Chapter 146 Coffee Machine
In the shared second bedroom on the third floor of an old residential building in the east of the city.
Yu Ling sat in a cold metal folding chair, her back straight. In front of her lay a cracked laptop, its screen densely packed with the third draft of the next quarter's promotional plan for the Xinghai platform.
Overturn and start over.
Overturn it again and start over again.
Zhao Lan's face of humiliation in public, Gu Qianqian's vicious satisfaction, the landlord's roar of "Get out of here, poor bastard", the glaring "3.87" in the account and the humiliation of 3,600 yuan nailed by the "Sugar Frosting Loan"... All of these became fuel, burning wildly in the furnace of her heart called "proving herself"!
She needed a win.
A resounding and irrefutable victory!
A victory that can bring Xinghui to a new level and completely crush all the doubts and ridicules!
Only in this way can she get rid of the label of "bankrupt chairman" and the suffocating stigma of "president's wife" under the shadow of Zhao Chen, and truly possess the dignity and value that belongs to "Yu Ling"!
Time passed by with the sound of keyboard tapping. The hustle and bustle of the old residential area outside the window had long since died down, leaving only the occasional cries of wild cats in the distance, adding a bit of loneliness and depression to the late night.
The cramps in her stomach, like a thorn in her flesh, mixed with a tremendous sense of exhaustion, washed over her tense nerves like a cold tide. Her vision went dark, and her temples throbbed.
No...I need to cheer myself up.
Yu Ling's eyes swept over the cheap coffee machine on the corner of the table, a scratched shell and a broken plug she'd found at a second-hand market. It was her only "luxury," a comrade who kept her going through countless late nights.
She struggled to her feet, her steps unsteady. From a worn cardboard box in the corner, she fished out the last small bag of discounted instant black coffee powder from the supermarket. She tore it open and carefully poured it into the coffee machine's equally scale-covered filter. She then pulled a plastic bucket from under the bed. It contained the rather murky tap water she'd collected that afternoon from the public tap. She scooped a little and poured it into the water tank.
Plug in the power supply.
Press the stagnant start button.
The coffee machine made a dull humming sound, as if it was about to fall apart, and the heating lamp lit up dimly.
Yu Ling leaned against the cold wall, closed her eyes, and rubbed her throbbing temples vigorously, waiting for the familiar bitter aroma of cheap coffee to pull her out of the chaos.
A few seconds later.
“Buzz—Puff!!!”
Suddenly, a strange, fart-like sound emanated from the coffee machine! Immediately afterwards, a stream of boiling hot liquid, carrying the rich aroma of caramel and rich milk foam, spurted out from the spout!
The boiling hot liquid poured with great force and precision into the mug with the company's logo printed on it that Yu Ling had just placed under the spout, ready to receive the coffee!
It’s not the bland, black instant coffee you expected!
But... a cup of distinct layers, dense milk foam, and rich caramel sweetness and the mellow aroma of premium coffee beans - Caramel Macchiato?!
The golden caramel sauce is poured on the snow-white milk foam like a work of art, and it even ripples slightly!
The rich, inextricable sweet aroma instantly filled the small room, powerfully dispelling the bitter, sour aroma of inferior coffee powder!
Yu Ling's eyes snapped open, her pupils constricting. She stared intently at the priceless caramel macchiato that had appeared out of nowhere in her mug, as if she had seen a ghost. Then she glanced sharply at the shabby coffee machine that was still humming faintly, as if nothing had happened.
A chill instantly rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
Zhao Chen!
Is this you doing this again?!
You even took a broken coffee machine?! And you're reminding me of the existence of "interest" in this way?!
The huge sense of absurdity and the suffocating feeling of being monitored from all sides, mixed with the anger, humiliation and grievances that had been pent up for days, erupted in her chest like a volcano!
"roll!!!"
A shrill, tearful scream erupted from Yu Ling's throat! Like a madman, she grabbed the scalding, fragrant caramel macchiato on the table and, with all her might, smashed it hard against the worn-out coffee machine!
“Bang—crash—!!!”
The sharp shattering sound exploded like thunder in the dead of night!
The mug slammed hard against the coffee machine, shattering instantly! Like raging magma, the scalding coffee and milk foam, mixed with ceramic shards, splattered everywhere! The scalding liquid splattered on the back of Yu Ling's hand and forearm, causing a sharp sting! It also splattered the wall, the floor, and the suitcase at her feet!
The coffee machine was knocked to its side, emitting a few weak "hissing" sounds before shutting down completely. The air was filled with a sweet and messy smell of caramel, coffee, and broken ceramic pieces.
The huge noise was like a bomb dropped into the deep water in the silent corridor!
“Bang, bang, bang!!!”
Immediately, there was an angry, drum-like banging on the door downstairs! Accompanied by the landlord's rude and violent roar that penetrated the floorboards:
"The guy upstairs! Are you looking for death?! You're tearing down the house in the middle of the night?! What are you throwing?! You're disturbing my sleep! Pay me! Five hundred dollars! Cash! Now! Right now! Send it down to me! Or you'll get out tomorrow!!!"
"Pay me money!"
"cash!"
"Get lost!"
Every word was like a red-hot iron, burning Yu Ling's heart!
She looked at the mess of coffee stains, milk foam, and porcelain shards on the floor, looked at the reddened skin on the back of her hand, and listened to the life-threatening roar downstairs...
The grievances, anger, helplessness and deep despair that had accumulated over the days, like a cold tide, completely drowned her in an instant!
She could no longer hold on, her body trembling violently, tears pouring out like a flood! She leaned against the cold wall, slowly sliding down to the ground, hugging her knees and burying her face in them, her suppressed sobs echoing in the narrow room.
It’s over…
Everything is over...
Even the last bit of modesty will be taken away...
Five hundred yuan… Where would she get five hundred yuan in cash? She had already spent the 3,600 yuan loan from Sugar Frost…
Just then—
“Knock, knock, knock.”
There was an extremely light yet unusually clear knock on the door. Unlike the landlord's rudeness, it was deliberately polite and cautious.
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