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Ming Chan giving Xu Yao an entire apartment building set the internet buzzing nonstop. Aside from praising Xu Yao’s incredible instincts as a landlady, a bizarre new ship called “Yao–Chan Has Mines1” somehow popped up online.
Ming Chan married young, and even though she is divorced now, she was actually only twenty-five. This group of netizens felt that beautiful women being with beautiful women were simply a perfect match.
Yan Xiang, her junior, even came to ask her if she needed help writing fan fiction.
Xu Yao was simply shocked beyond measure by these netizens’ antics.
Xu Yao walked out of the building at Hai City Bay No. 1 and headed towards the lobby of the building diagonally across from it. A few moving trucks from a moving company were parked at the entrance, with everyone wearing the same company uniform.
Ming Chan stood downstairs, watching the moving company employees carefully help her move her furniture,her face filled with disappointment and reluctance.
Ming Chan was moving back to the Mu family’s villa. Of course, this time she was no longer a daughter-in-law, but returning to her own home as the rightful daughter.
Xu Yao walked up to her and smiled as she spoke, “Most people are happy to have their own homes.”
Upon hearing this, Ming Chan turned her head and, seeing Xu Yao, her eyes reddened a bit. She couldn’t help but get choked up and said, “I actually really like it here.”
Xu Yao was very pleased to hear this and turned to He Fan behind her, saying, “Did you hear the feedback from the tenants? Making sure every tenant is happy in my place is my goal as a landlady!”
Little Six chimed in sadly: [Host, you’ve worked hard.]
Xu Yao thought about the more than fifty million yuan that had just been transferred to her and felt she could still continue to work hard a bit longer.
Xu Yao’s rental principles were very clear: aside from commercial properties, personal residences were only rented to those who truly needed them.
Ming Chan clearly no longer met the criteria, and Chairman Mu and his wife missed her very much, so she would move back starting this month.
“Don’t be too sad. You can still rent my office space in Hai City Global Financial Center,” Xu Yao continued as she started calculating, “Given that you’re an old tenant of mine, I can give you a 20% discount.”
The game Shining Star had become a huge hit, and all of its facilities also needed to be upgraded to follow suit. In addition to raising employee salaries, the working environment also needed to be improved.
The original game studio location was not only in a remote area but also lacked proper facilities, so Ming Chan was actually already considering changing her workplace.
Although Ming Chan had heard Xu Yao mention also having an office in Hai City Global Financial Center before, she hadn’t paid much attention at the time. But now, having known Xu Yao for a while, she suddenly realized something.
Xu Yao’s properties seemed to always be measured in “buildings.”
Ming Chan’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you saying I can choose to rent an entire building in Hai City Global Financial Center?”
Xu Yao looked at Lu Ye, who immediately replied, “That might not be possible.”
Ming Chan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that an entire building in Hai City Global Financial Center was indeed too extravagant.
Lu Ye continued, “Many companies in the office building have long-term leases, and we can’t evict anyone during the contract period. However, there are some available for rent on the 7th, 21st, and 23rd floors.”
Ming Chan: “……”
So, the entire building of Hai City Global Financial Center really did belong to Xu Yao…
Ming Chan felt as if her worldview were shattering. After a long time, she took a deep breath and said to Xu Yao, “I’m honored to be able to continue being your tenant.”
She planned to move the game studio to the Global Financial Center. Since it wasn’t at all wrong for her to call Xu Yao her benefactor, she felt completely at ease renting from her, especially with an additional 20% discount!
It’s worth noting that it was incredibly difficult to rent one of Xu Yao’s properties now.
Xu Yao was very pleased to hear this. This was perhaps the greatest compliment for a landlord—she had returning tenants!
Ming Chan’s personal belongings were loaded onto the moving company’s truck, and the Mu family’s private car soon arrived to pick her up. Ming Chan even leaned out of the window, her eyes red as she waved goodbye to Xu Yao.
Xu Yao: …
Was it really necessary for her to have such a heart-wrenching expression? They were clearly still going to be living in the same city, and it wouldn’t take more than twenty minutes to drive to each other!
Behind her, He Fan swiftly pulled out the rental management tablet to input the new information, muttering, “Apartment at Hai City Bay No.1 has been vacated and can be listed for rent after cleaning.”
Of course, although Ming Chan had already cleaned it thoroughly before leaving, the professional rental team still needed to do another round of cleaning.
*
Liu Yingxia was curled up in a soft bean bag chair, hugging a giant dog plushie, staring blankly out the floor-to-ceiling window.
Xu Yao had withdrawn from the industry, yet she still became an internet sensation, while in contrast, her popularity had ironically plummeted within the industry.
Seeking Immortality had clashed with the Yin Fate, the short drama Xu Yao had invested in, leading it to barely make a splash amongst the general public. Now, Xu Yao had even become famous for helping her tenants with lawsuits and investing in a crappy little game, while she herself had suffered.
Sheng Zhou had completely disappeared from the public eye months ago, while Liu Yingxia wasn’t faring much better either.
Xu Yao’s rise to fame led netizens to dig up old grievances, questioning why Liu Yingxia, alongside Sheng Zhou, had pressured Xu Yao to withdraw from the entertainment industry.
Last night, a trending topic with the hashtag #PleaseApologiseLiuYingxia had surfaced, causing her team to, of course, rush to suppress it as soon as they noticed.
Now, the situation had escalated to the point where her offers had sharply dwindled, with the future looking bleak.
“Yingxia, why don’t you just apologize to Xu Yao?” her manager finally spoke after pacing back and forth in the room for a long time.
Liu Yingxia’s expression instantly changed, “Apologize to Xu Yao? Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
Besides, who apologizes only after such a long time has passed? Isn’t that just kicking a dead horse?
“What can we do if you don’t apologize? Do you know what your offers have turned into now? Do you even know about that small-time variety show you confirmed to make an appearance for?” The manager suddenly said in a low voice.
“Rumour has it that the director of the variety show sold all his properties in the capital.”
Liu Yingxia frowned, “I heard about that too. Didn’t they say Director Zhao sold his properties to make the show? Don’t tell me…”
Liu Yingxia was so shocked that she dropped the dog plushie she was holding. She looked at her manager in disbelief, “Are you telling me that Director Zhao sold all his properties just so he could rent from Xu Yao?” That seemed way too exaggerated!
Liu Yingxia knew Director Zhao, who was known to have a plump figure that looked quite prosperous. However, she never expected him to be so decisive, to even think of selling everything just so he could become Xu Yao’s tenant?
First, there was Zuo Ning, and then Ming Chan, with Ming Chan especially drawing attention for having pulled in an investment of 150 million yuan—it was all truly enviable.
Although everyone was clamoring to rent from Xu Yao and seek help from this divine landlady, very few could actually take the gamble and go all in, selling their entire life savings to seek out Xu Yao for investment.
Moreover, selling properties in the capital is easy; buying them back was the real problem!
Liu Yingxia was badly shaken and couldn’t help wavering over whether she should apologize to Xu Yao. Meanwhile, her assistant glanced at the time and quietly reminded her, “Sister Yingxia, your grand-uncle has agreed to come to the capital—should we go ahead and book his flight for him?”
At the mention of her grand-uncle, a flicker of impatience crossed Liu Yingxia’s face. If it weren’t for the show, she’d never have invited this barely-related grand-uncle of hers in the first place.
Liu Yingxia was just about to have her assistant book the flight when the manager beside her suddenly exclaimed, clutching her phone, “My goodness—Xu Yao’s pulling some new outrageous stunt with her rentals again!”
Liu Yingxia immediately leaned over to take a look and asked in shock, “Is she renting or selling houses?”
How could renting be even more terrifying than buying a house?
Where did Xu Yao get her confidence from?
Xu Yao’s rental team officially announced today that their mobile app is ready!
Nowadays, the younger generation tend to use their phones more, with the frequency of using computer websites actually lower than that of mobile apps. So while learning how to drive, Han Zhao led the entire programming team in developing their app.
Once launched, the download numbers immediately skyrocketed. It didn’t seem to matter whether or not they needed to rent—everyone wanted to join in on the excitement.
The app’s interface was designed to match the official website, and aside from the essential online exam registration, it was also enriched with mini-programs from the various companies partnering with Xu Yao Rentals.
This included the moving service that has been praised to the heavens by Xu Yao’s tenants, and it’s now virally known online that Xu Yao Rentals also includes a moving company that is both friendly and affordable.
This moving company, which had originally only been competing for market share with competitors in the industry, had now actually become industry leaders thanks to Xu Yao’s terrifying marketing power. Now, even if they weren’t Xu Yao’s tenants, other renters would still consider choosing their moving company first when having to move places.
This collaboration with Xu Yao Rentals was publicly declared by the moving company’s CEO as the best decision he had ever made, leading countless other companies in the industry to eagerly seek cooperation with Xu Yao’s rental team, all bidding competitively for a slot.
For example, “Takeout delivery service,” “Telecommunication services,” and so on, had all been newly launched by the team.
Renting Xu Yao’s place? Order takeout without even needing a membership and still get coupons—and high-value ones at that. A full dinner ends up costing only eight or nine yuan out of pocket!
Renting Xu Yao’s place? Get your internet line set up with no hefty installation fee, and enjoy low monthly internet charges!
Who is tempted?!
It’s the renters!
[The younger generation (it’s me) is seriously tempted. I get takeout for at least two of my three daily meals, and in big cities like Hai City or the capital, a single order easily costs dozens of yuan. But Xu Yao’s tenants get coupons like this? I’m honestly so tempted.]
[…You can still pay only eight or nine yuan for takeout these days? My Tuantuan Takeout membership suddenly doesn’t feel worth it anymore QAQ]
[I know right! Just getting the internet installed costs at least 200 yuan, and the monthly fees are super expensive. I checked the latest partnership between Xu Yao’s rental team and telecom companies—monthly prices are insanely good, basically the cost of one takeout meal.]
[Seriously, with a rental team like this, who wouldn’t want to rent from Xu Yao? No wonder I heard some director in the entertainment industry sold all his properties just to rent from her.]
[Sis above, which director sold all his properties? I need the gossip!]
In the housing market, there is actually a hierarchy of discrimination; homeowners in high-priced neighborhoods look down on those living in low-priced areas, while those who buy low-priced houses secretly look down on renters.
But Xu Yao wants everyone to know that renting her house can make you even happier than buying one!
These newly launched services have greatly attracted many tenants and indirectly boosted the influx of talent into Hai City, making everyone satisfied.
However, when they saw Xu Yao’s latest rental policy, they could no longer keep their smiles on their faces.
Previously, renting Xu Yao’s house required participating in an online exam, and after passing, tenants could view houses according to their needs before signing the contract.
But now, they have actually changed to a lottery system for renting! That’s right, renting now requires a lottery! They were now enjoying treatment that used to be reserved for home buyers in advance.
[Even renting now needs a lottery… No wonder people used to say you had to “get on board” early in the housing market—this is getting more and more brutal, QAQ.]
[As someone who already made it in, I’m letting out a huge sigh of relief—good thing I rented Xu Yao’s place early.]
[Wild guess: does Xu Yao not have enough properties on hand? From what I can tell, her business has always been centered in Hai City—does she not own places elsewhere?]
[Her properties in Hai City alone are already insane, okay? The statistics show that it’s already reached dozens of buildings—several thousand units.]
Netizens couldn’t help but speculate over Xu Yao only owning properties in Hai City since that’s where she’s most active. They guessed that the reason she hasn’t developed rental services in other cities is that she doesn’t have as many properties outside, making it difficult to expand.
However, Xu Yao still remains the undisputed divine landlady in their hearts, without a doubt!
So, when exactly will Liu Yingxia apologize to Yaoyao?
Liu Yingxia’s team was still considering this when they saw that Xu Yao’s rental service had now introduced a lottery system for renting. However, seeing the continued online buzz, they decided—
Apologizing is just apologizing; Xu Yao is truly someone you can’t afford to offend.
The manager began to try and get Xu Yao’s contact information, while Liu Yingxia arranged for her assistant to book a flight for that grand-uncle she had only met once or twice with an ashen face.
Meanwhile, the variety show director who had sold all his properties and was betting everything on this one move was now anxiously waiting to rent Xu Yao’s house!
*
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
“Miss Yaoyao, the business class ticket to the capital has now been booked,” He Fan reported.
Xu Yao’s rental service was gradually getting on track, with a lovely team of employees helping her collect rent, and the company’s website and mobile app now also being updated.
But were her properties limited to Hai City?
No, no, no, her properties in Hai City were just a drop in the ocean!
In China’s high-priced, bustling cities, aside from Hai City, the capital is indispensable. And in the capital, there are still so many pitiful tenants eagerly waiting for Landlady Xu to rescue them from their plight—she really ought to go take a look at her domain there.
Little Six was heartbroken: [Host, can’t you take a break? You’re here to retire and enjoy your old age.]
Every day was spent running around for tenants, and even this trip of hers to the capital was to scope out her properties there.
Seeing that her pension for next month had doubled once again, Xu Yao felt that Little Six had a point.
Xu Yao made a decision, “Then after I finish my business in the capital, I’ll also travel around for a while.”
After reuniting with Xu Jing, she had been brought back to the capital by him in a hurry and hadn’t had the chance to explore the city in detail yet.
It’s just that Xu Yao let out a sigh, “I heard that my brother and Ji Zhengqing both have their own private jets, but I still have to fly business class when I travel.”
Is this the kind of travel gear a big shot landlady worshipped by countless tenants should have? Xu Yao felt somewhat ashamed of herself. She thought she could buy a few private jets for herself, just in case.
Naturally, she also had to inform her brother and fiancé Ji Zhengqing in advance about her trip to the capital.
[Xu Jing: Okay. When you come, let’s first visit Grandpa and our parents’ graves together.]
Xu Jing actually wished Xu Yao would just live in the capital so he could see her, preferably every day. However, Xu Yao had gone to university in Hai City, and all her connections were there, so she hadn’t initially wanted to return to the capital with him.
[Ji Zhengqing: I’ll come and pick you up.]
Thinking about the many details of their engagement party that still needed to be confirmed by both of them, Xu Yao readily agreed.
After switching off his phone, Ji Zhengqing immediately had Assistant Li cancel his flight to Hai City for this weekend.
There were countless direct flights from Hai City to the capital every day. Xu Yao, along with Lu Ye and He Fan, took an afternoon flight and landed smoothly in the capital.
Donning a pair of sunglasses, Xu Yao looked around at the bustling airport and said, “I remember Han Zhao saying he wanted to learn how to fly a plane. I really should arrange that for him.”
If in the future, he wasn’t working on computer programs anymore, he could still come and fly planes for her instead.
Lu Ye suddenly said, “I can too.”
Lu Ye could have never imagined before that knowing how to fly a plane would now become a standard requirement.
“Miss Yaoyao, President Ji has come to pick you up. Let’s head this way,” said He Fan, who was quite familiar with Ji Zhengqing as his former chief assistant, so he led Xu Yao away first.
Not long after Xu Yao left, an old man in a military green coat also disembarked from the plane. Looking at the bustling airport in front of him, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Our country is getting better and better now. The plane truly is much faster than the train!”
Clearly, this was the old man’s first time flying, and everything seemed new and exciting to him.
Although the old man was over seventy, he stood as straight as a pine tree and was full of vigor. He waited to the side as agreed, waiting for Liu Yingxia’s assistant to come pick him up.
Summer was approaching, and the airport in the afternoon was quite hot. Xu Yao spotted a sleek black car parked under a tree in the distance.
Ji Zhengqing stood by the car door, smiling gently as he watched her approach. He opened the door for her as she came over, while Lu Ye and He Fan had to follow in the car behind.
The car’s air conditioning was set at a moderate temperature, quickly relieving her from the sticky heat she felt.
Ji Zhengqing asked about her plans in the capital for the next few days. Xu Yao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll need to first go and sweep the tombs tomorrow morning. After that, I plan to take a look at some properties.”
After all, she really didn’t know anything about her properties in the capital.
Taking a look at some properties?
This idea aligned perfectly with Ji Zhengqing’s thoughts. If Ming Chan could afford to give a building as a gift, he certainly could too. Moreover, if it was going to be for their engagement, then he could certainly give her a more expensive gift too.
Ji Zhengqing asked for her opinion first, “Then, shall we go together tomorrow?”
As the Ji and Xu families were old friends, it was only right for Ji Zhengqing to pay respects at the graves of Old Master Xu and her parents.
Xu Yao looked at Ji Zhengqing’s clear-cut profile and suddenly thought of something. In the original novel, the idea that Xu Jing, the richest tycoon, had been brought down by Liu Yingxia was already absurd enough as it is.
It was truly unbelievable for an entertainment industry starlet to bring down a tycoon, yet the original author had merely glossed over this small plothole.
Well, fine—Xu Yao resigned herself to the fact that one day, her brother would be brought down by Liu Yingxia. But as his close friend, didn’t Ji Zhengqing try to help at all? The novel does mention that when the wealthy Xu family ran into trouble, Xu Jing’s friend had stepped in to help, but unfortunately, it was to no avail.
After all, the final boss in a feel-good novel was bound to be defeated in the end.
Xu Yao suddenly began to doubt Ji Zhengqing’s abilities as a domineering CEO. Was he not capable enough? Or was the author just too powerful?
Ji Zhengqing’s long fingers rested on his leg as he asked nonchalantly, “Why do you keep looking at me?”
Xu Yao smiled and said, “I was just wondering if Brother Zhengqing isn’t afraid of the heat. After all, you were waiting for me outside the car just now.”
Ji Zhengqing suddenly fell silent. He turned to look out the car window at the scenery rapidly passing by, seemingly just as nonchalant as usual except for his slightly flushed ears.
Assistant Li, who had been sitting silently in the front passenger seat, smiled inwardly. Just this? Their President Ji was still saving his big move for last.
Her grandfather and her parents were buried in Anlan Cemetery, a famous burial ground in the capital where usually only wealthy people could be buried. Her grandfather and parents’ graves were the largest in this area.
A grave, in layman’s terms, could be considered another place for a person to reside after death. Nowadays, some people can’t even afford to die.
Burial plots need to be rented by the descendants, yes, you heard right, rented.
You might think that the burial plot you bought for several hundred thousand is yours, but in fact, you only have usage rights for twenty years. Once the term expires, if there’s no money to renew the term, your ashes will be disposed of.
This led to a strange phenomenon where some people deliberately bought regular houses just to keep their ashes inside. After all, houses had a seventy-year property right.
Xu Jing, Xu Yao, and Ji Zhengqing placed flower bouquets in turn at the joint grave of Grandfather Xu and their parents.
“Yaoyao, stay in the capital for a few more days this time,” Xu Jing said to Xu Yao after talking at the grave for a while.
Xu Jing was seriously starting to doubt Xu Yao and Ji Zhengqing’s relationship—were they really going through with the engagement? He’d heard that, just for the engagement, Yaoyao had willingly commissioned over a dozen outfits. Xu Jing was beginning to suspect that her trip to the capital this time was really about spending time with Ji Zhengqing and deepening their relationship!
Xu Yao nodded with a smile, “Yeah, I plan to spend more time with Zhengqing these few days.”
After the three had finished paying their respects, they were just about to leave when they saw an old man saluting a tombstone not far away. As they passed by, they noticed a distinct scar on the side of the old man’s face.
Xu Yao faintly heard the old man say in a thick rural accent, “Just wait until I get on TV, then everyone will know about us.”
Xu Jing found an excuse to leave, and Xu Yao and Ji Zhengqing got into the RV. Yes, they were sitting in an RV, which looked similar to the one Xu Yao used for her rental in Hai City, only that this one was pure black.
Xu Yao sat next to Ji Zhengqing, while Lu Ye and He Fan sat behind them, constantly reporting in. Ji Zhengqing’s assistant, Assistant Li sat at the front without saying a word.
“Let’s go,” Ji Zhengqing instructed.
Scanning the buildings was actually quite simple; they just needed to drive around the neighborhood a few times to get a general idea of which building belonged to them. After all, checking each apartment one by one would be too much work, and could be left to the employees.
Through the window, Xu Yao admired the northern-style architecture, even spotting a few small hutongs2 that the RV couldn’t enter, which was quite visually striking.
Xu Yao’s properties in the capital were quite varied. Besides the high-rise buildings, she had also circled a few buildings, despite their dilapidated condition, in good locations near the CBD.
Xu Yao prided herself in being a very competent landlady and felt as if she had a general understanding of her properties. After looking out the window for a while, she gradually felt as if something was off.
Why did the buildings they were looking at now not resemble the ones she had inherited in the capital?
Especially when the RV circled around and came to a stop at the Ji Group Tower; Xu Yao felt that the properties they had viewed this afternoon were definitely not hers! Just why did they look like Ji Zhengqing’s properties in the capital?
Xu Yao had never been to the Ji Group, but from the outside, it was certainly eye-catching, with the large commercial building designed in a high-tech fashion. It must have been carefully designed and constructed, and was no less impressive than Xu Group. It could easily be considered a landmark building.
“Yaoyao, which building do you think is the best?” Ji Zhengqing asked, as if seeking opinions.
Without giving it much thought, Xu Yao replied, “From that batch of buildings we just looked at—which one’s the best? I think your Ji Group Tower is the best.”
Ji Zhengqing: “…”
Ji Group Tower???
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- A ship name exuding wealth. Since it’s widely believed that if you have mines, you’re wealthy ↩︎
- A hutong is a traditional type of narrow street or alley commonly found in northern Chinese cities, most notably Beijing. These alleys are formed by lines of siheyuan, which are traditional courtyard residences. While many were demolished during urban renewal in the mid-20th century, several have been preserved as protected cultural heritage sites. ↩︎
