(85)
Zhang Susu choked up and said, "I need 40,000 yuan for now, and I don't know how much more I'll need later. But Xiaoyu, your dad has medical insurance, so I'll pay you back a portion when he's discharged and reimbursed."
Ye Wenyu didn't speak, but smiled, feeling a warmth in her heart. She believed once again that her mother didn't not love her, but that she was struggling with life and had limited abilities.
Seeing that the money Ye Wenyu urgently needed had been secured, Zhang Susu became worried about Ye Wenyu again. She asked her, "You said you would help me, but you are still a student yourself. Do you have the money?"
Ye Wenyu thought painfully, "Where am I going to get the money? But—"
She said softly, "Mom, I've been working since I went to university, and I've saved some money." She told a lie to cover it up.
Zhang Susu breathed a sigh of relief, then said to her, "If it's not enough, don't resort to crooked methods—"
Is she going to take a crooked path? Is her mother worried that she'll end up selling her body?
A bitter smile appeared on Ye Wenyu's lips. For a child from a poor family, with no way to borrow money, the only way to earn a living might be by selling their smiles.
Zhang Susu pondered for a moment and suggested, "Last time I called you, a classmate's parent said he was your classmate's parent. He said you were sick and could recuperate at his house. I thought he was very nice to you. Think about it, the fact that he was willing to take you in to recuperate at his house shows that he is a very generous person, has a very good heart, and his family must be very wealthy. Xiaoyu, you and that classmate must be very close, right? Why don't you ask your classmate for money? I think her father will definitely lend you some."
What? !
Her heart was filled with surprise and delight. Her mother had actually concluded that Lin Tingfeng was very rich based on just one phone call with him. She had never met him and did not know his identity. She only relied on the content of the phone call to conclude that he was very capable and a successful person who had become wealthy and then suggested that her daughter borrow money from him.
Ye Wenyu stared wide-eyed, finding it unbelievable. She wondered if rich people could even speak in a different tone of voice, so that her mother, who had been poor and suffered her whole life, could easily tell that Lin Tingfeng was a rich man and had money to lend.
Borrow money from Lin Tingfeng?
A thought, like a summer lightning bolt, appeared in Ye Wenyu's mind and lingered there for a long time.
When she agreed to help her mother, she also decided to borrow money from Lin Tingfeng, because in her circle, Lin Tingfeng was the only person who would lend her money.
Her mother's advice reinforced this idea.
Tears streamed down Ye Wenyu's face. Silently, she said to fate, "Look, it's not that I'm degrading myself to be his mistress; I'm forced by life to do this. I have no other choice."
Thinking this way, she felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart, and even felt a little joy at the possibility of reconnecting with Lin Tingfeng, since she genuinely liked him.
What does it feel like to like someone? It's wanting to see them, hear them speak, and be in contact with them. You'll try every possible way to get closer to them. When they appear in your field of vision, everyone else disappears, and all other sounds disappear.
That must be the magic of love.
She stubbornly uttered harsh words about never seeing him again for all eternity, but less than two hours after they parted, she was already missing him.
Ye Wenyu heard her mother still rambling on the other end of the phone, her words flowing like a continuous thread: "That classmate's father is a very cultured person, he should be a person of status in society. You should get along better with his daughter, she will definitely be able to help you in the future." Her mother's tone was very confident.
Ye Wenyu was both amused and exasperated. Since her mother was unable to take care of her, she could only offer advice based on her rich yet tragic life experience, which would make her feel a little better.
Zhang Susu was still nagging, "Just listen to your mother, it can't hurt. I may not be very capable in this life, but I'm good at judging people—"
Ye Wenyu had a ridiculous idea in her mind: if she told her mother that Lin Tingfeng wanted to take her as his mistress, the old woman would wholeheartedly agree.
Ye Wenyu didn't want to talk to her mother any further. She said simply, "Mom, you don't need to worry about this. I'll call you when I've raised the money."
Zhang Susu sensed that her daughter wanted to end the conversation, and since she urgently needed money, she said goodbye and hung up the phone.
Ye Wenyu stared blankly at her phone in the corridor of the girls' dormitory. The dim light shone on her, and her body was as straight and stiff as a piece of wood. She thought to herself, if she continued to suffer like this, she would end up like her mother for the rest of her life.
To live a poor, miserable, and unburdened life.
She clearly remembered that when she was two or three years old, her family had a piano. Her mother was a high school graduate, which in those days was equivalent to graduating from a top university today. At the same time, her mother was also a key member of the factory's arts and culture group. She would read, play the piano, dance, and sing every day. Her mother was also positive, eager to learn, and worked hard to perform well in the factory, hoping to rise through the ranks from group leader to workshop director. But what was the result?
As a result, her mother and father had an unhappy marriage and divorced when she was young. Her mother then sold the piano, and all the books she used to love were eventually lost somewhere. As for the factory, because she was always late or left early without reason in order to make a living and support her, a single mother raising a child alone would certainly not work as hard as others. So for many years, the company did not give her a chance to be promoted. To this day, her mother is still an ordinary employee with a pitifully low salary, and she will not have much money when she retires.
His life was destined to be closely intertwined with a life of poverty.
Struggling in the mire your whole life, yet unable to escape no matter what.
She is a top student, probably because she inherited her mother's intelligence. But what's the use of being smart? In this society, can a person who is smart, studious, and hardworking achieve a happy and fulfilling life? If the answer is yes, then why did her mother live such a miserable life?
No! Ye Wenyu shuddered at the thought, her face turning ashen. Fear gripped her; she shook her head violently. She didn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps! She didn't want to divorce and have her child grow up in a single-parent family. She didn't want to remarry, be over forty, still burdened by a heavy mortgage, unable to afford decent food or clothing to pay it off. Could a minor illness really cripple her family?
She had lived a life of poverty for eighteen years, and she didn't want to live such a hard life anymore!
Her stepfather's illness became the last straw that broke her resolve.
If no changes are made, then even if she works hard, graduates from university, and finds a job, she could easily repeat her mother's path if she makes a slight mistake.
Ye Wenyu shook her head desperately again. She gritted her teeth, gripped her phone tightly, and paced back and forth in the cold corridor of the girls' dormitory.
Life has reached a point where difficult choices need to be made.
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