Chapter 196


    As soon as thendlord began makingpromises, Zack also softened his attitude. They were told


    that the duration of the rent would depend on the rates of the rent, as it wouldn’t do to sign a few years’


    contract, only to have the rent go up during the consequent years. It would result in a predicament


    wherein the renter couldn’t afford the rent, yet they weren’t allowed to sublet it as well; nobody in their


    right mind would agree to that.


    Thendlord somehow took on a more easygoing attitude as he promised to not increase the rent as


    long as they agreed to settle into the ce long term, as well as check on the market rates if he had to


    increase the rent.


    John held his gaze on thendlord for a long while—so long that the rest of them were beginning to feel


    awkward about it—before sitting down once again. “We can look into it if that’s what you intend to


    propose.”


    Relief washed over Sophia upon hearing that, and she was feeling fortunate to have Zack and John’s


    aid, or else she would’ve been swindled by thendlord. As she cast a nce at John, she felt more


    reassured all of a sudden.


    Her presence wasn’t required throughout the rest of the negotiation, as she had a hard time


    understanding anything at all despite having been sitting there since the beginning. She thus walked


    over to the counter, only to find Robin sulking behind it. There was a pout on her face as she said in a


    low voice, “I must’ve been swindled.”


    Sophia lowered her voice as well as she replied, “I was nearly swindled too. I never knew there are so


    manyplications involved.”


    Robin cast a nce at John’s direction before asking, “How are you rted to that guy? He seems to


    have a dominating aura, and he is rather intimidating when I just saw him.”


    After a moment’s silence during which Sophia looked at John, she said, “He’s a friend of mine who


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    owns his ownpany.”


    Robin narrowed her eyes while taking a closer look at him. “He seems familiar. I might’ve seen him


    somewhere.”


    Sophia’s heart sank as she figured Robin might be telling the truth, as John’s photo was frequently


    showcased in financial news articles. The recent scandals would also serve to boost his fame, and


    whoever that read the tabloids would’ve seen his photo.


    While Sophia was chatting with Robin, John and Zack were nailing down the details of the contract in


    her stead. They made quick work of it, while thendlord seemed pleased by the end of the negotiation


    as he was all smiles. As he had some other matters to tend to, thendlord drove away in his car after


    having chatted for a little longer with Zack and John.


    After he left, Sophia walked toward the entrance as she looked at Zack. “Is everything settled?”


    Zack gave a grunt, all the while delighted in himself. “Yeah, it’s done. Simply speaking, thendlord is


    an opportunistic person. Within the year, he already went through a few tenants who never managed to


    stay for long, so he was getting a little impatient.”


    A scoff escaped John before hemented, “Yet he would still think of toying with the contract despite


    his desperation. I really don’t understand him.”


    Sophia turned around to look around the shop. “Is everything settled now?”


    “Yeah, no worries. It’s all settled.” Zack maintained a cheerful disposition while looking at Sophia.


    Meanwhile, John’s gaze dropped tond on her finger, thinking that the ring was elegant and pretty. He


    then said, “He will be drafting a new contract before meeting up again to sign it. We will be leaving


    since everything’s settled for the time being.”


    Sophia quickly nodded as she replied, “Alright, go work on your stuff. Go on!”


    The two men got into the car before Zack pulled away with a turn of the steering wheel. Sophia let out a


    huge sigh of relief as she stood by the entrance, as she thought her n was about to be thwarted at


    thest minute. If the negotiation had gone awry, she would be a little disappointed as she had been


    dreaming of owning her own shop for a long time. Fortunately, things were more or less settled now.


    After bidding goodbye with Robin, she left the shop with a light heart as she managed to reach a huge


    milestone. She had a change of clothes upon arriving at home before reading through more questions


    for the driver’s theory test.


    She had been reading through the materials during the past few days, and came to realize that there


    were things which she could learn on her own by fumbling through it, as well as things she could do


    even without John.


    However, she did owe him one for helping out with the negotiation with Mr. Reyes. Although she would


    be proud if she could settle it on her own, he came anyway, so she would impose on him.