If you rent an apartment in Beijing, you also rent the landlord or landlady for at least a year. It is somewhat like getting hitched, so it's important you find a good match because you have to deal with them in the long term. For me, it was love at first—or at least second—sight with the elderly couple who owns my apartment.

It was quite an odyssey trying to find the right apartment when I first arrived in Beijing in 2015. The apartments were either unsuitable or I took issue with the owners who looked indifferent at best and unfriendly at worst. But that all changed when the leasing agent's scooter stopped in front of the stoop of a hutong house in the heart of the capital.

I saw an elderly couple, in their 70s perhaps, waving to me. They were warm and welcoming at first glance, and when I saw them attentively hanging up the curtains in what would become my bedroom, I was just about sold on the place and the owners!

Chinese people talk about yuanfen, meaning fate that brings people together. Before I met my current landlords, I thought the concept of yuanfen was overrated. A prospective landlady who liked me and wanted me to move into her apartment had used the term in reference to me. But it was this lovely couple that changed my mind about the concept.

They accommodated my every need upon moving in, including installing a new toilet, since I insisted that without a toilet I couldn't possibly sign a contract. In return, I have carefully heeded the landlord's instructions on how to take care of the apartment, handwritten on the back of a "Double Happiness" tobacco box.

Just like me, my landlord couple appreciates classic cultural touches in their living space, along with a fusion of East and West, reflected beautifully in how "our" apartment was decorated. A Terracotta Warrior was standing proudly on my dining table, while a Venus of Milo was gazing off into the distance from underneath a bell jar on the fridge. A suitcase I discovered in my desk drawer containing Teresa Teng cassettes later confirmed that my landlords and I shared certain tastes and were thus compatible.

We have become accustomed to visiting each other at home. The couple's apartment is lovingly decorated, boasting a recent wedding photo of themselves taken in bridal wear, along with antiques, stuffed animals, a canary yellow sofa and all the trappings of the elderly, such as medications.

The landlord likes to smoke and sip tea, while the landlady takes great pride in her appearance. When my mother came to visit me, she and the landlady got along swimmingly (maybe because both were born in the Year of the Horse), and my mother was impressed by her elegance.

The landlady requires extra patience when she asks several times within the hour whether I prefer noodles or rice, but I am happy to explain my preference to her repeatedly. Meanwhile, the landlord likes to talk about history and current affairs and is very proud of his German car. Every time I visited, we took turns inviting each other to a Peking duck restaurant and the landlord always made a point of dropping me off in his car.

After three years, I dare say they treat me a bit like a surrogate daughter, despite having two grown sons, one of them close by. They give me gifts of tea or clothes, and I bring them souvenirs from my trips.

I barely have any friction with my landlord. He only grumbled once because of his tiny stature and arthritis when he had to stand on a dresser to reach the ceiling to replace special light bulbs. But generally he never complains about repairs in my high-maintenance hutong house, even the burst pipe shortly before the Chinese Spring Festival.

What's more, since I moved in, they have only raised the rent once, and even then it was done in a very discreet fashion. "May we raise the rent?" the landlord asked. We quickly agreed upon a small amount. I have the hunch from our conversations that while the landlord takes care of financial matters and repairs, his wife really calls the shots on who rents the apartment. Apparently, she wanted a quiet and orderly tenant and I seem to fit the bill. A match made in heaven, indeed!

The author is an American living in Beijing

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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