"I've been thinking about buying a place lately. Since you work at Youjia, I thought I'd stop by and see if there's anything suitable."
Faced with Yang Zhen'er's indifference, Lu Li didn't mind at all. He just spoke slowly and calmly.
During his years in Zhonghai, Lu Li had indeed obtained residency qualification.
Hearing Lu Li's words, Yang Zhen'er's expression softened considerably. Her gaze toward him also became slightly warmer.
In her mind, Lu Li's family had probably pooled together some money for him, and with the salary he'd saved over the past few years, it should be enough for a down payment. So now, he was planning to buy a home.
This was the journey most people took when they flocked from all parts of the country to buy property in Zhonghai. To buy a house, one usually had to empty the "six wallets" — those of the parents, paternal grandparents, and maternal grandparents.
"Xiao Li, go ahead and get back to work."
"This is my friend. I'll take care of him."
Yang Zhen'er turned to the young agent who had just recently joined and spoke.
"Okay, Sister Yang."
The agent, called Xiao Li, nodded and returned to his desk.
"Lu Li, what kind of apartment are you looking for?"
"What's your budget?"
"Have you thought about the location?"
"Is it going to be a wedding home? If so, I'll be looking forward to your wedding banquet…"
A smile appeared on Yang Zhen'er's face, and her demeanor was like a warm spring breeze. She walked up beside Lu Li, like a close friend, asking one question after another.
It was as if that earlier coldness had never happened.
Yang Zhen'er was tall—about 172 or 173 centimeters—and her legs were 107 centimeters long. She easily had the figure of a model. As she stood in front of Lu Li, her fair forehead reached just below his lower lip…
Lu Li caught a whiff of the fragrance drifting from her.
Mmm…
The scent was alluring.
The perfume was called Yves Saint Laurent Opium. Beneath its creamy, hawthorn-like sweetness was a powdery fragrance and a fleeting floral note. It was like a woman in pink pajamas, waiting for her lover on the balcony…
Lu Li watched as Yang Zhen'er effortlessly crossed into his personal space, and then naturally hooked her arm around his.
He didn't resist. Instead, his gaze calmly observed the subtle changes in Yang Zhen'er, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as he continued to quietly enjoy the seductive fragrance…
He had to admit—Yang Zhen'er was indeed a very smart woman.
She was goal-oriented and knew exactly how to use her strengths.
Though in her heart she might look down on Lu Li for having to rely on his entire family just to scrape together enough for a modest home in Zhonghai, she couldn't deny that even such a home would be worth two or three million yuan. If she closed the deal herself, she'd get a decent commission—and nobody turns down money. Naturally, there was no more reason to stay frosty.
"Budget isn't the priority. I mainly want to see if there's anything I like."
"In terms of location, preferably somewhere in the central district…"
"It's not necessarily for marriage—just thinking of buying something first."
Letting himself be pulled by the familiar Yang Zhen'er into a small office at Youjia, Lu Li followed her lead like an honest man, answering each of her earlier questions one by one.
Once inside the office.
Yang Zhen'er gently closed the door.
"Have a seat, I'll get you a glass of water."
She pulled out a chair for Lu Li and spoke.
Lu Li sat down and watched Yang Zhen'er's figure as she walked over to the water dispenser…
Today, she wore an elegant black qipao. Her long legs, wrapped in black stockings, weren't stick-thin like chopsticks—they had a bit of fullness to them. Smooth and shapely…
Lu Li couldn't help but reach out slightly and make a grasping motion…
"Here you go."
Yang Zhen'er handed Lu Li a glass of water.
Then, she brought over a laptop made by ReformTech, opened the internal property database of Youjia, and pulled up listings she thought would suit Lu Li.
Yang Zhen'er sat down on Lu Li's right side, already quite close to him.
After picking out several listings, she slid the laptop in front of Lu Li, then moved her chair even closer beside him…
"Take a look at these. I think they're quite suitable for you."
"They're even within the elementary and middle school catchment zones…"
As she operated the mouse, Yang Zhen'er's body naturally leaned closer to Lu Li. She spoke as if it was nothing.
If Lu Li were still the ordinary programmer he used to be, the moment Yang Zhen'er leaned this close to him—her hair brushing lightly against his cheek, the perfume scent hitting his nose—his heart would have started pounding, his face would've flushed red, and he'd have been so nervous he wouldn't know what to do, giving up all control of the conversation to her.
However, the current Lu Li, while still a little excited, was also calm and confident. He knew Yang Zhen'er would never escape the palm of his hand.
To Yang Zhen'er, Lu Li was just a piece of meat on her plate. What she didn't know was—they weren't even on the same level of the food chain.
No matter how she jumped or danced, to Lu Li, it was all just a performance.
The harder Yang Zhen'er acted, the more entertained Lu Li became.
"This one is a one-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom unit. Total area is forty square meters, very well located—on Xilingjiazhai Road in Huangpu District, right next to the subway…"
"The price isn't bad for this location, seventy-one thousand per square meter. Total cost is 2.8 million, and the down payment starts at 900,000…"
Yang Zhen'er carefully explained.
Lu Li looked at the pictures.
He couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
This was one of those old, cramped apartments built during the early days of metropolitan development. Small, with poor lighting, and not even an elevator…
And yet, such a place would still cost nearly three million.
If it had been the old him, even buying a place like this would've required draining his parents' savings and taking on a mortgage for twenty or thirty years.
This truly was… Zhonghai.
"This one seems a bit too small," Lu Li replied.
"Then how about this one?"
"Two bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom. Also on Xifangjiazhai Road. Total area is sixty square meters. Price is still around seventy thousand per square. Total cost is 4.2 million, down payment starting at 1.2 million…"
Yang Zhen'er began introducing another listing.
Still an old, cramped apartment…
For the poor—or rather, the average person—in Zhonghai, it seemed that even browsing for a home meant settling for the oldest, most outdated options.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]