Chapter 49
The sound of her turning her body made Susan stop moving. She asked cautiously, "Ah Qing, are you still asleep?"
Pei Qing paused, then opened his curtains and looked at her, "What's wrong?"
Susan looked very happy to see that she responded.
She tiptoed to Pei Qing's bed. The narrow bed could only accommodate one person, and it would be a bit crowded for two people.
But it didn't affect Pei Qing's position. She moved slightly towards the wall to make some space.
Susan's voice was very excited, as if she had encountered something very worthwhile. "I found a job that pays well."
Hearing her words, Pei Qing was a little skeptical, "What job?"
"The front desk at the Audley Hotel. I heard the night shift is $1,000 a month."
One thousand knives, this was something Pei Qing had never thought of.
Of the four part-time jobs she had held before, only the one the owner of the small restaurant paid the most, thirty dollars for three hours.
The other three together cost less than twenty dollars.
It is barely enough for my living expenses and rent in a month. If I want to go to some law firm for an internship, it is still far from enough.
To be honest, Pei Qing was a little moved.
But she was still very clear that there was no free lunch in the world.
If she was just a part-time receptionist, it would be impossible for her to be offered such a high salary. There must be something she doesn't know.
So she looked at Susan and asked, "Apart from these, is there anything else?"
Sure enough, after hearing her words, Susan sighed, "I knew it was impossible to hide it from you. Here's the thing: I have a boyfriend who's a VIP client of the Audley Hotel. I begged for this position, and it might involve some drinking duties. Of course, if you can drink, the commission is very high."
"Just drinking?" Pei Qing asked.
"right."
This time, Susan answered with certainty.
If it was just about accompanying him to drink, Pei Qing could still consider it.
"But I don't drink."
"Not being able to drink is another bonus. Just accept that."
"When can we go?"
Pei Qing had already made some decisions in her mind, but she couldn't let Susan see her thoughts.
"As soon as possible, of course."
"Okay. I'll think about it." Pei Qing nodded. "But why would you date a boyfriend like that?"
She had some understanding of Susan's family background. She used to be a rich lady, but later her family fell into poverty.
Hearing her question, Susan sighed, "You know. My family used to have a little money. But since then, we haven't had much. But at home, I am the one who has the final say. I don't have any concept of money. I always think that money is endless. This has also cultivated my habit of spending money lavishly..."
Her words stopped abruptly here.
Pei Qing understood her unspoken meaning and asked, "Can't you also take a part-time job yourself?"
Hearing this, Susan laughed out loud as if she had heard some ridiculous joke. It was unclear whether her laughter was self-deprecating or something else. "Why do you think I can work part-time?"
"I'm different from you. You must have worked part-time before. I've never experienced the hardship of making money. I didn't experience it before, and I certainly won't in the future. My parents gave birth to me to enjoy a good life. Even if they're in trouble now, I believe they'll be able to make a comeback one day. I actually worked part-time before, but it was too hard. I couldn't imagine working so hard all day and only making so little money. How did you guys manage to stick with it? I think if you can persevere, you'll succeed in whatever you do in the future."
Susan's words were full of confidence, as if her future was bright.
"Then...what if there isn't one?"
Susan seemed to have heard something strange and looked at her with a puzzled look on her face. "If you can't make a comeback, then we can get married. Anyway, I won't starve to death."
Then let’s get married.
These four words completely left her at a loss for words.
Pei Qing opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she asked the question she wanted to know most: "For people like you, even if you fail, do you still have marriage as a trump card?"
Susan thought for a moment. "Actually, you're not wrong. A marriage alliance can minimize a family's losses. And the price is just my marriage."
"But don't you find it very oppressive to be in a marriage where you have no say? You have to listen to the man in everything. And if there's an illegitimate child..."
Having said this, Pei Qing suddenly stopped, realizing that she seemed to have said too much.
However, Susan didn't take her words to heart. "Doesn't every wealthy family have illegitimate children? Some have illegitimate children while married, while others don't even have children outside of marriage. Are illegitimate children rare?"
"Wouldn't this...divide the family fortune?"
"Huh? Divide the family property?" Susan laughed. "If the man doesn't want to, and just put all the assets into a trust fund, then even if there are a million illegitimate children out there, they can't take a penny from the legitimate children. If the man is willing, how much do you think the legitimate children will get?"
“…”
"Everything depends on the individual." Susan saw she was silent and thought she was speaking too high-soundingly, so she patted her shoulder and said, "But don't worry. After all, not all rich second-generations are like me, a hopeless piece of mud. There are still some elites."
Hearing her words, Pei Qing couldn't help but laugh. "Then give me an example of someone who qualifies as the 'elite of the rich second generation' you mentioned?"
She originally just made a joke, but unexpectedly Susan started to think seriously about it.
"In fact, those rich second-generations in Beijing are all elites."
"The capital?" Pei Qing was stunned.
"Yeah. Those families in the capital. For example, the Qiao family, the He family, the Kang family, and the Shang family. It's hilarious! We often joke that these four families are the four major families in Dream of the Red Chamber. Aside from the different surnames, everything else is the same."
Hearing this familiar surname suddenly, Pei Qing couldn't help but ask, "Is the Qiao family... really that powerful?"
She has always known that Qiao Ye is very powerful, but she has no idea how powerful Qiao Ye is. After all, her father is really a very successful businessman.
"You're kidding! The Qiao family is the head of the four great families. And the current head of the Qiao family can be said to have built his fortune from scratch. Although his father-in-law certainly had a hand in that, not all sons-in-law can achieve such a feat. And, his daughter Qiao Ye, wow... that's the 'other people's child' my father always talks about."
Pei Qing twitched her lips dryly, trying to smile, but even she felt that the smile was extremely ugly.
I simply turned around and faced the wall. "It's getting late, and I have classes tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll go back now."
The surroundings became quiet, but she did not feel sleepy at all. She could only stare at the wall in front of her and count the cracks on it.
As she said, she and she are not from the same class.
Even if Susan had fallen from the previous class, she was still not someone she could reach.
What’s more, he is someone like Qiao Ye?
Perhaps originally, contacting Joe without permission was the worst mistake she had ever made.
While she was lost in thought, she slowly fell asleep.
*
The bizarre dreams made her sleep a little uneasily, and sometimes she would dream about her childhood.
For example, her mother.
She didn't have many memories of her mother, and the few times she did remember her were just pieces of information she heard from other people.
Grandma said that my mother was a troublemaker who didn't give birth to a son and spent so much money on them.
But the neighbor said that my mother was a gentle woman, and she loved her very much, so she changed her name for her.
But she thought, if her mother were still alive, she wouldn't have such a hard time at home.
But when the neighbors heard her words, they just shook their heads.
Later, as time passed, she saw Qiao Ye again.
But this time she was not as condescending as before. Instead, she extended her hand to her and said with a smile, "Have you had enough fun outside? Let's go home."
Let's go home. These five simple words filled her eyes with tears.
She hurried over to her side.
Just as he was about to put his hand into hers, he suddenly found that the figure in front of him suddenly disappeared.
The surroundings changed again, and she saw the woman sitting on the throne like a queen.
She swung the goblet in her hand and looked at her with disdain, "What did I ever say to you?"
As she spoke, she placed the wine glass on the armrest, slowly walked down from the throne and came to her side.
"You can't leave me now, can't you?" The woman said with disdain, "It's not easy working part-time out there, is it? Exposed to the wind and sun, and insulted by others. Why don't you bow your head to me, and I'll take you back?"
She had a lot of words in her mind when she saw them disappear without a trace in an instant.
Pei Qing's expression was stern. "Your actions disgust me. I will never associate with someone like you."
"Oh?" The woman stroked her chin with interest. "Really? Then I'll be waiting. I hope you can do what you said today."
Before she could say anything, an anxious voice came to her ears, "Ah Qing, Ah Qing..."
What followed was that her body seemed to be shaken violently.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Susan with eyes full of worry.
Seeing her wake up, Susan breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you woke up. Your alarm went off, but no one turned it off. I thought something was wrong with you..."
Only then did she hear her alarm clock still ringing tirelessly.
He quickly turned off the alarm and looked at her apologetically, "Sorry, sorry. I'm sorry for disturbing everyone."
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't you have classes in the morning? It's almost time."
"Okay. Thank you." Pei Qing nodded hurriedly, then washed up and left.
Her brain had not yet fully awakened, still carrying the aftereffects of those chaotic dreams.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
