After the project team expressed their gratitude to the homeowners, the keys, which symbolized the assets, were placed on a tray and then carried by a hostess. Ye Zhi, Cao Jinbo, and others then distributed them to the homeowners.
I don't know if Ye Zhi or Cao Jinbo has the key to my apartment. I hope it's Cao Jinbo, so it won't be too awkward.
I kept staring at the tray in the hostess's hands. After a while, Ye Zhi walked up to Lu Jia and me. It was like a fateful arrangement. The key to the first house I bought in Dali was in Ye Zhi's hands, while the property was in Lu Jia's name. I became an insignificant person.
Ye Zhi picked up the key from the tray and said, "Thank you for your support of our development. Here are the keys to the apartment... Enjoy your stay."
Although Ye Zhi's words were vague, Lu Jia unabashedly identified herself as a homeowner and said "thank you" to Ye Zhi.
Ye Zhi didn't rush to hand over the key, but instead asked, "Who's going to keep this key?"
Lu Jia replied calmly, "My name is on the purchase contract, and it also has the official seal of your Cangshan Villa. This is a legal and reasonable matter. I really don't understand why you're asking this, Mr. Ye."
Ye Zhi smiled and replied, "If the official seal could be stamped in people's hearts, there wouldn't be so many people in this world using the guise of being reasonable and legal to make ill-gotten gains... I don't know if you can hold this key, but I feel it's very heavy because it was earned by a man who is almost 0 years old with all his heart and soul."
As she spoke, Ye Zhi placed the key in Lu Jia's hand.
Lu Jia was stunned for a moment, and Ye Zhi had already walked to the next person.
...
Lu Jia's expression was rather unpleasant, and I remained silent throughout, because Ye Zhi had already made my thoughts very clear... But I was puzzled as to what Ye Zhi's purpose was in saying these things to Lu Jia.
Is she feeling sorry for me?
I don't need her sympathy, because compared to a house, the more than a year I waited for it was the most painful thing in my life!
...
After getting the key, I followed Lu Jia to the move-in ready apartment… The moment I inserted the key into the lock, Lu Jia stopped. She turned to look at me, tears welling in her eyes, and choked out, “Michael, we’ve suffered in Shanghai for years, waiting for this apartment… Now we have it, but why has things turned out like this between us?”
Do you really think that things have come to this point entirely because of me?
"I wanted too much... I wanted you to become the person I dreamed of... Before I knew it, I was lost."
"Open the door first... I want to find a place to sit... I'm quite tired..."
Lu Jia nodded, then turned the key. It was a very light movement, yet I felt a strange heaviness in it… At that moment,
Some of my feelings resonate with Lu Jia's. Once, what I desperately sought was a home where Lu Jia and I could feel a sense of belonging… I didn't want her to be stuck in that tiny rented room of less than 20 square meters with me every weekend. I wanted a bigger table for meals… a bigger bed so we could be completely uninhibited during our time together… To this day, I still remember the scene after we made love, sitting naked on the bed, gazing out at the entire city… I know she wanted a house, but looking at the whole city filled me with the deepest loneliness… I was too insignificant, too ordinary; I couldn't fulfill her needs… I could only drag her along, sinking into the traps of life with me, wasting our time.
Perhaps it was because of this sense of guilt that I was willing to transfer these two houses to her name, and that I went to protect her reputation after she made a mistake.
I find it really hard to hate her... especially when I recall those unbearable days.
...
Pushing open the door, you can see Erhai Lake reflected in the sunset from the living room. A few steps further, the wind seems to be blowing through the entire ancient city. The antique tranquility is so captivating that just one glance is enough to calm you down. Compared to the fully furnished apartment, this visual enjoyment is perhaps the true value of this house.
This house has two bedrooms. The second bedroom is a nursery, and the master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom with a wet and dry separation design. Both the design and the materials used demonstrate the quality of this house.
Lu Jiaxian sat down on the sofa and said to me, "I heard from the sales office that if you don't want to live in this house yourself, you can entrust it to a hotel. The hotel will give us five thousand yuan a month... They won't do business at a loss. If this house is rented out daily, it will be at least seven hundred yuan a day."
“I don’t want to talk about this… I desperately need money right now, and I want to sell this house.”
“I disagree… If you’re short of money lately, we can entrust the house to a hotel. I won’t take a single penny of the management fees; you can keep them all.”
"Don't try to dodge my questions... I don't need five thousand yuan a month... I need a full two million... I have a new project to work on."
“I’ve heard a lot of news from abroad about the impending economic downturn in China… I don’t want you to make blind investments at this time… I’ve already told you that even if you don’t have any income for the time being, I can still support us.”
As she spoke, Lu Jia took a file folder from her bag, placed it on the coffee table, and then took out her household registration booklet… She looked at me, tears welling in her eyes, and after a moment, choked out, “Michael, I brought my household registration booklet with me to Dali this time… Let’s get married. My income isn’t low; as long as I don’t squander it, it’s enough to support a family… Once we’re settled, if you want to start a business, I’ll definitely sell the house to support you…”
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
