His physiological preference

Before leaving, Qin Yuzheng spoke very seriously to Yang Zhiyan.

"Ms. Yang, your explanation today was excellent."

Yang Zhiyan's heart pounded; receiving recognition from others was a very gratifying thing.

Yang Zhiyan thought, "As expected of a leader, he can win people's hearts and minds so effortlessly." After all, these words made Yang Zhiyan feel confident and happy all day.

Yang Zhiyan watched his back as he walked through the exhibition hall, through the crowd, through the cheongsams, the lights, and the lingering sound of the pipa music, growing farther and farther away.

The navy blue jacket gradually blurred into the crowd, finally disappearing into the white light at the exit of the exhibition hall.

"Zhiyan?"

Teacher Mu's voice came from behind me.

Yang Zhiyan suddenly snapped out of her daze and turned around. Teacher Mu had somehow appeared behind her, holding a glass of water, and was looking at her with a meaningful gaze.

"What are you looking at?" Teacher Mu's tone was casual, but her eyes were filled with doubt.

"N-nothing." Yang Zhiyan put the brochure on the table, picked up her water glass, and took a big gulp. The water was a bit hot, making her wince.

After a long day, Yang Zhiyan returned home to find herself facing her sister-in-law's incessant nagging. Ever since she had considered moving out, she felt that her home was incredibly annoying, and every aspect of it was unbearable.

Why did I ever give my all for such a family? It's true, people can't empathize with their own foolish past.

I absolutely have to go see the apartment tomorrow. After dealing with my eccentric sister-in-law, Yang Zhiyan lay in bed and made an appointment with the real estate agent to see the apartment tomorrow.

Sunday was a cloudy day.

The clouds hung low, a grayish-white. The air was filled with the damp smell of earth.

Yang Zhiyan left home at eight o'clock in the morning.

The agent arranged to view the apartment at 9 a.m. It's in the old town, a 40-minute bus ride from the studio.

She spent a long time browsing rental apps last night, going through all the listings in her favorites that cost less than 3,000 yuan a month, and arranged for a real estate agent to take her to see the apartments tomorrow.

The first apartment was in an old residential area with no elevator; you had to climb six floors.

The woman who opened the door was in her fifties, with permed hair, wearing a floral nightgown and plastic slippers, her heels cracked and white.

She looked Yang Zhiyan up and down, her gaze lingering on her waist for a moment, then grinned, revealing a row of teeth stained yellow by cigarette smoke.

"So you're here to look at the apartment? Come in, come in."

Yang Zhiyan and the real estate agent followed her inside.

The house is small, with two bedrooms and a living room. It's supposed to be a shared apartment, with her and her son living in the other room.

In the living room, there were several cardboard boxes and a dusty treadmill. On the coffee table were a half-eaten watermelon and a dish of sunflower seed shells. On the back of the sofa were several towels that were unclear whether they had been washed or not.

"This is yours." The woman pushed open the door to the second bedroom.

The room is about ten square meters, with a single bed, a desk, and a wardrobe.

The curtains were made of the kind of large floral fabric from the 1990s, a dull gray color. When you pulled them open, the wall of the building next door was visible outside the window. The two buildings were less than two meters apart, and the light was completely blocked, making it feel like dusk even in broad daylight.

"This room costs three thousand a month."

Yang Zhiyan thought she had misheard.

"Three thousand?"

"Yes, three thousand." The woman leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, her tone as certain as if she were saying one plus one equals two. "Utilities and internet included, move-in ready. What a bargain."

Yang Zhiyan glanced at the single bed with its yellowed sheets, then at the layer of dust on the curtains, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "If we're sharing, how are the common areas calculated?"

"We can all use the common areas together," the woman said casually, waving her hand.

"When you get home from get off work, could you cook for me, sweep the floor, and if you have time, tidy up the laundry? My son is busy with work and doesn't have time for these things. You're free anyway, so it's just a small favor."

So, it's like paying someone to be a nanny? It's the same as having her at home.

"And one more thing," the woman added, "My son sometimes brings friends home to play cards, which might keep them up a bit, past midnight. You'll get used to it; it's not noisy."

Yang Zhiyan looked at her.

"I'm here to rent a room," Yang Zhiyan said earnestly to the real estate agent, "not to work as a nanny."

The agent's smile froze on his face, just as he was about to say something.

The woman spoke first.

"How dare you talk like that, little girl?" She lowered her hands, put them on her hips, and suddenly raised her voice.

"I'm offering to rent it to you cheaply out of kindness. Can you rent such a nice place elsewhere for three thousand yuan? It has two bedrooms, a living room, and a balcony. Go and find out the market rate around here."

"No need to ask anymore." Yang Zhiyan turned and walked out, her heels clicking crisply on the corridor tiles.

"Hey, you..." A woman's voice came from behind, sharp and urgent.

Yang Zhiyan didn't turn around. The real estate agent and the woman exchanged a few words before chasing after Yang Zhiyan.

As Yang Zhiyan went downstairs, she saw that every corner of the staircase was piled with miscellaneous items: bicycles, old cardboard boxes, pickling jars, and some of the jars had stones pressing down on their openings, with green moss growing on the stones.

The lights in the hallway are voice-activated; when she walks heavily, the lights turn on; when she walks lightly, the lights turn off.

As she walked along, the lights overhead flickered on and off, as if they were sulking with her.

When I stepped out of the building, the sky outside was even more overcast than when I arrived.

The agent chased after Yang Zhiyan and apologized.

Yang Zhiyan said: If the first set doesn't work, let's look at the next one. If it's still the same, then we don't need to look at it anymore.

The agent quickly replied: "No, ma'am, the second apartment is also shared, and the price is cheaper, 2,500."

Then take Yang Zhiyan there.

On the way, Teacher Mu called Yang Zhiyan.

"Zhiyan, how's the house hunting going?"

Yang Zhiyan recounted the situation as it had just happened, without embellishment, telling the whole story. When she got to the part about "paying three thousand yuan for cooking and cleaning," there was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Teacher Mu sighed.

"Zhiyan," she said.

"Um."

"Let me tell you, as a girl, you should rent in a nicer, more expensive neighborhood rather than try to save money by renting a single room in the old town. It's not safe."

Yang Zhiyan held her phone without saying a word.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes, Teacher Mu."

"You have no idea what kind of people live in those cheap houses. You're a young girl living alone. What if something happens to you? How am I supposed to explain this to you...?"

Teacher Mu paused for a moment, swallowed the rest of her sentence, and changed her words, saying, "Anyway, listen to me. There's a reason why expensive things are expensive, and safety comes first."

"I see."

Where are you now?

"Let's go see the second set in the car."

"Where is the second set?"

"East of the city."

"East of the city?" Teacher Mu's voice rose a half octave. "That old industrial area in the east of the city? That area is even more chaotic. I had a guest who stayed there before. He left his electric scooter downstairs to charge, and the next day both the battery and the scooter were gone."

Yang Zhiyan opened her mouth, wanting to say "but it's cheap," but then swallowed it back.

Teacher Mu seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, and her tone softened, carrying a tone unique to elders—a tone of both heartache and helplessness:

"Zhiyan, don't worry too much about the money. If you need to rent a nicer place and are short on cash, just tell me. I can lend you some money first; there's no rush to pay it back."