Graduate dormitory.
Xia Lin looked at the message Su Bai had sent her and couldn't help laughing.
Listen to yourself—does that even sound human?
You were already sick of staying in luxury hotels?
Ordinary people couldn't afford to stay there even if they wanted to.
Still, given Xia Lin's background, Su Bai's seemingly ridiculous question wasn't just needless whining.
Xia Lin had stayed in five-star hotels that cost over a thousand a night with her parents ever since she was little.
She had even experienced more expensive ones.
Once, when her mother returned to her hometown and her father was away on business, it happened to be summer vacation, so they stayed at the Hilton for half a month straight.
Xia Lin had plenty of authority when it came to Su Bai's troubles.
After all, she had recently become captivated by Su Bai's physique. Xia Lin thought it over seriously, organized her words, and typed:
Xia Tianlin: Hotels might be luxurious, but they're still hotels. They lack that lived-in feeling, and staying too long can make a person feel ungrounded.
Crispy Big White Goose: Makes sense!
Crispy Big White Goose: Looking at it that way, traditional rentals are still better for long-term stays.
Crispy Big White Goose: But hotels have people to take care of everything, which is really convenient. That's an advantage rentals can't compare to.
Xia Tianlin: What, is Student Su planning to move off campus?
Crispy Big White Goose: Yep, I've been considering it. I wanted to report it to Director Xia first.
Xia Tianlin: Student Su is such a good boy. Thumbs up~
Crispy Big White Goose: [Big White Goose scratching his head shyly]
Crispy Big White Goose: By the way, is there some kind of high-end rental that lets you enjoy hotel services at the same time?
Xia Tianlin: What you're describing does exist on the market. It's called a serviced apartment, but it's rather expensive. Ordinary students might not be able to afford it.
Crispy Big White Goose: Director Xia, do I look like an ordinary student to you?
Crispy Big White Goose: [Image][Image][Image][Image]
Taking the opportunity, Su Bai sent Xia Lin a set of photos of his abs.
He had taken them earlier while he was in the washroom.
That Body Enhancement Fluid System Brother had given him was seriously incredible.
The physique it had sculpted was even better-looking than a male model's.
Xia Tianlin: [Shy emoji]
Xia Tianlin: Why are you sending pictures out of nowhere? Save them for your girlfriend. Don't act crazy in front of your counselor!
Crispy Big White Goose: I thought you liked looking at them. You didn't object when I sent some a few days ago.
Crispy Big White Goose: If Director Xia doesn't like them, I won't send them anymore.
Xia Tianlin: ...
Xia Tianlin: To be honest, they really are nice to look at. Student Su, you must have put in a lot of effort to get a body like that, right?
Xia Lin loved working out, so naturally, she was deeply interested in maintaining a good figure as well.
The two chatted about fitness for a while before returning to the main topic.
Xia Tianlin: The kind of place you mentioned, with the lived-in feel of a rental and hotel services, is called a "serviced apartment."
Xia Tianlin: It's a business model that originated overseas. In recent years, it has become quite popular domestically too, and it's especially favored by high-end businesspeople.
Xia Tianlin: Let me ask first, what's your budget, Student Su?
Su Bai did the math.
He currently had more than ten million in savings.
The system had said that for indulgent spending related to renting, he could prepay at most one year's worth.
In other words, as long as the monthly rent did not exceed one million, it would be fine.
Crispy Big White Goose: No more than one million a month.
Xia Tianlin: ...
Xia Tianlin: [Puppy beating someone emoji]
Xia Tianlin: With that budget, are you trying to live in a palace?
Crispy Big White Goose: A palace won't do. I've heard that palaces, castles, ancient towns, and places like that have terrible internet. I like gaming.
Xia Tianlin: [Puppy smirking emoji]
Xia Tianlin: Wait a moment. I'll find you a few links. They're all reputable big brands with serviced apartments in River City.
Before long, Xia Lin sent over several webpage links.
Su Bai looked through them and was immediately satisfied.
A serviced apartment was essentially an entire building contracted and independently operated by a particular brand, much like a hotel.
Its interior decoration and design resembled a high-end large residential apartment.
Kitchen, bathroom, walk-in closet, parking lot...
All sorts of facilities made it almost the same as buying a home and living in it yourself.
However, there was no need to worry about decorating it yourself, and it came with round-the-clock butler service. Cleaning, repairs, even whatever food you wanted—you could call the butler directly to handle it.
Serviced apartments also came with private gyms, swimming pools, Chinese and Western restaurants, leisure clubs, screening rooms, bars...
Some even had ridiculous things like golf courses and racetracks.
Naturally, their prices were nowhere near comparable to those Wanda apartments that rented for two or three thousand a month.
The smallest units started at one hundred square meters, and a single night cost more than the Marriott river-view suite Su Bai was staying in.
If he wanted a larger unit, prices started at three thousand per night.
That came to a hundred thousand a month.
Of course, contracts were actually signed by the month. Booking several months at once came with a discount, and paying for an entire year upfront brought even greater discounts.
But discounted or not, it was still a kind of rental ordinary workers could never imagine.
For Su Bai, money was not the issue.
What mattered was the quality of life.
It had to be luxurious while still feeling like everyday living.
After looking through the links Xia Lin had sent him, Su Bai suddenly understood. Wasn't this just a long-term lease on a top-tier, large apartment in the city center, complete with a bunch of thoughtful services?
If he picked the most upscale serviced apartment and rented it for a year, he could get at least several million in cashback.
Once he had a little more savings, he could directly find a luxury residence in River City and buy it, then slowly renovate it according to his own ideas.
Once the renovations were done, he could move into the luxury home.
Su Bai's thoughts turned, and he quickly settled on a plan.
Crispy Big White Goose: Thanks, Director Xia. This information is very helpful.
Crispy Big White Goose: I think Ascott is a pretty good brand. It's a little expensive, but it has a branch close to the school, right by the river. Both the location and the view are great.
Xia Tianlin: Student Su has excellent taste. If you don't care about the budget, that one really is the most suitable for students.
Crispy Big White Goose: I'm planning to take a look tomorrow. Is Director Xia free tomorrow? Would you like to come with me?
Inviting his counselor to look at apartments with him?
This kid had some nerve.
Xia Lin felt a little awkward, but that soon turned into delighted amusement.
After all, she was from a wealthy family and had seen plenty of the world.
She could tell that Su Bai's family was very well-off, which formed a sharp contrast with how simple he was in his food, clothing, and daily expenses.
"He's a low-key young master... and his body is so good too. There really are hidden talents everywhere among college students."
Xia Lin muttered to herself, unable to resist opening the pictures Su Bai had just sent again—the ones she had saved in her photo album.
They made her mouth water.
Oh no, I'm going to drool...
Honestly, Xia Lin really was a little tempted.
Over all these years, she had never dated either. Given her family background, she had never needed to get anything from men through romance. She had grown up with a golden spoon in her mouth.
However, Xia Lin did not like flaunting her wealth either. She had always diligently gone to school, attended graduate school, worked, and improved herself.
She did not have any grand ambitions, but at the very least, she wanted to become someone useful to society.
She suddenly realized that Su Bai seemed quite similar to her.
He was also the type of low-key rich person who lived an honest, ordinary life.
And Su Bai had such a good body, so he surely loved exercise. Xia Lin happened to enjoy working out too.
They were simply made for each other!
Other than the slightly awkward fact that she was his counselor while he was a freshman...
Xia Lin shook her head and decided not to think too much about it for now. They could just be friends first.
So she immediately accepted Su Bai's invitation and arranged to visit Ascott with him the next morning.
Before you continue