First Meeting (Part Two)

"It's not impossible for me to pay this price, but first, you have to remove all these plants..."

"No, if they're gone, I won't have the will to live anymore." The girl opposite Jilan Jiyu Yu spoke as soon as she opened her mouth, her voice calm and unyielding. "No matter what, I will not leave these children."

"Alright then, let me ask you how much the annual land occupancy fee is? Don't tell me the administrator lets you use the land in front of your house for free."

Jilan Jiyu had already inquired about it. Because land in Japan is privately owned, as long as you own the land, you can use it indefinitely. In this area, the land ownership belongs to a large conglomerate, and everyone who rents here is renting their houses. The conglomerate sends managers to collect rent on time.

Of course, this is only the situation in this small area, because it is a permanent residence area for migrant workers. The residents here only have casual acquaintances and do not greet each other. They are busy making a living every day.

Therefore, tenants here are not surprised to encounter unfamiliar faces, which is why Jilan Jiyu chose this place.

On the other hand, the managers here are very strict, almost to the point of being petty. In other words, they certainly won't let her use the land in front of the gate unconditionally.

"Ha... ha..." Upon hearing this, a terrifying smile appeared on the girl's face, "You mean that guy? I'll kill him sooner or later..."

"What heinous crime did that administrator commit...?"

The girl said resentfully, "That guy threatened to pull up all my flowers and plants if I couldn't pay the land occupancy fee, and he said he would bring an excavator to uproot them...!"

That's a bit too much...

Jilan Jiyu suddenly remembered something and asked, "Um, where are your parents? Don't they live with you?"

Seeing that the other party had fallen silent, Jilan Jiyu thought they might have touched a nerve, so they quickly said, "Of course, you don't have to say if you have any difficulties."

"It's nothing, just know that I live here alone," the girl said calmly. "So, continue, what are your thoughts?"

"Uh... okay." Jilan Jiyu scratched her head and continued, "Have you thought about planting all these flowers and plants inside the house? As long as you plant them inside, you only need to pay for the flower beds, and then you won't have to pay them any extra money or have to deal with the caretaker."

"... Plant them indoors?" The girl's face showed surprise, but it quickly disappeared. "That's one way. Each of these plants doesn't take up much space, so they're just right in a flowerpot. But there are too many of them. Although we can fit them all in the room, it's impossible for them to receive sunlight evenly."

"That's true..." Jilan Jiyu also had a headache, and said involuntarily, "But if we don't remove the flowers, this place will be too conspicuous, and it can't be used as a transit center at all..."

For Jilan Jiyu, the first requirement for choosing a rental house is that it be inconspicuous. This house, which is impossible to find unless someone specifically looks for it, just meets his requirements. However, if the house is surrounded by flowers and plants, many people might find it by following the fragrance.

"I'm sorry to bother you." Jilan Jiyu stood up. "Just pretend I didn't say anything. I can't give you the deposit back."

Actually, the previous place wasn't bad, it's just that the landlord's price was a bit too high, but after thinking about it carefully, it was still acceptable... Once the best option was ruled out, the problems that were pointed out in other places could be tolerated.

"Don't go, I promise you." The girl suddenly reached out and grabbed Jilan Jiyu's hand, lowering her head as she said, "As long as you give me money."

As the girl spoke, her hair was buried in the ground, then suddenly stretched out, thick and Vines -like, and burst straight through the eaves of the house!

Sunlight streamed through the hole, illuminating Jilan Jiyu's backs. The girl whispered, "Most of the previous tenants left hastily after seeing the flowers and plants in front of my house. Those who stayed left after seeing the rent in the contract. Only you are left... Please, don't go."

"..." Jilan Jiyu turned their heads helplessly and said, "Do I have a choice? You've already demolished the house."

To solve the lighting problem, they just demolished the house? That's really reckless...

Like an iceberg melting, the girl smiled upon hearing this. A strand of her hair quietly rolled up the contract and a pen from the table and brought them to Jilan Jiyu.

"Can we sign the contract now?"

At this point, there was no option left for regret, right? Jilan Jiyu shrugged, picked up the pen, and signed their names on the "Party B" form.

The girl took the pen and carefully wrote her name— Ibara Shiozaki.

Now that the contract had been signed, Jilan Jiyu began to offer her opinion. "Ms. Ibara Shiozaki, are you sure the contract is valid?"

After the other party nodded, Jilan Jiyu pointed to a detail in the contract and said, "You wrote in it that you would meet most of the tenant's requirements, right?"

"That's absolutely right..."

Although this detailed rule allows for many excessive demands, in reality, although this is Tokyo, the weather is not very hot. Jilan Jiyu was simply expressing his urgent needs.

"As I mentioned before, I don't stay here often. Could you help me send and receive packages? I'll write down the package address here."

"I see, no problem."

The other party readily agreed to the request, which was within her understanding of what a landlord should do.

"I need to use your account to purchase some items, is that alright?"

"If it's not a prohibited substance, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"I have one more request: please don't tell anyone that I rented a room here." The reason Jilan Jiyu rented a place elsewhere was to completely extricate themselves from a series of troubles, rather than having their information easily obtained from the landlord by anyone with a little interest.

"I can give you the agency fee that goes to the real estate agent, provided you tell him there's no one renting here. Of course, I don't mind if you want someone else to move in."

"I'll cancel the rental agreement with the agency tomorrow." Ibara Shiozaki seemed very committed to her contract, saying earnestly, "You're my only tenant."

"I have no further questions." Jilan Jiyu were satisfied with her attitude. They took out a thick wad of cash from their bag and placed it on the table. "This is the deposit for two months, plus the agency fee I originally planned to pay the agency, totaling 180,000 yuan."

To be honest, Jilan Jiyu felt a pang of heartache. It was only a place that was essentially a courier point, yet it cost so much money. But when she thought about the real silicone toys that each cost over 100,000 yen, Jilan Jiyu felt less heartbroken.

Ibara Shiozaki counted several times to make sure it was correct, then looked up hesitantly and said, "According to you, all I need to do is store your packages, which anyone can do... Can I assume you're keeping me as a mistress?"

"If that's what you think, then I don't mind," Jilan Jiyu replied, counting the flowers and plants outside the door, thinking about how many flower beds she should buy. "But we're a bit young now. If we were older, I wouldn't mind doing 'that' with you."

"What's up?"

"Stop asking questions, there's a strict investigation going on right now..."