Part 3Kicking Out the Landlord?

It wasn't long before there was a knock on my door.

I opened it to find the three of them standing outside, glaring furiously at me.

Brittany shoved me hard. "You contacted the landlord to raise the rent, didn't you?!"

My back hit the corner of a table, making me wince in pain.

Jessica's eyes were red. "How about this, Chloe? If you talk to your relative and tell him to rent to us for four thousand again, and you move out of the master bedroom, we're still willing to live with you."

I crossed my arms, looking at her with cold eyes.

"Where would I sleep?"

"You can just sleep on the couch, can't you?" Madison replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm paying rent, and I have to sleep on the couch?"

"Get real, you're the one clinging to us, desperate to stay. Letting you sleep on the couch is already pretty generous."

Jessica took my arm. "We're good friends, how could I not think of you? I've already found you a new place. It's fully furnished, you can just move right in. Most importantly, it's only ten feet from your office. Perfect for a workaholic like you."

"Where is it?"

She covered her mouth, stifling a giggle. "In the security guard's doghouse, of course!"

"Right outside the company's security office! How's that for close? And in winter, the guard dog can even keep you warm for free!"

Brittany chimed in mockingly, "Oh, wow, and you call yourself her best friend, telling her to live in a doghouse? How mean! But..."

Her gaze landed on me, a nasty smirk on her face. "Chloe, remember to pay Jessica a finder's fee! Fully furnished places like that are hard to come by!"

Jessica waved her hand. "We're friends, no need for a finder's fee."

I watched their performance coldly, not saying a word.

Jessica looked at me, her face serious. "Chloe, living with you has been utterly exhausting, mentally and physically. You're such a control freak. You wouldn't let us put anything on the walls, wouldn't let us decorate our rooms. You even nagged us about a single strand of hair on the floor. We just couldn't stand it anymore."

"You've driven me to depression. For next quarter's rent, why don't you pay for us? Consider it compensation for our emotional distress."

I almost laughed out loud.

I didn't let them stick things on the walls because the emulsion paint was custom-mixed. Once damaged, it was almost impossible to restore it perfectly.

I didn't let them decorate their rooms because they wanted to knock down a load-bearing wall to expand their space.

I nagged them about hair because they never cleaned the drain after washing their hair. It clogged the plumbing, flooded the downstairs neighbor's apartment, and I had to quietly pay a huge sum to settle it.

In the six months they'd lived here, the money I'd shelled out far exceeded their paltry rent payments.

Now, they wanted me to pay them for emotional damages?

What a joke!

"Either you move out, or I move out, and you pay the twelve thousand rent yourselves."

With that, I closed the door.

Outside, their furious shouts erupted.

"Chloe, you're really asking for it, aren't you?!"

"Don't you dare push us!"