Since a few years I have been renting out an apartment, with the idea that having an investment property that pays for itself was going to be a good supplement to the usual stock market investments.
The place was not a great property. The combined kitchen-living room was small, the view not great and both bedrooms where small as well. It was close to the University and public transport though.
Through trial and error I had found out that renting it to foreign students was a good way to get reliable renters that could actually pay a very decent rent.
I completely furnished the place and added an internet connection as well. It was ideal for students that were just arriving and needed a place move in ready. So-far, It had always been two students renting it together and often they would typically move out after 1 or 2 years for something at a lower price point.
This summer was no different, my latest renters would not renew after the summer ended and I was looking for new tenants. I had placed an add in the University classified section and had gotten some responses.
I didn't make selecting new tenants a complicated matter, the first candidates that seemed alright, I would sign up. Not bothering with credit checks and deposits.
Lili was from China and she was looking to rent an apartment together with her friend Yun. Both were starting their master in September in our local University and they were planning to arrive in the last week of August.
We exchanged a few emails about the details of the apartment and after they had agreed to rent for a full year I asked them to sign and return contract along with a photo copy of their passports. When we were coordinating the move-in date I offered to pick them up from the airport. This was something I usually offered and most times the students happily accepted.
So, on a Tuesday in late August I was standing in the arrival area of the airport holding a little carton board with their names on it.
I scanned the crowed exiting the baggage area for the two girls. Trying to identify them based on their passport photo's was not an easy task. A full 787 from Shanghai had just landed and many Asian students were passing me.
I only spotted the girls when they standing right in front of me, "Hi David, we are here. So kind of you to pick us up."
I reached out and shook the hand of the girl that had spoken, "Hi, you must be Lili." I guessed.
Her smile confirmed I was right and so I continued and shook the other girl's hand.
"Yun, nice to meet you."
"Let's go to the car and get you to your apartment," I suggested.
I took over Lili's luggage and led the way through the crowd. At the parking garage entrance I let them pass me and told them to continue straight. I quickly paid for the parking at one of the yellow terminals lined up near the entrance.
While catching up with them I could get a good look at them. Lili was wearing tight fitting yoga pants and she had nice legs and a small and firm looking ass. Yun was wearing loose fitting sport pants that she combined with a white top that showed off her nice perky tits. They both had long black hair and looked still energetic even after the long fight they had. Both girls were slim and probably not much taller than 5'3". I guessed that both together, they would not weigh much more than my 210 pounds.
When they approached my car I hit the button to open the trunk and called out, "That's me."
We loaded the luggage and both girls piled in the back seat. They continued to chat in mandarin and occasionally asked me some questions in English. I had worked in China several years ago and studied the language enough to be able to understand quite a bit of Mandarin.
Usually I didn't reveal my language abilities when I met Chinese, for the simple reason that my level just wasn't good enough to engage in real life discussion beyond the initial exchanges.
From their conversation I understood that both had boyfriends back home and they were discussing the difficult good-bye.
I parked near the apartment and helped them haul the different pieces of luggage from the car. In the apartment I showed them around and explained the basic stuff such as heating, cooling, locks, were to find the bed-sheets and most importantly, the WiFi password. I soon said good bye and gave them my number in case they had questions.
To my surprise they already called that evening. Something with water leaking on the kitchen floor from underneath the sink and whether I could come over.
I grabbed my tool bag from the garage and drove over. I lived nearby and in the light evening traffic it only took me 15 minutes to get there.
The girls apparently just had showered. Lili was wearing a bathrobe and she had her hair wrapped in a towel, Yun was dressed in a pyjama, typically worn by men, consisting of long pants and top that closed with buttons in the front. Her hair was loose, but not yet fully dry.
