Romance-seeking man in China cancels date after she sends him list of future expenses should they marry, have children
- Pair meet via dating agency, meet once, he thinks she is ‘the one’
- She insists he learn about cost of living, accuses him of ignorance
The experience of a man in China who was astounded when a woman he had just met sent him a detailed list of future family expenses, has gone viral on mainland social media.
The 35-year-old man, surnamed Wang, lives in Hangzhou of Zhejiang province in eastern China, and works as an administrator at a state-owned enterprise, the news portal Toutiao News reported.
Wang is 1.8m tall, owns two flats in the city, and earns about 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) a year, according to the report. His profile ticks all the boxes for what is considered an eligible husband on the mainland.
At the beginning of this month, he was introduced to a woman a year younger than him via a matchmaking agency.
They met in person and chatted happily, which made Wang feel he might have found true love.
However, that evening the woman sent him a Word document with the title “Family’s Normal Daily Expenditure List”.
The checklist covered all the outgoings they could expect if they lived together, including utilities bills, groceries, transport, socialising, clothes and gadgets.
It estimated they would spend a combined 9,900 yuan (US$1,400) a month on “fixed expenses”.
In addition, there would be ad hoc expenses, such as paying for their parents’ medical bills and for raising a child if they have one, the woman said.
She said it was necessary to show the man a clear statement of potential outgoings because he currently lives with his parents and has no idea how much daily necessities cost.
“She said we will face plenty of challenges that need to be solved with money. She encouraged me to double my salary to 200,000 yuan per year,” Wang said.
He said he was astonished when he received the woman’s list and that reading it made him feel exhausted.
“I am yearning for a simple and pure love, instead of a life full of calculation and comparison,” Wang said.
He had another failed dating experience last year when a woman said she did not want to sleep in the same bed or have sex with him if they married.
Unusual dating news often captivates mainland social media.
In January, a woman in central Hubei province reported to police that she was raped by a man she had consented to share a hotel bed with for the night.
They met on a dating app and she agreed to go to the hotel to test the man’s powers of restraint.
