Ultimately, Li Jing successfully increased An Tong's car budget.
Because An Tong has been helping Li Jing manage short video accounts recently, increasing her workload significantly, Li Jing immediately decided to give her a raise, adding ten thousand to her monthly salary.
Back in September, Li Jing paid An Tong six hundred thousand in one go, and now, after five months, Li Jing transferred the seven thousand increase for the remaining seven months to her.
An Tong understood that this was Li Jing indirectly giving her money for a car. She initially insisted on not accepting it, but Li Jing mentioned that he would also sit in her car in the future, so her car couldn't be too shabby.
This reasoning made An Tong unable to refute, and she had no choice but to accept Li Jing's money in the end.
Staring at the transfer record on her phone, An Tong bit her lip slightly. She raised her head to look at Li Jing driving, her emotions complicated as she said, "You keep giving me money , I'm at a loss on how to repay you."
Li Jing glanced at An Tong and noticed her complicated expression, smiling as he said, "Don't worry, I don't give money out randomly. I give it because you're worth it; if you weren't worth it, I wouldn't give a penny more."
Upon hearing this, An Tong's gaze moved slightly, staring at him dazedly: "Am I really worth all this money you're spending on me?"
"Of course not, unless you think I have money but nowhere to spend it?"
Li Jing smiled at An Tong, pinching her delicate white chin as he grinned: "I use money to buy sincerity, and I think it's worth it. Do you think you're sincere with me?"
As soon as the words were out, An Tong's answer came out impulsively.
Li Jing was very satisfied with her response and continued driving as he said, "See, since you've given me your sincerity, I feel spending this money is quite worthwhile."
An Tong wanted to say more, but she didn't know how to express her inner thoughts.
She was different from Zhang Xinxin and others. Her values never allowed her to accept Li Jing's gifts without concern. She always felt she needed to provide enough value.
That's why she always went all out to help Li Jing with various things, striving to fulfill her role as an assistant, which allowed her to accept the high salary Li Jing gave her with peace of mind.
As for the Patek Philippe watch Li Jing bought her, she only wore it when going out with Li Jing, keeping it stored carefully at home most of the time.
In her heart, she always considered the watch as Li Jing's gift, so she should return it whenever he needed it, rather than treating it as her own.
This thought allowed her to convince herself to wear that expensive watch.
Originally, she had been working hard to enhance her value, barely achieving an inner balance.
But now, Li Jing had given her a raise again, once more disrupting her inner balance between her value and monetary income.
Noticing that An Tong was truly caught in a complicated emotional conflict, Li Jing raised his eyebrow, surprised at how much this mattered to her, thus he spoke again:
"If you're still conflicted, why don't you just think of yourself as my girlfriend? I don't need a reason to give money to my girlfriend, do I?"
An Tong was slightly startled. Although she and Li Jing already had a relationship, this was the first time Li Jing acknowledged her as his girlfriend.
So when this term appeared, circles of ripples couldn't help but rise in An Tong's heart, causing her heartbeat to speed up slightly.
But she quickly realized that it was impossible for her to truly become Li Jing's only girlfriend, creating a flicker of disappointment in her heart.
She swiftly adjusted her mindset, seemingly understanding something. She turned to look at Li Jing earnestly, appearing especially solemn as she said, "Li Jing, I know what my value is now."
Hearing this, Li Jing was puzzled, unsure of what she meant, glancing at her.
An Tong took a deep breath, her eyes filled with firmness and sincerity as she began, "I've decided not to consider any possibility of marriage for the rest of my life."
"Not getting married?"
Li Jing was a bit confused about how this related to him.
"Yes, I used to have some fantasies that if you didn't want me anymore, I might save enough money to possibly try and create a family for the rest of my life."
An Tong's eyes appeared exceptionally genuine and determined: "But now I think it's not sincere enough to you. Because it would make me imagine life after leaving you, subconsciously leaving a way out for myself.
But now I've decided that whether or not you want me in the future, I will not marry and will always be your assistant.
If one day you find this assistant not good enough, you can dismiss me anytime, but as long as you need, I will always be there. Because this is all the value I can provide."
After listening, Li Jing's heart mildly staggered, unable to resist pulling over, staring in surprise at An Tong seated in the passenger seat.
He furrowed his brow slightly as he said, "Do you realize what you're saying means you're giving your future life to me? Do you think it's worth it for this money?"
From Li Jing's perspective, the money spent on An Tong wasn't way beyond hundreds of thousands, which couldn't buy a lifetime.
But for An Tong, it wasn't calculated that way.
She looked at Li Jing with sincerity and honesty: "If calculated strictly by money, I'm indeed not worth it. But my life goal was originally to find a man and settle down in Celestial Sea City.
Now I've acquired the opportunity to buy a house and settle in Celestial Sea, while also finding a man I deeply like.
I've almost achieved my life's goal, and moving forward, I just want to live the life I desire. And the life I want is to be with you."
Li Jing silently looked at her exquisite, determined face, and suddenly realized her words sounded like a heartfelt confession.
Yet, in this confession, An Tong had no demands from Li Jing, it was all one-sided giving.
Amidst the quietness between them for a while, Li Jing finally spoke: "Are you sure you won't regret this? Being with me might mean growing old alone."
An Tong bit her lips lightly, then nodded resolutely: "No regrets. I've already understood. Since my previous life goals are achieved, my new life goal is to be with you."
After listening, Li Jing remained silent for a while, finally reverting to his usual relaxed demeanor, shaking his head: "I didn't expect you'd still be in love mode."
"What, is being love-brained bad?"
"No, it's quite good."
Although Li Jing couldn't promise An Tong could really not get married forever, in all the girls he interacted with, An Tong was undoubtedly the most sincere and trustworthy.
None of the promises she made had been broken.
Feeling her heartfelt intentions, Li Jing shrugged: "Since you said it , I'd feel bad not giving you something."
"What are you giving?" An Tong was puzzled.
Li Jing restarted the car: "I'll buy you a car. Your watch is worth hundreds of thousands; why couldn't you afford a car?"
"Oh no, really no need, you..."
"Don't fret. Just think of it as a girlfriend's gift from me."
An Tong blinked in astonishment, gradually widening her beautiful eyes: "What do you mean by that?"
Li Jing glanced at her: "Don't overthink it. I just acknowledge you as my girlfriend. But there'll surely be more in the future; you should understand I'm a scumbag."
"Am I your... girlfriend now?"
An Tong didn't hear the latter part of Li Jing's words; perhaps she didn't care about those words at all.
At this moment, her mind was only filled with Li Jing's saying "you are my girlfriend"...
Then, she restrained her excitement, grabbed Li Jing's arm, unable to resist asking: "Have you confirmed any girlfriend relationships with others?"
Li Jing thought for a moment: "Other than the ex-girlfriend I mentioned to you before, it seems I haven't clearly confirmed a girlfriend relationship yet."
"Then I'm your first since quitting your job?"
An Tong's cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling with joy, a visible expression of happiness spread across her exquisite face, followed by a pleasant and inexplicable laughter.
Seeing this, Li Jing glanced her up and down: "What, gone silly?"
"Nothing, just feeling very happy."
An Tong leaned back in the passenger seat again, staring at the azure sky with a face full of bliss and contentment, her smile beaming: "I feel today is my happiest day."