I was in my final year of high school, and my deskmate found out I was writing a novel!

Miaomiao didn't say anything, but walked to the French windows and looked at the river view, while she was having some doubts.

The apartment was in a good location with convenient transportation, but it still felt like something was missing. Ye Feng noticed her hesitation and leaned closer to whisper, "Don't you like it?"

It's not that I don't like it.

Miaomiao sighed.

"There's no yard. I always thought I'd have a place to plant some flowers and bask in the sun someday, but there's not even a place to put a swing here."

Ye Feng smiled and nodded: "Then let's go look at the villas. Maybe there's a yard you like there."

When I left the apartment, the real estate agent was still trying to persuade me to stay.

"Please reconsider. Apartments in this area are in high demand, and prices are going up next month!"

Miaomiao smiled and waved her hand: "Thank you, let's go look at other things first, and we'll contact you later."

Once inside the car, Miaomiao took out her phone and sent a message to her cousin.

"The single-level apartment is quite spacious, but it doesn't have a yard. I'd still like to go and see a villa."

My cousin replied instantly: "Listen to me, a villa is great! It's so much more comfortable to live in one with a yard. Your Ferrari looks so impressive parked in your own yard; it's such a waste to always keep it in the underground garage!"

......

It takes about forty minutes to drive from the city center to the suburban property.

The further you go into the suburbs, the more green trees there are along the roadside, and the fresher the air becomes.

The stone tablet at the entrance of the property is inscribed with "Riverside Manor". Inside, there are two rows of tall camphor trees. The road is so clean that you can see the shadows of the trees. Occasionally, you can see residents walking their dogs, creating a very leisurely atmosphere.

"The plot ratio of this community is only 1.2. It consists entirely of three-story villas, each with its own yard and parking space."

The agent led the two inside.

"We want to see building number 15, the east-facing unit, which gets sunlight in the morning and doesn't get afternoon sun. The yard is also a bit bigger than the other unit types."

When Ye Feng reached the entrance of Building 15, he stopped. The light gray exterior walls were paired with dark brown wooden doors. There were two stone steps at the entrance, and a sweet osmanthus tree was planted next to it. When the wind blew, the air was filled with the fragrance of sweet osmanthus.

Pushing open the wooden door, the first thing you see is a courtyard of about forty square meters. The lawn is lush and green, and there is a flower bed along the wall. There is a small pavilion in the middle of the courtyard, and next to the pavilion are two parking spaces, just big enough to park a Ferrari and a tram for daily commuting.

"My goodness! This yard is so beautiful!"

Miaomiao immediately rushed into the yard, running across the lawn to the flower bed.

"Gardenias can be planted here. I saw some gardenia seedlings at the flower shop last time; they'll definitely survive here! We can put a small table under the gazebo so we can have tea here in the summer. We can also set up a swing over there. Look, there's a big camphor tree over there; it's perfect for hanging the swing!"

Ye Feng followed him into the courtyard, where sunlight filtered through the leaves and dappled the lawn with light and shadow.

He walked into the pavilion and looked up to see the third-floor terrace, which offered a wide view of the river in the distance.

"This place is really nice; it's much quieter than a single-level apartment."

The agent opened the door, revealing a living room, dining room, kitchen, and a room for an elderly person on the first floor.

The living room has a 3.5-meter high ceiling, making it feel exceptionally spacious. The south-facing windows face the yard, and you can see the lawn and gazebo from the sofa.

"The first-floor room for the elderly has a private bathroom, non-slip floor, and handrails can be installed on the walls, making it very convenient for uncles and aunts to stay in the future."

Miaomiao is most concerned about the kitchen. Pushing open the kitchen door, she sees a U-shaped layout with a spacious countertop and windows facing the yard, so she can enjoy the view outside while cooking.

"There's finally room for a double-door refrigerator here; the one I had my eye on last time!"

She then opened the sliding door to the dining room, which was right next to the kitchen, with a storage room next to it. "From now on, I can put all the snacks and drinks I buy in the storage room, instead of piling them up on the coffee table in the living room."

There are three rooms on the second floor. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and a walk-in closet. The other two bedrooms can be used as guest rooms and children's rooms (although they are not used now, Miaomiao has already started planning for the future).

Miaomiao rushed into the master bedroom, where the walk-in closet was even larger than the one on the first floor. She gestured to indicate its size.

"I'll put my clothes on the left, yours on the right, and leave a dressing table in the middle. I'll also put a small lamp on the dressing table so it's convenient to do my makeup at night."

Ye Feng went to the balcony on the second floor. The balcony faced the yard, where he could see Miaomiao spinning around. He couldn't help but smile.

The real estate agent came over and said, "The balcony on the second floor can be enclosed and turned into a sunroom. It can be used for sunbathing in winter and for shelter from the rain in summer."

What pleased the two most was the third floor, which was an open-plan space, with half of it being a study and the other half a terrace.

The study has a south-facing window with excellent natural light, and it can accommodate a 2-meter-long desk and a full-wall bookcase.

"This would be perfect as a study!"

Ye Feng walked to the desk and imagined putting the computer there so that he could see the gardenias in the yard when he looked up.

"From now on, when I get tired of writing, I can go to the terrace for some fresh air."

The terrace is about 20 square meters, covered with anti-corrosion wood, and there is a small staircase next to it that leads to the yard.

Miaomiao ran to the terrace and opened her arms to feel the wind.

"We can have a barbecue here tonight, hang up some string lights, and sit here to look at the stars—look, there aren't any tall buildings here, so we're sure to see lots of stars at night!"

After viewing the house, the three of them sat in the pavilion in the courtyard and talked about the renovation.

Miaomiao took out her phone and opened the "New Home Renovation" album that she had created long ago, which was full of renovation renderings she had collected.

"I've discussed it with Ye Feng. We want the decor to be simple and not too complicated, with comfort as the main focus."

"For the living room on the first floor, I want to paint the walls off-white, pair them with a light gray sofa, and the coffee table should be made of solid wood. The TV background wall doesn't need any special design; just hang a landscape painting."

Miaomiao flipped through the renderings, "The chandelier in the dining room should be a warm yellow, so that the atmosphere is good when we eat. The walls in the elderly's room should be painted light pink, because my mom says pink makes people look younger. The furniture should be soft, and the bed should be 1.8 meters long, big enough for my parents to sleep in."

Ye Feng added, "The kitchen countertop should be made of quartz stone, as it's dirt-resistant and doesn't crack easily. Choose a high-powered range hood to prevent cooking fumes from drifting into the living room. The lawn in the yard should be replaced with a drought-resistant variety, otherwise watering it in the summer will be too much trouble. In addition to gardenias, plant some roses and wild roses in the flower beds, and plant them around the fence. It will definitely look beautiful when they bloom."

"In the master bedroom on the second floor, I want to install two wall lamps by the bedside so I don't have to turn on the main light when reading at night."

Miaomiao continued, "We'll install motion-sensor lights in the walk-in closet so they turn on as soon as the door opens, making it easier to find clothes. We'll use the other bedroom as a guest room and install a bunk bed, so it'll be convenient for friends to stay over. We'll leave the children's room empty for now, just put some storage boxes in it, and then we'll renovate it when we have kids."

The agent noted down: "All of these things you mentioned can be done. The swing in the yard can be custom-made with anti-corrosion wood, which is safe and durable; the barbecue grill on the terrace can be embedded in the ground, with a faucet installed next to it for easy cleaning; the bookshelves in the study can be floor-to-ceiling to hold more books, and the desk can be made of walnut wood, which has a good texture and is durable."

"Oh right, we need to install a sunshade on the third-floor terrace. It'll be cooler in the summer when the sun is strong." Ye Feng suddenly remembered, "And the parking spaces in the yard need to be paved with non-slip tiles so they won't slip when it rains. We should also install a charging station next to them so it will be convenient to charge electric vehicles in the future."

Miaomiao added, "The bathroom in the elderly's room should have handrails, and an emergency call button next to the toilet, so that if my parents feel unwell, they can press it and we'll hear them. The kitchen window should have a screen to keep mosquitoes out in the summer, and the gazebo in the yard should have a ceiling fan so they can enjoy the breeze when they're relaxing in the summer."