Rong Xiaorou knew all along that they had been staying in the guesthouse, and she also knew that staying in the guesthouse indefinitely was not a solution.
However, even if you want to rent a place for a short period, you should check the initial test results and make sure you can stay before considering renting a place to stay temporarily.
At that time, due to various limitations, there were very few applicants for art academies.
With over two hundred candidates, unless their level is exceptionally poor or something unexpected happens during the exam, most candidates of average ability can pass at least 50-60% of the preliminary test.
After explaining Ji Xia's situation, Rong Xiaorou felt relieved. She had already asked around for a rental house and had Rong Ruoshi take her there.
Rong Ruoshi happily led Ji Xia to the rented room.
The apartment Rong Xiaorou found for her was in a small alley in Chaoyang District; it was a ground-floor apartment with a yard in an old building.
The house wasn't big, with four rooms and a courtyard, divided into east and west wings.
However, the two rooms on the east side were rented to a family of four, while the landlord planned to rent the two rooms on the west side to someone else.
It wasn't that she didn't want to rent to a family, but rather that the original family of four couldn't afford the rent.
Ji Xia looked it over and was quite satisfied. There were two rooms on the west side, and each person got half of the small courtyard. The only downside was that the kitchen and toilet were shared, but that wasn't a big deal.
The family of four next to us had returned to the city from the countryside. The man had gone out to work, and a quiet woman was cooking with her two children. When she saw the two girls, she smiled faintly at them.
The landlady said loudly, "These are the conditions. There's a kitchen and a toilet, so you don't need to go out to find a public toilet. It's very convenient."
"It's convenient for you to visit your teachers at the art academy. It's also very close to where you can buy groceries. There are only four of them here, unlike other large courtyards which are more complicated. You two young ladies won't find a more suitable house than this..."
The landlady was eager to find roommates, and when she saw that they were two young girls, she introduced them to each other very enthusiastically.
Ji Xia smiled faintly: "Auntie, it's my fiancé and I who are renting the house, not her. She's a local."
"You and your fiancé? What does he do?"
When the landlord heard that there was another man, he couldn't help but ask a few more questions. Ji Xia answered frankly, "Yes, he's my fiancé. He's a business manager at the factory. He was worried about me coming to Beijing alone, so he came with me to apply for university."
Hearing that they had jobs and weren't unemployed, and after seeing the certificate they obtained from the commune, the landlord felt relieved.
Since it's a short-term rental, probably for one or two months, the rent is five yuan. There are two rooms, each with a bed and a wardrobe. You'll have to buy everything else yourself.
Ji Xia was quite satisfied and said to the landlady, "Auntie, we've decided on this place. We'll rent it for about two months. I can give you the two months' rent together later, but we require a rental contract."
"A contract is required? Is it really that complicated?"
The landlord thought to himself, "As expected of a cultured person, he thinks too much."
However, paying two months' rent upfront was quite generous, and the landlord agreed, and they arranged to come over again tomorrow at noon.
When Ji Xia was renting a room, Chen Jing ran into Chang Feng again.
Chang Feng planned to leave the capital. Before leaving, seeing that Chen Jing had not shown up, he simply went to his door.
Chang Feng gave Chen Jing the commendation he had given him last time, thanking him for his cooperation, and then said with a smile, "Chen Jing, I actually think you're a good person. Are you interested in developing your career in the military?"
Chen Jing shook his head: "No, my family has enough for my fourth son to develop in the army. I have a carefree personality and am not really suitable."
"That's such a pity."
Chang Feng shook his head and said, "I heard your fiancée is going to take the college entrance exam?"
"Yes, I'm applying to the Academy of Fine Arts. The preliminary exams will be held in the next couple of days."
Chen Jing sighed as he spoke: "Studying art is such a hassle. Not only do you have to take the college entrance exam in July, but you also have to come to Beijing six months in advance to take the professional exam. We came all this way beforehand, and I don't know how much money we spent along the way..."
He poured out his grievances, and Chang Feng felt quite sympathetic. It was only then that he learned that his fiancée's art exam was for painting, not singing and dancing as he had imagined.
Thank goodness I didn't mention that, or I would have been embarrassed.
After comforting him and introducing him to his old comrade-in-arms, Director Liu, Chang Feng waved goodbye and drove away.
After saying goodbye to Chang Feng and Director Liu, Chen Jing returned to the guesthouse, only to find Ji Xia beaming with joy: "Chen Jing, I've found a rental apartment. Let's go take a look tomorrow?"
"Really? You found it?"
Upon hearing that a rental apartment had been found, Chen Jing looked at Ji Xia's face with excitement and couldn't help but grab her hand and stroke it a few times.
"Ah Xia, we haven't been affectionate in a long time."
He called out softly, his hoarse voice giving the two words a tender quality, his burning gaze fixed on her, flames seemingly leaping in his eyes.
Ji Xia met his burning gaze, her face slightly flushed. Since moving into the guesthouse, she hadn't been intimate with him for a long time.
If anyone's to blame, it's these waiters for being too conscientious, coming over every night to check on things, worried that they might make a mistake.
Without that marriage certificate, nothing is really convenient.
Ji Xia bit her lower lip lightly and chuckled silently: "There are two rooms over there that are connected. There are only two households in the courtyard. We can stay together tonight. There shouldn't be any problem."
Upon hearing the words "live together," Chen Jing felt his heart pound with excitement.
God knows how cruel it is to be able to only look at your wife and not have her.
He licked his lips and said in a low voice, "Why tomorrow? Can't we do it tonight?"
Ji Xia bit her lower lip and chuckled helplessly, gesturing towards the night outside the window: "Don't you even know what kind of weather this is? Those two rooms over there are completely empty, with nothing but an empty bed and a table. Do you want to freeze to death if you move in tonight?"
"Alright then, I'll get someone to help me first thing tomorrow morning and try to get the house ready as soon as possible."
“I took a look today. Besides the bed and a table, what else do we need to add? Also, let’s get a rental agreement for this house, something more formal.”
The two discussed moving and buying new items for tomorrow.
These tasks were naturally left to Chen Jing; Ji Xia was focused on her work and wouldn't spend too much time on such menial tasks.
Chen Jing readily agreed: "No problem, let me think. We won't be staying in this house for long, so we'll just need to prepare our daily necessities."
"Let's eat out. We won't be staying here for long anyway, so let's skip cooking."
Ji Xiaju wholeheartedly agreed, as she didn't have time to spend on trivial matters like cooking and grocery shopping.
Chen Jing thought for a moment and wrote: "Although we won't be staying for long, we still need a small wardrobe to store our clothes. I remember there's a half-person-high wardrobe in the courtyard house. Let's move there and then move it back to the courtyard house when we leave."
Ji Xia's face lit up with joy: "Your idea is brilliant! This way we don't have to waste the money."
"There's a wooden tub for washing my face in the courtyard house. I'll find someone to help me move it tomorrow. I'll also buy a kettle; we can just move it back to the courtyard house when we leave..."
He kept muttering to himself, thinking about what to prepare, how to call a few of his brothers tomorrow to deliver the things he needed and put them away, and then go to the department store to buy the things he needed.
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