114. Quarrel means there is still hope
After the Aojie incident, Ling Ling and Yu Chuanbei had no more major arguments; their relationship was simply calm and indifferent. No matter how close a relationship had once been, once it was broken, it seemed impossible to restore it to its former state. Ling Ling felt that there was nothing left for them to argue about. Arguing meant having hope, believing that through such heated debates, the other party would improve. But regarding what had happened in the past, neither of them was wrong, and she no longer knew where to start the argument. Her work, on the other hand, gave her a great sense of security. She could clearly understand her own value, and the feeling of being loved and needed was tangible. Yu Chuanbei realized that their relationship was like a person slipping into a swamp, slowly sinking in, struggling, and now entering the final silence before death. He didn't know how to save it. He saw her latest commercial, which was for a company called Jiayongcheng Insurance. The video depicts a demanding woman. Every day after work, no matter how exhausted she is, she leaves her room spotless. Her hair and makeup are meticulously executed. Work documents must have 1.5x line spacing, 2.5x margins, a 37mm header, and a 35mm footer. Then, suddenly, at a chaotic and muddy intersection, she's struck by a speeding, nearly wrecked car. As she's flung close to the overpass, a fleeting flicker of regret flashes across her bewildered face, but with a bang, everything is gone. Yu Chuanbei, upon seeing this commercial, feels deeply grieved. He feels Ling Ling's deep-seated world-weariness is influencing her work. While this form of expression is certainly explosive, he senses a fear that she's first hurting herself, then exposing herself to others. They begin to live a repetitive life, like an old married couple, making love according to routine, each working their own lives in a time-lag relationship. Ling Ling's perspective on their relationship had shifted dramatically. Whether they were lovers or married, they were always two independent individuals. Supporting each other was a matter of moral fairness, not obligation. The comfort and joy of being together brought them together, but there was no guarantee of long-term union. She could no longer cling to him, so she had to start planning for a house. Ling Ling had visited several districts and counties before, and had a good idea of location and housing prices. As she looked at more properties, her preferences narrowed. Her latest target was a shared-ownership development in Shunyi District. This week...
After the Aojie incident, Ling Ling and Yu Chuanbei had no more heated arguments; their relationship remained calm and distant. No matter how close a relationship had once been, once it was broken, it seemed impossible to restore it to its former state.
Ling Ling felt like there was nothing left for them to argue about. Arguing meant hoping that this heated debate would lead to improvement. But in the past, neither of them was wrong, and she didn't know where to start the argument. Her work, however, gave her a profound sense of security. She had a clear understanding of her own value; the feeling of being loved and needed was tangible.
Yu Chuanbei realized that the relationship between them was like a person sliding into a swamp, slowly sinking in, struggling, and now entering the final silence before death. He didn't know how to save it.
He saw her latest commercial, for a company called Jiayongcheng Insurance. The video depicted a demanding woman. Every day after work, no matter how exhausted she was, she would leave her room spotless. Her hair and makeup were always meticulously executed. Work documents required 1.5x line spacing, 2.5x margins, a 37mm top margin, and a 35mm bottom margin. Then, suddenly, at a chaotic and muddy intersection, she was struck by a speeding, nearly wrecked car. As she nearly touched the overpass, a fleeting flicker of regret crossed her bewildered face, but with a bang, everything was gone.
Yu Chuanbei felt bad after watching the commercial. He felt that Ling Ling's deep-seated world-weariness was dominating her creation. This form of expression was indeed quite explosive, but he also sensed a fear that she was first hurting herself and then exposing herself to others.
They began to live a repetitive life like an old married couple, making love according to the routine, and being a time-lagged couple while working hard at their respective jobs.
In Lingling's heart, her understanding of their relationship had undergone a profound shift. Whether they were lovers or married, they were always two independent individuals. Supporting each other was a matter of moral fairness, not an obligation. The comfort and pleasure of being together brought them together, but there was no guarantee of long-term success.
She couldn't depend on him anymore, so she had to start preparing for the house first.
Ling Ling had previously visited several districts and counties, and had a good idea of location and housing prices. As she viewed more properties, her preferences gradually narrowed. Her latest target was a shared-ownership development in Shunyi District.
This weekend, Yu Chuanbei happened to be away on a business trip, so Lingling went to Shunyi alone to look at houses. She hadn't concealed the fact from Yu Chuanbei, and when he found out, he simply sighed and didn't try to stop her. But she still didn't want to go with him. She felt that this was her own business, and she wanted to make her own decisions, push forward, and handle it herself.
Lingling was taken by the sales lady to the sales office to see the sand table, floor plan, and model room. The lady then took her on a shuttle bus to see the owners' park.
The owners of the first phase of this community, Kangyue Home, have been living there for two years. The overall living environment is very good, and Lingling is particularly satisfied with it.
After getting off the shuttle, Ling Ling's first sight was the Beiqing "Sunset, Dusk, and Beautiful Fragrance" billboard next to the rubber track. She couldn't help but recall the last time she'd been praised in person, by name, at a small kebab shop in Liuya Road Hutong. Zhong Mingtong had said her work "reminds her of flowers blooming throughout the four seasons, a truly beautiful sight."
She was lost in thought, reminiscing, when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She had a vague feeling it belonged to Zhong Mingtong, and she thought she was hallucinating because she was too immersed in her memories. But she never expected that this man would appear before her like a miracle!
He was wearing a white sports suit, with beads of sweat dripping from the ends of his hair. He looked like he had just been washed by the morning dew and then carried by a white crane to the lawn to dry in the sunshine.
"Doctor Zhong, Doctor Zhong..." Ling Ling responded to him hesitantly. She didn't know how many times he called her name before she finally reacted.
Zhong Mingtong smiled at her with joy. She tried her best to control her facial expressions back to average level. She didn't want to lose her composure in front of him, and she didn't want to lose her mind in front of the sales lady. She also had to maintain her financial status as a modern working woman with sophisticated egoism.
"Ms. Ling, is this your friend?" the sales lady asked politely.
Ling Ling smiled stiffly and nodded.
Zhong Mingtong said generously: "I live in this neighborhood. I was just jogging in the morning. I didn't expect to meet you here!"
Before Ling Ling could reply, the saleswoman spoke up, "Then you must be living in Phase 1, right? Phase 1 is occupied by the doctors from the branch hospital. It was built as a joint venture between our project developer and the hospital! Miss Ling, look at the excellent living standards in our community. Living next to doctors, our neighbors are all very well-educated."
Ling Ling smiled perfunctorily and responded repeatedly with "yes, yes, yes".
Fortunately, the sales lady received a call from other customers during the period. Ling Ling tactfully asked her to go ahead with her work and said that she and her friends were just wandering around nearby, so she was able to get away.
Ling Ling and Zhong Mingtong walked on the rubber track a little awkwardly. Ling Ling appeared calm on the surface, but she was racking her brains to think of an excuse to quickly separate from him. She thought that the two of them would just pretend to be polite and then quickly separate.
She was about to speak when Zhong Mingtong spoke first: "Are you planning to buy the newly launched shared-ownership housing?"
Ling Ling quickly responded, "Uh, yes, this is the only thing we can afford."
"But—" Zhong Mingtong looked at her and said awkwardly, "I don't think this is a good choice. Buying this kind of house requires qualification review and a lottery, and it can't be listed for sale within five years. To be honest, the layout and quality of the houses in this phase are not as good as those in the past. The most important thing is the situation of the neighbors. I heard that this phase of housing also accommodated a lot of difficult returning residents. Although the neighborhood relationship is no longer close now, it's not bad if each of them can do their own thing. But if there are constant conflicts, it will still affect the living experience."
"Oh, is that so..." Ling Ling sighed in disappointment. The house she had been eyeing for two months was ruined on the eve of moving in.
Seeing her like this, Mingtong immediately comforted her, saying, "There are a lot of second-hand houses for sale in Phase 1. Most of them belong to doctors in our hospital. They were assigned to the new location and bought their houses with generous subsidies from their employers. Now, some have moved back to the city for work, or to ensure their children have good school districts. As a result, many of the properties that have been resold don't have time to be listed on real estate agencies and are often sold within our hospital. If you're interested, I can take you around."
"That's great! Thank you so much, Dr. Zhong." Ling Ling rekindled her hope of building a nest. She naturally felt that the advice given by Zhong Mingtong made her feel at ease.
On the way to Kangyue Home Phase I, Ling Ling and Zhong Mingtong chatted as they walked. He gave her a lot of home buying advice, sharing everything he knew. "Although the Beijing property market is a bit sluggish right now, the new mortgage policy has had some stimulating effect. Most of the units in Phase I of our community are considered ordinary residential, so they pay less tax than non-ordinary residential units. Furthermore, the down payment ratios and interest rates for first-time homebuyers are very friendly to first-time buyers. Now is a good time for you to buy a house."
Ling Ling also told him her situation truthfully: "With my current budget, it would be easier to buy a studio apartment, but a one-bedroom apartment would be a bit difficult."
Zhong Mingtong pointed to several buildings of varying heights across the street and said to her, "Building 1 is a Western-style house with an elevator. When it was first opened, it was reserved for hospital leaders. Buildings 2 to 5 have two units per elevator, and their target audience is our hospital's middle class. Buildings 6 to 10 have three units per elevator, and they're basically the starting homes for the new doctors in the training program. I live in this section. Because the hospital originally had the idea of distributing housing as a welfare benefit, of course, it eventually switched to a market-based allocation mechanism. However, the common areas are very small, and the usable area of the houses is very substantial. I could afford a two-bedroom apartment back then, so your goal of a one-bedroom apartment should be achievable here too."
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