Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

[Ai Jong-kook]: Okay, okay! I won't say anything, and neither will you.

Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if their family knew, but neither of them wanted to cause trouble, so it's definitely better not to tell them.

[Rise, my dear subject]: Then it's settled.

[Ai Jong-kook]: Alright, alright, you're already negotiating with your dad. I even covered your expenses.

[Rise, my dear subject]: Thank you, Father, but 6000 yuan is more than enough. I also earn a lot from my writing, so it's sufficient.

[Ai Zhongguo]: How much can you possibly earn from those articles? Did you make a few thousand last month?

Um... I made 15,000.

But when I thought about the promise I made before, that I could tell my family what book I had written if I earned more than 10,000 yuan a month, I realized that I was making a huge profit.

After thinking it over, Ai Qing still chickened out.

Especially since it was only published for half a month last month, he should probably report a lower fee.

So he simply went along with what Ai Zhongguo had said and replied.

[Rise, my subject]: It's about three thousand. If it lasts a full month, it could be five or six thousand.

[Ai Jong-guk]: It's not a small amount, but after paying two thousand in rent and one or two thousand in living expenses, you won't have much left, right?

[Ai Jong-guk]: Here's what we'll do. From now on, I'll give you a dating fund of two thousand every month. When they're not in school on weekends, you can go out and have fun with those girls more often.

[Ai Jong-kook]: Don't always stay cooped up at home, you know? Even just treating it as going out for exercise is fine.

[Ai Jong-guk]: Otherwise, if you sit at your desk for too long and don't know to go out for a walk and exercise, your body won't be able to take it.

[Rise, my subject]: I understand, I understand. I'm going to eat my barbecue now, I'll stop chatting.

As soon as she saw her father enter lecturing mode, Ai Qing immediately stopped the conversation.

Ai Zhongguo knew he was busy with his date, and it wasn't good for him to keep talking on his phone.

So he replied.

[Ai Jong-kook]: You eat slowly, I'm going home to sleep.

When they finished talking, Ai Qing subconsciously opened her mouth and took the grilled fish from Xiao Yu's tongs.

very delicious.

Xiao Yu, who was eating nearby, was also putting food on Ai Qing's plate while watching them chat.

After Ai Qing finished talking, Xiao Yu finally couldn't help but say, "Dad... um... Uncle is so amazing! I feel like he was right about everything he said about me! I did secretly observe my brother's expression at the time."

Ai Qing: "...Don't take it personally. He's just making wild analyses. Don't take it seriously."

"What about the date fund? We have money!" Xiaoyu said happily. "Two thousand yuan! We can buy so much, so much delicious food!"

"Okay." Ai Qing nodded helplessly. Since it was his father's good intention, he wouldn't refuse. "Then I'll just transfer the two thousand yuan directly to your WeChat account from now on. Consider it our living expenses."

"Any money left over each month can be considered your allowance."

"From now on, you can spend this money as you please. Buy whatever you want, as long as it's not something excessive, I won't interfere."

"Yay!" Xiaoyu jumped up happily, then bowed earnestly to Ai Zhongguo's WeChat profile picture on Ai Qing's phone and said, "Thank you, Uncle!"

Chapter 95 What clothes does Little Fish want to buy?

In the early hours of the morning, Ai Qing brought Xiao Yu down from the second floor of the barbecue restaurant.

When I went to pay the bill, the proprietress glanced at it and said, "It's already been paid."

"Huh? Who got married?" Ai Qing was stunned for a moment and asked subconsciously.

"He said he's your dad." The proprietress glanced at Ai Qing, then looked at the pretty little fish next to her, her face expressionless, but she was surprised.

Thinking to myself, parents are now going to such lengths, even personally overseeing their sons' dates.

Only after feeling that everything was alright did he leave alone, not only giving the young man ample time and space to be alone, but also taking the initiative to pay the bill.

They are truly worried sick about their child's future happiness.

Ai Qing naturally didn't understand what the proprietress was thinking at this moment; she only knew that she had earned more than a hundred yuan.

Since his father had already paid, he gladly accepted and headed home with Xiaoyu.

Not long after.

Two furtive figures appeared at the entrance of the courtyard.

Ai Qing stood outside the courtyard gate, peering inside. After confirming that no one was paying attention, she took out her key and tried to open the gate.

When they pushed the gate, they found it wasn't locked, but only half-open.

My dad is really thoughtful; he even left the door open.

Ai Qing made things easier for herself. After carefully pushing the door open, she pulled Xiao Yu into the courtyard.

Ignoring the six will-o'-the-wisps in the living room, Ai Qing and Xiao Yu quietly went upstairs and returned to their bedroom.

"Phew..." Lying on the bed, Ai Qing let out a long sigh of relief, "Finally back."

"Phew..." Xiaoyu lay down next to Ai Qing, touching her slightly swollen belly, "I'm so full."

Ai Qing lay down for a while, then got up and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

As for the small fish, there's no need to clean them.

Anyway, once you turn back into a kitten, your teeth will naturally return to a clean and fresh state.

Every time Ai Qing thought of this, she felt extremely envious of Xiao Yu.

A simple transformation solves all the cleaning problems; what a convenient skill!

I wish he could be like that.

"Go to sleep."

After brushing her teeth, Ai Qing felt sleepy.

After lying down on the bed, he covered himself with the blanket and said to Xiaoyu, "Goodnight."

Goodnight, brother.

Little Fish also burrowed under the covers and responded softly.

She disappeared very quickly.

A cat's head popped out from under the covers, nuzzled Ai Qing's chin, found a comfortable spot, curled up, and went to sleep.

……

5 month 12 day.

Ai Qing received her first novel royalties exceeding ten thousand yuan.

The royalties were over 15,000 yuan before tax, and after tax deductions, I received about 14,000 yuan.

Of course, this tax deduction of around 11% is similar to a pre-payment of tax, just a general estimate collected first.

The actual tax rate on royalties is not high. If the annual royalties are not particularly high, you can apply for a tax refund in March each year.

Therefore, the tax rate for most online novel writers is much lower than 11%.

Of course, those who earn millions a year are a different story.

However, this is far too far off for Ai Qing; she probably won't need to consider so much in her lifetime.

"Little fish, look, how much is this?"

Ai Qing showed the banking app on her phone to Xiao Yu, who was studying next to her, and couldn't wait to share her joy.

Xiao Yu happily put down her pen, turned around and went to Ai Qing's side to count carefully.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand." Little Fish counted her recent new learning achievements on her fingers, and finally exclaimed, "Wow!"

"How much is ten thousand?"

"Fourteen thousand!"

Xiaoyu counted on her fingers, then looked at Ai Qing, "Did I count correctly?"

"Yes, that's great." Ai Qing nodded in satisfaction. "Then you can continue your studies."

That won't do!

Having finally found a spare moment to not study, Xiaoyu quickly asked, "I remember, wasn't there 15,000 last time?"

"Oh, the missing portion was taxed."

"What is paying taxes?" Little Fish asked, her inquisitive spirit pressing for answers.

“Paying taxes means handing over a portion of your income to the country,” Ai Qing explained simply. “If everyone does this, the country will have a lot of money, which can be used to do many things that one person cannot do alone.”

"For example?" Little Fish asked, her face full of curiosity.

“For example, the cars we see every day drive on the roads, and these roads are part of the infrastructure planned by the state,” Ai Qing said.

"Think about it, if there weren't such flat and wide roads, no matter how good the quality of the car is, it wouldn't be able to drive, right?"

"For example, the subway we rode before was also planned and constructed by the state, with stations set up specifically in key transportation hubs, commercial centers, and large gathering places to connect various regions."

"These things require the country to have money to do."

The little fish nodded as if it understood but not quite.

Although she now knows that there are concepts such as "country" and "city", her understanding is still relatively vague and she cannot fully comprehend the underlying principles.

Ai Qing didn't expect her to understand everything at once. She just needed to learn a little bit each time, and eventually she would gradually form her own worldview.

Xiaoyu thought she was very smart, but Aiqing could see right through her. All those questions were just because she didn't want to study.

But that's okay, the fact that Xiaoyu asked these questions is itself a form of learning.

Moreover, this approach of accepting something less unpleasant in order to avoid doing something you hate is also a more efficient way of learning.

For example, Ai Qing has a similar habit.

He likes to put his phone a little further away before he starts typing, so that it's not within easy reach.

Then I put a few books that I've always wanted to use for study and reference next to my computer.