elite cast of characters, there is one bickering pair that genuinely lacks capital.
Lu Ziqiao and Chen Meijia.
They have survived by grifting, mooching, and cheating. Neither of them has ever held a proper, salaried job or maintained a stable income. However, at least Ziqiao is a masterful con artist who can swindle serious cash using his silver tongue and predatory wits.
But Chen Meijia?
'With her pathetic intellect, it's an absolute miracle she isn't scammed on a daily basis, let alone capable of running a con on someone else,' Adrian mused coldly from his seat in the bar.
"Looking for a job? Doesn't she already have one?" Adrian asked, feigning casual curiosity after overhearing Yifei complaining to the group.
Because the timeline of the merged reality was incredibly chaotic, Adrian could only rely on his general outline of the plot. Even the main characters would probably struggle to keep their own convoluted timelines straight.
"Don't even remind me!" Yifei spat, burying her face in her hands. "Yesterday, I swallowed my pride and begged the department head to arrange a simple administrative assistant job for her at the university. And what did that idiot girl do? In exactly six hours, she managed to completely wreck the filing system and made me lose massive face in front of the dean!"
Yifei possessed a notoriously sharp, violent tongue, but she ultimately had a soft heart. Even though she fully acknowledged Meijia was hopelessly unreliable, she still turned to Adrian with a hopeful look.
"Landlord, since you just officially took over the bar, do you happen to need a waitress or something? I know Meijia is a bit of an airhead, but she should at least be able to handle carrying trays and serving drinks without burning the place down."
"Yifei, are you out of your damn mind?! You want Meijia working here at the bar?!" Lu Ziqiao erupted, practically leaping out of the booth in panic. "How the hell am I supposed to operate with her watching my every move?!"
You have to understand, the downstairs bar was Ziqiao's primary hunting ground. It was where he deployed his "Lu Xiaobu" alias to seduce naive women. If Chen Meijia—his chaotic ex-ex-ex-ex-girlfriend—was constantly patrolling the floor with a serving tray, how could he possibly run his scams?
"Actually, that sounds absolutely perfect, Landlord!" Yifei laughed sharply, clearly amused by Ziqiao's sheer terror. "At least with Meijia working here, you won't have to worry about Ziqiao constantly harassing your regular female customers and driving away business!"
"I am currently short-staffed," Adrian replied smoothly, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "However, the bar requires a certain... finesse. But I do have a different, rather simple position available that requires someone entirely trustworthy. I wonder if Meijia is up to the task?"
Even without Ziqiao's frantic interruption, Adrian would have never allowed Chen Meijia to work in the bar. How could he possibly break these women psychologically and conquer them one by one if they were constantly surrounded by their protective friends?
'In warfare, dividing the enemy to conquer them individually is a fundamentally different strategy than launching a frontal assault,' Adrian calculated. He needed to isolate her.
"Oh, you can absolutely rest assured about that, Landlord! Meijia might be terrible at basic math, but she is an incredibly loyal and reliable person. I stake my reputation on it!" Yifei declared, generously patting her own chest in a masculine display of confidence.
Adrian's eyes briefly dropped to her chest. 'It is a profound tragedy,' he critiqued silently. 'Her waist and legs are flawlessly athletic, but her chest is a genuine biological flaw. Barely a ripple.'
"As you are all aware, my real estate portfolio is rather extensive. Personally collecting and managing the rent ledgers every single month has become a tedious chore," Adrian lied effortlessly. "I am looking to hire a reliable personal assistant to manage my properties and collect the rent."
"Rent?! Did someone say rent?! I already paid this month's rent, Boss!" The moment the trigger word hit his ears, Ziqiao snapped to attention, raising his hand defensively.
"Relax, Ziqiao. I am not referring to your unit. I am talking about my other properties," Adrian said dismissively.
"But Landlord, is it really necessary to hire a dedicated, full-time assistant for such a trivial matter?" Yifei frowned, crossing her legs. "While I deeply appreciate you giving Meijia an opportunity, I cannot let you invent a useless job just to do us a favor. I won't let you be taken advantage of."
Seriously, it was only March. Wasn't she freezing wearing denim shorts that incredibly high up her thighs?
"I currently own over a hundred premium properties in the Huangpu District alone. I honestly haven't even tallied how many commercial units I own in the outer rings," Adrian said smoothly, casually stroking his chin with an air of aristocratic boredom. "If I rely solely on myself to manage the logistics, I am afraid the paperwork would consume my entire week."
Admittedly, he currently only possessed the eighteen luxury deeds sitting in his penthouse safe. But with his new fifty-million-yuan leveraged position in the futures market, he knew with absolute, chilling certainty that within ten days, he would possess the capital to purchase hundreds more!
There was no need for modesty. A true predator's life required no explanation.
"Brother! I have finally found you!"
With a dramatic, theatrical wail, Lu Ziqiao's knees buckled. He collapsed to the bar floor, wrapping his arms around Adrian's leg and sobbing uncontrollably against his tailored trousers.
"Brother! Do you not remember me?! I am your long-lost younger brother, Lu Xiaobu! Our bloodline is reunited!"
"If you do not get off my leg in the next three seconds, I will permanently revoke your VIP bar tab," Adrian stated coldly, looking down at the playboy with absolute disdain.
"Let's just all have a good time together! Why do you constantly have to threaten my debt status? It really ruins the vibe, doesn't it?" Ziqiao instantly bounced up from the floor, his fake tears vanishing as he casually dusted off his knees.
"I will call Meijia down to officially interview with you right now!" Yifei pulled out her smartphone, completely ignoring Ziqiao's theatrics, and quickly dialed her roommate.
In less than five minutes, Chen Meijia skipped eagerly into the bar. She stopped right in front of Adrian, blinking her massive, naive eyes, and offered him a sickeningly sweet, dimpled smile.
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