Dating Starts with Collecting Rent

In eighth grade, Ding Juan was sharp-tongued and mean: "My family is so rich, all we have left is money. See that house over there? Some people couldn't afford it in their entire lives."

In his sophomore year of college, Ding Juan's family went bankrupt, and Jiang Zhihua bought every property their family had lost in the foreclosure sale.

"It's fine. A lifetime is so short, it'll be over before you know it."

That day, Ding Juan saw her post on his social media feed.

[Two-bedroom school district apartment, fully furnished, monthly rent 3,000. Student discount: 2,700. Rent goes up 10 each month if your grades drop, 20 if you're at the bottom of the class.]

Ding Juan: "Who does she think she's looking down on? It's only 20."

[Commercial district studio apartment, convenient transport, can be renovated to your taste, monthly rent 10,000. Current tenant requirement: no men.]

Ding Juan: "Fine. The place is too small for me to move around in anyway."

[Standalone seaside villa, ready to move in, monthly rent 300,000. Tenants must be pure in body and mind, have no bad habits, be good-looking (according to the landlord's taste), and have a stable, high-paying job.]

Ding Juan: "...Is this a rental listing or a dating profile?"

He gritted his teeth, feeling sour, then suddenly noticed the last line.

[Can pay rent with your body. One person only: @Ding Juan]

After Jiang Zhihua was reborn, she gained memories she hadn't had before.

For example, in eighth grade, Ding Juan had told her she'd never be able to afford his family's house, but secretly cried like a baby: "I don't even have a home. What's the point of having some stupid house? Boohoo..."

His words had come true.

Jiang Zhihua looked at the tenant who had come to rent a place and sighed. "Silly boy, if you don't have a home, you should treasure a house even more."

Ding Juan sat by the door, holding his precious helmet. "Can we negotiate the whole paying-rent-with-my-body thing? I never use my looks to get ahead."

Jiang Zhihua smiled sweetly. "There's high demand and the rent is steep. Take it or leave it."

Ding Juan immediately replied, "I mean, instead of just my looks, how about you take all of me?"

A landlady who gets rich overnight x a race car driver whose family has fallen on hard times

[Revised on 2021.12.18]

Theme: Hardship isn't wealth. You are.