Le Tong was entangled with no way out, and in the end, she had to let Yang Sheng accompany her upstairs.
As the door opened, Sister-in-law Zhang across the hall probably heard the noise from this side and came out holding Wenwen.
"Sister... Sister..."
Seeing Le Tong, Wenwen started calling out and jumping in Sister-in-law Zhang’s arms, reaching out to Le Tong, wanting her to hold her.
Le Tong pinched her face, "Wenwen, be good, Sister has a cold and can’t hold you!" Children have weaker resistance and can easily catch infections.
"Sister... Sister..."
Wenwen, unaware of adult concerns and caution, kept reaching out her little hands and tugged at Le Tong’s scarf, trying to leap onto her.
"Sorry, I didn’t know you had a guest over."
Sister-in-law Zhang smiled apologetically at Yang Sheng, pulled Wenwen off Le Tong, and turned around to go back inside.
Yang Sheng watched the mother and daughter retreat into their apartment before turning his attention back, "Tongtong, I didn’t expect you to be so popular with kids."
Le Tong ignored him and focused on unlocking the door, while Yang Sheng assumed she didn’t hear and didn’t mind, entering behind her once she opened the door.
The apartment was even smaller than Yang Sheng imagined, less than twenty square meters. With a quick glance from the door, Yang Sheng could already see the whole layout clearly.
This integrated studio apartment had a kitchen and bathroom probably converted from a balcony, with a small balcony adjacent to them.
The interior was simply decorated, predominantly in cool colors with glossy apricot floors, a white sofa, a white bed, and light blue bed covers with matching curtains. The clean, straightforward tones and lines gave Yang Sheng the illusion of having accidentally walked into a man’s apartment.
Though the living room and bedroom shared the same space, Le Tong thoughtfully placed a folding screen between them, dividing the compact space into two separate parts.
After entering, Le Tong silently changed her shoes, while Yang Sheng quickly surveyed the surroundings, then complained to her indifferent back.
"Tsk, junior sister, why are you ? Not welcoming to guests at all!"
Le Tong was both amused and exasperated by his comment, turned around, and with a mock smile slightly bowed to Yang Sheng, "Sir, welcome!"
Yang Sheng burst into laughter, "Tongtong, can’t you stop being so funny? Hearing you say that, I almost asked, ’Miss, do you have anything good to eat?’"
Le Tong rolled her eyes at him, turned, and walked into the kitchen, "Who was it complaining that I wasn’t welcoming or attentive? And now you’re just dismissing me as a restaurant waitress?"
Yang Sheng glanced down at the shoe rack, which was filled with various women’s shoes—heels, boots, running shoes, and casual shoes—but not a single pair suitable for him, let alone slippers that would fit his feet.
Glancing at the almost spotless floor, Yang Sheng bent down to remove his shoes and walked into the living room in his socks, then casually sat on the sofa.
Taking the tea Le Tong handed him, "Tongtong, this place isn’t bad."
Le Tong sat down next to him, "Come on, you don’t need to console me. Compared to your mansion, what’s so good about my pigeonhole? But I guess I’m used to living here and actually find it quite satisfactory."
Le Tong rarely envies or resents others; instead of always eyeing what others have, she knows how to treasure what she has, even if it’s not the best, feeling content with it.
Yang Sheng took a sip of tea, still filled with much curiosity about this space he had begged multiple times to get into.
"Tongtong, is this your place?"
Judging from the exterior decoration of the building, it should be several decades old, he guessed it was a house left to her by her mother.
This place was indeed Le Tong’s mom’s more than a decade ago. However, around ten years ago, her mother’s health deteriorated; back then, Le Tong didn’t know her mom was terminally ill. Life was tough for the two of them, so they sold this place, and after the current owner bought it, they rented it back to them.
Unexpectedly, just over a year after the house was sold, the property prices in the area skyrocketed, soaring multiple times from the original few tens of thousands yuan selling price within just a year or two.
Le Tong’s only wish now is to quickly save enough money to buy back this house, or, if not, buy a small new apartment elsewhere.
"Rented, huh, is the rent high?"
Yang Sheng knew Le Tong used to live a challenging life, but now, she shouldn’t have much burden, so why push herself so hard?
"Around one thousand yuan." For more chapters visit novel⟡fire.net
These things aren’t commercial secrets. Since she let Yang Sheng in, rent details aren’t a secret anymore.
"Actually, you could save this thousand yuan. The company provides dorms for single employees; someone like you qualifies to apply for one. Although dorms require a nominal rent, it’s just symbolic, a couple of hundred yuan, and you don’t have to pay for utilities and internet."
Yang Sheng’s point was something Ji Family had already mentioned to Le Tong when she first joined the company. She had confirmed with the HR department, who told her she indeed qualified to apply.
However, when she was about to move, sitting on the sofa, looking at the features and even just a corner of the sky visible from this apartment, she felt an indescribable familiarity and attachment.
This place held her naive yet joyful childhood and her rebellious yet exuberant adolescence, and later, the bleak days after her mother fell ill...
"Forget it, I’m used to living here, and it’s not far from the company anyway."
Though Le Tong had slept for several hours in the hospital, she still felt exhausted and weak. Feeling relatively relaxed in Yang Sheng’s presence, she kicked off her shoes, curled up cat-like with the teacup in her arms on the sofa.
Yang Sheng glanced at the lazily curled up Le Tong, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her for a while.
He always thought Le Tong lived very frugally, but she remained steadfast about where she lived. Perhaps this place held some special meaning for her.
"Have you lived here for a long time?"
Le Tong stared down at the tea in her cup, "Yes, ever since I can remember, I’ve lived here."
Her mother never mentioned anything, but Le Tong speculated that this apartment was perhaps one of the few gifts her father gave her mother because when they had to sell it, her mother cried in secret for a long time.
At that time, she secretly despised her mother: with him gone, what was the point of clinging to his house or belongings?
It wasn’t until after her mother passed away that she understood the feelings her mother had been carrying all those years.
Sometimes, it is precisely because a person is no longer there that one wants to hold on to everything and anything with even the slightest connection to him/her.
Not for anything else, but simply because she loves him/her!