The New Tenant

The New Tenant.

Jiang Siming got up and ran over to open the front door.

A graceful figure stood outside.

Her appearance made Jiang Siming's eyes light up.

It was as if he had seen the girl next door described in a novel.

She was not stunningly beautiful, but she had a face that grew more pleasing the longer one looked at her.

Her face was full of collagen, while her light eyebrows naturally curved like crescent moons.

Her eyes were clear, and though she wore no lipstick, her lips carried a faint pink hue, tender as new shoots.

Her hairstyle was a simple bob, cut very short, reaching only to her neck.

Her hair was tucked behind both ears, revealing a fair neck and adorably springy ears.

She was petite and not very tall, standing only around 165 centimeters.

Yet she seemed full of vitality from head to toe!

Girls like her only appeared in high school classrooms, in novels, and in the fantasies of first love found in manga.

Jiang Siming felt she could easily outshine Shen Jiayi in the movie Those Years. If she had played the role, she definitely would have looked more than ten times better than Chen Yanxi.

The girl carried a large guitar on her back and dragged two heavy suitcases in her hands.

Before Jiang Siming opened the door, the girl had been quietly talking with Sister Luo, the landlady, beside her.

"Landlady, we agreed beforehand, okay? I haven't decided whether to rent this room yet. If my neighbor is too... well, I might still consider moving somewhere else."

"Don't worry, girl. I wouldn't lie to you. This young man has lived here for more than a year. He's a very good person, and all the tenants who've shared the place with him have praised him highly."

Smack.

The door opened, bringing their conversation to an end.

The girl looked up at Jiang Siming, and in an instant, the defenses she had built up in her mind crumbled.

"How can this guy be so handsome?"

A faint blush inexplicably rose across the girl's fair face.

No one disliked beauty. Men liked beautiful women, and women liked handsome men too.

That principle applied everywhere in the world; the only difference was how much importance each person placed on appearance.

Some people were die-hard members of the looks-first school. As long as the other person was attractive,

they could overlook every other factor about him, even if his character was terrible, and would willingly become a lovesick pushover.

But this girl was not like that. In fact, she cared very little about appearances.

It was just that Jiang Siming's looks far exceeded the highest level of attractiveness she had ever seen, which triggered a blush and racing heartbeat she had never experienced before and caused her to lose her composure.

"You're the new tenant, right?"

After sizing up the girl, Jiang Siming spoke.

The girl nodded and replied, "Mm."

"Then come in. Sister Luo should have told you that living next door to me requires meeting a few conditions. I already told her about them before renting the room, so don't take it the wrong way."

Jiang Siming was very direct. Although the girl looked pleasing and even somewhat familiar, he knew nothing about what kind of person she was, so he still had to say what needed to be said.

"It's fine. Go ahead." The girl understood completely and was even somewhat happy.

She was actually more afraid that Jiang Siming would say and care about nothing, because that would mean he was careless and slovenly himself.

"It's nothing major. First, you have to keep things clean. I won't interfere with your bedroom, but the living room and bathroom must be kept tidy. We'll take turns cleaning, and you need to put away your personal belongings properly."

"Mm-hmm, no problem. I'm the new arrival, so let me handle all the cleaning this month!"

The girl generously took the housework upon herself. Jiang Siming did not refuse, treating it as a test.

"Second, unless absolutely necessary, you can't casually bring strangers home. If you really need to, you have to get the other person's consent. The same applies to me. All right?"

Jiang Siming disliked tenants who brought a whole group of friends over and turned the house upside down, even though it was someone else's property.

"No problem!"

"Lastly, don't make too much noise at home and disturb the other person's rest."

The girl looked troubled by this and asked cautiously, "I'm a music student. I'll need to practice the guitar and my singing."

As if afraid Jiang Siming would be unhappy, she immediately added, "But don't worry, I'll definitely keep the volume down! I absolutely won't play after midnight!"

Jiang Siming understood and nodded in agreement. Then he gave the girl a brief tour of the house.

Jiang Siming usually paid close attention to hygiene. He was not a neat freak, but basic cleanliness was still necessary.

After looking around, the girl was very satisfied and happily signed the contract. Sister Luo left with the money, completely satisfied.

Only the girl and Jiang Siming remained in the house.

"How much rent did Sister Luo charge you?"

Jiang Siming had just seen the girl hand Sister Luo quite a few red banknotes, so he asked.

"3,500 a month. I paid for three months." The girl answered obediently.

Jiang Siming rolled his eyes. He knew that this "vampire" was exactly the sort of person who did this.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" the girl asked in confusion when she saw Jiang Siming's expression.

"My rent is 2,000 a month."

"Ah! That's so much cheaper!"

The girl looked heartbroken, but after only a few seconds, she put her smile back on.

"Forget it. I'll treat it as a lesson learned, and as paying a little money to invite good fortune."

Defeated by the girl's optimism, Jiang Siming did not know what else to say and could only nod before politely asking, "You have so many things. Do you want me to help?"

"No, no, it's fine. I can do it myself."

Jiang Siming nodded and turned around, intending to return to his room and catch up on sleep.

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Wang Xinyi, and I'm a third-year student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. What about you?" the girl called from behind him.

Jiang Siming turned around and said, "Jiang Siming. I graduated from Fudan University three years ago, and I'm currently unemployed."

"Wow, Fudan University! It's near my school. I've always wanted to take the entrance exam, but my grades were too poor. Can I call you senior from now on?"

"Up to you."

"Thank you, senior."

After returning to his room, Jiang Siming shut down his computer and went to sleep. When he woke up, it was already dark.

His stomach rumbled. He had intended to order takeout, but the sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen outside, along with the voices of two women talking.

Confused, Jiang Siming opened the door and walked out. Two figures stood in the kitchen. One was the new tenant, Wang Xinyi, and the other was an unfamiliar woman.

"Xinyi, I really don't feel comfortable with you living here alone. And your neighbor is a man. You're so beautiful—what if he gets some improper ideas?"

"Cousin, you imagine too much. He's a Fudan University graduate, and he's a good person. He's very disciplined too."

"Disciplined? He slept through the day until now without waking up?"

"That's his private business. Sis, stop worrying about it."

"Oh, right. What does he look like?"

"He's... pretty good. Quite handsome, actually." (Guilty)