"Wonder if there are any units for rent in Ziyuan Community."
Lin Chen took out his phone and searched.
Ziyuan Community was a high-end residential complex nearby. The landscaping inside was excellent, and there were playground facilities for children.
Lin Chen had been inside once. It felt very nice—but the idea of renting there had always been out of reach for him.
"So expensive."
He muttered.
What he found showed that even the smallest unit in Ziyuan Community was at least 160 square meters, and the cheapest rent was over ten thousand a month.
And the cheaper ones were poorly decorated.
Nicely renovated ones easily reached fifteen thousand or more.
He was in the Magic City now. Housing prices were high, and rent was naturally high as well, but the average person truly couldn't afford something like this.
"Should I rent here?"
Lin Chen thought to himself.
If it were just him alone, he definitely wouldn't consider it. The rent was so high he couldn't earn that much in a month.
But now he had a little sweetheart with him.
And he had awakened a system.
"If I rent one for fifteen thousand, with one month's deposit and three months paid upfront, that's sixty thousand. I only have sixty to seventy thousand in my bank account."
Lin Chen thought of the sixty thousand yuan Xu Mengyao had left behind. With the system, making money later to pay her back wouldn't be a problem.
"I have sixty to seventy thousand myself."
"And I won't need to use much of Xu Mengyao's money."
He weighed it carefully.
He still decided to rent in Ziyuan Community. With the system, if he rented something poor, he might need to move again soon.
He had to think about Lin Xiaoxi.
After moving, Xiaoxi would definitely make new friends. If they switched houses again, she'd have to start over with new friends a second time.
"Wuuuu—"
Suddenly, the sound of crying came from the bedroom.
Lin Chen rushed inside. "Xiaoxi, what's wrong? Daddy is here. Don't be scared, Daddy will protect you."
"Daddy, I woke up and didn't see you."
"I was scared you didn't want me anymore."
Tears streaked down her cheeks as she spoke pitifully.
Lin Chen quickly lifted her into his arms. "How could that be? Daddy promises he will never, ever abandon you. Come, let's pinky swear. Whoever lies is a little puppy."
"Mm-hmm."
Xiaoxi hooked her finger with his.
"Daddy, I need to pee."
Lin Chen carried her into the bathroom.
Xiaoxi looked puzzled. "Daddy, Mommy holds me while I sit down to pee. How do I pee with this thing?"
Lin Chen figured Xu Mengyao probably had a sitting toilet.
His place had a squat toilet.
"Daddy will hold you while you pee, okay?"
"Hss—"
After helping her pee, Lin Chen secretly sighed with relief. Thankfully Xiaoxi knew to call out—if she wet the bed all the time, he would have a lot more work on his hands.
"Xiaoxi, what do you usually do in the afternoons?"
She thought for a moment. "When Mommy is home, she teaches me poems, takes me to draw, and sings songs for me. Daddy, I'll have Mommy sing for you next time, okay?"
"Mommy sings really, really well."
Lin Chen thought to himself that this might not be easy.
Back then, what happened between him and Xu Mengyao had been an accident. He accidentally got her first time and even ended up with a child, but they had no emotional foundation at all.
"What about when Mommy isn't home?"
Xiaoxi mumbled, "When Mommy isn't home, I just play by myself. Sometimes Auntie takes me downstairs to play. But Auntie isn't as good as Mommy. I like Mommy."
"And I like Daddy too."
Lin Chen patted her little head.
Kids were small, but they understood a lot.
They could feel clearly who genuinely cared about them.
Xu Mengyao could afford babysitters, but a good babysitter was hard to come by.
"Xiaoxi, Daddy is taking you to look at houses. We're going to move somewhere else. This place is too small for the two of us."
Lin Chen lifted her up.
Xiaoxi said excitedly, "Okay, okay! Daddy, I want lots of toys. Mommy's place has lots of toys, and Daddy's place has none."
"No problem."
Lin Chen grinned.
Soon, he left the apartment carrying Xiaoxi.
"System, does carrying Xiaoxi count as exercise?"
Lin Chen asked in his mind.
"Host, after five minutes, it counts."
Lin Chen smiled. The system really understood him. Carry Xiaoxi for more than five minutes and it counted, plus regular cleaning—he could easily reach three physique points per day.
"Daddy, are you tired?"
"If you're tired, Xiaoxi can walk by herself."
Just after leaving the complex, Xiaoxi spoke in her soft milky voice.
Warmth filled Lin Chen's chest. His daughter really was a little cotton-padded jacket—soft, warm, and thoughtful.
"Daddy isn't tired."
Lin Chen kissed her on the cheek with a smile.
Ziyuan Community was two to three kilometers away. Xiaoxi wasn't heavy, so Lin Chen simply carried her all the way.
Today his physique had only increased by one point.
He definitely needed to max out the remaining two.
"Hello, I want to rent a place in Ziyuan Community. I need good eco-friendly renovation. Do you have any good recommendations?"
Lin Chen spoke to an agency near the complex.
Very soon, the agent recommended several units. Three of them were still acceptable—two large ones and one badly decorated, which Lin Chen immediately rejected.
"I want to see these three in person."
"Of course."
The agent enthusiastically took him for viewings.
After seeing the first two, Lin Chen wasn't satisfied—the renovation style simply wasn't what he liked. He asked Xiaoxi, and she said she didn't like them either.
"Mr. Lin, the last place has great renovation. But its situation is a bit special. The owner originally asked us to help sell the property."
"But the market has been bad recently, so he switched to renting."
The agent explained while walking.
"What's special about it?"
"The owner still prefers selling. So long-term leasing isn't possible. If the market improves, he may sell the house."
"And since it's brand new and never lived in, if anything gets damaged, it could be problematic—especially with a child."
Lin Chen said, "Let's look at it first."
A little while later, they entered the unit.
Xiaoxi's eyes lit up. "Daddy, I like this one."
Lin Chen held Xiaoxi as he examined the place. The renovation and the view were both excellent—he liked it too.
"Xiaoxi is very well-behaved. She won't break anything."
"If anything gets damaged, of course I'll pay."
"What's the rent for this one?"
The agent replied, "Mr. Lin, it's fifteen thousand with no discount. The other two have small discounts."
"Deposit one month, pay one month. No fixed term. Rent due at the end of each month. And the good thing is the landlord covers the agency fee."
Lin Chen's eyes brightened.
Deposit-one-pay-one and no agency fee—it suited him perfectly.
"If the landlord wants to sell, will people still be coming to view the house?"
"Yes. Mr. Lin, if a buyer wants to view, we schedule all viewings into one time slot per week. It won't take more than half an hour."
"What do you think?"
Lin Chen asked Xiaoxi, "Xiaoxi, what do you think?"
"Daddy, Xiaoxi likes it here."
She said happily.
Lin Chen said, "I want to know why the owner is selling. And I have a small request."
A house must not have issues.
The agent replied, "The owner's son wants to study abroad. It's expensive, so they want to sell this property."
"Mr. Lin, what's your request—?"
Lin Chen said, "No viewings for the next three months. If living here feels good and the price is right, I will buy the place."
He only had a few tens of thousands right now.
This place would cost over ten million.
But he had the system. He was absolutely confident he could make that much in three months.
With a thousand cubic meters of system storage, if used well, earning ten or twenty million in three months wouldn't even be hard.
"Mr. Lin, let me check with the owner."
The agent quickly made a call.
"Mr. Lin, the owner agrees."
Soon, they returned to the office and signed the contract.
Thirty thousand yuan transferred out.
He still had thirty to forty thousand left—no need to touch the money Xu Mengyao left.
"Xiaoxi, we're moving tomorrow."
Lin Chen said with a cheerful smile.