“I’m from Baiyunshan Town, and I scored 550 on the high school entrance exam.” Andrew Grant couldn’t help but feel a bit curious as to why the landlord was asking these questions, but he still answered honestly.

“550, that’s a high score! Not bad, not bad.” The landlord nodded repeatedly in praise when he heard this, and his gaze toward Andrew Grant became much warmer.

At that time, the full score for the Jiangnan Province high school entrance exam was 590, and the admission cutoff for Changxi No. 1 High School was 512. Andrew Grant’s score was considered quite good.

“Uncle landlord, how much is the rent? And can you show me the room first?” Andrew Grant was here to rent a place, not to discuss grades, so he naturally didn’t want to keep going back and forth on the topic.

“Oh, right, right, look at me being so scatterbrained. The rent, well, it’s usually about 150 a month around here. But since you have such good grades and you’re from the countryside, I’ll give you a discount—100. As for the room, wait a moment, I’ll call your aunt down to help watch the shop, and I’ll take you to see it.” The landlord, reminded by Andrew Grant’s question, suddenly remembered that he was here to rent a place. He slapped his forehead, then looked Andrew Grant up and down with a smile.

“Thank you, Uncle landlord.” Andrew Grant’s family wasn’t well-off, so saving on rent made him happy. He quickly bowed slightly in thanks.

“You’re really a sensible kid.” The landlord saw how polite Andrew Grant was, and his gaze became even kinder. He praised him, then opened the door behind the shop counter that led to the back room and called out inside.

Soon, a middle-aged woman who looked kind and friendly came out from the back room.

“Joan, this young man—oh, right, what’s your name?” The landlord, halfway through his introduction, suddenly realized he didn’t know Andrew Grant’s name yet.

“Auntie, my name is Andrew Grant, and I’m here to rent a room.” Andrew Grant smiled politely at the middle-aged woman.

“Are you from Changxi No. 1 High School?” the woman called Joan asked.

“Yes, Changxi No. 1, and he scored 550 on the entrance exam,” the landlord said.

The woman’s eyes lit up slightly at this and she nodded, “That’s a high score, several dozen points above the cutoff.”

“Yeah, if only we could give a few points to our Henry Cole, we could save tens of thousands!” the landlord sighed. Then, seeing the puzzled look on Andrew Grant’s face, he led him through the back door of the shop into the back room on the first floor.

The first floor was divided into two rooms. The front was used as the shop, with customers coming and going, a bit like a public space. The back room, separated by a wall and door, was completely private.

Inside were some cardboard boxes, bicycles, brooms, dustpans, and other miscellaneous items. The stairs to the upper floors were also here, with several pairs of slippers at the foot of the stairs.

“Just go up with your shoes on, it’s fine. Your aunt is going to do a thorough cleaning in the next couple of days anyway!” Seeing Andrew Grant about to take off his shoes, the landlord waved his hand with a smile.

But Andrew Grant, seeing how clean the stairs were, still insisted on taking off his shoes before going up.

The stairs were spiral wooden stairs, painted a reddish-brown, and felt solid underfoot.

The spiral staircase was in the middle of the house, dividing it into front and back sections.

“The back of the second floor is the kitchen and dining room. The side facing the street is the living room and bathroom.” When they reached the second-floor landing, the landlord pointed to both sides of the stairs as he explained.

These areas were, of course, for the landlord’s use, so he just mentioned them in passing, then led Andrew Grant further upstairs.

“All the rooms are above the second floor. The third floor is where your aunt and I live—the front is the master bedroom, the back is the study. The fourth floor is my son Henry Cole’s bedroom and the guest room. The fifth floor is for rent, and there’s a bathroom on every floor.” The landlord explained as he climbed the stairs. When they reached the fourth-floor landing, he glanced at the master bedroom and, seeing the door was closed, walked straight over and knocked, “thump thump thump.”

“Classes are about to start in a couple of days. Can’t you just let me sleep in for a few more days?” came a disgruntled voice from inside. The door soon opened, and out came a chubby teenager, about the same age as Andrew Grant, wearing big shorts and no shirt.

“Sleep, sleep, all you ever do is sleep. Look at him—he’s already come all the way from Yunheng Mountain to the county to find a place to stay this morning!” The landlord, seeing the boy’s grumbling face, couldn’t help but glare at him.

“Hey, buddy, you’re coming to Changxi No. 1 for high school?” The chubby boy clearly knew his dad’s requirements for tenants. Seeing Andrew Grant, his eyes lit up and he asked in a friendly way, completely ignoring his dad’s scolding, which only made his father shake his head in frustration.

Watching the father and son, and recalling everything that had happened, Andrew Grant finally understood why the landlord insisted on certain qualifications and cared so much about his grades. Turns out, he wanted to find a study companion for his own son to help motivate him!

But since the family seemed nice, Andrew Grant didn’t mind taking on this extra “task.”

“Yes, my name is Andrew Grant!” Andrew Grant said with a smile and a nod.

“Then we’ll be classmates from now on. Come on, Andrew, I’ll show you your room.” Henry Cole threw a chubby arm around Andrew Grant’s shoulders and said enthusiastically.