By 7:30, Qin Guanglin’s phone pinged with a low battery warning.
He looked up at the rental advertisement on the wall, pondered the location for a moment, then made the call.
"Hello, I saw there’s an apartment for rent here..."
After a brief conversation, he hung up and stood waiting below. Soon, a woman in her forties came down from upstairs. "Are you looking to rent?"
"Yes, it’s me. I want to check if it’s suitable."
"Come upstairs with me."
The landlord, wearing flip-flops, clattered up the stairs. "There are only two apartments left, one on the third floor and one on the fifth floor. Both are one bedroom, one living room, with air conditioning and a washing machine..."
Qin Guanglin silently followed her, listening as they reached the third floor. She stopped in front of a door, took out a bunch of keys, and prepared to unlock the door, a hint of joy on her face.
Finally, this side.
"Come in and have a look." The landlord opened the door, turned on the light, and let him enter.
Qin Guanglin stepped inside, glanced at the sparsely furnished living room with just a table and a sofa, and without stopping, headed straight for the other door. "Is this the bedroom?"
"Yes, that’s the bedroom," the landlord nodded, pointing to the side. "And over there is the wash..."
Before she could finish, Qin Guanglin had already pushed the door open and entered the bedroom, so she simply stopped talking.
Qin Guanglin went straight to the window, opened it, and looked outside. It was dark, and he couldn’t see clearly, but the distant lights proved there was no barrier between here and his home. If the lights were on, they should be able to see each other.
Ah, this is perfect.
Satisfied, he closed the window and then turned to examine the bedroom. It wasn’t too small, but it felt somewhat cramped with an extra desk and wardrobe. The walls were wallpapered, which looked quite nice at first glance.
"This desk was left by the previous tenant. If you decide to stay, I can help you move it out," said the landlord as she followed him into the bedroom.
"It’s fine," Qin Guanglin pulled out his phone and signaled to her, "Can I take a picture of the room and ask a friend?"
"No problem." She paused, then asked, "How many of you are renting?"
"Just me, helping my friend to look."
"Oh, go ahead." The landlord nodded and moved aside to avoid being in the photo.
Qin Guanglin, with his phone’s battery in single digits, didn’t dawdle. He took a few photos of the bedroom from the doorway, sent them to Teacher He, then took more photos in the living room and bathroom before putting away his phone to ask about rent and related details.
"$900 a month, two months’ deposit, one month in advance, $50 a month for internet. If you need a fridge or anything, I can arrange it, but it’ll cost extra," the landlord said as she led him towards the exit. "Do you want to see the upstairs one? It has more furniture, and you can move in right away."
"Okay, let’s take a look," Qin Guanglin nodded.
Single rooms for $600 and one-bedroom apartments for around $1,000 were normal prices in this area. He was quite satisfied. Now it depended on what He Fang thought. If she was okay with it, they could make it the first option. If there were no better options tomorrow, he would rent it.
Following the landlord to the fifth floor, he watched as she took out the keys to open a door facing the street. Qin Guanglin spoke up, "No need to look at this one."
"Hm?"
"The one we just saw is good. I’ll bring my friend over the day after tomorrow to take a look, and if she likes it, we’ll rent it. Is that okay?"
After all, it was He Fang who was going to live there. Best to have her see it and decide.
"Eh... Okay," the landlord hesitated and then instructed, "Hurry though, because if you’re not renting, I need to show it to others."
"Sure, in the next couple of days," Qin Guanglin reassured, "I’ll ask my friend if she’s free tomorrow, and we might be able to decide then."
"As long as you do it soon," the landlord said, not bothering to open the door anymore, and put the keys back in her pocket.
After saying goodbye to the landlord, Qin Guanglin cheerfully walked downstairs, blaming the slow progress on waiting for the landlord. Without that delay, it would only take about ten minutes to walk home.
Walking ten minutes to see the delightful Teacher He after work was quite a pleasant thought.
After sending the message, He Fang replied with a few messages. While looking at them, Qin Guanglin quickly walked home. Qin’s Mom was sitting on the sofa watching a TV series, and when she saw him, she turned her head and asked, "Where did you go?"
"I was doing a good deed, learning from the good example of Lei Feng."
Qin Guanglin gave a perfunctory answer, went into his room to charge his phone, and then called He Fang.
"How about it? Are you satisfied?" he asked proudly.
"You really found it? Can you see your house?" He Fang sounded surprised.
"I should be able to, but I’ll go check again tomorrow; it’s too dark to see clearly at night," Qin Guanglin said as he stood at the window looking out. He could see a few lights in the direction he had looked at earlier, but he wasn’t sure if it was the building in question. "Are you free tomorrow?"
"I am... I was thinking of just renting a single room, don’t really need the living room. I’ll look more tomorrow."
"Wouldn’t a single room be too small? It might be inconvenient to stack stuff."
"I don’t have much stuff, a single room won’t be small."
"Then you might as well move in with me, I’ll give you a room," Qin Guanglin joked. "Oh, and you said before about sleeping in my room. Then, I’ll give you my room and I’ll move to the guest room."
"I’ll be sleeping in your room every day when you marry me," He Fang’s voice carried a laugh over the phone, "For now, you can give up on that idea."
"When will that happen?"
"Guess?"
"I’m not guessing," Qin Guanglin said as he turned and lay on his bed, bringing the conversation back. "Let’s go see it together after work tomorrow. It’s on the third floor, so it’s not too tiring to go up and down, and the room is nicely set up, pretty new, with a big bed..."
"Why do I need such a big bed if I’m sleeping alone?" He Fang interrupted.
"Uh... you can roll around in it."
"Yeah right, I think you’re up to something."
"Not at all," Qin Guanglin laughed. "The first time you came to my house, I saw you rolling around on my bed."
"That’s not true, you saw wrong," He Fang immediately denied. "Drawing too much makes you see things."
She couldn’t help but laugh, "Your bed smells like you, I wouldn’t like that."
"Alright, you smell the best."
Qin Guanglin, mimicking her, slowly rolled around on the bed a couple of times and it felt pretty good. "When the time comes, I’ll roll around on your bed and make it stink."
"Humph, I won’t let you in."
"If I don’t come in, how can I help you move... By the way, since we’re so close you can come over for dinner, to save the trouble of cooking for one."
"So, I’d have to cook for three?" He Fang asked on purpose.
"I’ll cook," Qin Guanglin said, full of confidence in his skills developed over several days. "Chef Qin will personally cook for you."
"Forget it, learn how to cut vegetables first."
"I already know that. You just wait; I’ll show you."
The two chatted casually, and Qin Guanglin finally understood why couples enjoyed long phone calls—it was really pleasant to talk about anything with her, even when they couldn’t see each other.
Ah, such a lovely, cheesy smell.