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A woman in China posted on social media her husband's take home salary in the investment banking industry as a humblebrag, causing a flurry of internet searches and social media chatter, and resulting in her spouse being suspended at work.

The woman put up her post on Xiaohongshu, aka Little Red Book, an app that's akin to the Chinese equivalent of Instagram, on July 28.

The salary slip showed a monthly salary as high as RMB 82,500 (S$16,889).

The China International Capital Corporation (CICC) logo could be seen on the slip.

On its website, the CICC describes itself as China’s first joint-venture investment bank.

The wife included her own take when she shared the photo of the pay slip.

She wrote: "The income level of my husband born in 1993, so is this considered our matrimonial asset?"

Husband relatively young

The wife also posted a photo of the two of them and wrote: "Every day I am spoiled by my trader."

It subsequently transpired that the husband was suspended by the company and being investigated, although the real reason was not disclosed, according to Sina.com.

However, the report further elaborated that salary and compensation are highly sensitive issues, and any public revelation will upset the system in place that is meant to keep such matters confidential.

Sina.com also reported that based on multiple sources of information, the husband is a trader born in the 1990s who joined CICC in 2019.

Moreover, his wife is apparently also in the securities industry.

The incident has sparked a flurry of responses on Weibo, with the topic reaching 37th place on the list of trending topics, and accumulating more than 63 million reads on July 29 alone.

Responses

Initial responses to the wife's post were mostly surprisingly good-natured, as those who commented said they felt anxious for her husband.

Many said a salary of this range is normal for someone in this profession, and commented that this taught them not to reveal their wealth to others.

Another said the only problem with revealing one's wealth is the fear of antagonising those who earned less.

Others who commented said such a revelation would prompt them to ask prospective marriage partners if they use Xiaohongshu.

Under the current "Common Prosperity" theme in China that is aiming to reduce inequality and redistribute fungible resources, it has become more taboo to flaunt wealth openly.

Sina.com reported that to their knowledge, companies have imposed guidelines on what employees can publicly flaunt in a bid to rein in ostentatious displays of wealth.

These guidelines include the type of car one can drive and the type of watch one can wear.

Top photos via Sina.com