The residential complex was old, the stairwell was old, and even the apartment door had an air of age about it.
Much of the putty on the exterior walls had crumbled and peeled away, while remnants of Spring Festival couplets left by the previous tenants still clung to either side of the door.
The door was a style popular twenty years ago-a hinged, barred security door with a liver-red wooden door behind it. These days, newly renovated homes no longer used that combination, opting instead for a single, heavy front door that offered security, privacy, and good looks.
As Chen Shi'an looked around, he heard a handle turning inside.
Soon, the inner door opened first, and through the gaps in the security bars, he caught sight of a young woman.
The faint sound of the door opening switched on the sound-activated light inside the entrance. Its warm yellow glow fell over her house slippers. She still held a cleaning rag in her other hand, and a fine sheen of sweat covered her pretty face. The wisps of hair over her forehead were damp, a few strands sticking to her smooth skin.
Her fresh face bore no makeup at all, her jawline tapered softly, and there was a hint of haste in her moist, almond-shaped eyes. She had not even noticed the young Taoist standing behind Principal Lin before she hurried to open the security door.
"What a coincidence. I didn't expect to see you here again," Chen Shi'an greeted her with a smile once he saw her face clearly.
No wonder her voice had sounded so familiar earlier. Wasn't this young woman in her early twenties the girl handing out flyers near the mall when he had come to register at school that morning?
Chen Shi'an had an excellent memory. Even after meeting someone only once, he could remember their face and voice for a long time, let alone someone he had seen just that morning.
"Huh?"
His words made her look up. Her gaze passed over Principal Lin and landed on him. "You... you're the young Taoist from this morning?"
"That's me. I didn't expect you to remember."
"It really is you!" She made no attempt to hide her surprise. "I've been handing out flyers all day, and you were the only Taoist I ran into. I just never thought we'd meet here. What a coincidence..."
Once the surprise wore off, she finally caught on. "Then you're here to..."
"Uncle Lin arranged for me to stay here for a while. Sorry for the trouble."
"Oh, you're that second-year high school student! But aren't you a Taoist...?"
"Yes, I'm a Taoist too. I just enrolled today."
"..."
She fell silent, looking thoughtful. Clearly, she had yet to wrap her head around the switch between "Taoist" and "student."
Listening to their conversation, Principal Lin was a little confused too. "Shi'an, you know Li?"
"Not really. When I came to register this morning, I saw her handing out flyers. We've met once."
"Oh! That really is a coincidence!"
As the saying went, those destined to meet would find each other. Though Chen Shi'an did not believe in fate, he did believe in the ties that brought people together.
Relationships were nothing more than a process of meeting, getting acquainted, and coming to understand each other. Yet that first meeting alone lay beyond human control. Even with his Taoist attainments, he still could not predict whom he would meet or who he would become.
To meet by chance among a crowd, then walk the same stretch of road together, was already something rare.
It seemed like chance, but wasn't there a pattern to it after all?
That thought reminded Chen Shi'an of the chatty girl he had met on the way. Her uniform had confirmed that she attended Yunqi No. 1 High School, but he had no idea when or where they would meet again.
Chen Shi'an would neither force it nor go looking for her. He enjoyed the interesting unknowns life offered.
"Since you don't really know each other yet, let me make a quick introduction."
Principal Lin laughed heartily. "This is Li Wanyin. She graduated this year and has just started working. You're twenty-two this year, right, Li? Shi'an, it's perfectly fine for you to call her your older sister."
"This is Chen Shi'an, a second-year student at our school and a genuine Taoist. He's a fine young man, both in character and temperament. Sharing an apartment with the opposite sex can be inconvenient, but don't worry, Li. Shi'an knows his boundaries. He won't put you in an awkward position."
"It's all right. Thank you for finding me a roommate, Uncle Lin. Paying the rent alone really is a lot of pressure..."
Li Wanyin knew she owed it to Lin Ming's help that she could rent such an inexpensive apartment in this area. The same money would not necessarily get her anything better elsewhere, and she was very grateful.
"It's like that when you've just graduated. Keep working hard, and you'll manage to save some money."
"Yes. Uncle Lin, Shi'an, come inside. I'll get you some water."
At Li Wanyin's invitation, Chen Shi'an and Principal Lin entered the apartment.
"Did you finish work this early today, Li?" Principal Lin asked.
"Yes. Part-time work is a little more flexible. Since a new roommate was coming, I finished early to come back and clean."
"You still haven't found a job?"
"No... I only have a junior college diploma and no experience. I interviewed at a few places, but none of them got back to me... so I'm doing part-time work to tide me over for now. And about the rent... don't worry, Uncle Lin. I'll definitely have it together for you before the tenth!"
"Ah, there's no rush. Take things one step at a time."
As Lin Ming and Li Wanyin talked, Chen Shi'an listened quietly beside them.
She brought over two cups, then poured them some cooled boiled water from a kettle.
The weather was hot and muggy. Only after they arrived did she pick up the remote and turn on the air conditioner. While cleaning alone earlier, she had sweated profusely rather than spend the money to run it.
The flyers she had yet to hand out were still on the coffee table. She conscientiously gave them to passersby one at a time, never even considering secretly dumping the leftovers in a bin when her boss wasn't looking...
Chen Shi'an picked up a flyer and looked it over. It was identical to the one he had seen that morning, advertising a newly opened restaurant in the mall.
"Wanyin, will you be handing these out again tomorrow?" Chen Shi'an asked.
His familiar way of addressing her made Li Wanyin pause briefly before nodding. "Yes. It's a week-long part-time job for the restaurant's opening promotion. The pay's pretty good, a hundred yuan a day, and they provide meals at mealtimes too. I've got another five days to go."
"Isn't this restaurant inside the mall? Why didn't they have you hand them out in there?" Chen Shi'an asked curiously. When he had met her that morning, she had been on a street near the mall.
"There are other part-timers handing them out inside, but they only get eighty yuan a day..."
Chen Shi'an nodded.
So a difference of just twenty yuan was enough to make a young woman fresh out of college and short on money give up the comfort of the mall's air conditioning and choose to work outdoors under the blazing
sun.
As they chatted, Black Cat climbed out of the bag and curiously surveyed this new home.
"Wanyin, I brought a cat too. Do you mind?"
"Not at all. I really like cats too. We used to have one at home. It was great at catching mice."
At the sight of the little black ball of fur, Li Wanyin's eyes lit up, and she reached out to stroke Black Cat.
Black Cat did not scratch her, merely dodging nimbly aside and turning back to give her a disdainful look before bounding away to continue inspecting this new territory.
Chen Shi'an and Principal Lin also got up from the coffee table to take a quick look around the apartment.
Like the surroundings outside, the furnishings and decor indoors were old, but Li Wanyin was diligent and had cleaned the place until it was spotless.
"Li, you're staying in the room on the east side, right?" Principal Lin asked, pointing to the closed bedroom door.
"Yes, that's my room. Xiao Rui used to stay in the one by the balcony. It's been empty since she moved out, and I've just cleaned it. You can take that one, Shi'an. The room on the west side is available too, but there's a lot of clutter I haven't sorted out yet, and the afternoon sun makes it hotter in summer..."
"Thanks for cleaning it for me, Wanyin. I'll take the room by the balcony, then."
Chen Shi'an did not mind which room he stayed in. As Li Wanyin had said, the west-facing room was indeed hotter, and the other two were about the same size.
That was how shared apartments worked. Apart from their own rooms, everything else was communal space. Everyone took care of their own room, while keeping the common areas clean depended entirely on consideration. With a slovenly roommate, sharing a place was usually a miserable business.
Clearly, Li Wanyin was not that sort of person.
She had lived here for some time and kept the apartment even cleaner and tidier than when she had moved in. She had even scrubbed away the stubborn stains the previous tenants had left in the kitchen and bathroom.
Now that a new roommate was moving in, she had even helped clean his room.
"Shi'an, have a look and see if there's anything missing or anything you'd like replaced. Just tell me, and I'll sort it out in the next couple of days," Principal Lin said.
"There's no need, Uncle Lin. This place is already great. It's much better than our Taoist temple."
"Haha, all right. Anyway, if you need anything, just let me know. No need to stand on ceremony with me."
Honestly, aside from the location and rent, the apartment's amenities really were dated. Any other landlord would have replaced them long ago with cheap, attractive new furniture and appliances to charge a higher rent.
But Lin Ming did not care how much rent he could collect. He only wanted to give young people a little help within reason. Making the apartment too nice might instead attract people who did not need that bit of support-the same principle as sprinkling sand in charity porridge!
"I have a dinner engagement shortly, so I won't stay any longer. Shi'an, Li, you can work out the arrangements between yourselves. I'll be off."
"Take care, Uncle Lin."
After Principal Lin left, only Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin remained in the apartment.
"Shi'an, go unpack your luggage first. I'll give the living room another clean."
"No rush. I'll help you, Wanyin."
Chen Shi'an picked up the rag Li Wanyin had draped over the side of the bucket and began cleaning with her.
He was hardly a guest.
After all, for a long time to come, this would be his home...
(Thank you to Cucumber Nougat for the Alliance Leader donation! How generous! Thank you so much for supporting the new book~!)
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