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墨書 Inktalez
The night was deep, and fatigue weighed heavily on Huang Haoran's eyelids, slowly pulling them down. He sat in a chair, his body slightly leaning forward, his consciousness gradually fading. He was just a moment away from falling asleep...
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A sudden, frantic knocking on the door jolted him awake, tightening his heart and forcing his eyes open.
"...Damn it, who is it?" He furrowed his brows, fighting against the drowsiness as he dragged his weary body to the door. Peering through the peephole, he was taken aback.
The landlord?!
Huang Haoran's heart raced.
Hadn't he already paid this month's rent?!
He remembered taking out the last of his savings and handing it over to this leech without a single cent missing, leaving him to live like a refugee this month—eating toast with water every day and hesitating for ages before buying a can of instant noodles.
What did this guy want now?!
Taking a deep breath to suppress his impatience, he slowly opened the door just a crack, peering out with caution at the landlord standing outside.
The landlord was a middle-aged man with a face full of excess flesh, his bulging belly straining against the buttons of his shirt, which looked like they might pop open at any moment. A gold chain glimmered around his neck. At that moment, he frowned, glaring at Huang Haoran with disgust, his nostrils flaring as if he had caught a whiff of something terrible.
"Huang Haoran!" The landlord's voice dripped with anger and revulsion. "What the hell are you doing?! Why does it smell so bad in here?!"
Huang Haoran's expression froze instantly.
He frowned and instinctively glanced back into his room—there was no trash or rotten food in sight. The only "abnormality" was...
His feet.
In an instant, he understood.
In this cramped rental room, a silent "biochemical war" took place every night—his Foot Odor seeped through the walls, flowing through the cracks of the door and into the air, like a terrifying gas weapon spreading throughout the entire floor, even infiltrating the landlord's olfactory system!
No wonder residents in the stairwell had been coughing incessantly; no wonder his neighbors had looked at him with expressions of horror these past few days; no wonder… now the landlord was angrily knocking on his door to demand answers!
Huang Haoran gritted his teeth, forcing a strained smile onto his face. "Mr. Landlord... it's nothing really, maybe it’s just some garbage not properly disposed of downstairs?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" The landlord's eyes widened. "The smell is coming from your room! What on earth are you hiding in there?! A dead rat? Or a corpse?!"
"…"
Huang Haoran suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, sneering inwardly.
A corpse? If he really strangled this landlord to death, the smell might actually become fresher.
But he couldn't show any signs of defiance; right now, he had no right to confront these people, no right to be angry at this damned world!
He took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and put on a look of a wronged little wife. "It's really nothing; I'll just spray some air freshener later..."
"Huang Haoran!"
The landlord's voice boomed from outside, echoing through the entire corridor with his furious shout. "Do you think I'm an idiot?! That smell is definitely your Foot Odor!"
Huang Haoran's pupils constricted sharply, his heart nearly skipping a beat. He instinctively squeezed his feet together, as if that could somehow conceal the lingering curse of odor.
"Landlord, what are you talking about... how is that possible..." He forced a stiff smile, his voice lowered to a whisper, trying to keep it from carrying.
But the landlord paid no heed, becoming even more aggressive, his tone growing harsher. "Still pretending?! Do you think I can't smell it?! This stench is permeating the entire floor; it's absolutely disgusting!"
His voice was too loud, like a bomb detonating, waking up neighbors from several nearby rooms.
"Creak—"
Doors swung open, revealing a mix of unfamiliar and familiar faces peering out, bleary-eyed yet filled with disgust and curiosity.
"What’s going on? It’s so noisy…"
"Is it that room again? There’s been a strange smell every day lately…"
"No way… is it the smell coming from him??"
Whispers began to spread through the corridor like countless tiny insects crawling over Huang Haoran's skin. He felt an unprecedented humiliation, as if his clothes had been torn off in public, leaving him with nowhere to hide.
His breath quickened, his gaze flickered, and his legs clamped tightly together as if he could lock away the terrible stench and prevent it from spreading further.
However, the landlord sneered, showing no mercy.
"Disgusting... absolutely revolting!" The landlord covered his nose with a hand, looking as if he might vomit. "How can someone as repulsive as you still have the face to live here?! This is an apartment, not a garbage dump!"
"Now, pay me the cleaning fee—immediately! Or get out!"
Huang Haoran's body trembled slightly; his fingers unconsciously tightened, nails digging deep into his palm, almost breaking the skin.
Cleaning fee?
He couldn't even afford instant noodles now, so how could he pay for the cleaning fee?!
But what was even more terrifying were the gazes from the neighbors.
Whispers and pointed fingers surged from all directions. He could hear their hushed discussions, each sentence like a dull knife slowly cutting into him.
"Oh my God, is this true? Does his foot really smell that bad?"
"No wonder there's been a strange odor these past few days..."
"Damn it, how can someone like him still have the face to live in a place like this?"
"What kind of monster is he...?"
Huang Haoran felt as if his soul was being torn apart by these stares.
Humiliation, anger, and helplessness weighed down on him like a thousand-pound shackle, making it hard for him to breathe.
One thought consumed his mind—
If only these people could just "pretend nothing happened," how wonderful would that be?
If he could make them all forget about this, as if hypnotized, and leave this place, how great would that be?!
Could his Foot Odor do that?
He didn't know, but in some corner of his heart, he began to long for this to become a reality.
The landlord's mouth was still wide open, ready to spew out more hurtful words. However, in that moment—
A thick fog suddenly enveloped his mind, causing his thoughts to become hazy and chaotic, as if all the anger, disgust, and dissatisfaction had vanished in an instant.
"Me...?"
He was taken aback, his mouth slightly opening and closing, unsure of what to say next. The foul stench that had made him furious just moments ago now seemed less repulsive, even a bit... how should he put it?
Warm? Friendly? Inviting?
How could this be possible?!
The landlord's complexion shifted from pale to white and then to red, as if he were undergoing some profound internal transformation. He looked at Huang Haoran, whose previously disdainful gaze had softened into one of respect and even... found this young man rather adorable?!
"This... this..."
He took a few steps back, his legs suddenly giving way beneath him. With a thud, he knelt down!
"I'm sorry! Brother Haoran, was I too harsh on you just now?!"
He looked at Huang Haoran with a face full of regret, his voice trembling, his eyes reflecting a hint of fear and guilt, as if the scolding he had just delivered was the worst mistake of his life. How could he treat someone so charming and awe-inspiring in such a way?!
"I was wrong! I truly was wrong!" The landlord repeatedly bowed his head in apology, his expression extremely sincere, completely unlike the arrogant demeanor he had shown earlier.
"You are a good person! The pride of our apartment! The most special existence in our city!"
"How could I treat you this way?! Please forgive me!"
This scene stunned the entire corridor; the neighbors nearby were dumbfounded, their mouths agape in disbelief at what they were witnessing.
"What... what happened?"
"What is the landlord doing?"
"Is he... kneeling down?!"
Huang Haoran stood frozen in place, his heart pounding like a drum.
He hadn't done anything; just moments ago, he had been humiliated by this landlord to the point of wanting to sink into the ground. But now, this man was kneeling before him, apologizing like a child who had made a grave mistake?
He recalled his earlier thoughts—
"If only these people could leave as if nothing had happened, as if they were hypnotized."
Now, this was actually happening?!
A strange shiver ran through him, and his breath quickened in his chest. What was this power...?
Could his foot odor truly affect someone's mind? Could it really control a person's will?
Huang Haoran looked down at his feet, the shock and excitement within him igniting like a lightning bolt piercing through the darkness, illuminating an unprecedented possibility.
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