Chapter 124: Buying a House Comes with a Cullinan
Guaigui was feeling incredibly proud. It barked at the little dogs, “Woof woof! From now on, stay here and behave! Follow my poop scooper, and you’ll have meat to eat every day!”
Guaigui wouldn’t allow Xu Youyou to keep other pet dogs, but it had no objections to these stray dogs. In its heart, these dogs belonged to Granny Li, and Xu Youyou was just providing food for them.
The only treasured pet of its poop scooper was it, Guaigui!
After registering the resident and staff information, the property management also asked Xu Youyou to send someone to collect her housewarming gift, which had been left at the management office.
Xu Youyou thought it would be something small, like home appliances or kitchenware, similar to other residential complexes.
But when the bodyguard drove back with a car, everyone was stunned.
“The housewarming gift for the villa is a Cullinan worth millions?” Xu Fang asked in disbelief.
The bodyguard driving the car scratched his head and explained, “The property staff said that when this complex was first launched, they had a promotion where buying a house came with a car. Since our boss bought the house through an agent and never came to collect it, the management office kept it safe all this time. I even checked the mileage—it’s brand new, never driven.”
Xu Youyou wasn’t one to fuss over such details, but knowing her property hadn’t been touched by strangers made her feel more at ease. Though this was just a basic model, it was still worth several million.
However, compared to the sky-high price of the villa, the car didn’t seem like much.
This villa had everything one could want. The only downside was that, relative to its building size, the front and back yards were a bit small, and it was located slightly away from the city center.
But these so-called drawbacks were insignificant compared to its sheer size.
An 888-square-meter presidential suite in a hotel was already huge. A 1,000-square-meter luxury apartment in Tomson Riviera was no small space either. But compared to this villa, which had a usable area of 3,600 square meters, those properties seemed minuscule.
Xu Youyou felt like she had stepped into a labyrinth. She decided to check out of the hotel since this villa’s décor was far more appealing, and there were plenty of guest rooms for everyone to stay comfortably.
Granny Li was getting older, and Xu Youyou wouldn’t be staying in the capital permanently. Leaving an elderly woman alone in such a massive house would be inconvenient and lonely.
Xu Youyou initially wanted to hire a few people to keep Granny Li company, but the old lady refused.
“I want to learn how to ride an electric scooter. I heard it’s easy to learn, and I’d like to try it.”
Granny Li was elderly but still agile and eager to learn. In the past, she never had the opportunity because she was too busy making ends meet. But now, with only the stray cats and dogs to look after, she had the time to try something new.
Xu Youyou frowned. “With so many pets, you’ll need to carry a lot of food. It won’t be easy.”
Granny Li, full of experience, reassured her, “If I buy a lot of food, the market vendors can deliver it to the community gate. I asked the property management, and they said they’ll help bring it to the house.”
She never bought commercial pet food. Instead, she personally cooked for the animals, making nutritious and fresh meals. Not only did her pets love it, but even Guaigui, after tasting it once, wouldn’t stop singing her praises.
Before, she had to carefully budget every penny to feed the pets. Now, she proudly took out her hard-earned 3,000 yuan in savings to buy an electric scooter.
Xu Youyou wouldn’t let her spend her own money and asked Xu Fang to order a suitable scooter for her instead.
The villa had been regularly cleaned by a team arranged by the system. Xu Youyou decided to keep hiring them for weekly maintenance so Granny Li wouldn’t have to worry about it.
“You just focus on taking care of the pets. If any new strays come along, take them in. But one thing—don’t skimp on their medical care. Whether it’s cats or dogs, they need regular check-ups and vaccinations.” Xu Youyou instructed.
Granny Li smiled so widely that her eyes nearly disappeared. “Don’t worry, Miss Xu, I’ve got it. We can keep cats and dogs, but they mustn’t harm people—I understand that.”
Xu Youyou trusted that Granny Li knew what she was doing. She had a bodyguard drive the Cullinan around the villa area with Granny Li, helping her familiarize herself with the surroundings.
After finishing all these tasks, Xu Youyou lay on the sofa, feeling like she had forgotten something.
Soon, Lu Jingyao called.
“I’m almost at your hotel. Are you back yet?” he asked.
Xu Youyou smacked her forehead. She had completely forgotten that Lu Jingyao had invited her to dinner yesterday! She had assumed he wouldn’t be free until around 5 or 6 PM, but here he was, arriving at 3 PM.
She quickly sent him her new location and informed the property management.
Fortunately, the distance between the two places wasn’t too far, and about half an hour later, Lu Jingyao’s car drove into the complex.
“A new house?” he asked curiously.
Xu Youyou couldn’t exactly say it was a reward from her system, so she stuck to her previous story. “I bought it and forgot about it. When I remembered, I decided to move in.”
Lu Jingyao nodded. “Living in your own place is more convenient than a hotel.”
Seeing the lively villa, filled with at least a dozen cats and dogs running around, he raised an eyebrow. “You’re keeping all of these? Won’t Guaigui get jealous?”
He still remembered when he used to take Guaigui for walks. If he so much as glanced at another dog, Guaigui would throw a tantrum. That little dog was extremely possessive.
“Nope, I’ve already smoothed things over,” Xu Youyou said with a smile.
Looking at the bustling villa and how much Xu Youyou seemed to enjoy being there, Lu Jingyao couldn’t help but have a thought.
“Are you planning to live in the capital permanently?” he asked.
He felt conflicted. On one hand, if Xu Youyou moved here, they’d be far apart since he mainly lived in Shanghai. On the other hand, if he also moved to the capital, it would put some distance between her and Song Zhibai, which might be a good thing.
Xu Youyou shook her head. “I’ll just stay here occasionally. My company is still in Shanghai.”
Lu Jingyao let out a quiet sigh of relief before asking, “Why the sudden decision to take in so many stray animals?”
Xu Youyou replied, “It’s kind of related to Guaigui. You see, the lady who takes care of him…”
Mid-sentence, she finally remembered what she had forgotten.
The seven silver coins!
She quickly told Lu Jingyao about how she ended up rescuing the stray animals, but she wasn’t really paying attention to his response.
Instead, she said, “Let me show you something really interesting!”
