Beauty and the Beasts

Curtis carried his mate on his back while carrying her big bags, going through the streets and alleys to take down the rental information together with her.

He was tall and had long legs. The alley that would usually take Bai Qingqing one to two hours to finish walking was covered by him in less than half an hour.

Bai Qingqing then brought Curtis into a public telephone booth and made the calls one by one.

“Hello, I want to rent an apartment. Are there still any available?” Bai Qingqing was a little nervous, and she spoke as if reading from a script.

“Yes, do you want to check it out now?” The reply on the other end of the phone sounded like the person was used to this.

Bai Qingqing said, “Erm… How much is it per month? It’s not written on the notice.”

“$800 a month, with a complete set of furniture.”

Bai Qingqing said decisively, “No need. Sorry to trouble you. Goodbye!”

She then hung up.

She had thought the lowest price of 400 yuan at the property agency was already expensive. She didn’t expect to come across an even more expensive one outside. Looking at her red packet that had 1,000 yuan in it, Bai Qingqing let out a sigh.

“Let’s make the next call.” Bai Qingqing started dialing the numbers, feeling dejected.

Curtis placed his hand on top of her head and rubbed it softly. “If it doesn’t work out, I can sleep underground.”

Bai Qingqing’s slender finger that was pressing the numbers on the phone stiffened for an instant, then pressed the last number. While waiting for the call to get through, she glared at Curtis, saying, “What are you talking about? That’s the underground sewage, it isn’t meant for living in. Don’t worry. If it doesn’t work out, then we’ll go back to rent the 400 yuan one from the property agency. We can just pay the 200 yuan agent fee.”

The call got through, and Bai Qingqing quickly started communicating with the other party.

“Hello… How much is it per month?”

“500,” the other party replied.

Bai Qingqing let out a sigh of relief. This was still acceptable. Although it was 100 yuan more expensive than the one recommended by the property agency, they could save on the 200 agent fee. Therefore, she made arrangements to meet up with the other party.

Although this city was quite developed and the cost of living was high, as many people came to work here, the apartment rental system was quite refined. As long as one could find a building that was catered specially for renting, with the rooms being small but new, the cost would be cheaper than what was available in most small cities.

It was a pity that Bai Qingqing hadn’t entered the working society and didn’t understand these things. Otherwise, she could save a lot of money.

Very soon, Bai Qingqing met up with the owner. The three of them headed to an old and small district nearby.

“Is this the place?” asked Bai Qingqing as she sized up the district.

The owner was a fat and friendly middle-aged man with a glowing appearance. He smiled and said, “This is the place. It’s that building over there.”

Bai Qingqing nodded in satisfaction. She took Curtis’s hand and said softly, “It’s very close to my school. It’ll be convenient for me to come over and look for you after school.”

“En.” Curtis also revealed a satisfied expression.

The fat uncle immediately understood their relationship and looked at them strangely. He shook his head and thought, High school students these days!

Bai Qingqing also sensed the fat uncle’s change and felt a little displeased. She became a lot quieter on the way.

The fat uncle’s apartment was on the third floor of an old building. The staircase’s handrails were covered in dust. When the door was opened, the apartment looked quite alright. It wasn’t too old and was quite clean. It was about 30 to 40 square meters, with one room, one bathroom, and a kitchen. It was small, but it contained all the essentials.

“To be honest, you’re getting a great deal getting this apartment for 500 yuan a month. My wife bought this place to accompany my son when he was studying in high school. Now that my son has gone to university, we don’t need this house anymore. We weren’t able to find a buyer yet, so we’re renting it out for now. We’ll sell it if we can manage to find a buyer.”