Bai Ye swallowed hard, his body trembling uncontrollably, and said in a trembling voice, "Sister Qingyue, I...I really don't want to be a gigolo!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. She glanced at Bai Ye and said coquettishly, "So you think you're capable of supporting your older sister?"

Bai Ye immediately felt embarrassed. He smiled awkwardly and quickly waved his hand to deny it, saying, "No...no, Sister Qingyue, please don't misunderstand!"

Just kidding. Sister Qingyue is a young woman who has already become a female CEO. Her assets are immeasurable, while he himself is just an ordinary person with no special abilities. He will probably only be able to work in a factory to make a living in the future.

How could a guy like him possibly have the ability to keep a girl as a mistress?

Seeing Bai Ye's flustered appearance, Xia Qingyue couldn't help but find it a little funny, and at the same time, she felt a bit of goodwill towards his honesty and naivety.

So she nodded in satisfaction, then reached out her slender hand and gently placed it on Bai Ye's cheek, stroking it tenderly, and whispered:

"Since that's the case, then you'd better be prepared to be taken care of by your older sister. As long as you have your older sister in your heart, your older sister guarantees that you'll never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of your life and will live a carefree life."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ye's expression instantly turned bitter. To be honest, if one could truly live a life free from worries about food and clothing without having to do anything, it would indeed be a very tempting thing.

However, at the same time, he felt a tremendous pressure deep inside.

Perhaps it was due to his chauvinistic mentality, or perhaps it was due to his strong sense of self-esteem, but in any case, he felt a deep-seated aversion to being kept by a woman.

Of course, perhaps Bai Ye's thinking will change after he has truly experienced the harsh realities of society.

Maybe by then, he'll just want to lie down and enjoy life comfortably, and won't want to work hard anymore.

The reason he has not yet bowed down to the five pecks of rice is that he has not yet encountered the difficult times of not having enough to eat or being strapped for cash.

However, it is foreseeable that when faced with hunger, cold, and desperation, even if one is unwilling, one will probably still have to bow one's head when necessary.

This can be seen as a helpless surrender, or as a flexible response.

After all, only by ensuring one's own survival can one have the opportunity to try to turn the tide and change everything around them. If even basic livelihood is difficult to maintain, then all desires and pursuits are nothing but unattainable luxuries.

After drying Xia Qingyue's flowing hair, Bai Ye never mentioned the betrothal gifts again.

He knew that if he brought up the topic again, Xia Qingyue would most likely use the dowry as an excuse to refuse.

For a wealthy female CEO like Xia Qingyue, a bride price is something that is dispensable, and she naturally wouldn't care about it.

However, what worries Bai Ye is the attitude from her parents.

It is well known that online today, countless couples about to get married have had their plans thwarted at crucial moments due to issues with dowry, causing them to turn from close relatives into bitter enemies. Such cases are not uncommon.

Bai Ye himself loathed dowries. In his eyes, dowries were no different from selling daughters, which was utterly abhorrent. Two people who truly loved each other had no need to rely on dowries or other external things to maintain their relationship.

But nowadays, marriage is more about saving face; the more dowry a woman receives, the more face she gains.

People often believe that if a woman marries a very wealthy man, her future life will be incredibly wonderful.

This idea seems to have taken deep root, even reflected in the choice of wedding cars at weddings today. Those luxury cars lined up in a row seem to be announcing to the world the newlyweds' wealth and status.

However, reality is not always so ideal. For example, there are two couples who have known and loved each other for a long time and know each other's family situations very well.

When faced with the major life event of marriage, some people choose to rent expensive luxury cars to decorate their image and try to create a luxurious atmosphere, but in reality, it's just putting on a show.

In today's society, marriage is no longer just a pure celebration of love; it has gradually evolved into a materialistic form.

Bai Ye felt this deeply. He didn't think the so-called ceremony was sacred or inviolable. On the contrary, in his eyes, it was more often than not just vanity built on money.

Speaking of Bai Ye's parents, they also came together because of an arranged marriage by their elders.

The emotional foundation between the two is almost negligible, or even negligible.

The only reason they maintained this marriage was because of Bai Ye and his sister; they worried that the children's childhood would be shattered by their parents' divorce. So, they reluctantly stayed together.

Over the years, Bai Ye was fully aware of the nominal state of his parents' relationship. Sometimes, he even secretly hoped that his parents could bravely separate and each pursue their own true happiness.

After all, it's exhausting and unnecessary to constantly pretend to be harmonious in front of children.

He never exposed them, because he was the demon who bound their actions, the biggest burden in their hearts. He feared what life would be like after their hypocritical facade was torn away.

(Marriage is a very disappointing thing. The above paragraph is my personal experience and my feelings. I called my mother today. She is basically alone at home. My sister works in another place, and my father is probably still out there.)

When I called her, she was all alone. I really felt that my mom was so lonely. I wanted to talk about my dad, but I didn't have the right to say that because my dad also works very hard. I have never disobeyed him. In real life, I am a quiet person and don't have much to talk about with my dad. In addition, my sister and my mom are of the opposite sex. No one understands the bitterness in my dad's heart.

He is the pillar of the family and arranges many things. He has no time to complain. I have worked with him and seen him bowing and scraping in front of the boss, forcing a smile, so I understand his pain.

Actually, my family has had many misfortunes growing up. When I was in the second grade, our house caught fire. The machine on the first floor exploded because the power was still on. We escaped by climbing from the outdoor air conditioning unit of our neighbor's house on the third floor to their house.

My dad smashed the window with his bare hands, and it was covered in blood. I was in second grade at the time, and I will never forget how my dad dragged my mom and me to the neighbor's house.

My house burned down back then, and I borrowed money from people and accumulated a lot of debt, but I paid it all off later.

Then, when I took my first exam in my senior year of high school, which was at the end of the first semester in Zhejiang, the pandemic broke out, and everyone was taken home to take online classes.

At that time, my mother was infected with the epidemic, and it was very serious. While others had fevers and such, my mother was like someone with Alzheimer's disease. She couldn't recognize us at all, and I couldn't even remember who she was.

Later, I went to a large hospital in Hangzhou for treatment. At first, the doctors didn't know what was wrong. It took them more than half a month to find out that it was caused by the epidemic, which led to some kind of brain problem.

That was the first and last time I saw my dad cry.

At that time, I was left at home alone because of the first exam, while my dad and sister went to Hangzhou to be with my mom.

Then I basically couldn't sleep well every night, and for two or three months I was all alone, cooking for myself and taking online classes by myself. The novel's description of the protagonist being able to cook isn't entirely unfounded, because I cooked for myself for those two months, and I do know how to make simple dishes.

At that time, I was thinking about whether I should drop out of school and go out to work.

At that time, my sister had just graduated from university and was still taking the teacher recruitment exam, which meant she was not receiving a salary. I figured since I was destined to only attend a junior college anyway, I might as well let my dad focus on raising my sister.

Because my mother's condition had not improved at all at the time, I felt that it would be better to spend the money on my mother and sister rather than on me.

Fortunately, my sister also passed the teacher certification exam and got a stable job, while I'm still a good-for-nothing.

Thankfully, my mom recovered and regained consciousness in the end, otherwise I might have really dropped out of school and gone to work.

My mother fell ill close to the Lunar New Year. I felt no joy during the New Year; every year brings misfortune. The year before last, my mother was seriously ill, and this year my maternal grandfather passed away.

Fortunately, my sister's workplace is not far from home, and my mom picks her up almost every week, so at least my sister can spend more time with my mom.

Life is such a mess. If my family didn't have to worry about money, there wouldn't be so many problems.