Jiang Pingce returned to Hua’an City early on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year, before school started. The reason he gave his parents was to go back to write his thesis in advance. Yue Xingwen also booked a ticket for the same day, and the reason was also to go back to write his thesis in advance.
Fortunately, the parents on both sides did not add friends to each other. Otherwise, they would know that both of them had colluded in advance if they had asked around.
The reason Jiang Pingce went back so early was to achieve the ‘cohabitation plan’ that he and Xingwen had agreed upon.
Back in the Library, Jiang Pingce had said that he wanted to rent a room outside the school with Yue Xingwen.
The dormitories for undergraduates at Hua’an University were all quadruple rooms, with beds on the top, desks on the bottom, and a closet for each person, which was quite good. But Jiang Pingce liked to be quiet, and secondly, he had a habit of cleanliness. He had no common language with several roommates, and he had been living in the dormitory alone for several years, but he didn’t get along with the others.
Of course, none of this was the main reason—for wanting to live with Xingwen was the key.
Yue Xingwen had been living in the dormitory and getting along well with his three roommates, but this was Jiang Pingce’s proposal. He had agreed to it in person in the Library, so he naturally would not go back on his promise.
After they returned to school, they put down their luggage and prepared to find an agent to look at the house.
They were still juniors, and they usually attended classes at school. The house should not be too far away from the school, otherwise it would take a lot of time to go back and forth every day. Jiang Pingce also liked to be quiet. Hua’an University was a famous old school, located in the old city. It was difficult to find a suitable environment and a quiet neighborhood near the school.
Yue Xingwen was worried, but he heard Jiang Pingce say, “Don’t necessarily look around the school.”
“En? What do you mean?”
“We can find a community near the subway station. There is a subway station at the entrance of Hua’an University, and it’s also very convenient to take the subway to the school. Moreover, living far away ensures privacy since not many people will know us.” Jiang Pingce opened a map in front of Yue Xingwen. “What do you think of this area?”
“En… It’s only a few stops by subway, fifteen minutes away, not bad.” Yue Xingwen smiled and patted the other party’s shoulder. “Have you already thought about which community to rent a house ah?”
“I have seen some photos before, and I think the community there is very new. There are parks and supermarkets around, so the environment is good and life is convenient.”
“… We’re just renting, we’re not buying. Are the requirements so high?” Yue Xingwen looked at Jiang Pingce in doubt. “I thought I only had to rent a similar single room. This picture of yours is a three-room, two-bedroom apartment with more than a hundred square feet, right?”
Jiang Pingce calmly suggested, “We can rent first and then buy it. I’ve talked to senior sister Lan, and she mentioned a long-term lease contract that includes a clause granting the tenant the right to purchase the house. This way, we won’t have to worry about the landlord suddenly selling the house and forcing us to move out. We can rent a house, save money gradually, and when we’re financially stable, we can buy the house to avoid the hassle of moving.”
“…” Yue Xingwen was surprised to learn that Jiang Pingce had long-term plans. But Pingce’s idea made sense too. After finishing graduate school, they both wanted to stay and work in Hua’an City. So, it was inevitable for them to settle down in the city eventually.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Looking at the house in the long term was the right decision. They are still students with no regular income, so it would be embarrassing to ask their parents for money to buy a house. However, the salary is very good if they work and secure a job at a first-class company in China. After a few years of work, they can save enough money to buy a house. Once the house is registered under their names, they will have their own home in Hua’an City.
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Jiang Pingce looked at the guy who took the initiative to hug him, feeling warm, and he couldn’t help but reach out to rub his hair, saying, “Then let’s go to see the house now?”
Yue Xingwen nodded. “Okay!”
Jiang Pingce would never do something without preparation. Before looking at the house, he had checked a lot of tips, screened many listings on various rental websites, and finally determined the houses in three communities.
When he came back this time, he made an appointment with the intermediary in advance to take Xingwen to see the house, so that Xingwen could make the final decision.
Since he had an obvious goal in mind, as soon as the three of them met, the agent lady picked up a bunch of keys and took them straight to the property.
All three were quite satisfactory. Pingce chose a house with a very good floor plan and layout, with plenty of light, which needed to be selected from among the best.
The last house was new and well-decorated. It had a super large kitchen and an open island. They could cook while chatting with their family. Yue Xingwen liked the simple and warm-toned decoration style. From the floor-to-ceiling windows, he could see the beautiful park downstairs. The community was clean and of high quality.
The only disadvantage was — that the rent for good houses was naturally higher.
Yue Xingwen pondered the situation. They received a bonus of 100,000 after successfully clearing the Library. They used 15,000 for their trip and still had 85,000 remaining. Additionally, they typically saved a significant amount from scholarships and tutoring fees. The Xinhuo Group would cover their graduate school expenses, including tuition and living costs. Therefore, paying rent was not a major source of stress for them.
Moreover, pressure was also a kind of motivation.
With this small family, he could work harder to earn money in the future. Yue Xingwen was born in the Chinese Department and had his unique views on many things. He often submitted a few of his excellent articles to some public accounts to get thousands of royalties. He could continue to work part-time to write articles in the future and get a lot of income.
Renting this spacious, beautiful home wasn’t a splurge?
Thinking of this, Yue Xingwen simply clapped his hands and decided. “Let’s go with this. I think that in comparison, this one is the most comfortable, both in terms of environment and layout.”
The intermediary’s eyes lit up. She was not expecting two college students to ask her to rent a house, to pick the best and most expensive one. Based on their appearance, they did not look like wealthy individuals… This puzzled her, but she quickly put on a smile. “You guys have great taste. This house was renovated by the landlord as a wedding room, but it has never been lived in. The landlord’s family has moved abroad, and they have authorized our agency to handle the contract. Take a look at the authorization agreement…”
They heard that many rentals had been pitted, but they were amateurs who didn’t know whether there were any pits in the contract or not. Jiang Pingce simply sent the electronic version of the contract to senior sister Lan Yarong and asked her to see if there were any legal loopholes.
Senior sister Lan was sharp-eyed. Sure enough, she saw some unfriendly terms, helped him modify some descriptions, and added clauses to protect the interests of the tenants such as ‘If the landlord sells the house, he needs to notify the tenant half a year in advance, and the tenant has the priority to purchase first’, and also reformulated the amount of compensation for breach of contract.
The agent lady looked embarrassed. “I will go back to the company and notify the landlord to confirm these modified terms.” I can’t tell that the two of you are so professional!
Jiang Pingce said, “Okay. You can give us the answer after you’ve confirmed it.”
Lan Yarong asked curiously. “I’ve been to Manluo’s dormitory. Aren’t the dormitory conditions in your school quite good? Why did you suddenly go out to live in a rented house?”
Jiang Pingce replied, “Rented for family members.”
Yue Xingwen, who was watching him type from the side, smirked. “Did I become your family member?”
Jiang Pingce asked, “Then I’ll reply, I’m in love with classmate Yue Xingwen and rented a house to live together?”
Yue Xingwen’s ears turned red. He hurriedly said, “Don’t! Just say that you rent it for your family!”
Jiang Pingce pressed send, and senior sister Lan did not suspect anything after receiving the message.
The next day, the agent told them that the landlord agreed to their request, but they had to settle the rent for one year at once. Jiang Pingce had no opinion and went to sign the contract, paying on the same day, and got the key from the agent.
There wasn’t much luggage in the school dormitory, so the two of them simply packed up and started moving.
When he came to the entrance of his new home, Jiang Pingce gently held Yue Xingwen’s hand and said, “This is our temporary home. Welcome to the new owner to move in.”
Yue Xingwen said, “Shouldn’t we both go downstairs and set off a string of firecrackers to congratulate the housewarming?”
Jiang Pingce was stunned for a moment, and helplessly holding his forehead. “It’s not necessary, right?”
Firecrackers were too high-profile and disruptive, so it was better to move in silently.
Yue Xingwen was also joking. Of course, he wouldn’t do it. He took out the key to open the door, and looked at the spacious and bright living room and the scenery outside the window, sighing. “It’s completely different from the dormitory.”
Home. This was his and Pingce’s home, a little world that belonged to them alone.
Yue Xingwen felt pleasing to the eye, no matter how he looked at it.
Everything about this house was good, it was just… when he moved in; he found that it was too big for two people to live in!
The landlord had renovated the three rooms into a master bedroom, a study, and a guest bedroom. Jiang Pingce wouldn’t be so stupid as to sleep in a separate room while living together, right?
Yue Xingwen’s gaze swept across the three rooms, pretending to play dumb. “Which room do you sleep in?”
Jiang Pingce looked at the well-lit master bedroom. “This one.”
Yue Xingwen pointed to himself. “So, which room do I sleep in?”
Jiang Pingce was slightly stunned and looked back at him with a puzzled face. “You’re not willing to sleep in the master bedroom with me?”
He’s willing!
Yue Xingwen smiled, and quickly took his suitcase inside, hanging half of it in the wardrobe and leaving the remaining half for Jiang Pingce. “Mine hangs here, and your clothes are over here.”
Jiang Pingce walked into the bedroom and cleaned up his things together.
They didn’t have much luggage, and it was finished in half an hour. Jiang Pingce washed his hands and said, “It’s said that we should open the stove on the day of moving. How about we cook at home tonight to celebrate our housewarming?”
Yue Xingwen nodded without hesitation. “Yes. We should check if there are any pots and pans that still need to be included. Let’s buy new toothbrushes, cups, towels, slippers, and all the other items mentioned. The ones in my previous dormitory are all used up.”
Jiang Pingce’s gaze was gentle. “Okay. Let’s make a list and go to the supermarket to buy it later.”
They carefully walked around their new home, listing the daily necessities that needed to be purchased one by one… Yue Xingwen thought about it carefully. He was only 21 years old. Why did he have the feeling of living at home after marriage?
But looking at Jiang Pingce’s serious look when he made the list, Yue Xingwen felt that, compared to the vigorous relationship, living a peaceful and stable life with the person he liked was quite good!
In this strange city, only this nest was a safe haven for the two of them.
No matter what difficulties and twists you encounter in the future. As long as you return home, you can see your beloved, and you can also talk to each other here if you have difficulties and concerns… what is not to be satisfied with?
Amazing experience ~
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