Chapter 628: The Unexpected Neighbor

Li Shi considered for a short while before he spoke in a low voice. “I do have an idea here which does not need much financing from everyone.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

An idea? That did not need much money?

“Boss Li, pray tell us quickly!” An investor pressed on.

Li Shi smiled slightly and took out his mobile phone. He opened the Tengda Life App and turned to the Sloth Apartments project before pushing the cell phone to the center of the conference table.

“Boss Pei has a new rental project that has been just released. You should know about it, right?”

The investors faced each other. “Yes, but what has it got to do with the Thriller Hostel?”

Li Shi smiled. “Can you come up with a good publicity plan if it was to be given to you? Previously, we burned money, but the effect in the end was average. However, Boss Pei used the shared phone booth and solved it immediately.

“That includes the recent promotion of GOG international server. Boss Pei actually rented down the entire street in Times Square! Do you dare play it as big as this?

“In terms of publicity, it’s not like I’m against anyone, but everyone else is rookies compared to Boss Pei.

“Therefore, whether the Thriller Hostel would become a huge hit or not has nothing to do with us. The key is to see when Boss Pei wants it to become a huge hit, to see when he would make his move!

“Therefore, what we have to do is not to publicize ourselves; the efficiency is too low.

“What we should do is to make Boss Pei happy as much as possible. When Boss Pei is happy, he would show us his hand or give us a bit of information. Wouldn’t that be better?

“As far as I know, the Sloth Apartments is currently unoccupied. Not too many people rented it.

“We’ll rent a unit each, express our support for Boss Pei, and use our practical actions and prestige to show our sincerity. Wouldn’t the problem be solved if he is happy and enables us to publicize the Thriller Hostel?

“Therefore, even if this small action is unable to move Boss Pei, we have at least expressed enough sincerity—which is beneficial and harmless.”

The investors considered it for a while and felt like it made sense.

Boss Pei could not care about it, but we had to show our sincerity!

The rent of these houses was rather high for ordinary people, but what was a few thousand yuan a month for these investors? Boss Li had a few suites of villas in Ming Yun Villas; would he even care about a few thousand yuan a month?

Spend a little to refresh their existence to Boss Pei—how cost-effective!

Money was not important. What was important was to express their attitude.

“Then, Boss Li, where should we rent? I heard that some of these houses are commercial housing in remote areas and are not suitable for us.” An investor said.

Li Shi smiled. “Of course, we have to rent the Dawn of Prosperous City. That’s a large apartment with luxurious decoration; you wouldn’t feel embarrassed even if you really were to stay in it.

“Of course, the most important would still be its geographical location.”

“Geographical location? Isn’t it near Handong University? That isn’t the heart of town in the strictest sense.” An investor asked with suspicion.

Boss Li was a little speechless. “What do you know?! Who wants to live in the city center? This place has Shenhua View, which is the headquarters of Tengda Corporation; there is the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe Handong University Branch where Boss Pei often drank coffee!

“Think about it, stay here and meet Boss Pei; wouldn’t that be very convenient? Have an occasional coffee with Boss Pei; his casual words may contain precious information!”

The investors finally understood.

“So that was it! Boss Li, from what you say, I think it really is necessary to rent one unit and for the long term! A few years!”

“Can we really meet Boss Pei there?” There were still some skeptics around.

Li Shi chuckled. “Of course. I might not know where Boss Pei stays, but it is a fact that he often appears in that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Staying in this area will greatly increase the probability of encountering Boss Pei.”

The investors were convinced. The houses did not pale in comparison when compared with their luxurious housing. Of course, no storage space was a problem, but they needed no storage space.

Moreover, there was a butler, regular cleaning, and more comfort than a hotel. It was tailor-made for them no matter how they looked at it! It was too suitable!

The only problem was that some people did not like the minimalistic style. However, that was the minority; others could accept different styles.

The investors got up one after the other after thinking about this.

“Let’s go to Dawn of Prosperous City and support Boss Pei!”

…

The Dawn of Prosperous City, the cylindrical residential where Sloth Apartments was…

Song Kai sent away another wave of customers. He could not help but sigh silently. Why did everyone only come for viewing but not renting?

They would always change their attitudes to ‘reconsider’ after hearing about rental prices and the various rules.

A minority of the people walked into the room and snorted ‘What the hell is this? It seemed as though they were robbed and were reluctant to buy decent furniture’ before leaving.

For the former type of people, Song Kai knew that to reconsider meant slipping away.

For the latter type of people, Song Kai could only say that everyone had different tastes and some people’s artistic appreciation was somewhat insufficient.

This was a house specially made by a designer, containing Boss Pei’s philosophy. How could it be like ‘as though they were robbed’?

Did you understand art and appreciation?

Song Kai found himself a little discouraged since he had not been able to rent a single unit out today after introducing them to so many tourists.

There was no helping it. Introducing the houses required 30% truth and 70% white lies. How many people could understand the advantage of this house otherwise?

Song Kai could only take the initiative to introduce the house rules. The advantages could only be shared when the customers could ask about them according to Boss Pei’s request. That directly dissuaded most of them.

Song Kai saw the reviews online and was very pissed off. That was because he was previously in Home Corporation and knew how sneaky this company was.

Many online attacks on the Sloth Apartments were baseless. Some people did not understand and only knew to compare prices. Some people knew it but deliberately created biases in public opinion.

For example, the issue of ‘good quality and low price’.

Many people felt that the Sloth Apartments were so much more expensive than Safe House. There was no substantial improvement in the living environment. On the contrary, the living experience had been greatly reduced because of various rules. They were impractical and, by extension, not good quality or cheap.

However, Song Kai really wanted to say: ‘have you thought of the things you did not see?’

The same white wall but one used environmentally friendly materials while the other emitted formaldehyde like crazy, which greatly increased the risk of cancer. Could it still be the same?

Furniture, flooring, home appliances, cleaning services, might look similar; but it was actually very different!

The concept of ‘cheap’ was relative. In terms of actual living experience, the Sloth Apartments was definitely much better than the Safe House from Home Corporation!

However, most people did not understand this and only saw the surface.

Moreover, there must be a lot of staff from Home Corporation pretending to be innocent passers-by to post deliberately such as ‘Sloth Apartments are very expensive and are only suitable to pretending you were rich’. It gave everyone stereotypes and advertisements for their own Safe House business.

Song Kai was very upset, but Boss Pei did not seem to have the intention of fighting with these people.

Song Kai knew that his words would have no effect. Clarifying the situation as a passerby would not help. He also knew that it would have the reverse effect if he posted as an employee of the Sloth Apartments.

However, no matter what, work had to continue. If he could not solve the situation of the fake reviewers, then he could only work hard on his own job.

Song Kai continued to bring more people for viewing.

The first floor of the Sloth Apartments was set as the ‘butler’s room’. The butler usually worked from the first floor, entertaining guests and also making use of it as a model room to show customers.

At this moment, there were sounds of footsteps from outside. It sounded like more than one person.

The door of the butler’s room on the first floor was always open so that Song Kai could always observe what was happening outside. He immediately got up to greet them when he heard the footsteps. He met Boss Li head-on.

“Hello! Welcome!”

Song Kai’s eyes quickly swept across the group of people and could not help but lift his spirits. These people were all in suits and leather shoes. They looked forty years old. These well-dressed people were definitely not short of money at all!

The question was… why were they here to rent a house if they were not short of money?

Song Kai was very puzzled, but he certainly would not ask anymore. He eagerly invited everyone to sit inside and served them tea and water.

However, there were so many people that not everyone could sit down. The sofa could only sit two to three people; it was not enough even if the chairs for drinking tea were added together.

There was no helping it. This house was designed for one or two people. The living room was minimalistic in nature, and the furnishing was as sparse as possible.

Li Shi looked at the sofa and then to the big television. He was even more certain now that the decoration standards here were really high!

He had previously seen some photos on the internet before, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. He was worried that it would be a ‘seller show’ and was worried that the decoration standard was not good enough and would make living uncomfortable.

Looking at it now, he was convinced that it was on par with his own renovations. The price did not seem inferior at all!

However, the other investors had different expressions.

Obviously, many people could not accept the Four Bare Walls design. Some discerning investors could see that the sofa, television, and most of the things were expensive.

However, it was different from their expectations!

Some investors preferred the luxurious way of the whale. They could not wait but to decorate their houses like European palaces. They were very uncomfortable with this minimalistic style.

Two of the investors were whispering by the side.

“I can’t do it; how am I to live here? Only one sofa in such a big living room?”

“This decoration does not fit my habit. I have to get a huge tea table and have a tea set; otherwise, I can’t live.”

“I don’t think you can do it here. They don’t allow you to have your own furniture here.”

“How then?”

“It’s okay, I saw 12 floors in this building. The first floor belongs to the butler. There are a total of 11 units. We have 13 people, let them rent first.”

Some were beaten to a retreat.

Song Kai smiled and came to the crowd, wanting to introduce the rules of the Sloth Apartments to everyone. Li Shi raised his hand, signaling that there was no need.

“Bring us the rental agreement. We are renting the entire building. I’ll stay on the top floor.”

Song Kai was stunned.

What was going on? I have not even mentioned the rules of Sloth Apartments!

“Are you sure you do not need to listen to the relevant regulations of the Sloth Apartments? These regulations must be followed before you can move in.” He kept Boss Pei’s words in mind and reminded them.

Li Shi smiled slightly and shook his head. “No need. Just bring us the contract; we are all friends of Boss Pei.”

Song Kai realized. No wonder! Boss Pei’s friends were here to support. That was all easy then!

He quickly got the pre-prepared agreement and distributed them one by one.

“There is something that I have to explain to you in advance. The penthouse is already taken. The first floor is for the butler, which will not be rented out. Therefore, there are only 10 rooms for rent… which is more than 13 people here today.” Song Kai explained.

Li Shi was taken aback.

The 12th floor has been rented out already? I originally wanted to enjoy the view on the highest floor. I was too late?

Who could be faster than me?

That made Li Shi feel worried, but there was no other way. He would only rent the 11th floor then.

The others chose the floors one after the other. The three investors that were not interested in the Four Bare Walls design naturally shrank to the end, pretending to give up very generously.

Sign the contract, pay, registration. Li Shi did not ask anything. They went over the formalities directly, which was very fast.

Song Kai was very happy. “Boss Li and everyone, welcome! You can call me at any time if you meet any problems during your stay!”

Li Shi and the investors received the room key and took the elevator to their rooms together. Li Shi was left alone on the 11th floor.

He wanted to step out of the elevator, but he suddenly changed his mind and pressed the 12th floor.

He was very curious; who was living on the 12th floor? Who could be one step ahead of him and show his sincerity to Boss Pei?

Could it be Tengda’s senior management or employees that were more informed than himself?

This person might have a relatively close relationship with Boss Pei. They would be neighbors in the future so it would be good to make good relationships in advance.

The elevator stopped on the top floor.

Li Shi knocked gently on the door. He was ready for there to be no one inside since Li Shi himself rented the house, not for permanent residence.

The door opened after a while.

Li Shi looked up and happened to see Boss Pei unprepared and stunned. The two of them looked at each other and were stunned for a moment.

Pei Qian thought it was Song Kai so he did not pay attention and opened the door directly. He would consider acting like he was not at home if he knew it was Boss Li.

It was all too late now.

“Boss Li?!”

“Boss Pei?!”

The two of them exclaimed at the same time, but Pei Qian’s voice was filled with confusion while Li Shi’s voice was somewhat shocked.