Chapter 1
It was past seven o'clock on the evening of New Year's Eve when Xue Mi finally finished the last bit of work at hand, turned off the computer, and left the company.
Everyone in the company had left long ago. She was the last one there. She turned off the power and found that even the security room outside was empty.
Everyone went back home to celebrate the New Year.
She didn't notice it when she was in the company, but when she came out, she found that it was snowing heavily. The white snowflakes were rolling in the wind, so dense that they almost covered her eyes.
It was already impossible to get a taxi by then and the bus had stopped running. Fortunately, the house she rented was not far from the company and it only took her 20 minutes to walk there in the snow.
Xue Mi pressed down the hat on her head, tightened her down jacket, and then rushed into the vast snow.
Most of the shops on the street were closed, but the lights in the residential buildings were lit up sporadically, and a warm feeling shone through the foggy glass, which made the biting wind and snow outside seem even more chilling.
The house Xue Mi rented was a typical old and run-down apartment located in an old residential area. Usually the area was quite quiet, but on New Year's Eve, it became lively, with the aroma of food and the warm atmosphere of the New Year everywhere.
Unfortunately, all this has nothing to do with her.
Xue Mi was not an orphan, but her parents divorced when she was about three years old. According to the older generation, her mother abandoned her husband and daughter and went abroad. Since then, there has been no news from her and no one knows whether she is alive or dead.
Her father remarried soon and had another daughter not long after. Xue Mi, the burden, was sent to the countryside. When she was a teenager and the elderly people in her hometown had passed away, she was brought back to the city.
Her father didn't care much about his daughter. Her stepmother was not a bad person, but she couldn't get close to her, the daughter from his ex-wife. The family of three lived in harmony. Xue Mi was like a rude guest, sandwiched in the middle, feeling awkward and abrupt.
Especially during festivals, the feeling is more obvious.
After entering university, Xue Mi often made excuses for working part-time or overtime, and rarely went home for the New Year. She only sent some money back home regularly as a way of giving back to the people who raised her.
They didn't ask much, probably because they thought it would make things easier for both sides.
As soon as she returned to the rental house, Xue Mi habitually turned on all the lights in the room.
This is a small apartment with one bedroom and one living room, a kitchen and bathroom. It is simply decorated and the rent is not expensive, making it perfect for single people to live in.
The TV in the living room was included when I rented the house. It had a small screen and the picture quality was not very clear. Its only advantage was that the volume was loud, so loud that it was even a bit noisy.
Xue Mi quite liked this kind of noise. She turned on the TV and went to the kitchen to cook herself a small hot pot. The ingredients were all in the refrigerator. She just washed and cut them and threw them into the pot. She then added some hot pot base and it was a hot meal.
Just at this moment, her cell phone rang. Xue Mi lowered her eyes and found that it was her aunt calling.
Xue Mi forced herself to smile, happily answered the phone, and wished her aunt Happy New Year.
But the other side couldn't help but sigh: "Mi Mi, I heard that you didn't come back this year. If you don't want to go to your dad's place, you can come to your aunt's place to celebrate the New Year. You'll be lonely there, and your aunt will be worried."
Xue Mi's voice was still cheerful: "Aunt, I'm fine here. I have my boyfriend with me."
"Oh, yes, yes, you have a boyfriend," the aunt's voice suddenly became cheerful, "I remember you two have been dating for several years, have you talked about getting married? When will you bring him back for me to see?"
Xue Mi smiled embarrassedly: "It's still early. When there is news, I will definitely tell you first."
The two chatted on the phone for a while before hanging up.
Xue Mi and her aunt have always had a close relationship. Compared to her biological father, it was her aunt who took care of Xue Mi more. Even most of her college tuition was paid by her aunt.
But as soon as she hung up the phone, the smile on Xue Mi's face disappeared again.
It’s true that she has a boyfriend, but getting married...it’s probably going to be difficult.
Xue Mi and her boyfriend Jiang Zhendong have been dating for almost 7 years. They have been together since their freshman year and their relationship has been relatively stable. Their classmates also think that after graduation, they will definitely be the couple who will get married the fastest.
Unfortunately, everything changed after I started working.
At first, Jiang Zhendong just used the excuse of being busy with work, and the number of dates he went out for became less and less.
Later, we even called less frequently, and every time I called, I would hang up in a hurry without even bothering to say a few more words.
This time when he went back to his hometown to celebrate the New Year, he didn't even ask Xue Mi a single question. He just sent her a text message and then there was no news from her again.
Xue Mi actually knew that there had been problems in their relationship for a long time.
She was actually not unprepared for this kind of thing.
In the first half of the year, Xue Mi accompanied Jiang Zhendong to meet the Jiang family's parents. That visit was not very pleasant. Xue Mi clearly felt that she was not the kind of daughter-in-law that the Jiang family wanted.
Since then, the two have had several quarrels and were almost on the verge of breaking up.
Dating is a matter between two people, but once it comes to marriage, the things involved become much heavier.
As a victim of an unhappy marriage, Xue Mi was not prepared to really face the challenge, but after all, they had been together for quite some time, and Xue Mi had been thinking about how to end this relationship in a dignified manner.
She continued to cut vegetables on the chopping board. Steam was bubbling in the small pot next to her. Festive music was coming from the TV in the living room, making the room seem less deserted.
At this moment, the cell phone rang again, and the caller ID showed only one word: "Jiang".
Xue Mi hesitated slightly.
Based on her understanding of Jiang Zhendong, it was unlikely that this call was to send New Year's greetings.
The possibility of breaking up is quite high.
Xue Mi wasn't going to go so far as to pester him, she just felt that it was a bit disappointing to talk about breaking up on New Year's Eve.
Despite thinking this, she still answered the phone.
A hesitant male voice came from the other end of the phone. He first exchanged a few random pleasantries, but his words were incoherent and he never got to the point.
At this moment, a middle-aged woman's voice floated over from the other side, urging in dialect: "Didn't you promise me to break up with that girlfriend as soon as possible? Otherwise, you won't be able to explain to Xiao Wang."
"Xiao Wang has so many good conditions. She is pretty, has a good job, and her family can help you. In every way, she is better than your ex-girlfriend who is not presentable."
The sound clearly reached Xue Mi's ears.
Jiang Zhendong first covered the microphone in anger, but finally sighed.
"You also know that my family has always disapproved of our relationship..."
"My parents have been introducing me to potential partners for a while now... I have always refused them, but recently I met a girl who is very nice to me and, more importantly, can help my career..."
"You know how much pressure I have at work, but you can't help me relieve my anxiety at all. That girl is different. Her father is the director, and she has an uncle who is a senior executive of the company..."
"We've been together for so many years, and you know how I feel about you. I really don't want to let you go, but...
Xue Mi listened to the endless chatter on the other side with an expressionless face, and suddenly felt nauseous.
She has realized that her boyfriend of seven years treats her as a backup.
This bastard has already started dating before we even broke up.
He only formally proposed to break up when he was about 80% sure that his blind date was with him.
Xue Mi had actually heard some gossip before, but she didn't take it seriously. After all, he was her boyfriend she had been dating for many years, and even if they were preparing to break up, Xue Mi didn't think he would be so dirty.
I never thought that I really overestimated the other party's moral bottom line.
Because the disgusting feeling brought by this incident is even worse than the breakup itself.
Xue Mi almost vomited.
Have I wasted all these years on dogs?
And he's just a cheap dog.
"Then let's break up and don't contact each other anymore."
After the phone call was hung up, Xue Mi couldn't help but exclaim "Wow" and spit into the trash can.
She felt nauseous and sad, and the intense discomfort turned into sour water, rising up in waves and making her stomach twist into a knot.
Even so, Xue Mi still did not forget to turn off the fire, and then continued to vomit into the trash can, as if she wanted to vomit out everything in her stomach, including the feelings and memories of those years.
She vomited like this for about half an hour before she finally stood up dizzy and sat back on the small sofa in the living room. When she looked up, she saw a clown figurine that Jiang Zhendong had given her last year standing on the TV cabinet, giving her an exaggerated smile.
It was like watching another clown.
That nauseous feeling came back again.
Xue Mi didn't care about the discomfort in her body. She stood up and swept all the messy things into the trash can.
It's hard to let go of 7 years of time completely.
While she was cleaning up the garbage inside and outside, her cell phone rang again.
Xue Mi took an impatient look and found that it was actually a foreign number. That long string of numbers looked particularly fraudulent.
She was feeling annoyed and had no mood to deal with scammers, so she hung up the phone without hesitation.
Unexpectedly, this scammer was so persistent and called again in a blink of an eye.
Xue Mi reached out her hand and was about to hang up again, and turned off the phone.
The moment her fingertips touched the screen of the mobile phone, her brain seemed to be electrified, and all of a sudden, she saw hallucinations one after another.
The content of the hallucination was actually his own tragic death:
She saw herself alone in the rental house, feeling sad all night, unable to eat or sleep well, and having to go to the company early the next morning to continue working overtime.
Since she wasn't going home anyway, Xue Mi had already grabbed a spot to work overtime during the New Year holidays. After all, not only would her company triple the salary, but there would also be extra bonus envelopes. There was heating, and not much to do, which was better than watching TV at home alone in every way.
Office slaves have no right to throw themselves into a fight over a broken heart. Compared to men, money is obviously more lovely.
With red and swollen eyes, Xue Mi, who had been cleaning the house all night, forced herself to stay awake and set out on the snowy road to work.
As a result, just after going downstairs, she accidentally slipped on a section of icy road. Xue Mi watched the back of her head hit the steps heavily, and then she lay there motionless.
A few hours later, I was finally found lying on the ground by someone who had just left the house. Unfortunately, I was already dead.
The last scene Xue Mi saw was that bastard pretending to cry in front of his former college classmates, and said to Xue Mi that it happened because of a small misunderstanding between the two of them and he couldn't think it through at the time.
Misunderstanding! I'm just doing this for overtime pay!
Xue Mi's eyes widened instantly, and just as she was about to put her hands on her hips and curse, the phantom disappeared in a flash. It seemed like a long time had passed, but it also seemed like less than a second.
Xue Mi suddenly came to her senses and found herself still standing in the living room with a pile of messy garbage beside her.
She subconsciously touched the back of her head and felt that the death in the hallucination was really frustrating.
What’s more important is that it lets the scumbag act like a romantic, which is even more frustrating.
So, just now... was that an illusion, or did she really see her future?
Xue Mi felt confused and couldn't think clearly for a moment, but in the face of a life-and-death crisis, problems like breakups and heartbreaks all became trivial matters.
She sat back on the sofa with a lingering fear, but the cell phone continued to ring.
Xue Mi reached out her hand cautiously and touched the lit screen of her mobile phone again.
Nothing happened this time, but I accidentally answered the scammer's call.
I don’t know if I will be charged for answering such a weird call... Xue Mi couldn’t help but think about it, and still put the phone to her ear.
There was a male voice with a strange accent on the other end of the phone, asking if it was Miss Xue. He said that he was a lawyer from a certain law firm and the purpose of his call was to confirm with her the ownership of an inheritance.
I didn’t expect the fraud system to have such a great influence that even my information was sold abroad - Xue Mi couldn’t help but sigh.
As for the talk of inheritance, Xue Mi didn't believe a word of it.
It's just hanging her with a big piece of cake and then tricking her into giving it money.
Unfortunately, Xue Mi lacks everything now, especially money.
However, because of the hallucination just now, her mind was in a mess and she had no interest in exposing the liar's tricks. She just said a few "hmm" and "hmm" and was about to hang up the phone.
As for what the other party said about visiting me tomorrow... what the hell? Look at the heavy snow outside, who would believe that!
To be honest, Xue Mi admired the other party's dedication and professionalism. On New Year's Eve, instead of staying at home to celebrate the holiday, he was diligently making a fraudulent phone call.
It can be seen that this business should be quite profitable.
Until the other party said a name that was a little unfamiliar, but still firmly remembered by Xue Mi: "Because most of Ms. Mi Yaqiu's inheritance is abroad, some procedures are more complicated and require you to go abroad in person to handle them. I wonder when it would be convenient for you to leave?"
A few years ago, when watching TV, my aunt pointed at the heroine on TV and laughed: "Your biological mother has the same surname. I know so many people, but I have only seen one with this surname. But her name is quite common, Yaqiu."
That was the first time she heard her mother's full name since she was a child.
As for now, it’s the second time.
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