Live Updates

Well, it’s sad. The results came at 11:30. A guy’s friend moved in, everyone was stunned, and it felt really awful—the dream apartment is gone.

House Viewing (a bit long)

These past days I’ve been looking for listings, hoping to rent. Last night I scheduled an in-person viewing, and it truly was the dream apartment.

First, let me give a quick introduction: this apartment is a four-bedroom, one living room, two bathrooms; the whole rent is a little over 7,000 yuan per month, totaling 84,000 per year. There are already three people living there (one man, two women, college friends). Because renting the whole place is too expensive, they happened to have one vacancy left and, to relieve the financial pressure, plan to rent it out at 1,100 yuan per month.

There are no other miscellaneous fees; water and electricity are split 50/50; internet is 20 yuan per month; very acceptable. The location is about 3.4 kilometers from my company; the commute is 15 minutes. The transportation is well-developed; there are two subway lines; outside the door are yellow shared bikes. The apartment is located in the outermost two buildings, so it won’t be disturbed by street noise.

This is the community’s modeling diagram; in reality, the actual place is not far from this, and I really love it. It has a balcony (automatic retractable clothes rack and a blackout curtain), the living room is neat, a 300M wireless router; the balcony has a lounge chair that seems suitable for a nap in the afternoon. Overall, it feels very homely.

Household members: two girls, one boy, two cats. I really love animals; if there were dogs, that would be great; I could help walk them. Yesterday I saw a kitten that was really cute; it’s completely acceptable for a roommate to have small pets. All three are post-2000s; the boy teaches kids breakdancing; one girl is a makeup artist; the other one I forgot… The vibe is really lovely; everyone is post-2000s. The previous place had a 40-something man with a child; it was loud and not well soundproofed.

Post-2000s are easier to communicate with; yesterday the guy chatted with one of the girls, and it felt very good; the conversation was comfortable.

What room I want to rent: very large and clean; the male roommate’s bathroom is very clean; the bath is a bathtub (the dream bathtub); the lighting in the home is very soft; it faces north, which I think is nice in summer for a cooler feel; central air conditioning. There’s an independent wired network as well, so you can choose to connect to Wi‑Fi. Deposit one month, pay three months upfront; after that, pay every three months (that’s how the market is, fairly reasonable).

Next, about the conversation: I’m actually a little disappointed; I only talked with two of them; the other girl finished work late and didn’t come. This place is really great, so it’s quite sought after; they scheduled many viewings, which is like interviews, with selective admission. I can understand this; after all, creating a warm environment isn’t easy, because one bad person can ruin everything; daily life becomes quite uncomfortable for everyone.

Here are some of our conversations (Background: after touring, we were quite fond and surprised; a cheerful dialogue):

• Man: What do you do for work?
• Xiao Yuan: I’m an intern, currently a sophomore, applying to a BMW 4S shop to do after-sales work. I’ve visited the place and it felt pretty good. We’re assigned by the school; automotive majors have fewer options—only sales, after-sales, sheet metal, and mechanical repair. I think sheet metal and mechanical repair are too tiring; in the hot summer there might not be air conditioning, sweating every day. I’m not really into those two. In the end I chose after-sales; it feels cool to be able to provide good after-sales service to customers.
• Man: Don’t you rent with classmates? We used to graduate with roommates when we finished school~
• Xiao Yuan: Wah, I’m so furious about this; our company only hired three people; my class has only me, the other class has two and they aren’t really close. At the start of June I went to find them, to discuss times to visit the company together; if I go first, they’ll think I’m not considerate; HR would think someone is slacking; half a month ago they asked me if I wanted to rent together; my family is in Beilun; back then I thought commuting 2 hours a day would be no big deal, but I regret it now; Zhejiang summers are the plum rain season and typhoon season. The day before yesterday I asked those two handsome guys; they’d already rented it; they’d planned to share a three-bedroom with me, but I refused; I feel really stupid, haha.
• Man: Oh, you’re Beilun-born? I used to work in Beilun too, in the district government, a clerk! I lived in Yinzhou, and commuting to Beilun took two hours or more every day; really torturing.
• Xiao Yuan: Haha, really? Then I’m basically you from before; now the roles have reversed—now I’ll be commuting from Beilun to Yinzhou every day. By the way, I notice a reflective mirror on the living-room table? (Perhaps it’s photography gear); brother, are you into photography?
• Man: No, no, I’m not; I teach kids breakdancing; that item belongs to another girl; we’ve been thinking of making a video channel, like a livestream; the house has a bigger mirror, just right for livestreaming; but we haven’t started the channel yet; we’re still planning…
• Xiao Yuan: That’s cool! Not started yet; I’m also into the internet; I’m buying servers and domain names, writing a blog; I’ve thought about doing cross-border e-commerce as a side gig; with ChatGPT and MJ now; have you seen 36Kr on Bilibili? They used AI to build a Taobao store; the latest video seems to ship 200+ per month. Of course that’s just one idea; I’ve also thought about making videos; maybe we could have some sparks and work together! Of course I know there are more groups visiting to see houses lately; maybe there’ll be good roommates; even if I don’t end up living there, you could start a channel and send me your ID; I’ll follow you and be your first loyal fan (I did a praying-hands gesture here; we were very happy chatting).
• Man: Hahaha, okay; yes, that gesture you just did looks a lot like He Tongxue, you know him.
• Xiao Yuan: I know, haha; the Bilibili tech-area uploader who previously went viral for 5G videos; I really love his style—minimal, with great transitions.
• Man: Yes, yes; that gesture you just did looks like him! Haha, please like, tip, and a three-spot boost, haha. And you look a lot like He Tongxue too, haha.
• Xiao Yuan: Really? Haha; I really like it here. By the way, I’ll introduce myself a bit: I don’t smoke or drink; I don’t snore at night; I won’t bother the roommates; I’m easy to talk to, tidy, and keep a simple lifestyle. If I move in, I’ll bring a computer; otherwise not much. I think the computer would come with headphones, and I won’t use a loud mechanical keyboard that goes clack-clack. For example: I’m quite clean; in summer I basically shower every day because it’s so hot; if you two or three days, I’m still quite diligent; I can contribute more to water costs. I think roommates should communicate more—be direct; there’s no need to suffer in silence. Effective communication will save a lot of trouble, that’s how I see it.
• Man: Hmm, that’s good. This place has excellent sound insulation; we probably won’t hear your mechanical keyboard. We don’t have many requirements either, just cleanliness; for example, if you see something, pick it up. As for noise, we stay up late too—maybe 2–3 a.m. these are small issues.
• Xiao Yuan: I see. I usually sleep around midnight, but I sleep very well; even if you make more noise, I probably won’t be woken up, haha.
• Man: Yes, yes! Here’s the thing: I can’t guarantee you’ll get in because there are two girls as well; they may not feel comfortable, but I still hope there will be a male in the place; if another girl comes, that would be three girls, which would feel too stuffy; I hope there’s more masculine energy. I don’t have any preferences; I mainly need to see those two girls, and they’ll want to meet you, since it’s a roommate situation. You decide what to do.
• Xiao Yuan: No problem! When will they come? It’s normal to have concerns; if there’s anything perverted, meeting in person and getting to know each other is good; if I’m not the final tenant, I understand; women’s safety comes first. (...more dialogue omitted)

Anyway, in the end I met one of the girls, but we didn’t chat much. I feel it’s a pity; if both girls had been present, it would have been better; I’m quite talkative, and perhaps my chances of moving in would be higher. It’s a pity I didn’t meet the other one; I only met the one, but the topics we discussed were few, so all the impressions were left with the guy, not the girl, which is very unfortunate…

Hey, I truly hope I can move in! I really love the environment inside; if they take me in, I’d pay without blinking. I’ll consider other places too, but this really is my dream house. They should respond within a few days, and I’m really anxious. If I hadn’t seen sunshine, I wouldn’t fear the dark. Now that I’ve seen such a great living environment and potential roommates, not moving in would make me sad for a while.

Finally, I hope I can move in! Please, please. I keep checking WeChat messages; if there’s a ping, I’ll look to see if there’s good news. Life involves rejection too, so I’ll stay positive. I’ll post an update later. Thank you so much for reading this far; have a great weekend! Hoping for good news!