Evan Carter rummaged through her bag for her subway card while taking out her phone. Seeing a WeChat message from Samuel Clark, she casually replied with a few words. Then, she suddenly remembered that in her own WeChat contacts, there seemed to be someone named Ryan Grant.

A couple of years ago, when more people started using WeChat, Evan Carter registered an account as well. At the time, she directly chose to import her contacts, and since Ryan Grant's number was still in her phone, she sent him a friend request.

He probably just accepted it without much thought.

Since adding each other, the two of them hadn’t exchanged a single word.

But Evan Carter felt that, when he accepted, he probably didn’t know it was her.

Because by then, she had already switched to a new number.

Thinking of this, Evan Carter opened her contacts, scrolled down to the “S” section, and found Ryan Grant. She tapped on Ryan Grant’s profile picture, glanced at his empty Moments feed, and quickly exited.

Not a single post.

Maybe he had blocked her, or maybe he had already deleted her?

Or maybe the person she added wasn’t Ryan Grant at all.

He might have changed his phone number long ago.

Evan Carter hesitated for a few seconds over the delete button, but ultimately chose to exit.

After all, she wasn’t sure, and she didn’t have a habit of deleting people.

Letting him lie there silently didn’t really affect anything.

-

Back home.

Evan Carter first called her landlord to discuss moving out.

The landlord was very nice. Having heard about her situation several times, and sympathizing with a young woman living alone, he quickly agreed. He said that if she wanted to move out now, both her deposit and the rent she paid in advance could be refunded.

Evan Carter thanked him gratefully.

After settling that, she turned on her computer and started browsing rental websites.

After a round of searching, she still couldn’t find anything suitable.

Because it was really hard to find a place in Nanwu.

It’s a first-tier city, and a one-bedroom apartment with furniture, close to Shang’an, in a safe area—according to what Evan Carter had seen, the cheapest rent was at least three or four thousand a month.

Given her current financial situation, it was definitely tough.

Evan Carter felt a headache coming on.

She simply messaged Samuel Clark: [Qiao Qiao, I’m planning to move.]

Evan Carter: [When you have time, can you ask your friends if they know of any suitable rentals?]

Soon, Samuel Clark called.

Evan Carter picked up.

Samuel Clark sounded puzzled and got straight to the point: “What’s going on? Why are you suddenly moving? Didn’t you pay three months’ rent up front?”

“Neighbor harassment.” Evan Carter kept it brief and calmly recounted what had happened today. “I called the police early this morning and ended up at the police station with him. He’s been detained for five days now. I’m worried he might retaliate after he gets out, so I’d rather move sooner.”

“…” Samuel Clark was stunned and took a while to react. “Are you okay? Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“It’s nothing. He hadn’t done anything too extreme before, just knocked on my door. It was already three or four in the morning when I went to the police station, and there were officers there, so it was very safe. No need for you to come all the way over.” Evan Carter said, “It’s a long way for you, and it was the middle of the night.”

“I’m so sorry.” Samuel Clark sounded guilty. “I thought this place was pretty good—cheap and close to your work…”

“What are you apologizing for? If you hadn’t helped me find a place, I might have ended up sleeping on the street.” Evan Carter laughed. “And I thought this apartment was great too. If it weren’t for the neighbor, I would’ve planned to stay long-term.”

“Sigh, so what are you going to do? Do you want to stay at my place for a while?”

“No need. Didn’t your sister-in-law just have her second baby?” Evan Carter said. “If I go, I’m afraid it’ll make them uncomfortable, and I don’t want to cause trouble. Really, it’s fine. I’ll move as soon as I find a place.”

There were a lot of people in Samuel Clark’s family. Besides a married older brother, she also had a younger sister in high school, and they all still lived with their parents. After work, she often had to help take care of her sister and nephew.

Knowing her own family situation, Samuel Clark didn’t insist and just sighed again.

“Then why don’t you go to your mom’s place?”

“I haven’t told her I’m back in Nanwu.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Too busy. I’ll tell her in a while.” Evan Carter changed the subject, half-joking, “Thinking about it, I kind of regret acting on impulse. I saw my neighbor’s legs today—they’re as thick as buckets. Even if I had a knife, it’d take half an hour to chop through.”

“…” Samuel Clark couldn’t help but complain, “That’s way too scary.”

“That’s why I’m scared, right?” Evan Carter drawled, “If he holds a grudge and wants to get back at me, there’s even a possibility—”

“What?”

“Even if I had a chainsaw, I might not be able to take him down.”

“…”

-

After hanging up,

Evan Carter opened another rental website and browsed again. After a long time without finding anything suitable, she simply shut down her computer and got up to take a shower.

Moving out wasn’t something that could be rushed. If she panicked and found a new place that was even worse than the current one, it would be pointless—just a waste of energy and money.