79: Chapter 79 Packing Up Hairy Crabs

One day after work, just as Zhu Zhe walked into the apartment lobby, someone called out to her.

"Zhu Zhe!"

Zhu Zhe turned around, her cheerful expression from finishing work instantly changing.

"Chen Zufa."

"What are you doing here?"

Chen Zufa looked slightly awkward. "It's about what I told you last time."

"So you came to find me just to have me accompany you to your sister's wedding, and then incidentally get married to you, right?"

Chen Zufa adjusted his glasses and nodded very seriously. "Yes. Marriage is the greatest sincerity I can offer."

"Zhu Zhe, let's get back together!"

"I treated you badly in the past. I was young and immature back then, reckless, selfish, and I did..."

Zhu Zhe frowned, thinking, *What was wrong with me back then? How could I have ever liked him?* She interrupted, "That's enough. There's no need to trash yourself like that."

"You've already expressed your sincerity by wanting to marry me. It's just that I've always been that vulgar type of person you hate most."

"Other than the mundane necessities of life, I don't understand anything."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zufa thought Zhu Zhe was just being sarcastic because she was angry, so he quickly explained, "I was young and immature back then; I couldn't see the value in everyday life, and I always criticized your education level."

"I know better now. A man should earn money to support his family, and earning money to support a family isn't vulgar."

As he spoke, Chen Zufa became moved by his own words and casually pledged his commitment, "Zhu Zhe, I won't let you suffer anymore. I'll support you from now on."

"Pfft~" Zhu Zhe was so annoyed she laughed. "Are you for real?"

Seeing Zhu Zhe laugh, Chen Zufa thought it was a done deal and nodded smugly. "Yeah!"

Zhu Zhe was speechless. She rolled her eyes, thinking it seemed she wouldn't get rid of him unless she did something about it.

"Fine, let's find a place to talk."

Soon, the two were sitting in a restaurant not far from the residential complex.

"This is my first time at this restaurant, too. But my roommate said it's great value for money."

As he spoke, Chen Zufa, whose face had turned a bit green from looking at the menu, "generously" handed it to Zhu Zhe. "It's our first meal since we reunited. This time, just order whatever you like."

He kicked the ball back to Zhu Zhe, feeling he understood her; she was frugal, never extravagant, and wouldn't rip him off.

He emphasized the word "just" heavily, likely because Zhu Zhe had rarely ordered food in the past.

"Whatever I like?" Zhu Zhe doubted she had heard correctly. When had this man ever cared about what she liked to eat?

"Yeah!"

Zhu Zhe twitched her mouth. *I've really become a piece of fat meat to be slaughtered.*

"What I like to eat depends on who's paying today. If you're paying, I like seafood; if we're going Dutch, I like vegetables and porridge; if I'm paying, I've been into cold noodles lately."

Chen Zufa was choked by Zhu Zhe's words. "Of course, of course I'm paying."

"Then I won't be polite. Hello, waiter, I'd like one squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, and two female hairy crabs, the three-and-a-half-tael kind."

When ordering, Zhu Zhe didn't hold back at all, and Chen Zufa's face changed, clearly feeling the pinch.

"A plate of stir-fried greens, crab roe with white pepper and ginkgo nuts, an order of grilled squid, and two bowls of rice."

Zhu Zhe nodded and handed the menu back to the waiter.

"Very well, miss. Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"No, thank you."

"Very well, please wait a moment."

As soon as the waiter left, Chen Zufa "complimented" her, "Not bad, Zhu Zhe, you're quite good at ordering now."

Zhu Zhe's mouth twitched uncontrollably. *What a disaster. Why was I so short-sighted back then to have liked someone like this? He doesn't even have a shred of emotional intelligence.*

With a professional smile, she looked at Chen Zufa. "Really?"

Chen Zufa didn't notice the emotion in Zhu Zhe's words and began to explain his own train of thought.

"I was really impacted when my family called. I suddenly felt that I should have a place to settle down, and after thinking about it, it could only be you."

Zhu Zhe gasped. *What the hell? You feel like you need a place to settle down, so you come to disgust me?*

*You really can't find your place, can you?*

*Well, sister will help you out.*

"Since you're so willing, let's sit down and have an honest and open discussion."

"You say you want to get married, but how? The marital home, post-marital expenses—I need to understand all of these clearly before I dare to enter into marriage."

"Look, let me run the numbers for you." As she spoke, Zhu Zhe took a small notebook directly out of her bag.

"Have you bought a house?"

Chen Zufa's mouth twitched, and he bit the bullet. "I'm considering buying a house. But we need to be married before I'm eligible to buy one; currently, I'm restricted by purchasing limits."

Zhu Zhe wore an expression of understanding. "In other words, you haven't bought a house after working for over a decade. So, if we get married, we'll have to consider renting for now, and that rent will cost 6,000 a month."

"3,000... 3,000 yuan is enough."

Zhu Zhe looked at Chen Zufa, speechless. "I've never dreamed of being incredibly wealthy, but I don't want to lower my current standard of living."

"After we get married, we can't still be sharing a rental with others, right?"

"So 6,000 a month could be said to be on par with my current standard of living, and that's without considering having children. That's 3,000 per person."

"I spend 4,000 a month on clothes, shoes, and bags."

"Food is the most frugal part, 2,000."

"Cosmetics and skincare are essential for my work, 2,000."

"Social expenses, 2,000."

"New phone upgrades and phone bills, let's average that out to 1,000 a month."

"In the future, we'll probably buy a car, so car maintenance will be 2,000."

"Miscellaneous expenses, let's call it 2,000. That brings the total to 19,000."

"My current salary is just enough to cover such a standard of living."

Chen Zufa was completely stunned as he listened to Zhu Zhe rattle off the list.

Zhu Zhe put down her pen and looked at Chen Zufa with a smile. "You said you'd support me. Can you guarantee that my future standard of living won't be lowered?"

"Zhu Zhe, can't we lower the standard a bit? You just said we need to consider buying a house."

"It seems you have considered these things. This standard of living, while not particularly high, would be strenuous for you to provide alone, and it wouldn't be fair either."

"So, I have hands and feet; I can't just sit idle. If, as you say, we get married, then I expect your standard of living to align with mine. After we're married and have children, I'll need expenses for a nanny to ensure I can continue working."

Chen Zufa's face turned green. "You're... you're quite reasonable, aren't you?"

"That's right. Marriage is definitely different from dating. Marriage means facing the mundane realities of life."

"If you have no objections, in the next two years, your monthly income needs to be at least 20,000 to be barely okay. I'll need to see your salary card."

Zhu Zhe blinked. "My requirements aren't too high, are they?"

Chen Zufa looked awkward. "Zhu Zhe..."

Zhu Zhe didn't give him a chance to retort and continued to twist the knife.

"I've calculated it. Once we have children, your monthly income will need to reach 25,000 to maintain expenses."

"Therefore, I need to evaluate your career development."

Chen Zufa was still making a final, desperate struggle. "We need to save money to buy a house; can't we lower the standard a bit?"

"No!" Zhu Zhe smiled. "I know you too well. After we get married, I'm sure I'd end up doing all the housework. If I have to do all the housework for the whole family alone, my quality of life will definitely drop significantly."

"And you still want me to lower my living expenses? Why would I even get married then?"

"Excuse me." The waiter happened to come over to serve the dishes.

"Thank you."

"Please enjoy the stir-fried greens."

"Hey, waiter, pack those two hairy crabs to go."

...

Chen Zufa watched Zhu Zhe's gracefully departing figure and let out a long sigh. "People aren't what they used to be!"

"The little cabbage has already grown into a black queen."