Entertainment: A whirlwind marriage with a fairy-like mother at the start!

Li Ming walked very fast; before the exhaust fumes from the Audi A6 had even dissipated, he was already gone.

They were probably afraid that the man in the shorts would change his mind and raise the price.

A light, flimsy check appeared on the coffee table.

One hundred thousand.

Liu Qianqian stared at the paper, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. She didn't even bother to eat the half-eaten apple in her hand, which had turned yellow from oxidation.

"This... is 100,000?" She poked the piece of paper, feeling like she was dreaming. "How many ice creams could that buy!"

"Promising."

Yu Le rolled her eyes at Liu Qianqian, picked up the 100,000 yuan check between two fingers, and handed it to Liu Xiaoli.

"Take it."

Liu Xiaoli's gaze swept back and forth between the check and Yu Le's smug face.

Instead of getting the check, she walked to the sofa and bent down to tidy up the coffee table.

"Why should I give it to you? This is what you earned from selling songs; keep it for yourself."

The two made no connection whatsoever between the ownership of the money and Liu Qianqian, who sang the song.

After all, Li Qianqian was only fifteen or sixteen years old at the time.

You're just a kid, your parents will save it for you first.

Seeing that Wang Xiaoli didn't seem to be just being polite, Yu Le said, "I don't need much money. I'll save this money to buy some things for the house."

Liu Qianqian nodded frantically beside her, like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, yes! I want a TV with a DVD player!"

"Kids shouldn't meddle in adults' business." Liu Xiaoli glared at her daughter, then straightened up, threw away the trash in her hand, and turned to look at Yu Le.

Her still-charming face was filled with seriousness, even a hint of stubbornness.

"Xiao Yu, we agreed when we got our marriage certificate that I would be responsible for household expenses. Although I'm not super rich now, I can still afford to cover the costs."

Liu Xiaoli picked up the check and stuffed it back into Yu Le's hand, her movements resolute and leaving no room for doubt.

"This money was earned through your own abilities; it's your secret stash of money."

Yu Le was somewhat amused and exasperated when the paper was shoved back into his hand.

Are there still foolish women these days who would push money away?

"Besides," Liu Xiaoli sighed, her gaze falling on Yu Le's gray T-shirt, "look at you, you only ever wear these two pieces of clothing."

"You're a grown man, how can you manage without some money? From now on, when you go out to buy groceries, you can't always haggle over the price of those two scallions, can you? Isn't that embarrassing?"

Yu Le raised an eyebrow: "Picking up scallions is an art of living, you wouldn't understand."

"Fine, fine, it's art." Liu Xiaoli shook her head helplessly, turned and walked towards the kitchen. "The food's getting cold, let's eat."

Yu Le watched Liu Xiaoli's retreating figure and couldn't help but smile.

This woman is interesting.

He had secretly sold two of his old designer bags to raise money for Qianqian's tuition and clothing expenses, but now he's acting like a rich man here.

"Okay." Yu Le stuffed the check into the pocket of his shorts and patted it.

"Then I'll accept it for now, consider it as me living off a woman."

At the dining table, Liu Qianqian was engaged in a fierce battle with the plate of braised beef brisket.

Her eating manners weren't very elegant; there was still some sauce on the corner of her mouth.

Seeing Yu Le bring out another plate of spinach, the girl immediately protected the plate in front of her, as wary as a little wolfhound guarding its food.

"Leave me two pieces!" she mumbled incoherently. "I'm growing!"

Yu Le piled the spinach in front of her.

"Eat spinach. Aren't you afraid of gaining weight from eating too much meat?"

Liu Qianqian glared angrily, about to retort, when Yu Le snatched the largest piece of meat from her bowl with her chopsticks.

"Men are so fickle! When you first arrived, you always gave us your sausages!"

Yu Le pursed her lips.

"That's just because I don't like ham. Someone said they were going to lose weight back then, why aren't they doing it now?"

Liu Qianqian shouted angrily.

"Mom! Look at him!"

As Liu Xiaoli watched the two lively characters, one big and one small, battling it out, a tired but gentle smile appeared on her face.

She picked up her chopsticks, but didn't eat much meat; she just picked at the spinach.

Yu Le chewed on his beef, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Liu Xiaoli's left foot under the table.

There was a plaster on the ankle of that foot, and the edges were already curled up a bit.

These are old injuries from dancing.

In order to earn more money by teaching more art exam preparation classes, she has been standing for more than ten hours a day, and her legs must have been swollen long ago.

The beef in my mouth suddenly didn't taste so good.

Yu Le is indeed a lazy bum who wants to lie down, but he's not a vampire.

Having spent my past life struggling in the world of fame and fortune, I've seen countless fake couples who abandon each other when disaster strikes.

Women like Liu Xiaoli, who are exhausted themselves but still try to maintain their family's dignity, are practically rare.

This "soft rice" (a euphemism for being a kept woman) is a bit hard to swallow.

..........

The next morning, the sky over Beijing was overcast, carrying a sense of desolation typical of late autumn.

Yu Le got up very early.

He stuffed the 100,000 yuan check into his shorts pocket, put on his flip-flops, and sauntered out the door.

Liu Xiaoli went to school, and Liu Qianqian went to school.

With no one home, it's perfect for him to do some "splurging" things.

He has made up his mind.

Even when you're lying down, you should lie down in a high-quality way.

You should at least ensure your quality of life before you start taking a break.

He originally thought that he was a rough man, so he could lie down however he wanted and he wouldn't starve no matter what he did.

Now that he's stuck with this mother and daughter, he really can't bring himself to let them support him.

These days, only a fool would put 100,000 yuan in a bank to earn interest. Buying a house is a sure thing, but the cycle is too long and the return is too slow.

To achieve true financial freedom, you still need that thing.

Yu Le hailed a red Xiali taxi.

"Driver, go to the nearest Galaxy Securities branch."

The driver glanced through the rearview mirror at the passenger in the back seat, who was wearing an old gray T-shirt and shorts, and whose toes were still twitching.

Looking at him, he doesn't seem like someone going to trade stocks; he looks more like someone going to a brokerage to enjoy the air conditioning and sneak a roll of toilet paper.

"Okay, sit tight."

The car sped off to Chaoyangmen.

The large signboard of Galaxy Securities gleamed in the sunlight, and many Santanas and Passats were parked in front of it.

Yu Le paid the fare, stomped on his two-yuan flip-flops with a loud clatter, and swaggered inside.

Just as the security guard at the door was about to reach out to stop him, Yu Le pulled the check out of his pocket, held it between two fingers, and waved it in front of the guard.

The security guard swallowed back the words "No entry for those not properly dressed," and instead gave an awkward but polite smile, and even had to help open the glass door.

There's no way around it, money talks.

Even if this old man is dressed like a bathhouse attendant who just came out of a bathhouse.

The hall was bustling with noise.

An air thick with the smell of cheap tobacco, sweat, and anxiety rushed towards me.

On the huge electronic display screen, red and green numbers jumped wildly.

This was during the great bear market of 2002. The market had plummeted so much that it was unrecognizable, and the screen was filled with green, which made people feel uneasy.

The investors were all ashen-faced, some huddled together cursing, others staring blankly at the stock market as if flowers could bloom on it.

Yu Le found an empty counter and slapped the check there.

"Open an account."