“Wow! Look at this living room.” My fiancee exclaimed. “There’s so much space here.”

“Yes,” The agent agreed, “This complex has larger apartments than most, I believe they’re catering to newer families such as yourself.”

“Baby, what do you think?” She asked me.

“Well, I think it’s close to your work, and not too far from your parents either.” I mused.

“Yes I know, but about the space.” She pressed.

“It is nice, I mean I’d have to commute pretty far but I’m ok with that…” I responded looking at the living room from multiple angles. It did seem nice, I wasn’t keen on commuting for almost two hours every day but she worked so far away from where I did, and once we had a baby it wouldn’t be bad to live close to her parents. We did visit them nearly every weekend. “How about the kitchen?” I asked the agent.

“Of course, this way.” He led us into the connected kitchen area, it sacrificed size thanks to the large living room but was still serviceable, I noted the counter space.

The agent walked down the long galley kitchen and down to a small utility room with a windowed terrace at the end. “Do you cook a lot?”

“Me?” I asked, assuming it was directed at me personally. “Yeah, she works late so usually I come home and cook. It’s relaxing, something I enjoy actually.”

He nodded as if he guessed all along. “This is a great kitchen for it. It might not be as big as it could be, but you can see areas like the living room take advantage of that.”

I returned his nod. “I understand. It seems decent. What do you think baby?”

My fiancee had joined us to examine the kitchen. “I like it, I could try cooking for you sometime here.” She gave me a smile and a wink. I think she was too happy to be buying our first home, just in time for the wedding. My parents had come from the country and hadn’t had much, they had a home but a house in the big city and to have work in investing. I was even the first to have graduated from college. Her family, of course, was from here so it was no surprise they weren’t fond of me. But now that I was showing them I could buy an apartment and provide for us things had improved. I loved her though, and to me, that’s what mattered.

“Do you want to see the bedrooms?” The agent snapped me out of my musing.

“Yes, of course,” I responded as he led us around the rest of the house. My fiancee eagerly sought out every nook and cranny asking questions and considering details. I could tell this was her favorite out of all we had seen so far, and it was mine too despite the commute.

Finally, we had seen every detail could and she turned and gave me a knowing look. She wanted this place. “How much for the downpayment?” I asked the agent. He smiled and pulled out some paperwork from his bag, sitting us down at the dining room table. “I’m glad you both like it then. Here are some details to look at Mr. Li. I assume this is your first place?”

“Yes” My fiancee, smiled back looking over the paperwork.

He gave a knowing nod of understanding and produced a pen. “It’s the Chinese dream, isn’t it? If you could sign here and here as Mr. Li and Ms. Wang.”

I felt a sense of excitement. Buying a place, especially in Beijing was a big deal, and I could see by her face she felt the same way… We had made it.