Chapter 21 Future Prospects

The decrepit Ford car slowly drove into Chinatown and finally stopped at the end of the road, where Xu Yi pushed open the car door and stepped out.

The car was naturally Allen's, and although it was an old clunker that had been through several owners, having a car in this era was already considered quite good.

"What time is it?" Xu Yi asked Allen who was in the driver's seat.

"Almost 12 o'clock! Boss, you should go back and rest well. If I have any news, I will tell you immediately, or if there's anything you need me to do, just command it. I'm at your beck and call!" Allen replied eagerly.

Allen's readiness to settle into his role had Xu Yi clicking his tongue in silence,

After deciding to become Xu Yi's broker, Allen switched to addressing him with deference, without any regard for being significantly older than Xu Yi.

Though the commission was only five percent now, Xu Yi had said that if they worked well together, the commission could be increased.

Allen worked hard, hustling everywhere to introduce properties, and wasn't it all for the money?

Moreover, five percent commission was already quite decent. As a broker, he didn't need to confront dangers directly; he only needed to gather information and handle logistics well.

Most importantly, becoming an exorcist's broker had much more promise than being a real estate agent!

Many exorcists were highly esteemed by the upper class, and naturally, the status of their brokers would rise along with them. This was indeed a great opportunity for social mobility.

"You've had a tough night too; you should head back and rest soon!" Xu Yi nodded, without saying much more.

The Ford car drove away, and Xu Yi walked toward a restaurant named "Xu's Family Restaurant".

"Why have you come back so late today?" A burly man was bustling around the stove in the restaurant, and when he noticed Xu Yi, he stuck his head out to ask.

That was Xu Yi's father, Xu Changrong.

"Ran into a tough problem, took up more time!" Xu Yi casually explained.

Lately, he'd been frequently visiting the Funeral Parlor in the outskirts, something he naturally couldn't tell his father the truth about, lest he be suppressed in an instant.

So he made up an excuse on the fly, saying he was off to tutor someone, and Xu Changrong didn't suspect anything. After all, Xu Yi had always been an excellent student, and it wasn't the first time he'd done such work.

"Dad, let me help you!" Xu Yi walked into the kitchen.

Even though it was late at night, Xu Changrong was still busy. To be precise, the late night was the main business hour for Xu's Family Restaurant.

Chinatown lacked many things, but it was never short on various societies, and the late night was their prime activity time.

"Off you go! No need, just hurry up and shower then get to bed!"

Xu Yi, shooed away by his father, returned to the attic reluctantly.

After taking a shower, he didn't go to sleep but sat down at his desk, ready to brush up on Scholar Entries.

Noise accompanied by the smell of stir-fried food wafted up from below; Xu Yi forced himself to calm down and study.

But as a shout erupted from downstairs and members of the societies began drinking and playing games, his hard-won concentration shattered in an instant.

Xu Yi let out a long sigh. The house was too noisy, utterly unsuitable for brushing up on Scholar Entries.

Brushing up on Scholar Entries required full immersion, not just reading.

His late returns home were also tacitly approved by Xu Changrong, was it not for this reason as well?

The room's window was so small that not even the wind could blow through, and Xu Yi stared blankly at it.

Xu's Family Restaurant only had two stories, and the footprint was less than 30 square meters, making the usable space even smaller.

The first floor functioned as the restaurant, while the second floor served as living quarters.

In such a tiny place, and even splitting it into two rooms, his own was marginally larger, able to fit a bed and a desk.

Xu Changrong's room could barely accommodate a bed, with no space to even move around.

Their rooms were separated by a single curtain, providing virtually no privacy, which was very inconvenient.

Xu Yi suddenly felt the urge to urinate, and he got up with reluctance.

The biggest problem with this room isn't the noise or the small size, but the lack of a toilet. One could only use the public restroom.

Now that it's summer, it's alright, but if it were winter and one needed to go to the toilet late at night, one would have to climb out of the warm bed, run to the public toilet with a flashlight in hand—utter torture.

And the smell of the public toilet is also indescribable.

"Looks like I need to make money sooner to buy a big house!" Xu Yi sighed.

This is why he wanted to become an exorcist, anxious to earn money—the situation at home was really indescribable.

After two groups of customers left, the noise downstairs gradually subsided, and Xu Yi took this time to concentrate on reading.

[Scholar Entries Experience +1, Current Progress: 89/100.]

The study efficiency tonight isn't high, but even a tiny fly is meat.

Seeing the Scholar Entries almost at full value, Xu Yi's eyes burned with fervor.

"Psychic Painter = Psychic + Scholar + Painter," among the combination paths, the Psychic Entries were already satisfied, and Scholar was about to be acquired, only the Painter Entries posed a bit of a problem for Xu Yi.

[Painter Entries, Current Progress: 32/100.]

"The focus for the next while should be on grinding the Painter Entries!"

Xu Yi frowned slightly, now simply painting, the experience gained was very little.

Sometimes after toiling away for half a day, producing several paintings, he could only gain a pitiful bit of experience.

"This efficiency is too low, I must find a new method to grind experience," Xu Yi began to ponder.

Suddenly, a crisp bell sound came from outside the window. Xu Yi snapped out of his thoughts and walked to the window.

A small basket rested against the windowsill, tied with two thin strings. Following the strings, Xu Yi looked towards the neighboring house's window, and a familiar little head poked out.

Lisa looked at Xu Yi, her smile as radiant as a flower while the breeze brushed her bangs.

Xu Yi gazed at that delicate little face, and his slightly irritable heart suddenly calmed down; living here wasn't all bad—after all, next door was hiding a little rose.

Lisa's family's grocery store was right next door, and to make contacting each other at night convenient, they had bells tied to their respective windows. If one rang the bell, it meant that the other had something to say.

Inside the basket was a folded note. After opening it, Xu Yi could see Lisa's graceful handwriting.

"Tomorrow's the weekend. I heard there's an art exhibition on Rainbow Street, would you like to go see it with me?"

Xu Yi's mouth curved into a smile, such an invitation had been rare before.

Could it be he was stirred by Maria?

He wasn't really a high school boy, after all; his mental age was even older than his dad's, and in his past life, he was that "warm guy" who lived among a flourish of flowers—how could he not see Lisa's intentions?

Xu Yi's heart was as steady as an old dog's.

Of course, this didn't mean he was going to reform his ways. A flower is still meant to be admired; otherwise, wouldn't life lose much of its pleasure?

But he didn't have the urgency of his previous life; a beautiful flower needed to be appreciated slowly, and one shouldn't be too hasty.

"Still, I need to gain enough power first!"

This world was off-kilter. To live an ideal life, one must have enough strength—it was not yet time to indulge in enjoyment.

This weekend he had planned to stay at home grinding Entries experience, but seeing the words "art exhibition" on the note, his heart stirred.

He took the note inside, wrote an affirmative reply, and put it back in the basket.

Xu Yi rang the bell, and Lisa immediately pulled the basket back. Seeing the response on the note, the smile on her face became even brighter.

"What day is tomorrow anyway?" Xu Yi thought, as he went to bed to sleep, suddenly recalling something.

He racked his brain but couldn't remember and eventually was too exhausted to keep thinking—after all, it was another day of using his blood essences for exorcism.

Soon after, he was deep asleep.