Chapter 87 - 86: I Never Would Have Thought

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: I Never Would Have Thought

Qiu Yuru quickly shook her head.

"Oh, honey, it’s not like I need more clothes. You should keep your money for yourself!"

Even though her son wasn’t short on cash, she still felt a little bad about spending his money.

Xiao Ran looked at her with a determined expression. "Nope, that won’t work. You might not need more clothes, but you don’t have any bought by your son. Listen to me. After lunch, we’re going!"

He had already made up his mind!

His mom had worked hard for him her entire life. Buying her a few new outfits was the least a son could do. There was no reason for her to refuse.

Seeing Xiao Ran’s firm stance, Qiu Yuru couldn’t argue anymore. She beamed at him. "Alright, then. Let’s go splurge this afternoon!"

The two were in the middle of their conversation when Xiao Ran’s phone rang.

Seeing that her son had a call, Qiu Yuru fell silent and stood up, heading toward the small courtyard.

It was an overcast day, and the air was already heavy with moisture. The clouds hung low, and though it felt like it would rain any second, the downpour never came. The oppressive atmosphere made Qiu Yuru a little uncomfortable.

She stretched her limbs and took a few deep breaths.

Xiao Ran picked up his phone.

He glanced at the caller ID and his eyebrows shifted slightly.

’It’s the real estate agent for the old house.’

’Did they find a buyer?’

With that thought, Xiao Ran quickly answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, Brother Xiao Ran, it’s me. Remember how we listed your old house for sale? Well, here’s the situation. Someone called me today and said they’d like to rent it for three months. I don’t think the house will sell right away, and three months isn’t a long time. If a real potential buyer comes along, it won’t affect our ability to show them the place. What do you think?"

The agent on the other end of the line laid it all out clearly in one go.

Hearing this, Xiao Ran frowned. "Have you discussed the rent?"

’Renting it out isn’t a bad idea,’ he thought. ’I’m not in a rush to sell anyway, and the rental income could cover the mortgage. That would be pretty good.’

At that, the agent quickly replied, "Oh no, we haven’t. The listing was originally to sell, so with this sudden switch to renting, I definitely had to get your opinion first."

Xiao Ran thought for a moment. "So, what do you think would be a fair monthly rent for my place?"

To be honest, Xiao Ran wasn’t very clear on the rental market.

After all, he’d never rented a place himself. There was a unit downstairs, though, and their rent seemed to be six thousand a month.

But his own apartment came with a loft. The floor plans were different, and Xiao Ran’s place had an extra twenty square meters of usable space.

’It should be at least seven thousand, right?’ Xiao Ran thought.

The agent on the other end said, "For your place, I think a fair price is between seven thousand and eighty-five hundred. How about this? I’ll try to get you eighty-five hundred. What do you say?"

These second-hand property agents knew the market well, and the prices they quoted were usually very reasonable.

Xiao Ran was delighted. ’If I can really get eighty-five hundred a month, renting it out would be a great deal.’

He nodded. "Alright, then. Let’s go with what you said. Eighty-five hundred a month."

...

Meanwhile, Yan Li, who had just gotten out of bed, sneezed into the air.

’I wonder who’s talking smack about me.’

She lazily glanced at the clock. It was ten o’clock.

It was strange. She used to always feel like there wasn’t enough time, wishing she could just live at the office.

But ever since the divorce, many things had begun to change beyond her control.

Now, it seemed even her beloved job no longer held the same appeal.

This was especially true recently. Ever since her sister had refused to move out of Xiao Ran’s house, she couldn’t stop herself from wondering what Xiao Ran and Yan Xici were doing. And then her mind would drift back to the days she and Xiao Ran had spent together.

Back then, Xiao Ran would make a simple breakfast every morning. She was always reluctant to eat it, claiming she had no time or no appetite.

But now, without that simple breakfast, she suddenly felt the apartment was empty, the silence almost terrifying.

The quiet was suffocating.

To distract herself, Yan Li decisively picked up her phone and opened a video app.

’Instead of wasting time letting my mind wander, I might as well check on the recent work of the influencers I manage.’

Her pale fingers swiped and swiped across the screen.

She didn’t see a single post from any of her influencers, but she did stumble upon Ai Qi’s official account.

It already had hundreds of thousands of likes. The post featured several promotional shots of Sister Mi in costume, as well as photos from the production’s opening ceremony.

The most shocking thing was, she actually saw Xiao Ran in the photos!

She was so surprised that her listless eyes widened slightly, filled with disbelief.

’I can’t believe it. After Ai Qi bought the rights, they actually got Sister Mi to play the female lead?’

’Looks like this show is going to be a hit.’

But that wasn’t what surprised her most. The most shocking thing was how incredibly good Xiao Ran looked in the photo.

’How does he look even more handsome than before the divorce?’

Seeing the tens of thousands of comments, she tapped to open them without a second thought.

Dong Dong: Just asking, but who’s that hottie next to Director Zhang? He’s way too handsome.

Ke Mei: +1, for real, is this handsome guy the second male lead?

ItsObviouslyNotYou: Tbh, I think this guy is better looking than the main lead~

ThatsJustHowIAm: Excuse me, is there a poll to vote for the male lead? I’m totally in love with this man’s looks.

There were many more similar comments below.

Reading them gave Yan Li a strange, bittersweet feeling.

’What is going on? Have these women lost their minds?’

’Is he really *that* handsome?’

The more she thought about it, the less she understood. Yan Li even began to doubt herself.

’Whose judgment is flawed here?’

She had been so furious last time that she’d stormed out without even grabbing any clothes.

Counting the days, it had been three or four days already. She now felt that maybe she had overreacted that day.

But making her apologize was impossible. She would never apologize.

’Maybe I should just go get my clothes?’

’That’s not a bad idea. It’s not like I have anything better to do.’

With that thought, she got up, quickly freshened up, then grabbed her Panamera keys and headed to the garage.

The Panamera sped along the elevated highway, heading toward the place that was once so familiar to her.

Outside the car window, the weather was gloomy.

Weather like this tended to make one sentimental.

At this moment, Yan Li felt a surprising flutter of nervousness.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

The place Yan Li was currently living was a good distance from her former home. It took her a full thirty-minute drive to reach her destination.

She parked the car in her old spot, walked toward the familiar building entrance, went inside, and made her way upstairs. Finally, her steps halted at the front door of the apartment.

However, in the next second, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of a white piece of paper taped to the door. It read: "FOR SALE. Interested parties, please contact XXXXXXX."

Don’t get the wrong idea; of course, Xiao Ran wasn’t the one who posted it.

It had been put up by the real estate agency he had hired. It was just another marketing tactic, after all.

Yan Li immediately keyed in the password and walked inside.