Chapter 81: Late Shifts and Unlikely Deals

“The hospital isn’t banning doctors from doing side hustles, is it?”

Zhou Can handled the situation with caution.

His relationship with Dr. Lu seemed to be deteriorating.

The night before last, after putting Zhou Can in his place, he got severely reprimanded by Director Lou. It was obvious there was already some long-standing resentment.

Moreover, Qiao Yu’s close relationship with Zhou Can only fueled Dr. Lu’s jealousy even more.

But so what? Whether it’s the incompetent Dr. Lu or even the Hospital bigwig Director Xie, when Zhou Can gets riled up, he fires back just the same.

He isn’t made of money; he can’t please everyone.

“Ha! Not at all. I just think Dr. Zhou is quite capable. That’s all. By the way, what kind of side business does he run?”

Dr. Lu forced a laugh as he continued to pry.

“Just a little hustle.”

Zhou Can replied offhandedly.

“E-commerce?”

“Yeah, something like that!”

“If there’s ever an opportunity, you gotta involve me. My meager salary barely covers my meals.”

“When I finally hit it big, I’ll take you along. But for now, we’re stuck losing money. Of course, if you’re fine with losses, forget I said anything.”

Zhou Can was all talk.

Upon hearing it was a money-losing venture, Dr. Lu immediately shrank back.

He didn’t press the issue any further.

……

After clocking out, Zhou Can headed straight for Xiangshan Bieyuan at Baying Lake.

That afternoon, he received several calls from potential tenants.

It seemed the apartments near Baying Lake were quite popular. Many were attracted by the convenient Metro Line 6, and of course, his rent was a few hundred yuan cheaper than others.

Upon arriving at the community gate, he dialed the first tenant on his list.

“Hello, I’m at the gate. When will you be here?”

“I’m on my way!”

Before long, a young woman wearing sunglasses, slinging a shoulder bag and carrying a light blue parasol, approached.

She had a striking figure.

Even in loose, Korean-style clothes, her impressive curves were unmistakable.

“Are you here to see the apartment?”

Zhou Can called out from a distance.

The woman looked up at him.

She seemed oddly familiar.

Zhou Can couldn’t help but wonder.

“Dr. Zhou?”

She was the first to recognize Zhou Can.

“And you are?”

Hearing that voice, Zhou Can found it eerily familiar too.

However, with her oversized sunglasses and deliberately styled bangs and hair obscuring half her face, it was hard to place her.

“I’m Su Qianqian! You treated me for an illness the other day—don’t you remember?” Removing her sunglasses, she revealed a stunning, alluring face.

Only then did Zhou Can recognize her.

No wonder.

He’d always thought few women could match her sizzling figure and graceful manner of walking.

“Haha! You celebrities really go all out when you leave home—always looking like you’re about to pull off a bank heist,” Zhou Can teased.

Su Qianqian just laughed, not at all offended.

“With paparazzi everywhere and overly enthusiastic fans, we have to take extra precautions when we’re out. Hey, aren’t you a doctor? How’d you end up in real estate?”

She naturally didn’t think someone as young as Zhou Can could actually afford a place.

Zhou Can paused in surprise.

Then he laughed, “What can I do? Doctors earn peanuts. I had to expand my income streams—otherwise I wouldn’t even afford a decent meal.”

She nodded in understanding.

“I heard that intern doctors even have to pay the hospital, you sure have it rough. So, where’s the apartment?”

“Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Zhou Can led her to Apartment 2501.

At the door, he fumbled through a bunch of keys until he found the one for Apartment 2501.

Su Qianqian laughed from the side, “You sure have a lot of listings on hand!”

“Heh, it pays to have a collection when this is your livelihood,” he replied.

He opened the door and invited her in to see if she was satisfied.

She had already viewed photos of the interior online; after inspecting every corner, she nodded approvingly.

“I really like the apartment. The layout is sensible and the natural light is great. It’s simply decorated, but it’s spotless.”

After a brief pause, she fixed Zhou Can with clear, bright eyes.

“The rent is 2200 yuan a month, right?”

“That’s right!”

“No additional fees? Like, say, an agency fee? I can’t afford anything extra.”

“None, don’t worry. If you’re satisfied, we can sign the lease right now. The rent can be paid annually in advance or quarterly. Paying for a full year gets you a 1000-yuan discount. The deposit is 2000 yuan.”

Business is business.

Even if the other party is a celebrity, everything must be clarified.

No misunderstandings later on.

“I’ll go with quarterly payments!”

She chose the option that required the least upfront money, clearly indicating tight finances.

This confirmed some of what Tang Ling had told Zhou Can earlier.

“Bring over the contract! And did you bring your ID?”

“Yes!”

She produced her identification card.

Meanwhile, Zhou Can walked over to the antique shelf in the living room and retrieved a box containing a stack of blank contracts.

After both signing the lease, she promptly paid 8600 yuan to Zhou Can.

That included three months’ rent and a 2000-yuan deposit.

“Here’s the apartment key. It also has the payment numbers for utilities. There’s already a balance on each account—you can check. The broadband is free, though it’s capped at 1 Mbps.”

Zhou Can’s service was top-notch.

She checked the balances for water, electricity, and gas and found nothing amiss.

“Alright, you can move in anytime. Before you go, let me thank you for that album. It’s fantastic—truly outstanding!”

Zhou Can thanked her.

“Hehe, thanks for the compliment. If you like it, that’s all that matters!”

Praising her singing, she was clearly delighted.

“One last juicy question—did you really sell your house and take a hit on your car to compensate your fans?”

She needed to rent a place now, and opting for quarterly payments showed she was short on cash.

“Am I allowed to refuse answering that?”

“Of course you can! It just seems unfair that your company should shoulder the blame. Having you compensate everyone is way too much to ask.”

“Thanks for your concern, Dr. Zhou, but that’s none of your business! I’ve got to go move my stuff. Goodbye.”

She clearly didn’t want to discuss her personal matters any further.

There was a trace of caution in her towards Zhou Can.

Being a celebrity is exhausting enough.

“Goodbye!”

Zhou Can was already infuriated by her situation, which is why he had asked another question.

Since she wasn’t willing to share, he didn’t press any further.

After leaving the community, he glanced at his watch: 17:47. Rush hour meant the roads were bound to be clogged—a taxi wasn’t an option.

He opted for the subway back to the hospital.

For meals, he trusted the hospital’s staff cafeteria more.

He also needed to go back and purchase ten White Mice.

That way, he could settle everything at once.

At that moment, the subway car was already packed, and all the seats were taken.

In this sprawling city of nearly eight million people, there was no shortage of passengers.

Zhou Can had to move towards the back, finally finding a relatively empty spot at the end of the car.

He wasn’t comfortable being packed in with so many people; he was mainly worried about getting pickpocketed.

He had already had his phone stolen once before.

In the row in front of him, two young women and a man in his late thirties were chatting casually.

Zhou Can caught snippets of their conversation and realized that these two women and the man were colleagues.

They likely all worked at the same Hospital.