Chapter 30: The End of the Road
When everyone heard Su Hexi's words, they realized the seriousness of the matter. Su Hexi was completely beyond their control.
Someone immediately softened their attitude, "Coach Su, we're not unreasonable just because of money..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Su Hexi interrupted her, "Get out of here now! Hurry up and leave! I won't use any of you anymore!"
Su Hexi disbanded the model team on the spot, ignoring their surprise and subsequent pleas. But after her impulsiveness, she felt a greater sense of emptiness and anxiety. Recruiting and training new models would take time, and time was precisely what she lacked the most!
Zhou Lin brought her some water for foot washing. "You've been tired all day. Soak your feet and you'll feel comfortable before you sleep."
Su Hexi took a deep breath and stopped thinking about those troubles. The Winter Solstice show was still over two months away. The last show she'd prepared took only a month. Once she'd mastered the techniques, working overtime should be enough to make something special. After soaking her feet, she went to bed and rested well.
The next day, Su Hexi continued to work at the textile factory.
During the break, the female workers gathered together to chat and eat snacks, deliberately laughing loudly, but they isolated her.
"Hey, have you heard? Some people have lofty ambitions but fragile lives!"
"If you ask me, our Sister Jinglin is the most honest one. She and Zhou Lin have been friends since childhood. If it weren't for some shameless capitalists interfering..."
These words were like a needle, piercing Su Hexi's ears. She subconsciously pricked up her ears.
Another female worker chimed in, her voice lowered but just loud enough for her to hear: "Zhou Lin used to take care of Jinglin! He helped with all the heavy chores around the house, and always gave her the best food! Everyone said they were a perfect match! If that old man from the Su family hadn't forced his granddaughter on Zhou Lin and forced him to marry her... maybe they'd have a child by now!"
"Keep your voice down! Stop talking! It's just a trivial matter from several years ago!" Someone pretended to dissuade him.
"That's right! You stole someone's man, and now you're trying to steal their job? You're so shameless!"
Those malicious gossips were like cold needles, piercing Su Hexi's heart. She had been concentrating on learning the skills, but now she couldn't help but be moved by these words.
Were Zhou Lin and Cai Jinglin childhood sweethearts? Did everyone think they were a couple? Did Zhou Lin marry her because of his grandfather's pressure?
Although she had never accepted Zhou Lin, when she heard these details with her own ears, she inexplicably felt a sour and uncomfortable feeling in her heart, and a kind of rejection and disgust that she herself was not even aware of was quietly growing.
It turns out that Zhou Lin still has a first love in his heart. Then who is he pretending to be so obsessed with her?
In the afternoon, the machine she was responsible for had frequent problems and production was far behind schedule.
Cai Jinglin, the team leader, came over to check. She looked at the record book with a frown on her face and a cold tone: "Su Hexi, what's going on? The output is so low, and the defective rate is so high! This is seriously affecting the team's progress! If this continues, I will have no choice but to report it to the workshop!"
There were a few gloating sneers coming from all around.
Su Hexi was at a loss for words. She knew she was being framed, but she had no evidence. Exhaustion, grievance, and the inexplicable irritation she felt after hearing about Zhou Lin's past all combined to make her almost breathless.
After finally getting off work, she dragged her heavy feet back to the tailor shop, feeling more tired than if she had been sewing on the sewing machine all day.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw Zhou Lin standing there with a guilty look on his face. He stammered and told her that there was a problem with the venue, the rent had skyrocketed, and the stage was also destroyed...
The negative emotions accumulated throughout the day completely erupted at this moment!
She looked at Zhou Lin, who seemed to always feel guilty but unable to solve practical problems. She thought of the ridicule and difficulties posed by the women in the workshop, and the "beautiful past" of Zhou Lin and Cai Jinglin that was "broken up by herself". All her anger and resentment finally found an outlet!
She slammed the tool kit to the ground, her voice shrill, filled with disappointment and anger: "Zhou Lin! How can you be so useless! You can't even handle such a small matter! What's the use of me having you! You resent me and are doing this on purpose, right? What exactly do you need to do to get this done?!"
The words were like a knife, and Zhou Lin's face turned pale instantly. His lips moved, but he couldn't say a word. He just lowered his head deeply and clenched his fists.
The owner of a corner of the square he had originally agreed to rent suddenly changed his mind and either refused to rent it or raised the rent to an astonishingly high price!
When part of the stage he had worked so hard to build was forcibly demolished on the grounds of "illegal construction", he tried to communicate everywhere but was met with resistance everywhere. It was obvious that someone was obstructing him.
"I'm sorry... I'll go out early tomorrow morning to find a solution..."
"What can you think of! What else can you do?" Su Hexi was so angry that his chest heaved violently, letting the cold and desperate atmosphere spread between the two of them.
The next morning, the landlord of the tailor shop came to the door and handed over a new lease agreement, tripling the rent! The reason given was that "the surrounding area had appreciated in value"!
"Either sign it or move out within three days!" The landlord's attitude was extremely tough.
Su Hexi completely understood that this was Tang Yuelin's combination of punches! From fabrics, manpower, venues to her foothold, he was tightening the noose step by step in all directions!
Faced with skyrocketing rents, the cost of rebuilding the stage, and the expenses of recruiting new models... she was penniless and had truly reached the end of her rope.
There was no fabric, the factory was upset, the model team was disbanded, the venue was gone, and the store was about to be lost... and the date of the Winter Solstice show was approaching, but she hadn't even made a decent piece of clothing.
All kinds of worries and huge pressures were like mountains, pressing heavily on her shoulders, making her breathless.
Looking at the table full of unrealizable design drawings, and the empty shop that would soon no longer belong to her, the pressure of being deliberately targeted, and the fear of failure... an unprecedented sense of despair and collapse, like an icy tide, completely drowned her.
She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders trembled violently, and finally she couldn't help but let out a long-suppressed, desperate sob.
Tang Yuelin appeared.
"Miss Su, why do you push yourself so hard?" He said in a low, beckoning voice. "Don't you understand the rules of this circle? Strength alone isn't enough; you need someone to protect you. If you're willing to stand by my side, I'll handle all these problems for you. Not only that, I'll devote all my resources to pushing you to a higher level. Your ambition and talent shouldn't be trapped in this kind of boring internal friction."
Su Hexi's face turned pale and she clenched her fingers: "Director, I told you, I'm married and I have a husband."
Tang Yuelin chuckled, as if he had heard an insignificant excuse: "What can he give you? Will he be a burden to you? Just divorce him, it's that simple."
He took a step closer, his eyes blazing as he gazed at her, a rare hint of genuine vulnerability visible. "I admire you, not just for your beauty, but also for your unyielding spirit. It's just like me back then. Be with me, and the bet between us will be voided immediately. I can give you everything you want. I can help you realize your dreams."
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