Better deal with the immediate problem first

"Better pay off the credit cards first!" After countless thoughts raced through her mind, Chi Qing finally decided to bow to reality. What if no more money came in tomorrow? Better be practical for now.

Chi Qing had previously earned a decent income, so she had bought two apartments in Cloud City on her own with low down payments, one around 90 square meters and the other around 50.

Cloud City was a third-tier city, so housing prices were not high to begin with. Chi Qing's district was also relatively unpopular, and she had bought during a market slump, so both apartments had been very cheap, at around 4,000 yuan per square meter.

Chi Qing had originally planned to live in one and rent out the other, or keep it for her parents, who lived in the village, to retire in later.

But she had never expected the sudden upheaval. Real estate had become a sunset industry practically overnight, with numerous property companies imploding and widespread layoffs and pay cuts sweeping the industry.

Although Chi Qing's company had not imploded, it had still laid people off and imposed substantial pay cuts, leaving everyone fearing for their jobs.

The mortgages on Chi Qing's two apartments had suddenly left her struggling to breathe, so her credit card debt had kept growing. On top of that, her five-year relationship had not only wasted her time but also cost her a considerable amount of money.

Only after the breakup had the easygoing Chi Qing thought to tally things up. She had never paid attention to it in daily life, but without realizing it, she had subsidized her partner to the tune of over 100,000 yuan. Only then had Chi Qing faced the fact that she had been a love-brain. Still, Chi Qing had always believed that her so-called love-brain had merely meant giving her sincerity to the wrong person. Having met someone unworthy, she could only count herself unlucky.

At that thought, Chi Qing opened her various credit card apps and made early repayments one by one. She had also wanted to transfer a few tens of thousands to her parents, but then worried that sending money to them might not count as spending it. So, apart from treating others to a meal, Chi Qing used her entire first bonus to pay off her credit cards.

A crisp "ding" from a text notification made Chi Qing, who had already been watching TV with her mind in turmoil, jump up and quickly open her phone. "A bonus of 200,000.00 yuan has been credited to your account. Your account balance is 200,000.00 yuan." It was exactly midnight.

"Aaaaaah!" Chi Qing could not help bouncing up and down on the sofa, though she had to keep her voice down to avoid disturbing the neighbors. It had finally arrived, and the apprehension in her heart finally settled.

"The beneficiary's first bonus has been fully spent in accordance with the rules, earning a score of 1.0. The amount credited is 100,000 × 2 × 1.0, for a total of 200,000," the system's voice announced.

"System, system, does transferring money to my parents count as spending it?" Chi Qing hurriedly asked when she heard its voice.

"Outright gifts to others count, but the beneficiary may not reclaim or spend the gifted amount, and the amount may not exceed 10% of the daily amount. Otherwise, it will be considered invalid. Returns generated by investment transfers belong to the beneficiary," the system replied.

Oh, that's pretty well thought out, Chi Qing thought, then immediately asked another question. "Do I have to wait until midnight every day before I can go to bed?"

The system rolled its eyes. "The beneficiary does not need to wait. Bonuses will be credited automatically, and system notifications will automatically contact the beneficiary upon waking."

Chi Qing was completely reassured. This was simply perfect. That night, although she had thought she would be unable to sleep, Chi Qing had the best night's sleep she had had in quite some time.

The next day was the weekend. The first thing Chi Qing did after getting up was open her phone and count the digits in her account balance on her fingers over and over again. Then she called her parents and told them she would be coming home that afternoon.

After a quick wash, Chi Qing could not wait to get into her little Focus and race off to the shopping mall in the city center.

Charge... I can finally shop, shop, shop!!