Author's POV:
Chen Xinyi exited the car, shoulders tensing as she took in the dilapidated surroundings with undisguised distaste. The pungent reek of refuse and mold hung thick in the air, wafting up from the crumbling façade before her. Decrepit tenement buildings sagged against each other like weary prizefighters refusing to fall, windows shattered and walls marred by years of neglect.
To the casual observer, Chen Xinyi's curled lip and look of barely-concealed revulsion would paint her as someone who had never set foot in such squalor before. In truth, this very complex had once been her childhood home - the ramshackle launching pad from which an impoverished young Chen Xinyi had schemed and clawed her way into the opulent upper echelons.
