Chapter 6

Before they knew it, it was already nine o'clock.

Ye Tian hadn't left the house yet; he was waiting for someone.

"Knock knock..."

The sound of knocking on the door rang out.

"Just a moment, I'm coming!"

Ye Tian responded with a smile and walked towards the door.

The first face he saw was a cold one, belonging to the landlord, a middle-aged white woman, broad-shouldered and stout, weighing around 200 pounds!

"Hey, Susan, good morning!"

Ye Tian greeted her with a smile.

Susan returned a not-so-warm smile and then got straight to the point.

"Good morning, Steven. Is the rent ready? If not, you'll have to leave. You've already been two months overdue, and I can't extend the deadline any further!"

The rent here was $1,000 per month. When Ye Tian first moved in, he had some money and paid for a quarter in advance.

He originally thought he would find a job quickly and be able to afford the rent, so he wasn't worried.

But bad luck had followed him. In the past six months, he had applied for countless jobs and received nothing but cold rejections. The entire Manhattan had turned him down!

The little money he had left was just enough to sustain his basic needs, not enough to pay the rent!

So when the quarter was over, he could only drag it out day by day.

Now it had been two months, and today was the final deadline. If he couldn't pay, he would have to pack up and leave, ending up homeless.

Susan was a decent person, but when it came to money, she was ruthless! It was already very difficult for her to give him a two-month extension.

"Susan, thank you for your generosity, which has kept me from being homeless. I know today is the final deadline, and the rent is ready."

"Ah—!"

Hearing Ye Tian's words, Susan was taken aback and exclaimed in surprise.

She had already prepared to leave empty-handed today but was determined to reclaim the house. As for whether Ye Tian would be homeless, that was none of her concern!

But Ye Tian's response was completely unexpected, which is why she was so surprised.

Soon, Susan's face broke into a radiant smile.

"Great! You're a man of your word!"

Ye Tian's face turned slightly red, and he didn't respond to the compliment.

If it weren't for his encounter yesterday, he would have broken his promise today.

"Are you just paying the overdue rent, or are you paying for a few more months?"

Susan asked excitedly, her blue eyes gleaming with the sight of green dollars!

"Besides the two months of overdue rent, I'll pay for another quarter. Wait a moment, I'll get the money."

With that, Ye Tian turned and walked into the bedroom to get the rent.

Susan walked to the window and shouted down to the street.

"Paul, come up quickly!"

"Okay! I'm on my way!"

A loud voice responded from below, followed by the sound of a car door slamming shut.

Ye Tian heard this and couldn't help but smile.

Paul was Susan's husband, clearly there to clear out the room and kick him out.

Susan then turned around and saw Ye Tian standing in the living room, and she smiled awkwardly.

"Count this, it's $5,000, five months' rent."

Ye Tian smiled and handed over a stack of dollars, feeling a bit pained!

"Great!"

Susan took the cash with a smile and began to count it.

"Knock knock..."

The door was knocked again, this time with a forceful and aggressive momentum, clearly Paul had arrived.

Ye Tian walked over and opened the door, seeing another fat face.

"Hey! Steven."

Paul greeted him while looking around the room, his eyes wary.

When he saw Susan counting the money, his expression immediately changed, becoming warm and friendly, a stark contrast to his previous demeanor.

Ye Tian didn't have the energy to care about this and smiled, letting him into the room.

Soon, the two of them happily counted the bills and put them in their bags.

Only then did they notice the changes in the room, which was now clean and tidy, looking very comfortable. This made them very satisfied, after all, it was their property, and no one wanted it to become a pigsty!

Looking at Ye Tian, they also noticed many differences.

At this moment, Ye Tian looked radiant, full of energy, with bright and confident eyes, showing no signs of lethargy.

"That's what life should look like. You were too depressed before!"

Susan praised him.

"Indeed!"

Ye Tian nodded, things were different now!

"Did you find a job? I heard you used to do financial analysis. Are you back on Wall Street? If so, you won't stay in Brooklyn for long. The SC district of Manhattan is where you should be."

Susan asked with interest, her eyes filled with envy.

Manhattan, in the eyes of Americans, represented wealth, and it was indeed so. In the eyes of New Yorkers, Manhattan was the city, and the rest were the suburbs.

The SC district of Manhattan was a symbol of wealth and elite status, and everyone was proud to live there.

The Upper East Side was a residential area for the upper class, luxurious and splendid, home to the most elite group of people in America.

The Upper West Side was a middle-class residential area, quiet, reserved, and full of hope.

Ye Tian used to live in the Upper West Side, with ambitious plans to move into the Upper East Side. But fate had other plans, and now he didn't even have the means to stay in the Upper West Side!

Hearing Susan's question, Ye Tian couldn't help but think of his former home, his bright and glamorous job and life.

But all of that was now far away, and he was just a renter in Brooklyn.

He quickly snapped out of it and shook his head with a smile.

"I haven't found a job yet, and I'm not back on Wall Street. It's probably hard for me to go back in the future!"

"Ah!"

Susan and Paul were both surprised.

But they didn't press further, as it involved personal privacy.

After a few more words, they got up to leave.

Before leaving, Susan turned to Ye Tian and said:

"Don't be discouraged, keep trying. I've heard a Chinese saying, 'When the road ahead is blocked, hope lies around the corner.' It's very meaningful, and I'll pass it on to you."

"Thank you! I'll pull myself together!"

Ye Tian thanked Susan for her words of encouragement and saw them off.

Then he tidied up and prepared to head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to test his eye's ability.

It was one of the world's four major museums, with antiques of all eras, enough to help him understand the full extent of his abilities.

After leaving the house, Ye Tian didn't immediately go downstairs. Instead, he went to the sixth floor and knocked on Jason's door, intending to return the padlock he borrowed yesterday.

Based on his understanding of Jason, he should still be in bed.

Sure enough, Jason's voice soon came from inside.

"Who is it? What's up?"

"It's me, Steven. I'm here to return your padlock."

Ye Tian responded.

After a few seconds, the door opened, and Jason, with messy hair and sleepy eyes, stood in the doorway.

Ye Tian didn't intend to go in and simply extended his hand to hand over the padlock.

"Morning, Jason. Here's your padlock, thanks!"

"No problem! It's just a padlock."

Jason took the lock and continued to rub his eyes with the other hand.

"Alright, go back to sleep. I'll be going."

Ye Tian turned to leave.

At this moment, Jason suddenly seemed to wake up, stepping out of the door and grabbing Ye Tian's arm, his expression excited.

"Steven, wait a moment, I have something to ask you."

"What is it? Go ahead."

Ye Tian turned back, surprised, not understanding what he wanted to ask.

Jason looked around the hallway, seeing no one else, and quickly leaned in to ask mysteriously:

"Did you find an antique pistol in that $1 junk warehouse yesterday and sell it for a lot of money?"

"Ah! How did you know?"

Ye Tian asked cautiously, not denying it.

This couldn't be hidden; there were so many people at the storage company and Brown's Gun Shop! How could he expect them to keep it a secret?

Seeing Ye Tian's reaction, Jason knew the rumor was true and became even more excited.

"The rumor has spread among the second-hand stores and regulars at the warehouse auctions. Even the staff at Brown's Gun Shop mentioned it.

You're so lucky! Tell me, how did you know there was an antique pistol in that junk warehouse? It's unbelievable!"

Ye Tian smiled and shook his head.

"How would I know there was an antique pistol in there? It was just pure luck. There's nothing to it."

Hearing this explanation and thinking about the situation in the junk warehouse yesterday, Jason could only agree.

Ye Tian hadn't even planned to attend the warehouse auction; he just happened to be there and got lucky.

"You're so lucky. It seems fortune is starting to favor you."

"Indeed, I was lucky. Is that all? I need to go."

"What brand of antique pistol? The staff at the gun shop didn't say clearly. I really want to know."

Jason asked again, curious.

"A 1940s Luger P08."

After saying this, Ye Tian turned and left, leaving Jason standing there, dumbfounded.

"Wow! A Luger P08 from a $1 junk warehouse? That's insane! God! Are you crazy? Why didn't this happen to me?"

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