The next day.

　　Sunday.

　　Fang Ping woke up early. He did not reenact his routine of deliberately waking up of his sister via knocking on her door.

　　He washed up, changed into clothes that made him look slightly more mature and stuffed the cash he hid in his room into his backpack.

　　Today, he intended to look for an apartment, preferably one that came with a gym.

　　He would purchase one if it was cheap, rent it if otherwise.

　　The space in his house was just too small, and he did not have the equipment he needed, so he had to limit himself to a few exercises when he trained.

　　He could not complete some moves without the assistance of equipment.

　　Plus his manuals were going to arrive soon, which necessitated Fang Ping’s looking for a more suitable environment to train.

　　…

　　The urban area in Sun City was not that big.

　　Fang Ping did not want to purchase a house in the countryside. It would be too far from No.1 High School and his home and it would be inconvenient.

　　So he could only choose to purchase one in the areas not too far away from No.1 High School and Lakeview Gardens.

　　The area must be new, and he preferred a fully upholstered unit so that he would not need to do it himself.

　　If he could not find any, he did not mind purchasing a second-hand unit.

　　The environment must be nice and the price cheap.

　　After settling on those criteria, Fang Ping’s choices were limited.

　　…

　　Seven to eight minutes later.

　　Scenic Lake Gardens.

　　Scenic Lake Gardens was quite close to No.1 High School and Lakeview Gardens — about between them, in fact, with a slight difference.

　　The area opened for sale in 2006, but residents started moving in the year after that.

　　The units in the area were not fully sold two years later, and the department in charge of sales was still there.

　　It was not due to the surrounding environment or the quality of the units, but due to the lukewarm demand for property around here.

　　In the year 2008, the demand for houses in big cities was overwhelming. Property opportunists were everywhere.

　　Sun City, on the other hand, was only a small city. It was rare that anyone would invest in property in Sun City, simply because it just was not worth it.

　　Department of Property Sales.

　　It was silent when Fang Ping entered the room. There were not many people there.

　　The unit had opened for sale two years ago, after all; there were few units remaining, and those were all corner houses that few people wanted to invest in.

　　The few employees in the room were chatting between themselves, but they stopped when they saw Fang Ping walk in.

　　After a while, a suited-up woman in her twenties walked towards him.

　　“Sir, which unit have you set your eyes on? I can accompany you if you want to look at the unit…”

　　The employee could be considered courteous. She did not comment on Fang Ping’s age.

　　It was not uncommon that some of his same-aged peers would be getting ready for marriage around this time.

　　If they were to marry, they would need to purchase a house for the newlyweds.

　　Directly asking him which unit he wanted instead of inquiring on his intent to purchase one was a verbal tactic.

　　The units were already for sale for two years. Saleswomen who had no experience then would have accumulated a lot of it by now.

　　When a client entered, one should directly ask for his preferences and bring him on a tour.

　　When the client hesitated, do not offer too many choices in one go or veto one he appeared to not want immediately.

　　Some clients tended to hesitate. The more choices they had, the slower they made their decision.

　　Most of the time the unit the client would end up buying was the first one they had considered.

　　Some clients wavered between unit and unit but ended up thinking that the first one suited them more. This was already a trend.

　　Also, teenagers like Fang Ping were easier to lure in.

　　Middle-aged couples were the worst.

　　The saleswoman uttered the words she had repeated thousands of times before while she thought.

　　Fang Ping did not interrupt her. After a while did he only speak up, “Do you have a furnished unit?”

　　“We do!”

　　The saleswoman perked up. Those who made requests were usually real potential clients.

　　People who came in with no demands and an “I’m just taking a look” really ended up merely taking a look.

　　After that, the saleswoman walked toward the property models at the side, pointed at some of them and said, “Block 8, 9, and 10 are all furnished.

　　“They’re almost sold out, though. Do you have specific requirements regarding the floor the unit is on, sir?

　　“There are some units left on the top and first floor. Only Unit 1604 in Block 9 and Unit 1801 in Block 10 are left if you’re looking for a unit on the middle floors.

　　“In my opinion, the first floor is great too.

　　“The units will cost cheaper, and they’re more accessible too…”

　　The saleswoman sang the praises of the first-floor units. Currently, the units on the first and top floors were the hardest to sell.

　　The remaining units in Scenic Lake Gardens were mostly either of those.

　　Fang Ping listened to her for a while before voicing his thoughts. “Are the ones in the top duplexes?”

　　“Some of them are duplexes, but there are some that come with attics too.”

　　They were not that different, actually, only in that the duplexes were taller, and the attic homes felt more constrained.

　　Fang Ping thought of the ruckus he might cause while he cultivated and trained.

　　Passersby might see him if he lived in a single-story unit and that he did not want.

　　A duplex in the topmost floor would suit his purposes more. Wu Zhihao’s home was duplexed, too. If he made some noise on the second floor, those downstairs would not hear him.

　　Fang Ping’s choices were even more limited after he had some criteria in his mind.

　　Duplexes were not popular then, and they were not cheap, either. There were only four units on the topmost floor of Block 9 that were duplexed.

　　Two were sold, leaving two empty.

　　After the saleswoman had introduced the units to him, Fang Ping said immediately, “Take me there.”

　　“Okay. I’m going to retrieve the keys, if you could please wait for a while here.”

　　The saleswoman did not dally in her actions. She went to get the keys immediately, feeling elated and expectant.

　　Fang Ping did not talk much, and he was young, but then people like him, who had stated his demands and requested for a tour, were decisive in purchasing a unit when the price was acceptable.

　　Given that he had the money for it.

　　…

　　A few minutes later, Fang Ping followed the saleswoman to the topmost floor of Block 9.

　　Fang Ping was satisfied the first moment after the saleswoman had opened the door.

　　There was ample lighting, and the layout was adequate. There was no trace of the crampedness that most duplexes had.

　　Some duplexes had limited communal space as their designers aimed to maximize the use of the area, and it contributed to the feeling of crampedness upon entrance and the sense of constrainment it brought.

　　The bigger the cities they were built in, the more developed the surroundings of the area, the more potent that feeling.

　　Common areas were only considered part of the first floor, not on the total area listed in the property ownership certificate.

　　The more developed the city, the rarer spacious duplexes were. Most of the duplexes, as people called them, were only single-story units with lofts.

　　Property in a small city like Sun City would not cost much. They prioritized livability as a result.

　　Complete with upholstery, they say, but only the floors, walls, doors and windows were done. The other areas were, of course, not touched upon.

　　The first floor housed the living room, a dining room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and a bedroom, plus a considerably-sized balcony.

　　The second floor housed two bedrooms and a small study, a room that could be converted to a gym, and a bathroom.

　　Aside from the area where the living room ceiling had taken up, the rooms upstairs were part of the total area.

　　Fang Ping was satisfied after a brief tour.

　　The upholstery was simple, but he did not need extravagance; he would not stay in Sun City for too long a time.

　　The house would naturally be left to his parents after he left for university.

　　He only needed it to be livable.

　　Also, it had already been a year since the renovation was completed; the residual odor had long dispersed by now. He could move in immediately.

　　After a tour, Fang Ping cut to the chase. “How much?”

　　“Sir, you have great taste!”

　　The saleswoman commended Fang Ping and continued immediately, “Unit 2206 is the best type we have here. We don’t include the hollowed-out area in the living room in our calculations. We consider it as free…

　　“And the duplexes here in Scenic Lake Gardens are different from those in other areas.

　　“Many so-called duplexes of theirs are only single-story rooms with attics. Their ceilings tend to be lower.

　　“It’s only normal that both floors add up to a height of 3 to 4 meters, leading to limited space.

　　“Ours is different. We’ve designed the layout with reasonable heights. The ceiling is 5.8 meters tall, in total…”

　　The saleswoman belittled those duplexes in other residential areas before lauding Scenic Lake Gardens.

　　It was not really discrediting. It was just that she had to lay everything out before declaring the price.

　　The units were still unsold mostly because of their price. Many were satisfied when they toured the unit, but had countless problems when they were close to buying.

　　Units in other areas did not count in the area of the second floor, the units in other areas were cheaper…

　　She must lay the groundwork now that Fang Ping had asked for the price.

　　The saleswoman finally reached the point after a round of self-praise. “The area of this unit is 186 square meters. The hollowed-out area is free. If we’ve calculated the area as if we’re calculating that of a normal two-story apartment, the area will be more than 230 square meters.

　　“The price is a value deal, too. We’ll refund the deed tax and maintenance fund to you if you purchase this unit now.

　　“This unit comes with full upholstery, too. If you’re to contract for renovation yourself, it’ll cost you hundreds of thousands…

　　“Plus this room is one of the few ones left. The company wants to let them go soon, so they’ll give you a bigger discount…”

　　She tried to sway Fang Ping for a while but ended up somewhat dejected as Fang Ping remained impassive. Her voice became smaller and smaller when she told him the price.

　　“The total price for this unit is eight hundred and sixty-four thousand yuan…”

　　In the year 2008, eight hundred and sixty-four thousand yuan was a hefty sum for a house in Sun City.

　　That much money could buy a mansion in the countryside.

　　The price meant that it would cost approximately 4600 yuan per square meter.

　　The costs of the units nearby varied between 3500 and 4000 yuan per square meter.

　　True, the unit was fully upholstered, but the upholstery of this grade was not that costly.

　　If this unit had cost 4000 yuan per square meter, it would be snagged in no time.

　　With a price of 4600 yuan per square meter, there were few who were willing to purchase the unit, even when it came with an elevated ceiling.

　　After reporting the price, the saleswoman said quickly, “Sir, the unit next door is smaller, but it’s similar to this one…”

　　Fang Ping waved his hand. It was his habit to spend any money he had in his hands.

　　He had ample resources to fuel his cultivation for the time being, so he did not need to worry about money. Now that he had money, the first thing he did was to treat himself better.

　　Fang Ping liked this unit quite a lot. It was fully upholstered, and while the price was a little too high, the surroundings were nice and the layout decent. Plus he could afford it anyway.

　　Compared to Wu Zhihao’s duplex, this one he was looking at was bigger and the layout more suited to his needs.

　　Plus money now came easily to him.

　　Fang Ping walked out the door immediately. Just as the saleswoman looked slightly disappointed, Fang Ping said as he walked, “We’re going to the sales department to negotiate the price. If you can give me a cheaper price, I’ll make full payment immediately.”

　　The saleswoman was euphoric upon hearing his words.

　　Young people were truly more decisive. She had brought dozens of potential clients to this particular unit, but there was none that was as decisive as Fang Ping.

　　She immediately showered Fang Ping with all sorts of flattering words, so enthusiastic that it made his scalp tingle.