Episode 35 Poor Man
Jiang Shu was sitting at the round table on the terrace, silently watching her every move, holding in his hand the evidence of her crime that she had hidden in the corner of the terrace - a disposable paper cup containing cigarette ash.
She couldn't help but choke on the cigarette and quickly explained:
"I'm sorry, I've only smoked outdoors."
She was about to put out her cigarette, but Jiang Shu compromised: "Go ahead and smoke it. This house needs to be renovated anyway."
Hearing this, Xu Yiwei could only withdraw his cigarette holder in shock, turn away, and inhale the nicotine again in small sips...
She didn't say anything, but just silently felt the mint-flavored tobacco seeping through her nose and throat and pouring into her lungs. Her trachea was cool, but her stomach was hot.
"The case may not be resolved for the time being, but you have to go on with your life. What are your plans?"
Jiang Shu seriously brought her back to her senses.
"You know, I have nowhere to go."
Snap...
The tobacco shreds got into Xu Yiwei's eyes, instantly bringing tears to her eyes, as if a fire was set on her eyeballs.
She threw the cigarette butt directly into the paper cup in Jiang Shu's hand, reached out to rub her eyes, but suddenly realized... her fingers were already stained with the smell of cigarettes.
It seemed as if her whole being was contaminated.
She had been polluted long ago, but not on that terrifying rainy night, nor in the arms of her many exes, nor even when she was drinking in a KTV or a booth, but much earlier... when she thought she still had a bright future.
Seeing this, Jiang Shu put down the paper cup and said solemnly:
"When you asked me to keep you, you asked if I could find you a job. I declined at the time because I felt I had no obligation to help you. Now that your situation is special, send me a decent resume and I'll help you find a suitable one."
There were still traces of her tears, and she was obviously surprised by this, but thinking of her experiences over the years, she couldn't help but shake her head and said "No thanks". She still didn't dare to look at him, but just hugged her elbows tightly, letting her sight spread and melt into the distant night.
After a long silence, Jiang Shu stopped acting.
"In fact, rather than being self-reliant, you still want to be a rich man's canary, relying on him to give you endless money. You don't have to do anything, just please him, right?
This was your purpose when you first approached me. You played the victim to me at the study door, ostensibly to get by, but in reality, you were just hoping for a lucky break, thinking if I took pity on you once, I'd do it again. After all, you've gotten a lot of benefits by playing the pitiful role before, and now that you've truly become the pitiful person, I'll take advantage of you."
He pointed out the problem directly, without considering Xu Yiwei's current state of mind at all.
After hearing all this, Xu Yiwei burst into tears, like a faucet that couldn't be stopped. This time, they were not caused by the smoke, but real tears.
Once upon a time, she thought that as long as she hooked up with a rich man, she could live in a mansion, drive a luxury car, and even those bright and colorful dresses and bags would be within her reach. Even if these could not truly become her possessions, as long as she could enjoy the beauty, it was real.
She didn't want to live such a realistic life, which was so suffocating, so she was willing to lower her posture and sell her body, feelings, soul and even dignity.
"You're right! I was hoping for a lucky break. I wanted to be a canary. I know you all look down on people like me, but I have no choice. I'm tired of being poor. When I first went to college, I relied on part-time jobs and internships to earn some living expenses, but after grandma passed away, this money was just a drop in the bucket.
At the time, my first love and I lived off campus, and we couldn't even afford the rent. So, I tutored on weekends and worked part-time at milk tea shops and fast food restaurants during the week, never having a break during the holidays... Many people work to experience life or to make extra money, but I had no choice... I was so exhausted, so exhausted... But this isn't what I want. If only people could choose their own destiny!"
At that time, Xu Yiwei was a sophomore in college, but he had already anticipated his future life. He could either find a stable, low-paying, idle job and just sit there, or work himself to death to achieve sales, but the money would come quickly...
But she doesn't have the capital to lie down like the former, nor the courage to keep working hard like the latter.
Looking at the girl next to her who was in the same school and the same age but had a different fate, she fell into confusion. At such a prime age, why could some people freely fall in love, travel abroad, and spend money to start a business, while she had to waste so much time on "tightening screws"?
Just because she doesn't have a good family?
If she had a normal family, she would be happy, right?
She has loving parents who will give her enough love and material things to support her ambitions and give her confidence...
But she was so miserable because she was born in a bad family.
She wanted to change her fate, but she didn't have the courage.
What gave her this "courage" was the breakup with her first love.
She couldn't forget the feeling of being unable to hold her head up in front of his parents. Her education level was already lower than his, and his words were full of criticism of her. With her first love's family background, education, and abilities, she could have found a better woman...
However, her background could neither support his future career nor provide him with a good backup.
She believed this statement, and also believed the statement of the "senior" who took her to Shang K for the first time to accompany drinking. It was also the first time she called herself - "Sister Xiaowei."
"Don't let that guy lead you by the nose. In my opinion, he's just another Phoenix man from out of town. He looks bright and handsome on the surface, but secretly he has a thousand tricks up his sleeve. He's just after your looks and youth, but he's enjoying your youth, and what do you get in return? How much did he spend on you?"
The senior student clapped the chain of her classic black and gold bag. "Even if you can't get a house or a car, these are all worth keeping. There's no evidence of anyone's name on them. I give them to you and they're yours!"
But those unsigned bags and clothes never reached her hands in the end because she didn't even have the space to store them.
What about courage?
She is such a failure. As a gold digger, she deserves to be nailed to the pillar of shame.
"I know I'm greedy and vain, but I have no choice. I have no background or resources, so I deserve what I've gotten to where I am today... But I can't turn back."
"You don't need to look back, just keep moving forward."
Jiang Shu couldn't help but interrupt her, but he also followed her train of thought.
"Do you remember what I said when I sent you back to school on the first day we met?"
She remembered that Jiang Shu advised her not to participate in such situations in the future because it was beyond her scope.
"You feel like you don't have a good background, don't have enough love or material possessions, so you can't hold your head up in front of your boyfriend, and you're even unwilling to live a mediocre life. But when you chose to enter this game that didn't belong to you, your expectations were forcibly raised. But before you stepped into the routine set for you, did you really think your life was miserable?"
Xu Yiwei's eyes trembled as she thought of the choices she had made in the past... She knew that such a life was not decent, and even that idea was not decent, but she still chose to abandon the past without hesitation and chose such a life.
The dazzling world with its dazzling array of flowers made her realize the joy of selling youth and the pleasure of enjoying life in the moment early on. When this pleasure became commonplace, she was unable to back off and was no longer able to study it diligently.
The only thing she could do was to delay this readily available pleasure. However, no matter how immediate the feedback was, there would always be a day when the place would be empty, because those things never really belonged to her. She just used her only value to exchange for some experience coupons.
"Xiao Xu, I do sympathize with you about what happened last time, but it's already happened. Instead of hoping for sympathy from others, why not think about how you can live on your own? You have hands and feet, a good image, and you can learn so many skills. You're not truly without options, unless you don't want to take those options."
Xu Yiwei was already sobbing at this moment. She buried her face in the railing of the terrace, letting her tears fall on the dust that had not been cleaned for a long time. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't say anything and could only sob.
If someone hears you hanging out on the terrace of a villa at midnight, they will definitely be scared to death.
Jiang Shu glanced at the time and decided to stop there:
"Think about it carefully and give me an answer as soon as possible, otherwise it will be over."
After saying that, Jiang Shu didn't stay any longer and turned around to leave the terrace. Before leaving, he deliberately took away the paper cup filled with cigarette butts and cleaned it up himself.
People who always feel sorry for themselves will eventually become pitiful people.
He couldn't fall asleep tonight, simply because he had something on his mind. He happened to meet Xu Yiwei who also came here to relieve his worries, and they both expressed their feelings.
Regarding the villa being robbed, Jiang Shu’s so-called loss cannot be completely ignored.
The total amount of lost artworks is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although they are not famous paintings by famous artists and he is not an expert, they are unique pieces that he has collected from the past to the present, and most of them were purchased for Lin Ying.
Ever since he bought this house, he had quietly stored "everything" about Lin Ying there, from the few photos they had together, her favorite books, paintings, and old CDs, to the graffiti and diaries she'd left in the room after she got married...
Just because she got married that year, Lin Jidong wanted to make room in the house and even wanted to throw these things away as garbage. However, he specially stopped the nanny and took away these "wastes".
At that time, he really seemed like a madman, like a pervert. He treated the things that Lin Ying had forgotten as treasures. He secretly collected and treasured the hobbies that Lin Ying had given up... It was obviously impossible, but he had to do these useless things.
Thinking back to the time when he let Lin Ying live with him, he was conflicted. He hoped that she would be curious about it, but he was also afraid that she would really see what he had done over the years and call him a pervert.
And she did curse back then - although it was for something else.
When he returned to the villa that day, he saw that she was wearing shoes and her coat was turned over but not taken away. She was curiously exploring her own area alone. Although she did not see the whole picture, he was still excited and expectant... She was curious, she was curious about herself.
Even knowingly committing a crime, he even wanted to open his notes...
And because of his curiosity, he aroused her desire and opened the Pandora's box that belonged only to them.
Now, the house is deserted for no reason, but this person has never lived here.
He said Xu Yiwei was self-pitying, so how good was he?
Xu Yiwei was short of money, so he was willing to give up his feelings for money. She could at least say that she was greedy for material things, but for him, who was a billionaire, talking about feelings would seem vulgar.
He always boasts of his deep affection and thinks that love means control, but after all the love-fu, he is still going around in circles and has no control over anything.
If he had not made that opening with Lin Ying back then, perhaps he would still be a playboy who hides from others in his emotions, and after sleeping with several people, he would choose to compromise and marry someone.
But he insisted on provoking her. It seemed that it was Lin Ying who went astray back then, but wasn't he the same?
People are always greedy. Once they have tasted sweetness, they will not be satisfied with just the initial sweetness.
The same goes for feelings.
The next morning, Xu Yiwei sent him his resume as expected: "Mr. Jiang, this is my resume. Thank you for last night."
After a quick check of the content, he forwarded it to the person who pinned it to the top of the page.
"Xiao Xu is looking for a job recently. I see her resume includes experience in arts and media. I wonder if you're looking for anyone?"
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