Trembling At A High Altitude

Stepping out of my door, just about to head downstairs, the door opposite swung open.

A ponytailed girl came out, said goodbye to someone inside, and closed the door behind her.

Li Teng finally saw the ponytailed girl's face.

His guess was not off: she was young, around eighteen, with an innocent look about her.

Seeing her fair and clean face, Li Teng couldn't help but recall the glimpse he caught from beneath the curtains...

Perhaps because she felt Li Teng's stare, the girl's expression turned wary.

"Hello, I'm the new neighbor." Li Teng quickly initiated conversation with the ponytailed girl, hoping to defuse the awkward situation.

"I don't live here." The girl gave Li Teng a quick glance and then prepared to go downstairs.

"Coming to visit a friend?" Li Teng followed behind her.

"Kind of." The girl didn't want to talk much to Li Teng and quickened her pace downstairs.

Li Teng wasn't any sort of jerk or bad guy and didn't intend to do anything bad to the ponytailed girl, so he didn't rush down after her; instead, he leisurely made his way downstairs.

As he walked toward the complex's gate, Li Teng suddenly heard a sharp scream and then saw the ponytailed girl running toward him at full tilt.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Following close behind her was a small mixed-breed dog, barking and chasing after her.

"Scram!"

Li Teng bellowed at the dog, pretending to kick it.

The dog, frightened, quickly turned tail and ran away.

Clearly, the dog wasn't trying to bite the girl; she was just naturally afraid of dogs. Seeing the dog approach, she panicked and ran, and the dog, thinking she wanted to play, barked and ran after her.

At this time of day, many residents would be walking their dogs, and unleashed dogs could often be seen darting around the complex.

"Thank you." The girl hid behind Li Teng, still shaken.

"No problem, where are you heading? I'll walk you there." Considering the view he had had earlier through the curtains, Li Teng decided to see his good deed through to the end.

"I'm going to the bus station just outside the complex." The girl's hostility towards Li Teng had considerably lessened after he saved her from the dog.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll shoo any more dogs away for you if they come too close." Li Teng tried to comfort the ponytailed girl.

"I was bitten by a dog as a child and it's left me with a psychological shadow. I know dogs don't generally bite people, but I still can't help feeling afraid and wanting to run." The girl explained her fear of dogs to Li Teng.

"I've been bitten too, on my arm, and I still have a scar! But I'm not really afraid of dogs." Li Teng lifted his arm to show her.

"The scar from your bite is bigger than mine." The girl looked at Li Teng's arm.

"Where did you get bitten? Let me see." Li Teng asked the girl.

"It bit me on the butt." The girl gave Li Teng a sidelong glance.

"Ah... Haha..." Li Teng let out a few awkward laughs, then mentally recounted the scene when the curtain flew up.

There seemed to be... indeed a red scar?

The glance had been too brief, and his attention had been elsewhere, so he didn't get a clear view of the scar.

He'd have to take a closer look next time he had the chance.

As they talked, the ponytailed girl seemed to realize Li Teng harbored no ill will, and the two slowly warmed to each other.

By the time they reached the bus station, Li Teng had learned her name.

Her name was Daisy Lin, just one character short of Lin Daiyu.

"Sister Lin, your friend, the one living opposite me, does she live alone? Is she about your age?" Li Teng thought back to the long-haired female neighbor.

"She's my supervisor." Daisy responded to Li Teng.

"Where do you work?" Li Teng asked again.

Just then, Daisy's awaited bus arrived, and without answering Li Teng, she quickly ran onto the bus. After getting on, she waved at Li Teng through the bus window.

Li Teng also smiled and waved back at her.

Well, this Daisy wasn't bad either, she could be drawn into his comics.

The "accidental" peek under the curtain earlier today and the incident in the neighborhood where he helped her with the dog could both be included in his comics.

After dinner, Li Teng was brimming with inspiration.

He finished the first drawing quickly.

The focus of the first drawing was the scar from the dog bite on Daisy.

Everything else around it was artistically toned down.

The whole comic looked mischievous, adorable, and quite aesthetic.

He was very satisfied with this piece.

He hurried to send it to the editor.

He called Anna, who said she was all right. Since the staff were still busy with design and production at night and needed her cooperation, she decided to stay over there, assuring Li Teng that the conditions were good and he need not worry.

...

A new day.

For breakfast today, Li Teng didn't choose yesterday's noodle shop.

He chose another restaurant instead.

Wanting a change of taste was one reason, but there was a more important one.

This restaurant was a branded franchise, clean and hygienic...

And most importantly, the proprietress was very beautiful.

There was no sign of the boss; he only saw the proprietress and two helpers, one big and one small, in the shop.

The older helper was a lady in her forties, while the younger one appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, also pretty but shy. She would just smile and not engage in conversation regardless of who spoke to her.

The proprietress was not only good-looking, with abundant chatter, but also nimble with her hands and feet.

However, Li Teng's reason for choosing this place wasn't just because she was pretty.

Another reason was that the proprietress's physique and hairstyle seemed very similar to his mysterious female neighbor.

Of course, Li Teng had never actually seen the neighbor's figure; he'd only observed her through a thin curtain, so whether the neighbor was actually the proprietress, he could only find out through probing.

"Your noodles are really delicious. I'll have another bowl," Li Teng said deliberately to strike up a conversation with the proprietress.

"Sure!" The proprietress quickly stirred up the noodles and the appropriate amount of vegetables in a pan.

The breakfast rush was now over, and there weren't many customers in the shop.

"Is the business doing alright?" Li Teng stood by, intentionally making small talk with the proprietress.

"It's tough... It's hard work and it doesn't make much," the proprietress shook her head.

"I've heard several bosses on this street have bought houses in that neighborhood. They live nearby, so they don't have to run around so much," Li Teng tested.

"I wish I could, but I haven't made enough money to buy a house!" the proprietress sighed.

After ordering some side dishes, with his gift of the gab and an extraordinarily thick skin, Li Teng managed to inquire the proprietress's name and some basic information.

The proprietress was named Bo Wen, unmarried, and didn't live nearby.

The older helper, a lady in her forties, was a distant relative of hers, while the younger helper named Bo He, was her sister, who came to help out since the school was off.

If Bo Wen wasn't lying, she probably wasn't his female neighbor.

To clarify the identity of the female neighbor and whether she was beautiful seemed to require a different approach.

Actually, figuring it out wasn't difficult.

In the morning, around the time he estimated the female neighbor would go to work, Li Teng just had to hide behind the peephole and watch her door, right?

"Your cooking is really good; I'm so full I could burst. I probably won't need lunch," Li Teng said, patting his stomach as he stood up.

"Thank you for the compliment. You're welcome to come again," Bo Wen seemed to have a good impression of Li Teng too.

Li Teng talked a lot but he didn't say any offensive words.

Handsome with clear eyes, and being so considerate of her business, Bo Wen naturally had a good impression of him.

...

Just returning to his rental, Li Teng's phone rang.

It was his editor calling.

"The drawings you sent me last night are really impressive! They've been published and readers are clamoring for more! Ride the wave of this momentum and draw several more pieces quickly! Don't slack off," the editor said with excitement.

"Ahem, well... you always need inspiration, right?"

Creating art must be based on inspiration and having a good feeling during the process. Without inspiration, even if he forced himself to draw, the readers wouldn't like it!

"Then go find some inspiration fast!" the editor urged.

"Got it!" Li Teng hung up the call.

As he sat down at his computer and was about to start working, Li Teng suddenly discovered the internet was down.

He tried using his limited hardware knowledge to fiddle with the modem and router.

It still didn't work.

He made a call to report the issue...

The broadband in the room was provided by the landlady, Elsa.

The telephone company asked Li Teng for some information, but he wasn't clear about the details, so he called Elsa.

"Is that so? It's not very busy at the hospital today, I'll come over and take a look," Elsa said.

"There's no need... just calling the telecom to report the issue should be enough..." Li Teng tried to say more, but Elsa had already hung up.

Elsa was coming over, so Li Teng hurriedly tidied up his place, mainly putting away his manga manuscripts and various drawing tools.

He couldn't let her see those comics.

They were all of that kind of manga, and one of the female characters was based on Elsa's face.

Thinking it would be published in the Island Kingdom and she wouldn't possibly see it, he had used her face.

But if she saw the manuscripts, that could be troublesome.

Although she probably wouldn't enter his room.

But what if?

Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

He opened the door, and Elsa walked in.

She did the same thing as Li Teng, messing with the modem and router.

Of course, there was still no internet.

"Don't worry, I'll make a call and ask," Elsa said. She took out her phone, drew a simple pattern to unlock it, and then dialed a number.

"Isn't that phone unlocking gesture a bit too simple?" Li Teng couldn't help but comment after inadvertently glancing at Elsa's phone screen.

"All set, the maintenance staff will be here soon to fix it for you," Elsa told Li Teng after hanging up.

"That was quick?" Li Teng knew that telecom repairs typically took 24 hours or even longer to respond.

"The girl responsible for this area is my patient, and we're pretty close. I go to her directly with any issues," Elsa said with a proud expression.

"Telecom maintenance includes girls now?"

"Some."

"Okay, squad leader, I'll wait at home, so I won't delay your work." Li Teng felt somewhat apologetic that Elsa had made a special trip over.

This landlord is too good to her tenants!

"No worries, I'll wait with you. The hospital mainly serves college students nearby, so it's busier on Saturdays and Sundays. There aren't many people today, so I took the chance to get some fresh air," Elsa said with an indifferent expression, taking a seat on the living room sofa.

Having lived here before, she instinctively placed her phone on the coffee table after sitting down.

"Being a gynecologist must be quite profitable, right?" Li Teng struck up a conversation with Elsa as he sat down.

"Yep, it really is. Hehe, I've made enough to buy several apartments over just a few years," Elsa didn't hide the fact.

"That's amazing! I envy your profession." Li Teng thought of the endless nights spent making videos that barely got any views and wondered how long it would take to earn enough for his own apartment.

"There's nothing to envy. It's busy, exhausting, dirty. When the hospital's busy, we work from morning until eleven or twelve at night. And dealing with that dirty part of women every day? It's not something just anyone can endure." Elsa expressed a look of disgust when talking about her work.

"That busy, huh? If you ever get swamped, I can help out, squad leader. It would also be a life experience for me and provide some material for my writing," Li Teng offered to Elsa.

"Sure, you're welcome anytime. I can pay you a salary," Elsa agreed readily.

"Haha, you'd actually let me? I don't know anything, plus I don't have any qualifications or anything," Li Teng laughed.

"What do you need qualifications for in a private hospital? And you wouldn't need to do anything complex; a nurse could show you the ropes in half a day," Elsa said unconcerned.

As they were talking, the doorbell rang.

Elsa ran to open the door and a girl in a telecom maintenance uniform came in.

A rather sturdy-looking girl.

"Xiao Lan's here?" Elsa greeted the girl.

"Mm-hmm, Sister Ai, how have you been lately?" Xiao Lan showed a great deal of respect for Elsa.

"Good, good..."

After a bit of small talk, Xiao Lan went over to work on the modem and router.

She took out her phone, operated it for a while, made a call, and soon fixed the network.

"Sister Ai, I actually have a favor to ask of you," Xiao Lan approached Elsa after fixing the network.

"What is it?"

"You're going back to the hospital, right? Let's talk outside."

"Mm-hmm..."

"Then I'll go out with her. If you need anything, just call me, okay..." Elsa looked back and said to Li Teng.

"You're busy, squad leader." Li Teng saw them to the door, watched them go downstairs, and then closed the door.

...

What should he create next?

Li Teng sat at his desk, deep in meditation.

Li Teng faced another creative block today.

Having worked with that editor for a long time, Li Teng wasn't worried about getting paid.

According to the editor, the comics were popular and making money, which was indeed a good opportunity for him to earn, but the problem was when he couldn't produce any drawings.

While he was lost in thought, the sound of a phone ringing suddenly came from the living room.

But it wasn't Li Teng's own phone ringing.

He went to check... and found that Elsa had left her phone on the coffee table.