Chapter 438

The fact that the landlord was able to collect rent here relied solely on her ancestors‘ legacy. Now that she could profit more, she wouldn’t easily let go. If others raised the rent significantly in the future, she could always resort to underhanded tactics.

Either way, she wouldn’t let go of this sweet deal before her.

Diana understood the landlord’s mindset, which was why she dared to negotiate. However, Diana was careful and meticulous when she wrote out the contract, leaving no loopholes for the future.

After all, when one started a business, one had to be as frugal as possible. Moreover, the money saved here was not as simple as a few hundred thousand a year.

She dared to propose a five–year term because she wasn’t afraid of the landlord eventually turning on her.

“Sign here,” Diana said with a smile, pulling out a pen and contract she had prepared in advance and placing it in the landlord’s hand.

The landlord looked at her smile, and faltered for a moment.

“You’re so beautiful…” the landlord muttered before snapping out of her daze. “You’re beautiful. Is this a trick?”

“…It’s black and white on paper. If you don’t agree, I’ll move out right away. I don’t think the next tenant will offer as high of a rent as I am.”

The landlord was afraid to lose the benefits right before her, and she hurriedly waved her hand. “No!

No.”

She quickly read through the contract, and seeing that everything was fine, she quickly signed it.

“Done.”

Diana felt relieved when she saw the landlord’s name on the contract. Now, she could save a lot of money every year. For her newly established studio, this could alleviate short–term financial pressures and increase profits and cost saving in the long run.

Since Fanny had invested a lot of money in her, Diana had to do her best to protect Fanny’s interest as best as possible.

“When the next batch of rent is due, I’ll pay you according to the price in the contract,” Diana said. “But this quarter, we’ll continue with the previous price, so please don’t contact me anymore for now.”

Diana still needed to look for investments, so she didn’t want to waste any precious time on this landlord.

“Alright,” the landlord replied, looking happy too.

The two quickly agreed, but by that afternoon, the landlord contacted Diana again and asked, “Is the studio of yours making money?”

A lot of stores opened in this area, but there were also equally many that went out of business.

But the landlord’s question simply rendered Diana speechless, especially because Diana had been contacting potential investors all morning. Yet, no one was willing to talk to her.

Some people even hung up the moment they heard her name.

Some even dropped hints that they would be in trouble if they interfered with her affairs.

Diana wondered about that for a long time, and thought about what Julian had said in his email last night. She felt that it wouldn’t be a simple matter to get investments, but…

Was Julian deliberately getting in her way and waiting for her to go begging him?!

Was he really that awful a person?!

As Diana’s heart was in turmoil, and the landlord had asked such a rude question, Diana immediately responded sharply with a warning tone, “If you keep being nosy, I’d rather pay the penalty than rent from you!”

“That’s not what I meant,” the landlord said placatingly. Her attitude this time was surprisingly good, and she even laughed good–naturedly at the misunderstanding. “I have a distant cousin who has more money than he can spend, or knows what to do with. He wants to invest in others. When I met you this morning, I thought you weren’t only good–looking, but you also seemed to have a good head on you.

So I thought, why not get him to invest some money in you, and you give him dividends every year?”

Diana was stunned.

The next thing she knew, a wave of joy crashed over her.

Was this what it meant to have a step in the right direction and a stroke of luck?

“But you have to guarantee that you’ll profit. Otherwise, I would’ve cheated my cousin.” The landlord was still talking, but Diana didn’t really process the words anymore.

“Yes! I can promise my business will profit! If you can, please arrange a meeting as soon as possible.”

“A meeting, huh?” the landlord was obviously hesitant.