Chapter 421 - 414: Moving (2)

Chapter 421: Chapter 414: Moving (2)

"Give me the scoop. How much did you pay for it?"

Jiang Xia pursed his lips and hesitated for a few seconds. "The house itself was over sixteen million, but with all the miscellaneous property management fees and taxes, it came out to around eighteen million."

"Paid in full?"

"Yeah, paid in full."

"You dog, buying a house worth almost twenty million just like that. You’re loaded."

Wang Ming swore with a laugh. It wasn’t that he was envious. Jiang Xia had started from scratch and built Qitian Company into what it was in just two short years. No matter how rich he was now, he deserved it.

Besides, he had only become the director of the Cat and Mouse project team because Jiang Xia had desperately pulled him in.

"So, what do you think? Want to be my neighbor? There’s another similar unit over there," Jiang Xia said with a smile.

"Neighbor my ass. I can’t afford twenty million," Wang Ming said, rolling his eyes.

Right now, his salary, bonuses, and performance pay all added up to less than a million a year. A luxury home that cost tens of millions was something he wouldn’t even dare to dream of, unless he took out a loan.

"Old Wang, you should really start planning to buy a house soon."

Jiang Xia said very seriously, "Over the next ten years, the national real estate market is going to break ten trillion. Housing prices will skyrocket, multiplying several times over, especially in the main urban districts and economic development zones of major cities. The prices will become unbelievably absurd. For example, I bought this place for 23,000 a square meter, but in a few years, the price for a place in Celestial Beauty might soar to 100,000 a square meter."

Wang Ming was stunned. He didn’t doubt Jiang Xia’s judgment for a second, but that rate of price growth was a bit too fast, wasn’t it?

"This is the Imperial Capital, the political and economic center of the country. Whether it’s a villa or a standard apartment, if you don’t buy now, it will only get more expensive in the future. A house that costs just over a million this year might be over two million next year."

As someone who had been reborn, Jiang Xia knew exactly where housing prices were headed. He continued his earnest pitch, "Look, last year, the average housing price in the Imperial Capital was only 15,000. This year, it’s already up to 20,000. How many people work an entire year just to see prices rise by more than they earned? So, it’s better to buy sooner rather than later. Even if you get a loan, as long as the principal is low enough, the interest won’t be that much. If you don’t have enough for a down payment, I can lend it to you."

"Besides, you and Shen Ying will need a marital home eventually, right? You can’t just move back to your hometown in Wanzhou, can you?"

Wang Ming stole a glance at Shen Ying, his mind turning over their future plans.

The two of them were head over heels for each other, thick as thieves every single day. Plus, he was dead set on marrying Shen Ying. That being the case, he really should start thinking about buying a house soon.

After all, the later he bought, the more he would lose out.

"Hmm... I’ll give it some serious thought," Wang Ming said with a slight nod. "Old Jiang, we have a deal then. If I can’t scrape together the down payment, you’ll lend me some. I’ll pay you back in, say, ten or eight years. Sounds sweet."

Jiang Xia chuckled. "As long as you work hard, lending you the money is no problem."

"Why do I feel like you’re setting a trap for me, trying to make me work for you for the rest of my life?" Old Wang muttered under his breath.

He couldn’t help but think of a meme that was popular on D Station: "As long as we’re willing to suffer, the boss gets a new Land Rover. As long as we work hard day after day, the boss trades his Rover for a Bentley."

"What’s that? What do you mean, ’work for me’? You think that 1% stake of yours is worthless? If you don’t want it, give it back," Jiang Xia said, raising an eyebrow.

With Qitian Animation’s current earning power, its annual revenue could easily exceed a hundred million. Although the company hadn’t gone public yet, if he chose to cash out, that stake would be worth a considerable amount.

It was also because they weren’t just childhood friends but also sworn brothers. On top of that, Wang Ming was, strictly speaking, one of the founding members of Qitian Animation. Without his help, the release of Cat and Mouse would likely have been delayed by several months.

Therefore, Jiang Xia had given him a 1% stake as a sweat equity investment. Of course, this was only for Qitian Animation, the subsidiary, not the entire Qitian Group.

"Ha, no, no, I was just kidding! I love working for myself," Wang Ming said, shaking his head quickly.

"Just keep up the good work. Cat and Mouse is more profitable than you can imagine. It’s going to become a top-tier IP, famous all over the world. It’ll be enough to keep you comfortable for life," Jiang Xia said, glancing at him.

"Yeah, I know."

As the director of Cat and Mouse, Wang Ming naturally understood this.

With the rapid development of internet technology, Cat and Mouse had already gone beyond the country’s borders and out into the world, deeply loved by animation fans in other countries. The economic value it generated each year was measured in the hundreds of millions.

And it was bound to ride the coming wave of the mobile internet era to even greater heights.

As the two men talked, they walked into the courtyard. Meanwhile, Lin Yanwan was giving Shen Ying a tour of the villa’s interior. Gazing at the luxury home, which had a total area of over 700 square meters, Shen Ying couldn’t help but feel a sense of envy.

’How wonderful. My dear friend from back then has become a bona fide rich wife.’

"Yingying, the lease on my rental apartment near the company isn’t up for a few more months. If you feel it’s inconvenient to keep staying at Wang Ming’s place, you can stay there," Lin Yanwan said, holding Shen Ying’s hand.

"Huh? Really?" A look of delight instantly appeared on Shen Ying’s face.

"Of course. It’s just sitting empty anyway, so you might as well make use of it." As Lin Yanwan spoke, she took out her keys and handed them to Shen Ying.

She stared at the keys, slightly dazed.

To be honest, this was already the second summer Shen Ying had spent at Wang Ming’s house. At this time last year, she had still felt very awkward about it. After all, she was living with her future mother-in-law, which was a form of cohabitation with Wang Ming.

But after a year, she had come to think of it as home.

Except for the fact that she and Wang Ming still didn’t share a room, in all other respects, she was no different from a daughter-in-law who had already married into the family. The three of them went to work together every day and came home for dinner together.

It was just a pity for that blockhead. He’d given the bedroom to her and was sleeping on a small wooden bed in the corner of the living room.

Now, the idea of leaving Li Weiya and Wang Ming to move out and live alone made her subconsciously reluctant.

Shen Ying looked down and thought for a long while before handing the keys back to Lin Yanwan.

"It’s okay, Yanwan. I won’t be staying there for long anyway, and it’s a hassle to move back and forth. Besides..." She pursed her lips, a hint of shyness flashing in her eyes. "I’m quite happy living at his place right now."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The little miss hasn’t even married into the family yet, and she’s already thinking of herself as the daughter-in-law, huh?" Lin Yanwan teased with a smile.

"N-No, I’m not," Shen Ying said shyly, her face flushed as she avoided her friend’s gaze. "I’ve just gotten used to living with him and Aunt Li."

Lin Yanwan wore an ’I-get-it’ expression. ’She just doesn’t want to be separated from Wang Ming, right?’

"Living with your future mother-in-law must be inconvenient at times, right? Anyway, I’m giving you the keys. There are daily necessities there, too. If you ever want to get intimate with your blockhead, you can save the money you’d spend on a hotel room. Don’t you think?" Lin Yanwan winked and forcibly stuffed the keys back into her hand.

As someone with experience, the "inconvenient things" that required getting a hotel room were self-evident.

"Ah, Yanwan, you... you’re talking nonsense! W-We’ve never gotten a room," Shen Ying said, her face red as she quickly tried to cover Lin Yanwan’s mouth, afraid Wang Ming might hear them from downstairs.

But the truth was pretty much as Lin Yanwan had described. If the two of them wanted to be intimate at home, they had to be sneaky about it. On several occasions, Li Weiya had accidentally walked in on them, leaving them so embarrassed they could have died.

Because of this, Li Weiya would often go out for a walk after dinner or go back to her room early, leaving the two of them alone.

’Now, with this apartment, couldn’t they use it as a secret love nest? In the future, if she wanted to be intimate with Wang Ming, they could just go there, and she wouldn’t have to worry about Li Weiya seeing them again.’