Since he was here to stay, he definitely wanted a place with a better environment. The ones for 1,500 yuan were either tiny single rooms—forget a living room, they didn't even have a kitchen.

The more spacious options were all in old apartment complexes, and inside, apart from the bedroom, the kitchens and bathrooms looked less than clean.

Furthermore, the surrounding area wasn't great either and would likely be noisy.

As a light sleeper who needed quiet, there was no way Chu Mingcheng could tolerate that.

He didn't have any bad habits or waste money, but he did have higher standards for food and lodging. This was money he was willing to spend.

Hearing his requirements, Jiang Luoluo's eyes lit up. High standards for the environment, a budget of around three thousand... The building she lived in had a suitable listing. They would have to check it out that afternoon.

"I think there might be a place that meets your requirements in my building. I'll go ask this afternoon."

Back at the hotel, Chu Mingcheng was indeed still feeling the aftereffects of his trip to Xisha. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep in no time.

He slept soundly and didn't wake up until three in the afternoon.

He got up, went to the bathroom to splash his face with water to wake himself up, and then picked up his phone to find a message from Jiang Luoluo.

She said she had already found two suitable places and told him to message her back when he woke up.

This was the advantage of having a local friend. If he had come to a city alone, it probably would have taken him several days just to find a suitable place to live.

The hotel fees during that time would have cost him several hundred, maybe even a thousand yuan.

After replying to the message, Chu Mingcheng had just walked out of the hotel when Jiang Luoluo rode up on a bicycle.

"Scan for a bike and follow me."

"Uh..." Chu Mingcheng was a bit confused, but he did as she said, scanning for a shared bike near the hotel and riding alongside her. "Are the places you found nearby?"

"I found two places—one on the same floor as my apartment, and one downstairs from me."

"..." Well, now they were practically next-door neighbors.

Did he even have a choice? Of course, Chu Mingcheng would choose the one on her floor. It would be so much more convenient to visit!

About ten minutes later, they arrived at a residential complex on their bikes.

The rows of high-rise buildings and beautiful landscaping made it clear that the rent here wouldn't be cheap.

Jiang Luoluo had already arranged to meet the landlord. She led Chu Mingcheng into Building C, and they took the elevator to the 7th floor.

The highest button in the elevator was 21, so the seventh floor was a decent level.

The two of them went to an apartment with an open door. Walking inside, Chu Mingcheng saw that the landlord, a middle-aged woman, was already waiting.

Seeing them, the landlord enthusiastically got up and started introducing her property.

It was a one-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom layout, nicely renovated and fully furnished.

The bedroom was in a loft, with the bathroom and kitchen underneath.

There was no balcony, but there was a windowsill for drying clothes.

The price was three thousand a month, with one month's deposit and three months' rent upfront.

After looking around, Chu Mingcheng pulled Jiang Luoluo aside and asked, "Is your place in this building too?"

She paused at his question, and as if realizing something, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. She shook her head. "My apartment is on the thirteenth floor. If you're not satisfied with this one, we can go take a look upstairs."

Chu Mingcheng nodded. "The price is acceptable, but not having a balcony to dry clothes is a bit inconvenient. Let's go check out the one upstairs."

He then told the landlord he would think about it, and they took the elevator up to the thirteenth floor.

The lighting on this floor was excellent, and it was much quieter.

The design of this apartment was similar to the one downstairs, with a loft for the bedroom and the bathroom and kitchen below.

However, this one had an extra eight-square-meter storage room and a small balcony. The lighting was infinitely better than the one downstairs, and it was quieter.

Chu Mingcheng immediately liked it, but the price was also higher—three thousand five hundred a month, also with one month's deposit and three months' rent upfront.

"Auntie, my friend is going to be living here long-term. Can you give him a discount on the rent?" Jiang Luoluo, seeing that Chu Mingcheng liked the place, started haggling with the landlady.

The landlady was quite pleased to see a clean, handsome young man as a potential tenant.

But a rent reduction was out of the question. She decisively refused. "This place hasn't been lived in since it was renovated. All the appliances are brand new. Your friend is getting a great deal renting here. Three thousand five hundred is not expensive at all!"

"Auntie, how about this? I'll pay a full year's rent upfront. Can you give me a better price?" Chu Mingcheng planned to develop his career here, and since he had found a place he liked, he wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

In that case, it was better to rent long-term and try to get a discount.

Hearing he would pay a full year's rent upfront, the landlady was immediately tempted.

As long as she could get the money right away, a small discount was fine.

"Alright then, I'll give it to you for three thousand four hundred a month."

"Let's make it three thousand two hundred. There's another apartment downstairs that's just missing a balcony compared to this one. That one is only two thousand seven hundred, but I prefer a quieter place, so I came to look here."

"If you're not willing, then I'll just go rent the one downstairs."

The original three-thousand-yuan rent was nonchalantly changed to two thousand seven hundred by Chu Mingcheng, which made the landlady hesitate. "Two thousand seven hundred, that can't be right?"

"We just came from downstairs. If you don't believe us, you can go ask," Jiang Luoluo chimed in, playing along. As for which floor it was on, neither of them mentioned it, letting the landlady find out herself.

Competition creates urgency. Hearing them say this, the landlady was afraid they would really go rent the downstairs apartment.

Plus, the prospect of getting a full year's rent immediately was very tempting, so in the end, she agreed.

She took the contract out of her bag, wrote down the rent, deposit, and property management fee, and the two of them signed it.

Chu Mingcheng paid the 38,400 yuan rent on the spot, along with a 600 yuan property management fee and a 3,200 yuan deposit.

He didn't have to pay for this year's utilities now; that would be settled next year.

Having spent over forty thousand at once, Chu Mingcheng was left with exactly one hundred and fifty thousand. But the biggest expense in Xiamen was now settled. He planned to borrow seven hundred thousand yuan from his family to buy the boat.

Fifty thousand left for himself would be more than enough. While getting his driver's license here, he could still go fishing or spearfishing to make money.

The keypad lock on the door had the landlady's fingerprint deleted and his own added. He also changed the password, and just like that, the apartment was temporarily his.

After the landlady left, he needed to clean the place today, buy some daily necessities, and then he could move in tomorrow.

As Jiang Luoluo was about to take him to the supermarket, her phone rang.

After answering the call, she looked at Chu Mingcheng strangely and asked, "Ah Cheng, the lobsters you sent me have arrived, but why is there another package?"

"Oh, that's the fishing gear I bought in Qiongzhou. I had too much stuff to carry, so I just had it shipped over."

"I see!"

They left the complex, temporarily ignoring the packages. The complex had a dedicated area for large packages, so they could pick them up on their way back.

Jiang Luoluo took him directly to a supermarket. They bought daily necessities, a quilt, and all the seasonings and tableware for cooking. A rice cooker and a wok were also essential.

She even went to an electronics store and bought a robotic vacuum cleaner as a housewarming gift for Chu Mingcheng.

Chu Mingcheng had initially refused, but when a certain someone said she often ate takeout and the robotic vacuum was a gesture of goodwill for her future freeloading, he silently accepted it.

He could guess that Jiang Luoluo often ate takeout.

The first time she had come to his house for dinner and proactively offered to help in the kitchen, he could tell she was very inexperienced.

Back at the complex, they first picked up the packages. Then Jiang Luoluo drove straight to the elevator entrance in the underground garage. The two of them moved everything into the elevator before she went to park the car.

With an elevator and an underground garage, moving was quite convenient.

And the complex wasn't far from Xiamen University or Gulangyu Island. There were several piers nearby, making life here very convenient for Chu Mingcheng.

After moving everything into the apartment, Chu Mingcheng first put his fishing gear package in the small room.

Having a small room was very important to him. He could use it to store all his fishing rods and spearguns. He wouldn't have known where to put everything in the apartment downstairs.

Jiang Luoluo, meanwhile, opened the lobster package in the living room. The package sent yesterday had arrived today. Although the two lobsters were much less lively, they were still alive.

She didn't stand on ceremony this time. She took the lobsters to the kitchen and called out, "Ah Cheng, I want to eat lobster tonight. You figure it out!"

"You got it, no problem. What else do you want to eat? I'll go buy some groceries later," Chu Mingcheng came out of the small room and readily agreed.

Jiang Luoluo had helped him a lot today. Making a meal was nothing.

"Mmm! I also want to eat meat. By the way, I'll go get the oven from my place. I bought it over a year ago, and it's been collecting dust. Now it finally has a use."

Watching Jiang Luoluo run out with hurried footsteps, Chu Mingcheng was a bit speechless.

Was she planning to freeload at his place from now on?

But he didn't mind. It was just an extra pair of chopsticks. And with her personality, she wasn't the type to take advantage of people. Maybe he wouldn't even have to buy groceries much in the future; someone would take care of it.

Chu Mingcheng took advantage of the time and found a new towel to use as a rag, wiping down the kitchen, dining table, and chairs.

Just then, Jiang Luoluo returned, carrying a large oven.

The kitchen had a dedicated cabinet for an oven and microwave, which were currently empty. The oven fit perfectly. She just had to plug it in.

After setting up the oven, she saw Chu Mingcheng cleaning, so she took off the bracelet on her wrist, put it in her pocket, and went to help.

With their combined efforts, they had wiped down the entire apartment before dark, including mopping the floors until they were spotless.

Now they had both put their shoes in the shoe cabinet by the door and were wearing the new slippers they had just bought.

The only thing was that the quilt needed to be washed and dried tomorrow, and the comforter needed to be aired out, so Chu Mingcheng couldn't stay here tonight.

"Luoluo, take me to a nearby market. Let's buy some groceries and make dinner."

"Okay!" Jiang Luoluo readily agreed. From now on, she could finally say goodbye to takeout, which put her in a very good mood.

The two of them walked outside side by side. Chu Mingcheng suddenly noticed something and asked, "By the way, I haven't seen your photographer all day. Does she not usually stay with you?"

"Mmm, she's a local. She's already married, so of course she lives with her husband. I just collaborated with someone on a video recently, so I gave myself a two-day break. She didn't need to come over."

Chu Mingcheng understood. No wonder he hadn't seen her.