Chapter 2

translator: henyee translations editor: henyee translations

“yes!” lao yao nodded and said, “are you hoping to rent the house?”

“yes, it’s us!” the beauty finally smiled and extended her hand. “hello, my name is yang yongle!”

when lao yao reached out and held her hand, he could not help but shudder. the feeling that this soft little hand gave lao yao was really indescribable.

“hello, you can call me lao yao or lao yao, or you can call me whatever you want!” lao yao, who still remembered that wonderful touch in his mind, chuckled and said.

“alright then, um… mr. lao yao!” yang yongle really couldn’t tell the difference between lao yao and lao yao. she could only smile and say, “can we take a look at the room first?”

“of course!” lao yao nodded. “follow me.”

the 12 girls followed behind lao yao and entered the villa. then, they began to look around the entire villa curiously, occasionally discussing something in a low voice.

“there are twelve rooms. although the layout is different, each room is spacious enough. since you’re together, you can discuss the allocation of rooms. the living room and kitchen are shared. you can also use the private pool outside.”

lao yao showed them around while introducing the rooms.

“mr. lao yao, what about the room upstairs?” yang yongle suddenly asked.

“oh, that’s where i live!” lao yao replied.

hearing this, yang yongle frowned. “you mean, if we rent it, you’ll live with us?”

“of course!” lao yao nodded. “if i don’t live here, where should i live?”

“if i may ask, are you single?” yang yongle continued to ask.

“that’s right!” lao yao asked curiously, “is there a problem?”

“well…” yang yongle hesitated for a moment before saying, “pardon me for being blunt, but we’re a group of girls, and you’re single. i’m afraid this isn’t good, right?”

lao yao immediately understood what they were worried about. he sneered and said, “what do you mean? could it be that you want to chase me, the landlord, out?”

“that’s not what i meant!” yang yongle shook her head and said, “we’re all girls, so we have to think more about it. please understand.”

“don’t you guys have boyfriends?” lao yao asked curiously, “can’t you just ask your boyfriends to move in with you?”

“hehe, we are all single women!” yang yongle laughed.

this made lao yao a little surprised. he originally thought that this was a group of university students who wanted to find a love hut or something. now that he looked at them, it seemed that this was not the case. this way, lao yao’s original plan to kill fat sheep naturally failed.

“aren’t you university students?” lao yao asked, “can i ask about your profession?”

“we’re all members of the same studio!” yang yongle replied with a smile, “this time, we just want to find a quiet environment to do things.”

“studio? what kind of studio?” lao yao asked curiously.

“game studio!” yang yongle replied.

“game studio!? you guys!?” lao yao was surprised. this was the first time he had encountered a game studio formed by 12 beauties.

“that’s indeed the case! is there a problem?” yang yongle’s eyes revealed a trace of helplessness, as if she was already used to other people’s surprise.

“it’s nothing. that… are you guys planning to rent the house?” seeing yang yongle’s gaze, lao yao didn’t know why, but he couldn’t continue his surprise and asked a little embarrassedly.

“this…” yang yongle hesitated for a moment and said, “can you allow us to discuss it first?”

“alright!” lao yao nodded and walked to the side to sit down. the 12 girls gathered together and started discussing.

“the environment is not bad and it’s very quiet. if we live here, there won’t be much to disturb us. we can work in peace.”

“but… i keep feeling that the landlord seems to be very scary. he’s also a single man. could it be…”

“that’s right. i keep thinking there’s something lecherous in his eyes. what if he sneaks into our room when we’re playing late at night?”

although lao yao was sitting quite far away, he still heard some of the girls’ whispers. he immediately burst into tears. “damn it, i don’t want to look like this either. i’ve been single for 27 years and haven’t found a landlady. do you think i want to?”

it was unknown how the girls came to a consensus in the end. in the end, yang yongle walked over and asked old yao, “mr. lao yao, we’ve decided to rent it. i wonder how the rent is calculated?”

lao yao, who was still a little upset about the girls’ previous “defamation”, threw out the contract and said, “since you want to rent it, each person will pay 5,000 yuan a month. the tap water and circuits in each room are independent. the water meter and electric meter are smart charge cards. you can charge them yourselves. the pool outside is public, but the water fee for the pool is divided equally!”

hearing the conditions, yang yongle was shocked. he looked at lao yao in disbelief and said, “5,000 a month per person?! we have to even pay for our own electricity and water bills. mr. lao yao, isn’t… isn’t this a little too high?”

“is it high?” lao yao said indifferently, “i don’t think so!”

“this…” yang yongle was speechless.

when the women behind her saw lao yao’s appearance, they immediately shouted angrily, “why are you like this? so what if you have a house!”

in the end, lao yao said, “you can choose not to rent it!” and retorted, causing a group of girls to sulk at the side.

“um, mr. lao yao!” at this time, yang yongle spoke. she might have guessed why lao yao’s temper was so explosive. “they didn’t mean to badmouth you earlier. don’t be angry. let me tell you this. our studio has just been established not long ago. we are indeed a little tight on funds. can you reduce the rent?”

without waiting for lao yao to answer, yang yongle sighed again and said, “of course, if it really doesn’t work, we can only find another place.”

lao yao was stunned for a moment. he carefully sized up yang yongle and the girls behind her again. he could tell that although these girls were indeed beautiful, the clothes they were wearing were very simple. at least, as far as the eye could see, there were no luxurious brands. they should not be the daughters of rich people.

seeing this, lao yao couldn’t help but feel a little respectful. to be honest, although the girls in front of him couldn’t be said to be beautiful, they were pure and simple. some big-name actors and celebrities might not even be as beautiful as them after removing their makeup. if they were willing, countless rich young masters and people would chase after them. to them, living a luxurious life was definitely easy.

however, this group of girls would rather work in a gaming studio. one had to know that in the current gaming industry, although the work in a studio was profitable, it was definitely inhumane. not to mention women, even some men would complain bitterly.

after thinking for a long time, lao yao finally nodded. “alright, i’m not an unreasonable person. i’ll reduce a thousand yuan. the rent will be four thousand yuan…”

since they were not fat sheep, there was no such thing as slaughtering them. it was not easy for a group of girls, so he should give in as much as he could.

yang yongle smiled brightly. she knew that she hadn’t misjudged him.

“mr. lao yao…” yang yongle was not in a hurry to agree to the new house price. instead, he said, “i see that you’re single, so the food isn’t too good, right?”

“how did you know?” lao yao was stunned for a moment. then, he said in realization, “you saw the instant noodles box in the kitchen…”

yang yongle didn’t deny it and said with a smile, “mr. lao yao, how about this? didi from our studio is a very good cook. if you lower the rent a little, we’ll agree for you to eat with us. what do you think?”

when yang yongle said this, a girl with big eyes behind her gently took a step forward and looked at lao yao shyly. it seemed that she was the “didi” that yang yongle mentioned.

“well… alright!” lao yao saw the temperament of a good wife and mother from didi. he estimated that no matter how bad her culinary skills were, it was still better than eating instant noodles. he hesitated for a moment before agreeing. “how about this? the rent is 3,500 yuan! i’ll cut each of you another 500 yuan. i’ll eat with you. also, i can’t take care of the flowers and plants in the garden, so i usually spend money to hire someone to take care of them. since you’ve mentioned it, why don’t you help me take care of them when you’re free! i’ll fire the gardener in the future. this 6,000 yuan will be considered as the gardening fee.”

“wait! there’s more!” at this moment, another girl stood behind yang yongle and said in a very chili-like manner, “you’re a man. if you peep at us girls swimming, wouldn’t we be at a disadvantage? however, if your rent is lower, we can consider letting you swim with us!”

“yes, yes! hehe!”

when the group of girls saw that lao yao was not as scary as they had imagined and was actually easy to talk to, they immediately let go. they surrounded lao yao and shook him cutely. “mr. lao yao, just agree, okay…”

lao yao couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “hey, hey, don’t push your luck! it seems like i’m the one who’s at a disadvantage, right? there are twelve of you looking at me! i’m being stared at by twelve pairs of eyes. don’t make me not even dare to enter my own pool…”

“ah!?” the group of girls were dumbfounded. how could that be counted?

“alright, alright, it’s settled then!” lao yao decided. “i can’t lower it anymore! if i lower it any further, i think i’ll have to pay money every month.”

lao yao had to pay the monthly property management fees. the pool had to be cleaned at least once a week. although the girls had to take care of the garden, the lawn couldn’t be mowed without professional tools. this was another expense. in total, a lot had to be spent every month.

yang yongle bit her lips and thought for a while. in the end, he nodded and agreed to such a price. of course, since lao yao was a single man, it was inevitable that there would be some inconveniences if he lived with a group of girls. therefore, yang yongle also made rules with lao yao, such as he couldn’t break into girls’ rooms at will…