You're my wife, don't doubt it!

This time, she brought only fifty or sixty thousand yuan in cash, which was her entire year's worth of New Year's money saved up.

During the time she stayed at Xiao Yao's house, she not only had to take care of all her own food, clothing and daily necessities, but also support this young man, buying him clothes, bags, shoes, topping up his internet cafe membership card, buying him a computer, and providing him with food... In short, it was like raising a big son.

Shen Jie was used to spending money lavishly and didn't keep track of her expenses. Xiao Yao, on the other hand, seemed to have won the lottery and started, well, to some extent, increasing his spending. Shen Jie would occasionally wonder why this kid could spend so carelessly.

You eat, drink, use, and sleep with me, and all you give me is a house, right?

You've never even said thank you to me, Shen Jie thought.

To be frank, Shen Jie didn't really care about the money, but the problem was, sitting around doing nothing will eventually lead to financial ruin.

In the quiet of the night, Shen Jie would sometimes feel anxious, estimating her balance, wanting to check her account but lacking the courage (or being too lazy) to do so.

What will I do if all the money is gone before summer vacation is over? Will I have to sheepishly run home and apologize to my dad?

Specifically regarding this wedding photoshoot, firstly, a destination wedding photoshoot is definitely impractical in every way, so that's a no-go; secondly, while Xiao Yao initially supported my desire for underwater shots, he inexplicably turned against it, so that's also a no-go; I had originally planned to build a set reminiscent of "The Tudors," but after Ms. Li's explanation, I realized how unrealistic that was—building a set like those in movies and TV shows is clearly beyond her current means, and if we use digital post-processing, the cheap and knock-off feel would be unacceptable to me.

In other words, in the end, you still have to choose a package. The contents are pretty much the same, except that there are more types of clothes, better brands, and the photographer is more experienced (supposedly). But the price... what can be done in Paris and Milan for three to five thousand, costs fifteen thousand five here. Ms. Li said she could give me a discount, so it would be fourteen thousand seven.

Regarding the deposit, 50% must be paid upfront, which is 7,350 yuan. To be honest, Shen Jie felt a little pained by the expense.

If this continues, I'll have to find a way to sell those Jimmy Choos shoes secondhand.

This tragic future sent a chill down Shen Jie's spine.

And... even if you pay, you still have to wait in line.

The wait is until... Christmas this year.

Are you planning to shoot a snow scene? Given that Shanghai only gets a major snowfall once every ten years, this might not even be possible.

"It should still be in time for your wedding, right?" Miss Li was probably just joking, but Shen Jie felt it was malicious mockery.

"Can't you expedite it for us and arrange it?" Clearly, Xiao Yao was also not too happy about the trip being scheduled "around winter".

Ms. Li hesitated for a moment: "Because there are really a lot of customers in line, we are arranging them in order of time."

"Is that not allowed?" Xiao Yao asked.

"As long as you don't ask for simple, direct promises, such as yes or no, we will do everything we can to provide all the support we can."

"Is it going to work or not?" Shen Jie asked, puzzled.

Ms. Li took out a large, elegant registration book and flipped through it: "Given the current situation, if you have a specific time requirement, you can give us your intention. We can take a holistic view, consider the actual needs of all booked clients, analyze and communicate effectively. Generally speaking, although the prospects are uncertain, we are willing to show our utmost sincerity and provide you with the best possible outcome..."

At first, Shen Jie was completely confused, but she finally came to her senses. What the man surnamed Li said could be summed up in just three words.

"You'll have to pay more."

The expedited arrangement costs 2000 yuan, which means I have to pay more than 9,000 yuan upfront, and the filming will be done soon, requiring me to pay the remaining balance.

She was tempted to give up, but after looking at Ms. Li's lunchbox and thinking about the "bad things" she had done to Ms. Li that day, she couldn't bring herself to say, "Let's not sign the contract today."

"Xiao Yao, how about Christmas?" Shen Jie thought for a moment and discussed with Xiao Yao, "What if it snows this year?"

"Ah—" Xiao Yao's "Ah" was a second one, drawn out quite a bit, clearly indicating his dissatisfaction: "Taking wedding photos in winter, aren't you really not afraid of the cold!"

Just as Shen Jie was about to grit her teeth and accept it, Yu Luying, who hadn't spoken until now, finally spoke up.

“Sister, this isn’t quite right… We chose Navara because of their facilities, professionalism, and service quality,” Yu Luying said to Shen Jie, but clearly not to her. “But right now, we can’t use the facilities here. The photographer doesn’t even know who to photograph. And just now, a very impolite woman was let into the changing room. Should we reconsider?”

"Oh, wait a minute," Miss Li said, a little flustered. She had been serving him for so long, how could he be finding fault with her? She quickly explained:

"The photographer for our wedding photos is not the same as the photographer for our formal wedding photos. We will have a professional photography team to follow up, and we will not charge for any parts that are not suitable."

“But the experience of taking those wedding photos was really awful,” Shen Jie chimed in.

"If I had known, I would have preferred not to have filmed it at all," Yu Luying continued.

“How about this,” Ms. Li picked up the calculator, “since we’re not satisfied with the wedding photos, we’ll give them to you for free. We’ll also give you a 5% discount on the total price, so the total discount will be… 1575 yuan. That’s our biggest discount yet.”

"Oh dear," Yu Luying picked up the calculator, "it's so hard to calculate with whole numbers and decimals, just round it up for the discount. Here, is this number okay?"

Li Na glanced at the numbers on the calculator, frowned, and finally nodded: "Then let's do it this way, shall we pay the deposit first? I'll issue you an invoice."

Listening to Yu Luying and Miss Li haggling over the price, Shen Jie was stunned.

In her memory, Yu Luying was always... well, if she couldn't be described as an introverted girl who never uttered a sound, she was definitely not a quick-witted or eloquent person.

And now, listening to Yu Luying bargain... wow, she's spouting witty remarks non-stop! It's such a waste that she's not in the school's debate club.

Hmm... Shen Jie suddenly remembered that when she went to the market with Xiao Yao's uncle to buy vegetables, the uncle there also had the same flavor, but Yu Luying was much better at it.

The project, which was worth less than 20,000 yuan, was cut by 2,000 yuan, which severely impacted Shen Jie's young worldview.

Judging from Ms. Li's expression, she was uncomfortable with this order, but it wasn't something she couldn't do.

Shen Jie felt a pang of guilt.

"Are you paying in cash or by card?" Ms. Li asked them.

"Swipe the card," Xiao Yao said.

"The POS machine is at the counter, please come with me," Ms. Li said, standing up.

Xiao Yao glanced at Shen Jie but didn't move.

Shen Jie took out Xiao Yao's China Construction Bank zodiac card, handed it to Xiao Yao under the table, and then secretly kicked him: "Honey, go ahead."

"Huh? Oh, oh." Xiao Yao reacted quickly, took the card, and followed Miss Li to the bar.

Even a girl like Shen Jie, when she's out in public, does she need to maintain the facade of having a husband who's willing to pay for her?

Xiao Yao understood somewhat, but not quite.

It was already 8:30 when I walked out of the Navara Wedding Dress store.

Shen Jie grabbed Yu Luying and asked her, "How dare you cut the price by 10% or 15%? Aren't you afraid she'll quit and we'll lose face?"

"Hey Shen Jie, are you stupid? How did you grow up like this?" Since Yu Luying really considered Shen Jie a friend, she didn't speak so politely anymore: "What do you mean you're afraid she'll quit? Get this straight, they're the ones who opened the shop. They're the ones begging us, not the other way around. It's a buyer's market, you know?"

"Oh……"

"Besides, she hasn't gone all the way yet, but sister, you have to save face, otherwise I could have cut another 200 yuan off for her."

"How do you know her background?" Xiao Yao asked curiously.

"Hey, I just saw her ledger. It was all neatly written in, obviously fake. She showed it to us. I bet their schedules aren't actually that full. Charging 2000 yuan for express service is pure ripping people off, you know? I was only picky about the specific services they offered, but I was haggling because of that extra 2000 yuan express fee. That's how photo studios are. They charge 5 yuan for photos taken 3 days later, but they'll charge 50 yuan for instant service, even though they can get the photos out the same day. I can't say anything else, but I think she should at least give me back that 2000 yuan, right?"

"Great! Let's treat ourselves since we've saved 2000!" Xiao Yao said loudly.

Xiao Yao suggested going out for hot pot, a suggestion that was met with unanimous eye-rolls from the two girls.

"Go eat by yourself if you want. Luying and I are going back to Shanghai first—don't you even know what time it is?"

"What do you mean by 'back to Shanghai'? Where else is this but Shanghai?"

“Who eats hot pot in the middle of summer? You’ll be sweating all over,” Yu Luying said. She usually showers at church, but she came back covered in sweat today. It was already uncomfortable not being able to shower so late, and on top of that, Xiao Yao… hmph o(￣ヘ￣o＃) probably doesn’t know how to shower. Just thinking about it makes her hair stand on end.

"You don't understand, do you? People in Congqing love to eat hot pot in the summer. The hotter it is, the more enjoyable it is."

"Then go to Congqing, it's like Shanghai."

Finally, I randomly chose a popular-looking open-air food stall called "Shen Ji Food Stall".

Although the name sounded like coming home, Shen Jie was still not very satisfied with the dining environment. However, she was hungry and tired and did not want to go through any more trouble, nor did she want Yu Luying to think she was being pretentious—it was better than instant noodles anyway, so she quickly blended in with the environment.

"It's a bit chilly at night," Xiao Yao said.

The two girls nodded together, but Xiao Yao was disappointed to find that he still hadn't been able to take off the clothes he had given them.

The three of them ordered five dishes: a special braised pork kidney, a salt and pepper bullfrog (if Yu Luying hadn't been averse to spicy food, Xiao Yao would have ordered the chopped chili flavor), asparagus and lily bulbs, stir-fried eggs with chives, and pickled edamame. Later, Xiao Yao felt that there weren't enough meat dishes, so he also ordered a salted egg yolk chicken wing and a local-style eel stew.

"Eating kidneys?" Shen Jie teased him.

"Ah, dishes like braised pork kidneys and intestines with eggplant and candied pork are delicious, but they're not usually easy to make at home. They're perfect for ordering when eating out," Xiao Yao explained.

Shen Jie originally wanted to continue teasing him, saying, "So young and already needing tonics?" But then she thought that with Yu Luying next to her, it wouldn't be in line with her ladylike image, so she changed the subject: "Hey, Xiao Yao, we'll have to be more careful with our money from now on."

Xiao Yao nodded: "Boss, we'll skip the eel paste!"

"Ah? That's not what I meant."

"Alright!" the food stall owner shouted, slamming a pitcher of iced Qingniao Pure Draft beer and a large bowl of rice onto the table.

Xiao Yao first filled two plastic cups, making sure the foam didn't overflow the rim, and placed them in front of Shen Jie and Yu Luying in turn, before finally filling his own cup.

"What are you toasting?" Xiao Yao raised the plastic cup in his hand.

"...World peace?" Shen Jie said.

"Wishing the Pope good health," Yu Luying joked.

"How about we pay tribute to our youth?" Xiao Yao said.

"A toast to your modern poetry!" Shen Jie exclaimed loudly. "A toast to the three of us sitting here ten years from now, eating at a street food stall and drinking Qingniao Pure Draft Beer!"

"Cheers!" Xiao Yao and Yu Luying shouted together. Then, Xiao Yao downed his glass in one gulp: "I'll drink mine. You two can drink as you please."

"Drink slowly!" Shen Jie said.

"Drink less!" Yu Luying said.

Under the pleasant night breeze, the three ate, drank, and chatted, and Xiao Yao's mood became more and more cheerful.

"Oh, oh, oh, outside the quiet little village, there was a silly little boy, born in the 1960s; when he was a teenager, he went to the city, not afraid of the sun, and worked hard in the 1970s; he discovered that in the city, friends don't need to water the flowers, they will bloom naturally~" Xiao Yao was in a great mood and started singing.

"Why do you always sing songs that nobody has ever heard before?" Shen Jie mocked him, but then she heard Yu Luying start singing along.