Chapter 200: Miss Lin Baiyi Falls into a Financial Crisis
People really need to learn to let go!
Otherwise, what else can you do? If your “buddy” has already shrunk a lot, it’s not like it can magically grow back, right?
Or are you supposed to use some mental trick and tell yourself, “It’s okay, even small ones are cute”?
Lin Yibai had already given up on trying to fix it.
In moments like this, instead of panicking, it’s better to just laugh it off with a reason.
She shrugged her shoulders, looking a little relieved but also kind of bored, and said,
“It must be karma. I used to tease my friends when we were kids, saying their 'buddy' was small… and now I’ve grown up and gotten my payback. Haha~”
Finding humor in a bad situation was her way of coping.
She walked over to the desk beside her bed. Her first instinct was to grab her laptop, but then she remembered it had been broken for a long time.
Oh well.
No laptop? Then she’d just have to use her notebook instead.
She bit the end of her black pen, thinking about today’s “expenses.” Should she include them in her daily living costs?
She was thinking about a pretty real problem. Should dating be considered a living expense?
Saying there’s no cost to dating is just lying to yourself. One of the clearest things about being in a relationship is that your wallet gets hit first.
Dating makes you broke.
So yes, it is a cost.
After thinking for a while, she finally wrote down -1086 in her notebook.
Looking at all the expenses listed on the page, she felt overwhelmed and said,
“Rent, water and electricity, internet, food, daily necessities, and now... relationship costs too? Wait, does this mean after working part-time all summer, I have nothing left?”
She thought back to how full of ambition she was before summer began, and now she just found it kind of funny. Back then, she wanted to use her earnings to buy a new laptop.
If that didn’t work, maybe get a little electric scooter.
Or at least upgrade to a new Redmi phone!
But now? She had done none of that. She felt like her whole life was a failure.
Money is so annoying!
Lin Yibai spun the black pen between her fingers and sighed deeply.
“A person without money is bound to live a kind of failed life.”
So where did it all go wrong?
There was no doubt, absolutely no question about it. She didn’t even need to think, most of the money was spent on things with Xia Changyu.
Lin Yibai started counting on her fingers.
“He gave me gifts, I gave him gifts in return. He treated me to meals, I treated him back. He took me to Wanda Mall today, I took him to Taihe tomorrow… Aaaah!! So that’s where all my money went?!”
Just on bubble tea alone, they had taken turns treating each other for several hundred yuan.
But Xia Changyu was a rich second-generation kid. Of course he didn’t care about small stuff like that. But what about her?
She was just a normal, broke girl.
She had only just started earning a bit of money. She even called home and told her family not to send living expenses anymore, because she thought she could take care of herself. Honestly, her thinking was still a little childish. She was just a regular college student.
Dating and money really don’t mix.
Talking about money in a relationship just hurts the feelings.
Lin Yibai felt that her current situation deserved some sympathy—or maybe someone needed to help her figure things out.
So she messaged her best roommate, Yang Chenjun, and told her about her problem.
“Why does dating cost so much money? I feel like I earned a decent amount from my part-time job, but once it gets spent on dating, no matter how much I made, it’s like it just disappears.”
Ding-dong~
Yang Chenjun finally replied, “Just got out of the shower. Also… looks like you’re in love again, huh Xiao Bai?”
Lin Yibai quickly typed back, “No, I was just asking. I’m just curious, that’s all.”
Yang Chenjun asked, “Did you just say… you’re wondering why your money is never enough when you’re dating?”
Lin Yibai: “Yeah.”
Yang Chenjun replied, “That’s easy. You’re spending too much. Back when you were with Gu Xiaoxue, none of us thought it would work out. You were the one always spending money, and Gu Xiaoxue didn’t give anything back.”
Lin Yibai quickly cut in and said, “This has nothing to do with Gu Xiaoxue! I mean… um! I mean, let’s just say for example, I have a friend, a girl, and she’s recently started dating someone. But the spending is way too much.”
Yang Chenjun picked up on it right away, “This ‘friend’ you’re talking about… is it really just a friend?”
Lin Yibai sent an emoji showing she was serious and swore, “No no no! It’s absolutely not me! I swear!”
Yang Chenjun fell into deep thought, “That’s weird, then…”
Lin Yibai quickly typed, “Cut the crap! Just tell me if there’s a solution!”
Yang Chenjun replied, “There is.”
Lin Yibai: “Tell me.”
Yang Chenjun typed four simple words, “Make more, spend less.”
Lin Yibai scratched her head and asked, “Explain. How do I make more? And how do I spend less?”
Yang Chenjun calmly replied after a pause, “Making more means your friend should try to get more money from her boyfriend. Spending less means she should stop using her own money and just spend his.”
After reading that, Lin Yibai had a shocked expression, like someone reading a strange post on the subway. She typed, “Isn’t that exactly like Gu Xiaoxue? Just like my ex-girlfriend!”
Yang Chenjun laughed and slowly typed,
“Xiao Bai, you need to understand… Girls like Gu Xiaoxue are a type. In love, they’re actually very common. But girls like you said, who return the favor, spend their own money on the guy, are rarer than pandas. They’re treasures. You meet one of those and your family tomb probably started smoking from good luck.”
Lin Yibai typed, “Maybe Gu Xiaoxue was just a rare case?”
Yang Chenjun shrugged and replied casually,
“Rare case? Come on, Xiao Bai, don’t you think you’re being a little too naive? Open your eyes and look around at the world. Some people out there… they’re not just playing nice, they’re throwing punches.”
Lin Yibai: “......”
So, from her good buddy, she did get one way to solve her financial problem.
But!! She shook her head, she just couldn’t agree with that idea!
She opened Weibo and other social media to scroll through, her brows furrowed at first, but soon relaxed, and a look of understanding appeared on her face.
She really disliked people like Gu Xiaoxue. And she didn’t like certain “special cases” either.
It was exactly because of people like that, that after becoming a girl herself, she had tried so hard not to be like them.
But now...
Back to reality.
There had to be a better solution.
As long as she opened up and talked about it, she believed she’d find a way!
So after ending the chat with her best friend, Lin Yibai immediately messaged her rival in love, who may or may not have been asleep.
……………………………
[To: Dear Mr. Xia Changyu]
About how you’ve been chasing me lately, and how that’s caused me to fall into a financial crisis, I think we need to have a good talk.
I think it’s totally fine for you to chase me. In fact, I think it’s the right thing to do…
But, sir, you also know what kind of person I am. I believe in give and take!
So now, after working a part-time job for over two weeks, my wallet is still empty. I wonder, sir, do you have any idea why that might be?
……………………………
With a playful and humorous tone, Lin Yibai shared her struggles with the guy chasing her.
Basically, what she meant was...
“You want to date me? I support that! But maybe we can find a healthier and better way to handle our relationship?”
“So, Mr. Xia, what do you think?”