“Mom, why did you stop?”
Behind her, Yuan Miao, who had no idea what was going on, popped his head out, blinking innocently.
Li Qing glanced at the old electric scooter beneath her, which looked completely out of place in front of the upscale residential complex, and couldn’t help gritting her teeth as she asked him, “Are you sure we can get in?”
“Of course we can! I’ve already made arrangements!”
“……”
Li Qing wanted to protest further, but Yuan Miao was already urging her to go in, so she had no choice but to keep driving forward.
She might as well take a look—it wasn’t like she could afford to rent here anyway.
Li Qing had only been looking for a two-bedroom apartment in an ordinary residential building. Although utilities in such places were expensive, the lower rent made up for it.
By being frugal with water and electricity, she could still save quite a bit.
Just as Yuan Miao had said, he had indeed made arrangements. After he gave his name, the security guard immediately opened the gate for them.
Li Qing drove in silently, following Yuan Miao’s directions until she stopped in front of the building’s entrance.
Standing at the entrance was a young man dressed in a suit.
“Is that the agent you contacted?”
“Huh?”
Yuan Miao was momentarily taken aback before nodding and mumbling in agreement.
By the time Li Qing parked the scooter and returned, she found Yuan Miao already chatting with the young agent.
“Hello, I’m Zhou Zhe.”
After dealing with the energetic “little boss,” Zhou Zhe adjusted his glasses and, following Yuan Miao’s instructions, pretended to be a real estate agent.
“Here are the details of the property. Please take a look first.”
Zhou Zhe handed over a document.
Li Qing awkwardly accepted it.
“Thank you.”
As expected of an agent for a high-end residential complex, the preparation was thorough.
Li Qing had only intended to go through the motions to satisfy Yuan Miao, but now she had no choice but to brace herself and proceed.
She opened the document and began reading.
Over a hundred square meters, three bedrooms and a living room?!
Li Qing’s fingers tightened slightly around the pages of the document.
Just reading this far, she was already thinking of excuses to leave.
Not to mention that the complex had one elevator per household.
Even the property management services were clearly listed in the document.
“Please follow me upstairs to see the property in person.”
Zhou Zhe led the two into the elevator.
After stepping out of the elevator, Li Qing closed the document and, seeing Yuan Miao eagerly walking inside, she followed wordlessly.
The apartment’s decor was minimalist and cool-toned, but both the structural and interior design were impeccable, with most appliances being smart.
The place looked clean, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
Yuan Miao leaned close to Li Qing and asked expectantly, “Mom, what do you think of this place?”
This was the most suitable apartment he had picked out overnight!
“It’s very nice.”
Li Qing nodded with mixed feelings.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it wasn’t good—the apartment was truly excellent, especially with the morning sunlight streaming through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.
But Li Qing’s wallet was far from excellent.
She took a deep breath, glanced at Zhou Zhe, who was smiling politely behind them, and whispered into Yuan Miao’s ear, “The rent here must be really expensive, right?”
Her intention was to remind Yuan Miao that she couldn’t afford to rent here.
Unfortunately, Yuan Miao completely missed her point and instead began thinking seriously.
“Rent?”
He was stumped—he really hadn’t considered the issue of rent.
Yuan Miao wanted to say there was no need to pay rent, but before the words left his mouth, he remembered the incident with the medical bills last time and silently changed his mind.
“Two hundred?”
“???”
Li Qing immediately glared at him. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
The intermediary Zhou Zhe quickly caught on, especially since Li Qing’s expression wasn’t hard to read.
He cleared his throat lightly and said, “No need to worry, both of you. Although the rent for this apartment isn’t two hundred, it’s still not expensive.”
“The original owner of the apartment has passed away, and her descendants didn’t want the place to sit empty, so they decided to rent it out. It just so happened that… your younger brother came across it.”
After a brief pause, Zhou Zhe calmly filled in the rest of the explanation without batting an eye.
What a coincidence?
Li Qing cast a suspicious glance at Yuan Miao, who was still acting innocent beside her.
Yuan Miao blinked innocently. “Yeah, my luck is maxed out~”
But Li Qing didn’t let her guard down.
The “not expensive” in the intermediary’s mouth was likely different from what she imagined.
She forced an awkward yet polite smile. “So, how much is the rent?”
Zhou Zhe was an all-around assistant trained and invested in by the Yuan family. Reading people was one of his most basic skills.
With just a quick glance, he could roughly gauge Li Qing’s current living situation.
So, while Yuan Miao frantically signaled him with his eyes, Zhou Zhe calmly stated a number: “Monthly rent is one thousand, including property management fees.”
“???”
“…Are you serious?”
Li Qing looked up in disbelief.
A rent of one thousand was already shocking enough, but it even included property management fees… The fees in this neighborhood definitely wouldn’t be low.
If it weren’t for politeness, she would’ve asked if this was charity.
Facing Li Qing’s questioning gaze, Zhou Zhe remained unfazed and nodded calmly. “The owner doesn’t care about the rent; they just don’t want the place to sit idle.”
You rich people really have such simple and unpretentious pursuits…
Li Qing sighed inwardly.
After confirming the authenticity of the matter, Li Qing made a decisive choice to sign the contract.
A bargain like this was hard to come by anywhere.
Once the contract was signed, Zhou Zhe gave her a bank account for payment.
“The deposit is one month’s rent, and you pay monthly. No need to worry.”
“…The landlord is a good person.”
Li Qing couldn’t help but praise.
Zhou Zhe adjusted the permissions for the apartment’s smart control system and took them to the property management office to register their access.
Once everything was handed over, he left.
Li Qing stood in the neighborhood garden, looking dazed.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Yuan Miao tilted his head. His mom had been standing still for several minutes now.
Wasn’t she quite happy when signing the contract earlier?
Li Qing snapped out of it.
She turned her head and looked at Yuan Miao, who seemed puzzled. The corners of her lips lifted slightly.
“Maybe you really are my lucky star.”
“!!!”
Yuan Miao was delighted by this, his eyes sparkling.
He patted his chest proudly and declared, “With me around, Mom will only live a good life!”
“Pfft.”
Li Qing couldn’t help but laugh at his words.
Looking at Yuan Miao’s silly grin, a sudden thought crossed her mind.
“Do you think it’s possible… that someday I might skip marriage altogether and have a child as adorable as you?”
She had only a physiological aversion to marriage and no desire for romance whatsoever, yet Yuan Miao had still come into existence.
A child connected to her by blood.
At that moment, Li Qing truly felt moved.
“Huh?!”
Yuan Miao stopped grinning and widened his eyes in shock, even forgetting that his mom had just called him adorable.
Li Qing smiled teasingly and asked, “What, can’t bear to part with your dad?”
“Mom is still more important!”
Yuan Miao hesitated for only a second before immediately abandoning his dad and throwing himself into his mom’s embrace.
Sorry, old Yuan. You’ll have to manage on your own.