Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The day after his ex-wife's outburst, Lin Yanzhou got up very early. The morning light had just spread across half the street when he sat on the sofa in the living room, a new real estate brochure spread out in front of him, the ring beside him, and a stack of freshly printed screenshots of Xiaoya's bank balance. The coffee table had been smashed and hadn't been replaced yet; the broken glass had been cleaned up, leaving only a few shallow scratches on the tiles.

Lin Xiaoya walked over with a cup of hot water, sat down next to him, and glanced at the brochure: "You want to buy a house?"

"Let's get you and your daughter, no, let's get the three of us a bigger place." Lin Yanzhou turned to a page with a picture of a detached villa: gray exterior walls, large floor-to-ceiling windows, two yards with osmanthus and ginkgo trees, and a sign that read, "Fully furnished, ready to move in, with a basement." "Xiaoya, the house you're living in now is a temporary hospital apartment. It's enough, but it's not really yours. Xiaozhou will be starting high school next year and needs a stable environment with his own room, study, and proximity to school. And—" He flipped to the bottom of the floor plan, "it has a basement storage room, and it's quite spacious."

"You bought a villa just for storage?" Lin Xiaoya glanced at him. "Your... stuff?"

"Use your money for the house first, I'll pay you back the day after tomorrow. There are some things I need a place to store." Lin Yanzhou didn't explain about the ring, "The storage room in the villa is more secure."

Lin Xiaoya didn't press further, but simply nodded: "Okay. I happen to be off today, I'll go with you."

At 10 a.m., the two arrived at the sales office of the real estate development. This was a newly developed low-density residential area in the southern part of the city in recent years. It covered a considerable area, with a water feature and landscaped walkway at the entrance, and rows of ginkgo trees planted on both sides, their leaves a bright yellow in late autumn. The sales office was a three-story modern building with a large area of ​​glass curtain walls on the exterior, giving it a transparent and upscale feel.

Lin Xiaoya was dressed simply, in a gray coat and trousers, without makeup, her hair casually tied back, looking like a doctor who had just finished a night shift. Lin Yanzhou was even more casual, in a black short jacket, dark trousers, and a pair of old sneakers he'd worn for over half a year, the wear and tear on the soles clearly visible, and a dried mud stain on the side of the shoes, as if he'd been walking on a construction site a couple of days ago. As the two walked side by side into the sales office, the warmth of the lobby greeted them, and a faint scent of aromatherapy filled the air.

Behind the reception desk stood three sales staff in uniforms, two women and one man, their hair neatly combed, each wearing a shiny name tag on their chest. A woman in a black suit, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, stood in the center, her sharp features and thin lips slightly pursed, a tablet computer between her fingers. Next to her was a young female salesperson with impeccable makeup, her smile professional and precise. At the far end was a girl who looked like an intern, slightly dark-skinned and with a somewhat inexperienced expression, standing behind the two older salespeople, her fingers nervously gripping the edge of a folder.

As Lin Yanzhou and Lin Xiaoya stepped across the threshold, the woman in the black suit glanced at them. Her gaze first fell on Lin Xiaoya's gray coat—an old designer style, three years old—then on Lin Yanzhou's sneakers, the worn edges of the soles clearly visible under the fluorescent lights. Her lips twitched slightly, a barely perceptible, cold smile that vanished before it could fully form. She turned to the young female saleswoman beside her and said in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the nearby tables to hear: "These days, you see all sorts of people. Showing up to look at apartments dressed like they're going to work on a construction site. This isn't a vegetable market."

The young saleswoman chuckled in agreement, a knowing smile playing on her lips, before lowering her head to continue flipping through the booklet in her hands.

The intern stood to the side, her fingers tightening around the folder. After a moment's hesitation, she approached, her voice tinged with the awkwardness typical of a newcomer: "Sir/Madam, are you here to view the apartment?"

Lin Yanzhou stopped in front of the model: "Are there any villas still available?"

Just as the intern was about to answer, the woman in the black suit looked up. She placed the tablet on the table, her voice unhurried but clear: "Xiao Zhao, the villas in this area are fully furnished, ready-to-move-in apartments, all priced over five million. You should first clarify the client's budget, don't make a wasted trip." She gestured with her chin towards Lin Yanzhou, "Those shoes this guy is wearing, do they look like they can afford a five-million-dollar house?"

The young saleswoman next to him couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly covered her mouth with the back of her hand, but the curve of her eyes betrayed her laughter. A customer at the next table, wearing a mink coat, also turned his head at the sound, his gaze sliding over Lin Yanzhou's shoes before returning to his own.

The intern's face flushed red, and his voice was so low it was almost inaudible: "There are still a few villas available in the area. Let me show you the floor plans..."

Lin Yanzhou glanced down at the model of the corner unit on the sand table: "What's the price for that corner unit, the one with the basement?"

As the intern looked down at the price list, the woman in the black suit spoke again: "The corner unit is five million two hundred thousand. Xiao Zhao, you should ask the client whether they're paying by mortgage or in full, so we don't get stuck on the qualification review halfway through the paperwork."

The intern bit his lip, his voice trembling: "Sir, that apartment is currently priced at 5.2 million. It's fully furnished and decorated, and you can move in immediately."

Lin Xiaoya whispered from the side, "Five million two hundred thousand... isn't that a bit too much for us?" She glanced at Lin Yanzhou but didn't continue.

The woman in the black suit precisely caught that hesitation and finally laughed. It was a complete, undisguised sneer, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, as if she were speaking to the entire sales office: "I told you so. People who come in to browse are even shocked by the prices. That lady's expression clearly shows she's never seen a villa before."

The young saleswoman next to her leaned over and whispered something. The woman in the black suit laughed again, covering her mouth with her hand, but the smile in her eyes was undisguised. She even added, deliberately raising her voice by half an octave: "Some people, you know, only visit a place like this once in their lives. They look at the model, take a few photos, and go back to tell their relatives and friends, 'I went to see a villa today, but didn't decide on it.'"

The intern stood next to Lin Yanzhou, her head almost touching the folder, her ears bright red.

Lin Yanzhou closed the booklet: "Okay, let's go see the existing houses."

The intern led them out of the sales office's back door, across a landscaped walkway, and after walking a short distance, she suddenly slowed her pace, her voice hesitant: "Sir... are you really going to see that one?"

"Look," Lin Yanzhou said.

The show flat looks even better than in the brochure. The front and back yards combined are about 200 square meters. The backyard has an osmanthus tree and several rose bushes, while the front yard is paved with bluestone slabs, with a small open space in the corner. Upstairs is a four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. The master bedroom is spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the artificial lake in the complex. From the study window on the second floor, you can see the distant community wall. The basement is 80 square meters with a ceiling height of nearly three meters. All four walls are waterproofed and moisture-proofed, and it has independent ventilation ducts. The floor is covered with gray tiles, and power outlets and lighting sockets are pre-installed in the corners.

Lin Xiaoya walked around the living room, touched the cabinet doors of the sideboard, and checked the hardware. She stood at the window of the second-floor study, looking at the ginkgo forest outside that was still shedding its leaves, and stood quietly for a while without saying a word.

When Lin Yanzhou came up from the basement, he saw Lin Xiaoya standing by the window, so he stopped and waited.

Lin Xiaoya turned around: "This house is very nice." She paused, "But five million two hundred thousand, are you sure?"

"Confirmed," Lin Yanzhou said. "Go back to the sales office to complete the formalities."

When they returned to the sales office, the woman in the black suit was standing next to the reception desk talking to the young saleswoman. Seeing them return, her gaze flickered slightly, a look of surprise and scrutiny in her eyes, but she still didn't speak.

The intern walked to the signing area, opened the contract book, and just picked up a pen to fill out the form.

"Sir, this house can only be purchased with cash," the intern whispered.

"I'll definitely pay in full," Lin Yanzhou said.