Su Ying recalled those absurd questions she’d once asked and said, somewhat sheepishly, “It’s nothing really. I was just curious how many tens of thousands it would take to live comfortably. Then I saw online that people say it takes tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, so…”
Su Ying didn’t know how to describe her current state of mind.
Su Jiayu’s voice was calm and measured: “For me, two million is enough. I don’t earn much, and my daily expenses aren’t high, so two million is sufficient. As for what you’ve seen online, perhaps they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, or perhaps they earn a lot and spend a lot; naturally, the amount of money needed to ‘lie flat’ would be higher for them.”
Su Ying was still puzzled and muttered under her breath, “But surely it can’t be that different…”
From a million to ten million—though it’s just an extra zero, it’s not the same as the difference between tens and hundreds.
Su Jiayu laughed. “What’s the big deal? It’s just uneven development. The rich are incredibly rich, and the poor are incredibly poor. Neither group can imagine the other’s life—just like how I nearly got labelled a ‘student from a low-income family’ back in university.”
“Eh?” Su Ying’s mouth dropped open in shock, unable to believe it. Su Jiayu was, after all, the single child of a prominent family in Chun City. His father worked in the civil service, his mother was a university associate professor, and by the age of 25 he already owned a house and a car. Now he was a civil servant working directly for the city government. On social media, where standards were so high, he was someone who enjoyed priority when it came to choosing a partner. Even if he hadn’t had all these accolades during his university days, surely he couldn’t possibly be associated with being a student from a low-income background?
Su Jiayu: “Because, as far as my flatmates are concerned, if you can’t get your hands on the latest, top-of-the-range Apple devices straight away, if you can’t go on an overseas trip whenever and wherever you like, if you can’t go to watch the World Cup or the NBA live, and if your family doesn’t own a large flat or a mansion in the city centres of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen, then you’re just an ordinary person. Someone like me—who doesn’t even have a passport, eats in the canteen all day, stays cooped up in the dorm playing games instead of travelling, uses an Android phone and doesn’t even own a pair of AirJs—is already the poorest person in their eyes.”
Su Ying fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words.
Finally, she asked from an unexpected angle: “So, did you apply to be classified as a student from a low-income background?”
“No, I didn’t apply.”
Su Ying breathed a sigh of relief. If even she hadn’t been classified as a student from a low-income family, how could she possibly bear it if Su Jiayu had been?
“I wish I’d applied. In the end, I realised every single one of those students was richer than me—using Apple and DJI gadgets, with their social media feeds full of posts like ‘Youth has no price’ or ‘Concerts and music festivals’!”
Su Ying found herself at a loss for words, yet Su Jiayu’s words did go some way towards lifting the gloom that had been weighing on her heart.
Clutching her mobile, Su Ying chuckled softly, tapping the paper box of chips with her fingers now and then.
“There, there,” Su Jiayu reassured her. “Don’t let those online comments get to you. Just live your own life. Besides, is everything you read online necessarily true? I could just as easily claim my dad’s the richest man in the provincial capital, that he needs eight bodyguards whenever he goes out, and that our household water bill alone runs into the thousands every day. After all, when you’re out in the world, your identity is whatever you make of it.”
“Mm-hmm,” Su Ying replied repeatedly, a faint smile already curving her lips without her realising it.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Hanging up the phone, Su Ying let out a long sigh and patted her flushed cheeks: Senior Brother was right; living her own life to the fullest was what really mattered.
Even if this five million really, really, really wasn’t enough to live comfortably, she could simply look for a job paying three thousand a month once she’d spent it all.
With that thought, Su Ying instantly cheered up. She happily grabbed her suitcase and hailed a taxi to the hotel.
Su Ying had booked a budget chain hotel via a group-buying app; three nights came to just over 700 yuan. Only after booking did she realise that, compared to the rates she’d seen earlier before switching cities, this price would have been enough to book a comfortable hotel under the same group in her hometown of Chun Cheng.
Although people in Chun Cheng often say that living costs there are on a par with the provincial capital, prices here in the provincial capital were still a tad higher.
This was actually Su Ying’s first time staying in a hotel. The lobby was clean and bright, featuring a bar and even a bookshelf. Although it wasn’t as opulent as in the TV dramas, it matched her image of what a hotel should be like.
Su Ying took the room key from the receptionist, along with three breakfast vouchers bearing the dates.
The young lady at reception had her hair tied back neatly: ‘Your room is on the 7th floor. The laundry room and restaurant are on the 2nd floor; the restaurant is open from 7 am to 10 am.’
Su Ying was a little taken aback. A laundry room, too? How luxurious!
She took the key card, found the corresponding room and opened the door. As she inserted the card into the slot, the room instantly brightened.
Su Ying immediately closed the door and engaged the security latch before taking a closer look around the room.
The entrance hall was narrow, with a coat rack to the left and a full-length mirror to the right. Taking a step further in, she could see a 1.8-metre-wide bed wedged between the three walls on the left, with a television mounted above the foot of the bed. Directly opposite her, against the right-hand wall by the window, stood a small table and a chair; on the table were a kettle, tea bags and a bottle of mineral water, whilst an air-conditioner hung on the right-hand wall. To the right was a frosted glass door; opening it revealed a washbasin directly ahead, with the shower cubicle to the left and the toilet to the right.
The entire room was probably only about 15 square metres, but though small, it had everything one needed.
Su Ying switched on the air conditioning, took off her coat, and lay sprawled on the bed. Perhaps because she had got up so early that day, or perhaps because she had been running about so much, Su Ying fell asleep to the hum of the air conditioning’s warm breeze.
When she woke up again, rubbing her eyes, it was already pitch black outside. Almost instinctively, she picked up her mobile; Su Jiayu had sent her a message three minutes earlier.
[Senior: Are you online tonight?]
Su Ying’s head was still a bit fuzzy, so she replied, “No, I won’t be.”
She added, “I’m back home and didn’t bring my computer with me.”
Su Ying wasn’t used to lying, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
[Senior: Right, then I’ve done your daily tasks for you.]
Su Ying hurriedly replied, “Thank you, Senior.”
Only after sending it did she remember that Su Jiayue had lent her 5,000 yuan earlier. Almost without a moment’s hesitation, Su Ying transferred the money back to him immediately.
She wasn’t used to being in debt; otherwise, she wouldn’t be scrimping and saving so much to pay off her student loans.
When Su Jiayue saw the transfer, he looked momentarily puzzled and sent a question mark.
【Junior Sister: Thanks for your generosity last time, Senior Brother. I’ve come into a bit of money recently and thought straight away to pay you back, hehe.】
Su Jiayu chuckled softly, didn’t press the matter, and tapped ‘Accept’.
Su Ying breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing ‘Received’, and was secretly glad Su Jiayu hadn’t asked where the money had come from.
It’s a weight off her mind to be debt-free.
Su Ying stood up and stretched her limbs in the somewhat cramped room. After just a few stretches, however, a wave of hunger washed over her. She recalled that the only proper meal she’d had all day was at McDonald’s that afternoon; afterwards, the comments on the social platform had put her off her food, leaving much of it uneaten.
It was certainly about time she felt hungry.
As was her custom, Su Ying first collected her discount voucher before opening the food delivery app. Glancing at the dazzling array of restaurants and dishes on the screen, she decided to treat herself once again.
Since she hadn’t had her fill at McDonald’s this afternoon, she’d order some fried pork chops. But they didn’t come with a free side? Well then, she’d add a portion of sweet and sour sweet potato fries.
These were merely snacks; they wouldn’t fill her up. She’d better order a spicy hotpot as well! Octopus, beef rolls, prawns, five-spice beef, beef tripe… whatever was pricey, she’d go for it. She ordered all the expensive dishes she’d previously been too stingy to try.
What if the chilli in this spicy hotpot is really fiery? Let’s order a milk tea to cut through the heat. I’ll go for Heytea—I’ve heard it’s absolutely delicious, but I’ve never tried it because it’s so pricey. Shall we give it a go?
Milk tea is sweet—shall I get something else to balance it out? I’ll go for some braised snacks then. Juewei Duck Neck is delicious—I’ll have some of their black duck necks and duck heads, plus their signature edamame…
After all that, the dinner bill came to over a hundred yuan. In less than ten minutes, she’d spent her entire day’s wages, and Su Ying was instantly taken aback.
She hurriedly checked her bank text messages and saw that the last one still started with a 5 followed by seven digits; only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Su Ying muttered to herself: ‘I’ll just treat myself once, just this once. I’ve won the lottery—a whole 5 million yuan—so treating myself to a takeaway costing over a hundred yuan is perfectly normal, isn’t it?’
Reassuring herself in this way, Su Ying soon cheered up and waited contentedly for her takeaway.
She ended up waiting for over forty minutes. If she’d ordered in Chun City, even though her rented flat was in a relatively out-of-the-way neighbourhood, delivery would usually take no more than half an hour. How could delivery efficiency be so poor in the provincial capital?
Su Ying hurriedly checked the estimated arrival times for each order. The latest one was actually over an hour away, and yet these orders weren’t particularly far from the hotel.
Su Ying couldn’t help but remark: “Truly a big city, isn’t it? I just wonder if the food will be stone cold by the time it arrives, given how freezing it is.”
When the first delivery call came through, Su Ying felt a wave of relief wash over her, her eyes welling up with tears. The delivery driver politely informed her that the food would be delivered by a robot.
Su Ying perked up instantly. She opened her door a crack, wanting to see how the robot would deliver her meal.
After waiting a few minutes, a rubbish bin glided smoothly into the corridor, its lights flashing alternately as it made its way towards Su Ying.
Su Ying watched in amazement as this ‘rubbish bin’ stopped right in front of her door, turning 45 degrees to face her.
Su Ying curiously examined this delivery robot, which looked just like a rubbish bin. There was a ‘Tap to Collect’ prompt on the electronic screen on top. She tapped it, and the hatch in the middle of the robot instantly opened, revealing a takeaway meal resting quietly inside.
How sophisticated!
Just what you’d expect from a big city!
After retrieving her meal, Su Ying pressed the button to close the hatch. To her surprise, the robot actually said ‘thank you’ to her! It then glided smoothly off towards the lift.
How sophisticated!
Just what you’d expect from a big city!
Su Ying was instantly intrigued. She didn’t even bother opening her meal, instead eagerly awaiting the robot to deliver her next few orders.
How convenient! Just what you’d expect from a big city!
By the time all the takeaways had arrived, the little table was absolutely heaped high.
Sitting at the table, Su Ying gazed at the dazzling array of delicacies before her, rubbing her hands together with excitement. At last, she was living the good life.
She put her phone away and focused entirely on the feast spread out before her.
For some reason, she suddenly recalled a line she’d once come across on a short-video platform:
“Is what you call ‘a proper feast’ just buying a family-sized portion of grilled cold noodles at the night market and then grabbing a 4-yuan lemonade from Mixue Cold Drink?”
Su Ying used to scoff at that. Come on, who on earth buys a 4-yuan lemonade? She always got them on group buys for just over 2 yuan!
But today was different. This spread had cost her over a hundred yuan—that certainly counted as a proper feast!
The fried pork chops were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; the spicy hotpot was fiery and aromatic; and the milk tea was absolutely delicious.
Everything was polished off.
Su Ying felt thoroughly satisfied with this meal. She rubbed her round, full tummy, feeling as though she’d been transported back to her university days, when she used to go for buffets with her flatmates.
The 49.9 yuan buffet, with all sorts of meatballs and processed meat, where the only fresh thing was the vegetables. Even so, they’d enter and leave leaning against the walls, always determined to get their money’s worth.
She let out a satisfied belch, every pore in her body feeling utterly content.