I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

He thought this to himself, but he replied aloud, "Oh, I understand."

"And then there's the living expenses..."

Upon hearing this topic, both siblings became serious, their faces showing anticipation.

Here it comes, the main event is here.

"As for living expenses, Da Bao gets 5,000 yuan a month, and Xiao Bao gets 3,000 yuan a month."

Chen Qi'an felt a pang of disappointment. "Why?"

"Dad is doing this for your own good."

"Dad, you clearly favor girls over boys."

"How about I reduce it to two thousand?"

"No, no, no, three thousand is fine." Chen Qi'an waved his hands repeatedly, reluctantly accepting the fact that he only had three thousand for living expenses.

Actually, three thousand yuan is enough to live on, but when he thought about how his neighbor Da Bao had five thousand, he felt uneasy.

"Um......"

Chen Shuo pondered, wondering if there was anything else he needed to tell him, but it seemed there wasn't.

Before I knew it, my two children were about to go to university. Sometimes I think about how fast time flies. I used to always want to find opportunities to spend time alone with my wife, like this trip we took this time.

But now the two children are leaving home, and they can only come back during summer and winter vacations.

Over the past ten years, memories have flooded back: the toddlers learning to walk, calling out "Dad" in their baby voices, and the silly things they did when they were so young and naive.

One thing after another, all of them rushed into my mind, then gradually disappeared, turning into the two grown-up children in front of me.

At this moment, Chen Shuo was truly reluctant to part with his father, and this emotion was reflected on his face. Chen Qi'an couldn't help but ask, "Dad, are you happy?"

"Dad is sad because he can't bear to leave you all."

"But you're laughing."

"You don't want your living expenses anymore?"

Chen Shuo had no choice but to pull out his trump card: how dare this brat question his father? He's gone too far!

In this society, the rich always reign supreme, and this principle applies to families as well; the rich still hold the power.

As long as he hasn't started working and hasn't earned any money, he has no choice but to obey, since his father holds the reins of the economy—although his wife manages all the money, in Chen Shuo's eyes, there's no difference.

His wife belongs to him, so naturally the money she manages also belongs to him.

“Oh, Dad, I can tell you’re very sad.” Chen Qi’an was very perceptive.

"Yes, I'm really sad." Chen Qinghan nodded in agreement. Although her father hadn't threatened her with living expenses, she might get a little more if she said that.

“Dabao is so sensible. He could tell at a glance that Dad was really sad. I'll give you an extra 500 yuan for your living expenses every month.”

"Dad, you're so good to me!"

"Dad, what about me?" Chen Qi'an couldn't help but rub his hands together, a gesture that made Chen Shuo frown slightly, feeling that this kid was like a fly.

"You don't."

"what?"

Chen Qi'an exclaimed, "Why? Just because I said you were laughing?"

"That's about right. Alright, everyone go back to your own business. I'll give you your living expenses on the day you leave."

Chen Shuo waved his hand, telling the two children to get lost. The siblings responded, and Chen Qinghan went back to her room to curl up on her bed and continue watching her favorite shows, while Chen Qi'an ran up to the rooftop. He had just stepped onto the stairs and hadn't even come out of the attic when he shouted loudly:

"mom!"

Bai Xiaoqi was watering flowers on the rooftop, her cheeks slightly puffed out. She had something in her mouth, and when she heard his loud voice, she turned her head and asked indistinctly, "What's wrong?"

"Mom, could you go and talk to Dad and ask him to give me a little more living allowance?"

"Lower, lower." Chen Qi'an was so tall that Bai Xiaoqi had to look up at him. She waved her hand downwards, signaling him to lower his body a little.

"Oh..."

Chen Qi'an simply squatted down, and the two switched roles. Now it was Bai Xiaoqi's turn to look down at him. She quickly chewed and swallowed the two pieces of candy in her mouth before asking, "How much does your dad give you a month?"

"Three thousand."

"Three thousand isn't enough?" Bai Xiaoqi frowned slightly. Although prices have risen a lot compared to twenty years ago, three thousand yuan a month should be enough.

"It's enough, but Mom, do you know how many babies Da Bao has?"

"How many?"

"Five thousand a month, no." Chen Qi'an held up five with his hand, then remembered something and held up five with his other hand as well. "Five thousand five a month, that's twice what I make."

Bai Xiaoqi thought for a moment and corrected, "You calculated it wrong. There is no double. Double three thousand should be six thousand."

"..."

Chen Qi'an was taken aback. "Mom, don't you think my dad favors girls over boys? He gives me three thousand, but only five thousand five hundred for Da Bao. I don't think that's fair."

"Yes, it is a bit unfair."

"Then why don't you ask my dad to help me out and ask him to raise the price a bit? Besides, I have a girlfriend, so my expenses are bound to be high."

"You have a girlfriend? Who? Qiuqiu?"

"Yes."

"Didn't you always say you were just friends?"

"We used to be friends, but not anymore."

Chen Qi'an scratched his head. Back when he was a high school student, or maybe a junior high student, dating would have been considered puppy love, so he just called them friends.

Things are different now. You can definitely date in college, and you're 18 years old, an adult.

In my father's words, you're all over eighteen now, so you need to be more careful in the future. You're old enough to be executed.

Seeing his reaction, Bai Xiaoqi seemed to understand something. She suspected that they had been dating before, but had been lying and saying that they hadn't. She and her husband had been deceived for so many years.

Oh, wait, it seems Chen Shuo wasn't fooled. Every time his son says that he and Qiuqiu are just friends, he scoffs at it.

It turns out I was the only one who was deceived.

"Okay, I'll talk to them for you after I've finished watering the flowers."

"Mom, you're so good to me!"

-----------------------

After a while, Bai Xiaoqi put down the kettle and came down from the rooftop. She went to Chen Shuo's side, patted his head first, and then asked, "I heard that you gave Da Bao 5,500 yuan for living expenses and Xiao Bao 3,000 yuan?"

Upon hearing the question, Chen Shuo glanced at Chen Qi'an, who was peeking out from behind her, and instantly understood that this kid had brought reinforcements.

"Are you here to act as a mediator for Xiaobao?"

"Yes, he asked me to talk to you and ask you to increase his allowance."

"That kid doesn't understand my good intentions at all."

"..."

Bai Xiaoqi was taken aback. "Is there a hidden agenda behind this?"

Chen Qi'an hid behind her, and because he was so tall, most of his body was exposed, but this still gave him confidence. He poked his head out and said, "What good intentions? Dad, you just favor girls over boys."

"You don't know anything. Giving you too much living expenses will affect your height."

"what?"

Chen Qi'an was stunned for a moment, then looked down at himself, "What does it affect my height?"

"It's easy for someone to break your legs."

"........"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qi'an shrank back. This was definitely a threat, roughly translated as: "If you dare to mention raising your living expenses again, I'll break your legs."

But he was really mistaken. The person who broke his leg was definitely not Chen Shuo. In fact, during Chen Qi'an's childhood, Chen Shuo had hardly ever beaten him up. Over the years, the number of times he had been beaten was very small.

But he still has a lot of psychological trauma about this father. He doesn't know much about other people's fathers, but his own father, despite his smiling face all day, is actually quite wicked.

In her own mother's words, he was full of bad intentions.

They're not the kind of person who's short-tempered and, if they get angry, will roll up their sleeves and beat you up. They don't swear much, and you can't even tell if they're angry; instead, they'll be all smiles.

But the more heartily he laughs, the worse he'll end up getting tricked.

Chen Qi'an was very experienced in this kind of thing; he had been doing it all his life.

"Mom, look at Dad, he even said he's going to break my legs."

"Don't talk nonsense. I didn't say I was going to break your legs." Chen Shuo picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, and explained with a smile, "I said it's easy for your Uncle Nie to break your legs."

"How could Uncle Nie...?"

As he spoke, a face involuntarily appeared in Chen Qi'an's mind: a face wearing gold-rimmed glasses, always calm, looking expressionless, as if devoid of emotion.

The thought of that face made his heart tighten inexplicably, and he paused for a good four or five seconds before asking, "What does the allowance have to do with Uncle Nie?"

“It’s a very big deal.” Chen Shuo pointed to the door over there. “If you don’t understand, just ask your sister. She’ll definitely know.”

"Oh, I'll go ask."

"Go ahead, go ahead, you'll understand your father's good intentions then." Chen Shuo was very confident; he truly had good intentions.

The living expenses are 5,500 yuan a month for his daughter and 3,000 yuan a month for his son. It seems like he favors girls over boys, but that's not actually the case. He just doesn't dare to give the boy too much.

As everyone knows, this guy has a girlfriend. Although we don't know how far things have progressed, it's common knowledge that besides delicious food, there are also many hotels and guesthouses near university campuses.

The customers of these hotels and guesthouses are mostly students from nearby universities, and every night, the place becomes a scene of constant gunfire.

If we give this kid too much living expenses...

As the saying goes, the economic base determines the superstructure, and another saying goes, one can only think about other things after one has enough to eat and wear. Three thousand yuan a month may seem like a little little in this era, but if it's just to meet daily needs, then it's more than enough.

Although the university I attended wasn't as well-known as Da Bao's school, it was still a prestigious university, and the characteristic of prestigious universities is that everything is cheaper.

The same applies to eating.

Three thousand yuan is definitely enough to live on for a month as long as you don't cause any trouble. You can even have some left over to buy clothes or occasionally go out to a restaurant to have a nice meal with Qingqiu.