"Contract to Rent a Boyfriend, condition one: The Renter can contact The Service Provider 24 hours a day and The Service Provider has to make sure his phone is on and that he is accessible at all times; condition two: The Service Provider has to fulfill all requests coming from The Renter; condition three: any physical contact must be approved by The Renter... number four... five..."

There was a private booth next to the window in a secluded coffee shop located in the eastern district of Piygow.

And a pretty young woman with beautiful black waist-length hair wearing a light blue dress was reading out a contract with an impassive expression.  

The woman's eyes were as beautiful and bright as the autumn sun's reflection on a calm lake. Her eyebrows were both smooth crescent shapes, eyelashes long, and lips red and plump. Her face looked exquisite and delicate. She was elegant and graceful, like a goddess who'd just stepped out of a painting.

Opposite her, a young man in a wrinkled striped white shirt wearing a pair of Crocs sat carefully listening to her. His hair was neat and short and his looks were considerably handsome.  

Every time the woman read a line, the young man would gently nod his head in agreement. 

"Contract signatories, Renter: Nerissa Doohan; Service Provider: Jonathan Henson; Date of signature: ........"

After reading the contract carefully, Nerissa heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Jonathan, whom she was meeting for the first time today, and felt quite satisfied with her candidate.

She was very good at judging people's character, and looking at Jonathan's face and considering the information he'd provided on the Internet, she knew that he would be a loyal person and would do whatever was required of him.

Moreover, his appearance wasn't that bad and although he wasn't well dressed, with a few touch-ups he could actually pass as her boyfriend, albeit fake.

"That's it about the contract," Nerissa said in a cold voice, We'll sign it for three months first, and then see the way forward after that. Do you have any questions or objections ?" she asked and pushed the contract over to him.

Jonathan took the contract carefully, and read it thoroughly. As he reached the last page, he asked politely, "Miss Doohan, I have a few doubts that need some clarification."

Nerissa nodded her head, "Sure that's to be expected, go ahead."

"It's just that, what if I'm teaching a class and can't go to your place right away? Can I delay a little?" Jonathan asked.

Nerissa took a sip of her coffee and said blandly, "You are thoughtful. It seems that you are also a very responsible and diligent tutor."

Jonathan smiled shyly. "I get paid after all, so I surely need to be worth it."

There was a hint of satisfaction in Nerissa's beautiful eyes. She admired Jonathan's earnest attitude towards his job. Such people were trustworthy.

"Don't worry. Such a small thing won't bother me. I will avoid contacting you when you're teaching." Nerissa had considered this point long before it came up.

"That's good. I see that you're also a reasonable person." Jonathan thanked and complimented her.

Just then, Jonathan's cell phone rang, the caller ID showing 'Rachel Adams'.

He picked up the phone and said to Nerissa apologetically, "I'm sorry, Miss Doohan. It's one of my students."

Nerissa didn't mind, so she encouraged him to take the call in case it was an emergency.

Holding the phone, Jonathan seemed embarrassed to take the call publicly and disturb the other customers, so he rushed outside instead.

His polite manner impressed Nerissa even more. 

Outside the café, Jonathan picked up the call and asked, "Rachel, what's the matter?"

A girl's melodious and sweet voice came from the phone, "Mr. Henson! Come and save me," sniff sniff ... "my level dropped back from diamond to platinum ..."

"I see. I'm a bit busy with something right now and I'll be quite occupied for the next few days, so I can only come over another day." Jonathan said embarrassedly.

"What? Some other day? This..... this won't cause me to come down another level again?  Awww, Mr. Henson, come and save me please..." Rachel begged.

"Don't worry," Jonathan said earnestly. "As long as I'm here, sooner or later, I will get you back to the diamond level. Just be sure to pay your tuition, and there will be no problems even if you want to become a Master or a Grand Master!"

"But... I've already given you all of my monthly allowances. I don't have that much," Rachel said pitifully.

Jonathan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I understand your situation, but isn't it almost the end of the month? You'll soon get your pocket money again so....."

"Humph! You're so annoying. Only thinking about my allowance." Rachel sulked but she still said to him expectantly, "Then come to my house as soon as you're done with your work. I'll wait for you."

"No problem! You can count on me!" Jonathan responded.

Having reassured his student, he walked back into the café with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. It seems that the students nowadays can't do anything without their teacher. They always do something wrong, and then get anxious about it. " Jonathan said shaking his head.

"To be a teacher, one has to understand the art of patience." Nerissa said in an understanding tone and asked," Are you in a hurry to go now?"

"No, no, I want my students to cultivate the ability to learn and think independently. I can't rush there every time something goes wrong." Jonathan pondered earnestly.

Nerissa secretly agreed. She was an independent woman, and she felt that Jonathan was becoming more interesting to her. Surely It wouldn't take much effort to turn such a man into a suitable fake boyfriend.

"If you don't have any other concerns, let's sign the contract," Nerissa said with a straight face.

Jonathan nodded with a smile and thought to himself, "This woman looks like a goddess but is so cold and indifferent. Could it be just the looks?"

He'd gotten the job from an Internet ad, so he decided to observe her some more. Either way, he would get a nice allowance and a beautiful girlfriend, albeit a fake one, so it was a win-win.

Jonathan picked up the contract and signed his name without hesitation.

His handwriting was elegant with fine strokes.    

When Nerissa saw his signature, she couldn't help but admire it. People didn't care much about their handwriting these days, only a few had handwriting worthy of admiration.

After signing the contract, Nerissa handed a thick envelope to Jonathan and said, "Here is 3,000 as your prepayment. You can count it."

Jonathan took the heavy envelope with a smile and put it straight into his pocket. "There's no need to count. 3,000 is just between 1.8cm and 2cm thick, including the envelope the total should be just about 2.2 cm, so it's perfect..."

There was a hint of astonishment in Nerissa's eyes. She had never thought that someone could guess an amount of money only by its thickness. Just how much did this guy like the money? 

Well, she was not going to reject him simply because of that. Besides, that meant such a person could be easily controlled and that was exactly what she needed now.  

Nerissa took out another file from her bag which had more than a dozen post-it notes with some instructions written on them.

"Here is some information about us, how we met, how we got to know each other and started dating. You can take it with you and have a look at it, but no one else should see it," Nerissa said.

Jonathan didn't expect this woman to be so professional, he took the document with a smile and said, "I'll read it when I get back."

"Tomorrow morning, at 10 o'clock at the Goldport Mansion parking lot, B2. Don't be late," When Nerissa finished, she got up to leave.

"Don't worry, Miss Doohan, I'm never late."

"Good,".

Jonathan looked at the cup of caramel macchiato that she hadn't finished, "Miss Doohan, your coffee......"

"I've had enough, thanks," Nerissa said flatly.

"It would be such a waste. isn't it five bucks a cup?" Jonathan took the cup and finished the remaining coffee in one go.

Nerissa didn't have the nerve to stop him. Although it was a good thing to be thrifty, she felt uncomfortable as she thought of this 'indirect kiss' between them.

They walked out of the coffee shop together and several guests and waiters couldn't help but take one more look at Nerissa. You didn't often see such beauty every day after all! Jonathan, on the other hand, in his simple clothes was not spared a second glance.

When they arrived at the parking lot, Nerissa came to a blue Maserati GranCabrio and people were turning heads at the sight of such a beauty getting into the expensive sports car.

Remembering something, Nerissa turned around and asked, "What grade do you teach?"

"High school, Miss Doohan, is something wrong?" Jonathan asked with a simple smile on his face.

 "No, nothing." She shook her head.

He could tutor high school students, so he was also a university student..... yep, Jonathan was a sure choice. Nerissa felt even more confident about her choice.

The Maserati left, leaving a number of envious gazes behind.

Jonathan finally took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. He took a deep pull and exhaled puffs of smoke.

He'd just gotten another well-paid part-time job and this had certainly put him in a good mood.

Walking to the bike parking area on the roadside, he got his rusty second-hand bicycle.

Noticing the sky getting darker, he muttered to himself, "It will take 30 minutes to get to Restmeadow Apartments from here. I'll have to hurry. Sara said that there are three more air cons to be repaired..."

And climbing on the bike, he pushed with both legs, and rode off with a whoosh like he had a jet engine under him!