Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 543 Good Girl

How much does a single woman live in Shenzhen spend each month?

The phone screen was dimly lit, and the girl, still lazily curled up in bed, suddenly saw this question on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

She immediately became interested and clicked on the topic, browsing the answer with the most comments—

"Rent 4300, utilities and property management fees 850, monthly parking pass 250, garbage fee 90, social security 1500, cat 300, highway toll 300, car insurance 700, car battery 360, food 3000, cosmetic surgery 1200, clothes 500, skincare 200, daily necessities 200, phone bill 100, social obligations not included..."

"A total of 14050 yuan."

The comments below are highly controversial.

Most of them were skeptical.

"I'm too lazy to talk about anything else, but just look at the car insurance. It says 700 per month, which is 8400 per year. Assuming your car is two years old, you're a single girl renting an apartment and using a 500,000 car? You'd have to earn at least 500,000 a year to afford that... It's too unbelievable."

"The rent is so low, and it's not like a luxury house, but the property management fee, water and electricity fee plus garbage fee is almost 1000, which is a bit outrageous. My house is over 100 square meters and I don't need that much."

"A rent of 4300 is too extravagant. The house I bought with a loan only costs 3400."

"At 24, even with a monthly income of 39,000, I wouldn't dare spend like this. My fixed monthly expenses are 3000, and the rest is in fixed deposits and investments."

These questions contained some subtle boasting, which made Sun Xining purse her lips.

That does fit her impression of many people in Shenzhen during her months here.

They all took their mothers out and carried sacks... What the hell are you pretending for!

However, there were also many comments supporting the girl, which made Sun Xining feel completely at ease.

"This journal is clearly very practical in Shenzhen, but the comments section is full of all sorts of opinions. It just goes to show that the world is full of differences."

"Yes, some people only dare to spend a few thousand a month, so they think that spending tens of thousands is outrageous. Others get sarcastic and cynical when they see cosmetic surgery expenses. It just shows that they are from completely different worlds. They are just similar in physiology..."

"At first glance, it seems like a lot, but each item is reasonable. That's why I don't keep accounts in Shenzhen..."

"I'm already being very frugal with clothes and skincare products, okay? In a city like this, if a girl doesn't live a refined life, do you think anyone will even pay attention to her when she goes out?"

Upon seeing this comment, Sun Xi Ningning couldn't help but nod secretly and even gave the commenter a thumbs up.

Yes, in a place like Shenzhen where there are elegant goddesses everywhere, you can't just live a shabby life, can you?

Actually, when Sun Xining chose to come to Shenzhen, she was really looking forward to a fresh start.

Say goodbye to your past self, work like a normal person, get married when you meet the right person, have children, grow old, or before you die, if you've saved enough money, travel around the world, and maybe eventually erect your own tombstone in the Arctic or Antarctic...

In this way, it left a special mark on the world.

However, after arriving in Shenzhen, Sun Xi Ningning realized that she had indeed been too idealistic about some things.

Although her experiences have always been rebellious, even shocking to most ordinary people, no matter how others see her, Sun Xining believes that she has always kept a pure place in her heart.

While she was lost and dissolute in the world of materialism, she stubbornly preserved her last vestige of purity, wanting to give it to the man she could entrust her life to.

But... working diligently is really tiring!
She now works for an ordinary beauty company with about fifty or sixty employees. This size is quite good in Mingcheng, but in Pengcheng, it's just a small to medium-sized company. There are many companies like this in their office building.

When she first arrived, her salary was only 8,500 yuan. This was because their company was in the internet industry, so the starting salary standard was relatively high. In addition, Sun Xining's appearance was indeed outstanding, and the company planned to cultivate her into a key live streamer, so they gave her a relatively generous base salary.

After several months of hard work, Sun Xining's monthly income is now around 15,000 to 16,000 yuan.

Compared to most ordinary college graduates, she is already outstanding. Even her department head, Brother Chen, who is obviously interested in her, has promised more than once that he will give her another raise at the end of the year, and her salary should exceed 20,000 yuan.

But even if you have 20,000, what can you do with that?

The reason Sun Xi Ningning agreed so much with the post was because her monthly expenses were even more extravagant than the other person's.

To make commuting easier, she now rents a single apartment in the heart of Luohu District, where the rent for a single room is over 5,000 yuan per month... Fortunately, her family covered this expense when she came to Shenzhen, so the pressure isn't too great.

But cosmetics, skincare products, and clothes and bags that she buys every month already exceed her rent.

Sun Xining knew she couldn't spend money as lavishly as before, but she just couldn't control herself... Really, she had tried very hard, but some habits simply couldn't be changed overnight.

To this day, she hasn't saved a single penny of her monthly salary and still owes Jack Ma around 30,000 to 40,000 yuan.

She knew that as long as she asked her father, Sun Liancheng, the director of the archives, even though he had been transferred to a sinecure, he could easily pay the tens of thousands of yuan for her.

But she didn't want to ask that man for help again.

When her mother was hospitalized and eventually died because of his womanizing ways, she developed a deep hatred for that man and decided to cut ties with him when she grew up.

Although Sun Xining's thinking became less obsessive as she grew older, she didn't want to ask the other party for anything unless absolutely necessary.

Although... it is indeed very annoying to see those outstanding bills every time.

She's still using an iPhone 14, which has several scratches on the screen and minor damage to the edges. She's even been thinking of getting a new phone recently, but she's currently short on funds.

What annoyed Sun Xining the most was that she knew she could still escape this predicament in an instant and return to her previous vain life if she wanted to.

Since she came to Shenzhen, there have been more than just one or two men like Brother Chen in her department. Even the vice president of the company next door is pursuing her, and there are even more outstanding men.

Given Sun Xi Ningning's skill level, if she were truly willing to use some tactics and effort, she knew she would never have to worry about money.

But she had long been tired of that kind of life, so she kept persisting.

Even so... she often felt lost.

"I secretly fell in love with you, but I dared not tell you, because I know I cannot give you what you want..."

The sudden ringing of her phone pulled Sun Xining back to reality. She glanced down at it, her brows furrowing slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she pressed the answer button.

"Hey?"

"Ningning, it's me."

On the other end of the phone, Sun Liancheng's voice, tinged with a fawning laugh, rang out, "It's the weekend today, are you still sleeping? I saw I called you several times before but you didn't answer..."

"Is there something you need?" Sun Xining didn't explain, but interrupted her father.

Sun Liancheng seemed used to her attitude and didn't show any displeasure. He just smiled and said, "I was just a little worried about you because you hadn't replied to my messages. You're all alone in Pengcheng, so you definitely need to keep in touch with me often..."

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'm hanging up."

"No, no, no!"

Sun Liancheng quickly said, "Ningning, please, I'm begging you, just talk to me for a few minutes. I really can't find anyone else to talk to..."

Hearing the hint of pleading in Sun Liancheng's voice, Sun Xining's heart softened, but she didn't show it. She just pursed her lips and asked coldly, "You've been drinking again?"

"You can't wrong Dad, I really haven't had a drink in a long time."

Seeing that Sun Xining hadn't actually hung up, Sun Liancheng breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "It just so happens that your Uncle Zhou was hosting a dinner tonight because of his job transfer, so I had a few drinks..."

"Which Uncle Zhou?"

"That's Zhou Wang's dad, your high school classmate, the one I told you about last time..."

Upon hearing the confirmation of the guess, Sun Xining's heart skipped a beat for no reason, but she still pretended to be casual and said, "So you saw Zhou Wang?"

"Of course not. What kind of person is Mr. Zhou now? I heard that his businesses have spread all over the country. How could he easily show his face? But when I hear Mr. Zhou mention it, I still feel a bit emotional."

Sun Liancheng sighed and said, "I heard that his application materials have already been sent to the provincial level. After the end of the year, he won't just be one of the city's top ten outstanding youths anymore, but he'll be promoted to the provincial level..."

Sun Liancheng went on and on about many things, but Sun Xining didn't respond at all, nor did she hang up the phone; she just listened quietly.

Sun Liancheng understood perfectly and simply kept talking about the topic.

In fact, he had already noticed before that his daughter, who was never willing to talk to him much, would only show a little more patience when talking about Zhou Wang or related topics.

But that's normal, isn't it? Zhou Wang is such an outstanding young man, Sun Liancheng feels that even if she were a woman, it would be hard not to like him...

"Ningning, are you still in touch? I remember you said last time that you two were quite close..."

"Why do you ask?"

Feeling inexplicably agitated, Sun Xining said somewhat irritably, "We used to be quite close, but if you hadn't insisted that I find a proper job, we would have lost contact a long time ago..."

"Dad just asked casually..."

"I'm hanging up now."

Sun Xining hung up the phone, checked the time, and saw it was already six o'clock in the evening. She vaguely felt that she had forgotten something, but couldn't remember it for a moment.

Just then, her phone rang again. Sun Xining looked at the caller ID and finally remembered something. She sat up straight, her young and beautiful body shimmering with an ivory glow in the setting sun.

"Hello~"

After a brief adjustment, Sun Xining's voice became soft, husky, and slightly languid, which made the young man on the other end of the phone feel a strong urge to listen.

"Ningning, it's me, Agui. Are you ready? We're on our way to pick you up..."

"Where to go?"

"Uh, have you forgotten? We agreed to go to a yacht party together today... It's what Jay told you before, he said you agreed."

Only then did Sun Xining finally confirm that she hadn't misremembered. She lightly slipped out of bed and walked barefoot towards the bathroom, replying, "Of course I haven't forgotten, it's just that I'm not feeling well..."

"No way, Ningning, you know what A-Jie is like. He's asked you out so many times and you haven't come. He finally agreed this time. If you go back on your word again, he'll explode..."

Ah Jie said in a low but urgent voice.

Sun Xining, who was already standing in front of the mirror combing her hair, smiled slightly, then revealed a helpless tone:

"Alright then, but I just took my medicine and I'm feeling weak. I might need to rest for a bit. Can you wait for me?"

"Yes, of course you can..."

Nearly two hours later.

Ah Jie and Ah Gui finally saw Sun Xi Ningning arrive late.

Ah Jie was initially very impatient, and if Ah Gui hadn't kept reassuring him, he felt he would have already stepped on the gas and driven off.

But when he saw Sun Xining appear, A-Jie felt that the long wait was totally worth it...

She has a classic oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and porcelain-white, delicate skin with almost no visible pores, as if she has some kind of soft-focus filter. Her long hair has gentle curves and falls naturally over her slender waist.

The low-rise jeans naturally formed an hourglass shape, with a sparkling star-shaped ornament in the small waist dimple, making the two young men's eyes involuntarily glance at it, and even swallow hard at the same time.

At this moment, in A-Jie's eyes, the radiant Sun Xi Ningning was in no way inferior to the four girls at the airport that day, and perhaps even more so.

The main reason was that the girl in front of him seemed to have an aura of brilliance in A-Jie's eyes...

Born in a small inland city to a middle-class family, he came to work in Shenzhen right after graduation. He has a clean background and is pure and innocent. Despite sending her so many gifts and asking her out so many times, she has never responded.

This is such a rare find in today's society!

She's definitely much better than those four vain girls at the airport...

Sun Xining looked at the Mercedes-Benz G-Class in front of her, nodded slightly in satisfaction, and then seemed a little stunned.

He seems to have a car like that too...

After regaining her senses, Sun Xining opened the back door and sat in the back seat of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. A pleasant fragrance wafted through the car.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Are we already late?"

Ah Jie had long since forgotten his earlier frustration and shook his head with a smile, saying:
"Don't worry, today's party is a bit special, those people won't be there that early, it's just right for us to go now..."

(End of this chapter)