Hearing it was an inquiry about the house, the man became even more enthusiastic.
"Yes, yes! That’s the last unsold unit in this complex. It’s mainly because it’s the model home—they always save those for last. Are you interested in buying it?"
The one Xiao Ran had his eye on was indeed a model home. If it hadn’t been, he probably wouldn’t have even considered it. The main advantage of a model home was one specific thing.
It came fully furnished with all the necessary appliances. A place like that was practically move-in ready.
However, there were only one or two such units in any given complex. You couldn’t just buy one whenever you wanted; a bit of luck was involved.
"Yes. When can I see it?" Xiao Ran confirmed.
"Anytime between eight in the morning and six in the evening works. When are you free?"
"How about tomorrow, then."
"Alright, sir. And your name is?"
"Xiao Ran."
"Mr. Xiao, you can call me Xiaowang."
...
After hanging up, Xiao Ran finally packed his laptop into his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and stood up to walk out of the library.
Yan Xici wasn’t idle that afternoon, either. After lying on her little bed and browsing Little Broken Station for a while, she opened up Qidian.
She had originally planned to check out her brother-in-law’s book that was being adapted, but when she opened the app, she happened to see his new novel instead. Since she had nothing better to do, the girl decided to lie in bed and give it a serious read.
The book opened with the moment the female lead opened her eyes. It was mainly an introduction to the heroine, whose name was Xiaoxi. She got good grades... ’Hmm, that’s a lot like me,’ she thought.
Big eyes and long, silky hair.
’Hmm, still sounds a lot like me. Everyone’s always said I have big eyes, ever since I was little. Even my sister’s eyes aren’t as big as mine.’
’Yep, just like me!’
As for the hair, the girl subconsciously touched her own lovely locks. ’Hmm, it’s so smooth. My hair must be the same as hers, right?’
She read on.
"The girl didn’t rush to get out of bed after waking up. Instead, she sat up, stretched lazily, and did a simple twist to loosen her back before slipping on a pair of soft-soled slippers with a strawberry pattern."
Reading this, Yan Xici’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
’Holy cow, isn’t that just me?’
Her slippers had a strawberry pattern!
Her brother-in-law had even bought them for her on her first day at his house!
’Don’t tell me... my brother-in-law actually wrote me in as the female lead?’
The girl felt as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret. Her heart began to beat a little faster with excitement.
Being written into a book, and as the female lead no less—it was a truly strange and wonderful feeling.
After all, Xiao Ran’s writing skills were on point, and he had described the heroine’s appearance flawlessly.
This made the girl even more thrilled.
’To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever read a romance from the male-oriented section.’
She had to admit, the difference between romance novels from the male-oriented and female-oriented sections was quite large, especially when it came to character archetypes.
When Yan Xici was bored, she would sometimes read novels, but always romance from the female-oriented section. The heroines were usually very assertive, and the male leads were either cold and aloof or cunning and manipulative.
But Yan Xici wasn’t an assertive person by nature. So with those kinds of novels... how to put it? She just couldn’t put herself in the characters’ shoes. They felt fake to her, and she always found herself wanting to complain about them.
But the male-oriented romance novels weren’t like that. They were natural and felt more down-to-earth.
As a girl reading a male-oriented romance for the first time, she found it both novel and delightful.
It was as if the door to a whole new world had been opened.
It was only ten thousand words long, but the girl lay on her stomach, rereading it several times with that special, knowing smile unique to devoted fans.
Until she heard the BEEP BEEP of the electronic lock disengaging.
Only then was the girl pulled from the world of the novel back to reality.
She blinked, subconsciously glancing at the alarm clock on her nightstand.
Ah!
’It’s already six-thirty!’
’Brother Xiao Ran is back!!!!’
’Oh no, I haven’t made dinner yet!’
The girl smacked her forehead and scrambled into a W-sit before stretching out her long legs, quickly slipping on her little strawberry slippers, and dashing down the stairs.
Then, looking apologetically at Xiao Ran, she explained breathlessly, "Brother, I’m so sorry, I forgot to make dinner!"
The sincere and well-behaved girl in front of him was so endearing it made his heart ache, yet he also found it amusing.
She wasn’t used to cooking at home anyway. He was already grateful that she’d made him a couple of meals. As for dinner, he could cook it himself or just order takeout.
He smiled. "I’ll make dinner tonight."
With that, he turned and went into the kitchen.
But how could such a considerate girl let him do it? She hurried after him.
She saw that Xiao Ran was just about to open the refrigerator door.
Using her nimble figure, the girl zipped in front of Xiao Ran with a SWOOSH, blocking the refrigerator with her fair arms. Her tone was gentle and cute. "Let me do it. Brother, you should go write~"
’This is so much more interesting than those Long Aotian-type characters and what-not that I see in female-oriented fiction.’
After just ten thousand words, she had already become his little fan. Naturally, she hoped he would write more so she would have more to read.
Xiao Ran glanced at her. "It’s fine. I’ll cook first and write later tonight when I have time."
Come to think of it, he hadn’t cooked in two days; Yan Xici had been the one doing all the cooking.
In Xiao Ran’s eyes, she was still just a kid.
Although it was great having someone cook for him, Xiao Ran also felt a pang of guilt, as if he were employing child labor.
How could the persistent girl possibly agree? She shook her head quickly. "No, no, Brother-in-law, you go write your book. I can cook. Oh, by the way, how about we have preserved egg and pork congee for dinner?"
After speaking, she spun around, grabbing a package of lean pork from the fridge with her left hand and a preserved egg with her right. She held them up in front of him and waved them a bit, blinking her big eyes at Xiao Ran.
’I’ve watched a ton of cooking videos these past two days! Preserved egg and pork congee is simple and delicious. I can do this!’
"I should still be the one to do it."
Hearing this, the girl pressed her lips together, her face a mask of disagreement.
’Not writing is unacceptable!’
Her tone was serious and earnest. "What do you mean, ’write when you have time’? Go write now!"
Xiao Ran: "????"
She probably realized there was a problem with her tone just now.
The girl hastily tried to backtrack. "No, I mean, we still don’t know when this old house will sell. And for the new place, the mortgage payments alone will be at least ten or twenty thousand a month... So, Brother-in-law, your task is actually a heavy one. After all, you’re a man with a mortgage now. You’ve got to work hard~"
After saying her piece, she looked at Xiao Ran with a dead-serious expression, as if earnestly awaiting his reply.
Her words weren’t just reasonable; they hit him right where it hurt.
It completely threw Xiao Ran for a loop.
’Thinking about it, it’s been many, many years since someone close to me has urged me to write.’
He had to admit, having someone in real life pushing him made it impossible to slack off, especially for someone like him who was about to start the long journey of paying off a mortgage.
He sighed. ’Fine, I’ll go write.’
’Write to pay the mortgage!’
Seeing her brother-in-law’s dejected back as he walked away, the girl holding the preserved egg smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
’Great, I get to read an update tonight!’
In a cheerful mood, the girl squatted down next to the kitchen trash can, her fair, pretty fingertips peeling away the preserved egg’s shell piece by piece.
After finishing her prep work, the girl scooped some rice from the rice container, added some water, and put it on the gas stove to cook.
The congee came to a boil in no time. As it went BUBBLE BUBBLE, the fragrance of the rice began to drift outwards.
The girl suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
’Since I’m just waiting around anyway, why not record a cooking video? I gave all my personal savings to Brother-in-law, so I need to start earning some money too.’
’If Brother-in-law can’t make the mortgage payments, I can help him out.’
No sooner said than done. The girl immediately took out her phone and opened the camera app.