Chapter 639: Chapter 350 Birthday Celebration
Although access to this building is very strictly controlled, there are too many people coming and going, and quite a few of them are transient office workers, which also poses certain security risks.
So, although the apartment looked pretty good, with a high-end renovation, and a monthly rent of just three thousand at personal terms, it was still vetoed by Chen Feng.
The second place we looked at was a villa district, although it’s an old villa district from over a decade ago, the old villas here are still very valuable, and those living inside are either wealthy or distinguished.
This was evident from the luxury cars parked in front of some villas.
Moreover, the access control here remains stringent, and security patrols the community twenty-four hours a day.
Of course, correspondingly, the villa rent here is quite expensive. A two-story duplex villa has a monthly rent of nine thousand, which is still at personal terms, but it requires a direct one-year lease.
Chen Feng thought it looked pretty good, but Lin Yujiao shook her head and refused. Apart from the rent being too high, another reason was that the living area here was too large, with nearly 300 square meters across two floors.
It’s unnecessary for her to live alone in such a large place, and living alone in such a big house actually feels insecure, too empty.
Chen Feng thought so too and had to take her to look for another place.
This time, he not only asked Wu Mengting for help finding a place but also contacted a real estate agency.
Since the introduction from Wu Mengting wasn’t suitable, we could only turn to agencies.
Wu Mengting didn’t mind at all and went along to find an agency together.
The agency’s housing listings were a given; after arriving, they listed out several relatively suitable houses to choose from.
After discussing with Lin Yujiao, Chen Feng opted for just two of them.
One was relatively close to Longhua Street, just a few hundred meters away, in a high-end residential area in the city center, which also made the rent considerably higher.
Although the residential area has a history of over a decade, it still looks pretty good on the exterior. The community management and security are fairly competent, with an access control system requiring a swipe card to enter.
The apartment is a two-bedroom unit, roughly over a hundred square meters. It had been refurbished in the past two years, looking really nice, with fairly new home appliances and furniture. You can move in with just your luggage.
It’s just that the rent is a bit high; the landlord initially asked for four thousand. Lin Yujiao negotiated through the agency and finally brought it down to three thousand five hundred.
In such a historically luxurious residential area, although there are some tenants, relatively speaking, their quality is fairly high. More importantly, there’s surveillance on every floor, security patrols, and an access control system for entering and exiting, which provides everyone with a great sense of security.
Thus, Lin Yujiao decided not to look at the second place and settled directly on this one.
Seeing that she truly liked the place and, moreover, it was very close to the Hualong Street where she had her store, Chen Feng naturally let her make her own decisions.
Since the landlord was out of town and had authorized the agency entirely, Lin Yujiao signed the lease agreement with the agency, paid the money, and received the keys.
For safety’s sake, she would certainly change the locks before moving in, and she was quite familiar with these aspects. She also needs to handle the pass with the property management, but she can manage these herself.
While Chen Feng and Wu Mengting needed to hurry to attend Lin Nan’s celebration for his aunt’s birthday, Lin Yujiao was very understanding in not asking them to stay. The remaining tasks needed no further trouble for them.
So, Chen Feng and Wu Mengting bid farewell to Lin Yujiao and left.
After coming down from the apartment building, Wu Mengting spoke to Chen Feng, "The environment of this community looks good. There shouldn’t be any messy issues. However, her living alone as a woman still seems a bit unsafe. You might suggest she find someone suitable to share the apartment with. There is another room anyway."
Chen Feng looked at her and asked, "Why didn’t you mention this to her directly just now?"
Wu Mengting pursed her lips slightly and said, "I don’t have a particularly close relationship with her. If I said these things to her, she might not listen and even think I am being pretentious. It’s different if you say it."
Chen Feng shook his head and said, "You’re thinking too much."
Wu Mengting rolled her eyes at him and said, "With you in the middle, it’s strange if my relationship with her is good."
Chen Feng gave a sheepish smile and wisely changed the subject, "Should I send you home first, then head to Lin Nan?"
"No need. Is my current outfit inappropriate if I go over with you to the birthday celebration?"
Wu Mengting pointed at her current attire.
Today, Wu Mengting wore light makeup, with a white chiffon blouse on top and a pair of light blue jeans below, her feet in canvas shoes, looking quite comfortable.
"You look great, a classically beautiful girl," Chen Feng sincerely complimented.
Finding it rare to hear such straightforward praise from Chen Feng, Wu Mengting’s originally somewhat gloomy mood brightened. With a radiant smile, she said, "I was worried that I might be dressed too casually, but if it’s too formal, it feels inappropriate. After some thinking, I settled on this outfit."
Chen Feng laughed and said, "We’re not attending a wedding. Why dress so formally? Besides, this time, we’re just going through the motions for my aunt’s birthday; we’re not the main characters."
Hearing this, Wu Mengting seemed a bit disappointed and quickly asked, "Just going through the motions? But your mom still wanted me to go with you, saying she wants to introduce me to your relatives."
Chen Feng was startled upon hearing this, and surprised, he said, "My mom really said that to you?"
Wu Mengting nodded, and Chen Feng felt a brewing difficulty in his heart.
Though Wu Mengting was indeed his most suitable choice for remarriage, and they’d had a half-year agreement before, they aren’t really a couple yet. If his mom pulls her in to be introduced to those relatives, it feels somewhat improper.
But it’s clear Wu Mengting is very willing regarding this matter. Chen Feng didn’t know quite how to respond for a moment.
"What’s wrong? Don’t you want your mom to introduce me to your relatives? I don’t mind; do you?"
"No, of course not."
Chen Feng quickly denied this. This indeed was true; she, as a girl, didn’t care, why would he, as a divorced man, have any reluctance?
Hearing this, Wu Mengting finally smiled satisfactorily.
Soon, the two arrived outside the community, got into the car, and Chen Feng started the vehicle and headed directly to the highway entrance.
Along the way, Chen Feng introduced Wu Mengting to his mom’s side of the family, mainly the family of the deceased eldest uncle, the older aunt, his younger uncle, and also some relatives whom Chen Feng didn’t know very well, which could be figured out at that time.
About an hour later, following the phone’s navigation, Chen Feng arrived at the hotel where the aunt’s birthday banquet was held, which was a private restaurant in a small town reconstructed from three three-story residential buildings.
Chen Feng parked the car nearby, carrying two bags of longevity noodles and also a red envelope with eight hundred eighty-eight yuan.
In their area, for sixty-year-old birthday celebrations, family members still have to give red envelopes to pay respect. Of course, some wealthy families don’t care and don’t collect gifts, but most still do. For seventy-year-olds, there is no need; relatives come for free food, drinks, and even have gifts to take, with the birthday cost paid by the children of the birthday person.