The man chuckled twice and explained, "Yes, the landlord said he was in a hurry to move in, so we had to work overtime to finish the job. I hope we didn't disturb you."
Qiu Mang nodded, said nothing more, and led Qiu Dao into the house.
Upon entering the house, Qiu Dao was immediately drawn to the spacious interior, the bright and warm lighting, and the expensive-looking furniture, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Qiu Dao could tell from the house that the rent was not cheap. She frowned slightly. Qiu Mang already had so much debt, and now she still had to live in such an expensive house. Could she afford it?
"Amang, is this the house you rented?"
Qiu Mang saw through Qiu Dao's thoughts at a glance and said, "Sister, are you surprised?"
Qiu Dao nodded.
Qiu Mang laughed, "Sister, don't even mention how surprised you are, I find it unbelievable myself. I only spent four thousand yuan to rent such a room in this expensive place, in such a high-end neighborhood."
Qiu Dao's eyes widened in disbelief as he exclaimed, "Four thousand?"
Qiu Mang walked to the water dispenser, filled a glass with water, handed it to Qiu Dao, and continued, "Yeah, isn't it strange? Even old houses in remote locations cost at least four thousand yuan a month in rent these days."
Qiu Dao took the water glass, took a small sip, and frowned slightly: "Now that you mention it, it is indeed a bit strange. Could there be something wrong with your house?"
Qiu Mang shrugged helplessly: "I don't know either. The agent said the landlord had gone abroad and wanted to find a long-term tenant, and that he would only rent to girls because girls are clean."
I hesitated at first, but then I saw the beautifully decorated princess-style bedroom in the second room, and I thought Ali would definitely like it. Plus, it's close to the hospital, which will be convenient for Ali to see a doctor, so I rented it.”
Qiu Dao stood there thoughtfully, holding her water glass. After a moment, she put it down and said, "Hearing you say that makes me feel a little uneasy. Tsk... how should I put it..."
She paused slightly, organizing her thoughts, "It just feels like such a coincidence. You just happened to be looking for a place to rent, and this perfect apartment popped up; you needed a children's room, and this place had one; you couldn't afford a high rent, and this place wasn't expensive; you were concerned about the distance to the hospital, and this place was close to the hospital. It's as if this apartment was tailor-made for you."
After listening, Qiu Mang fell silent for a while.
When she was renting the apartment, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and now that she thought about it, the coincidences were indeed too much. Logically speaking, an apartment with such good conditions should have been in high demand as soon as it was released, so how did she end up getting this bargain?
Qiu Mang found it increasingly suspicious. If all of this was indeed orchestrated by someone, then…
A figure suddenly flashed through Qiu Mang's mind. After a moment of contemplation, she took out her phone and dialed the number of real estate agent Xiao Zhang.
"Ms. Qiu... Hello, how are you... how are you settling into the house?" Xiao Zhang answered the phone, clearly surprised.
Qiu Mang's eyes darted around, and he feigned distress, saying, "Xiao Zhang, I think this house is a bit too expensive. Do you have any cheaper options?"
"Huh?" Xiao Zhang was clearly taken aback.
Qiu Dao was also taken aback. She knew that it was not easy to find a cheaper house in this area. What was Qiu Mang up to?
She was about to ask a question when Qiu Mang stopped her with a look.
Qiu Mang deliberately spoke in a heavy tone into the phone, "Yes, Xiao Zhang, to be honest, my sister is sick, and treatment will cost a lot of money, so..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhang panicked and hurriedly said, "Ms. Qiu, are you sure? It's hard to find a cheaper place around here, and you've already signed a one-year contract. If you suddenly terminate the lease, you'll only get half the money back."
Qiu Mang remained calm and replied unhurriedly, "There's nothing I can do about it. I urgently need money right now, so I have to give up some things."
Xiao Zhang's face turned red with anxiety, and he quickly said, "Miss Qiu, how about this? I'll talk to the landlord first and see what he says. Please wait for my call."
"Okay, I'll wait for your call," Qiu Mang replied, then hung up and stood there thoughtfully.
Not long after, Xiao Zhang called again, "Ms. Qiu, I've confirmed with the landlord. He said you don't need to move out. If you really have difficulties, he can reduce the rent by half."
Qiu Mang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Xiao Zhang, tell me the truth. Such a good location, such a good house, there's no problem renting it out. Why do you insist on renting it to me, even if you keep lowering the rent? Is there something wrong with the house? Is it a haunted house?"
Xiao Zhang was clearly taken aback by Qiu Mang's sudden questioning. She waved her hands repeatedly in denial: "No, no, Miss Qiu! Please don't think such things. This house is definitely not a haunted house. I guarantee it!"
"Since it's not a haunted house, there has to be a reason." Qiu Mang pressed on, his tone rising slightly, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.
Xiao Zhang panicked completely. Her hands, gripping the phone, were sweating profusely. She opened her mouth, trying to organize her thoughts, but after stammering for a long time, she couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
Seeing Xiao Zhang's expression, Qiu Mang became even more certain of her guess. She took a deep breath and asked, word by word, "Xiao Zhang, tell me the truth, does the landlord know me?"
Xiao Zhang chuckled awkwardly on the other end of the phone, "This... I don't know, Miss Qiu. I'm just doing this for money. I really don't know anything else."
"Oh?" Qiu Mang raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone tinged with amusement.
"Since you can't explain it clearly, could you at least tell me the landlord's name?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhang chuckled awkwardly twice.
Qiu Mang wasn't annoyed. She paused and slowed her speech, "Xiao Zhang, I know you're in a difficult situation. I won't make things too hard for you. Just answer me one question: Is the owner of this house, or the person who instructed you to do this, surnamed Lu?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhang opened his mouth, but was too surprised to speak.
"Okay, I understand." Qiu Mang smiled faintly and hung up the phone.
"Amang, what's going on?" Qiu Dao, who was standing to the side, was completely confused.
Qiu Mang looked out the window. "It's nothing, I just found someone to help me answer my questions."
"Then, about the house..." Qiu Dao's face was still full of worry.
Qiu Mang reached out and rubbed her aching temples, gently comforting her, "Sister, don't worry..."
After saying that, she remembered that Qiu Dao had come all the way from his hometown and had been traveling all night without even a place to take a shower.
So Qiu Mang led her to the bathroom, then turned around and took a set of his own clothes from the wardrobe and handed them to her.
While Qiu Dao was taking a shower in the bathroom, Qiu Mang tiptoed to the balcony, took out her phone, and quickly dialed Lu Yanting's number.
As soon as the call connected, she couldn't wait to ask, "Lu Yanting, what exactly do you mean?"
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