0034 034 So this is what the world is like.
While many people in the general public are fiercely fighting over the right to name their children, many in the upper class have already learned to distribute their children's surnames. In their environment, a surname is a passport. You might unexpectedly receive preferential treatment because you share the same surname, but you will always be turned away because of a different surname, unless you are deliberately sent away.
Liu Jiangyan is a monster rookie who has been promoted even faster than Qi Yu in this cohort, but his path to promotion has been blocked by the Minister of Finance for three years. He was quite diligent in his position, and he managed to stay unscathed during the Pei family's sweep, which makes him seem like a person with a clean background.
Why would someone with such an honest and upright official go through all this trouble, concealing his kinship and turning a blind eye to his cousin's affairs?
She might not care about other people's family affairs, but she couldn't understand why Qi Yu wanted to win over the Qin family. Even Madam Qin came to beg her, which meant that there really was no one in their family who could help them, indicating that their family had indeed run out of connections.
Exhausted, the two returned home and went straight to the bedroom without saying a word. Qi Shuyao snuggled into his arms and quickly fell asleep, enveloped in his familiar scent.
In the spacious room, only the clock ticked silently, round and round, until Qi Yu's phone rang urgently. He pulled the startled little girl into his arms and answered the call.
It was Xiaolan's voice again, but this time she could no longer maintain her composure.
"Boss, come quick! Tu Mi ran up from underground and is about to jump off the building! And what's Sister Xiao Mei doing here?!"
The two people in the bed were instantly jolted awake.
Xu Mei walked home. In this vast world, only this small room truly belonged to her, and she had bought it by selling countless bags she had tricked men out of.
The higher a man's position, the more shrewd he is. He flaunts his wealth in front of women, but that's all he does. After the relationship ends, some of them even want to take back everything with interest. After all she's been struggling for so many years, all she's gotten in return is this small house.
Passing by brightly lit buildings, she saw her no-longer-young face reflected in the glass. She didn't try to look energetic; even the corners of her eyes were downturned and covered with fine lines. Although she was only forty years old, she looked like she had entered old age.
What has she been doing all this time? What was she striving for? Why can everyone else shine in the sunlight, while she spent all her most beautiful years underground? And when she finally climbed up with great difficulty, the sun no longer shines on her.
Yes, men. Because she met men, all her misfortunes were because of men. She couldn't let her daughter repeat her mistakes.
The woman ran quickly down the street, burst into her home, took off the skirt she had used to seduce Minister Cao, changed into trousers she rarely wore, and then ran towards a dark old town area.
She hadn't been here for over ten years. Back then, she was dragged up here by people, stumbling and crawling, but she never imagined that one day she would return here to find her daughter.
After hearing the words "underground dance hall" on Qi Yu's phone call, she understood. There used to be many dance halls in Jingyang, but there was only one underground dance hall. She had always known that it was operating secretly, but she had never been back.
Even though the gate was dilapidated, it was still the same as she remembered it. She stood in the open space and took a deep breath, as if to say, "I'm back."
Instead of going through the main gate, she went around to the back and down the secret passage. After her figure disappeared on the ground, Xiaolan came back carrying two bags of bread.
She came in to get Tu Mi's hair, and then she put on a show to make Manager Chen think that she had been tortured to death and that's why she ran away. Now she can't leave with this face, but she always feels that this matter is very strange, as if there are many points that don't match her memory.
She leaned against a hidden stone pillar, lost in thought, and lost track of time. Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps coming from below. She looked up alertly and saw Tu Mi running barefoot up the stairs in a thin nightgown. Pei Youwen was chasing after her, carrying her shoes and clothes. Manager Chen also came out, and behind them was Xu Mei.
Xiao Lan hadn't even seen her here, or when she arrived. She quickly rummaged through her bag for a hat and mask, put them on, and ran up the stairs on the other side.
Tu Mi had never been to the earth before. No, she had been, but she didn't know that she too was born on earth.
Now she knew. She had just returned from the public restroom. Pei Youwen had gone to talk to Manager Chen, but there was a strange woman standing in her private room. The woman looked at her with red eyes and reached out her trembling hands to walk towards her. Instead of touching her face, the woman's hands touched her protruding belly.
"...You, who are you...how did you get in..."
Aside from her sisters underground and Pei Youwen, Tu Mi had never met any other strangers. Her legs trembled so badly that she felt unsteady, as if she were frozen in place. She could only watch as the woman got closer and closer to her, and the madness in her eyes became clearer.
Xu Mei stood in front of her daughter, looking her up and down. Apart from her overly thin body and protruding belly, everything about her was perfect, especially her small face. When she had no expression, she was cold and aloof, but once she showed some emotion, she became so charming that she seemed like someone who could grab her and knead her. She put her arm around the little girl, who was a head shorter than her, and held her in her arms.
"Baby, it's your mom. It's Mommy, Mommy's here to pick you up."
"Mother……"
Xu Mei moved closer, allowing Tu Mi to see her face clearly. She suddenly felt that this person was very familiar, as if she had seen this face somewhere before.
"...And I heard before that during the peak of this place, there was a senior who hooked up with the son of a very powerful leader, and he was taken out to eat and drink the finest things in life. You're so beautiful, you must have a lot of men who like you, you'll have no worries about the future..."
When her friend told her this, she even pulled out a dusty notebook. Apparently, a painter had once been a guest there, drawing portraits of the famous dancers. Pointing to the portrait on the second page, she said...
"Look, this is the senior. I think you and she look a bit alike."
They really do look alike; how could a mother and daughter not look alike?
She suddenly pushed away the woman who was hugging her, bent over and silently dry heaved. It was said that none of the girls here had relatives and were all adopted by Manager Chen. Why was there a woman in the room now, claiming to be her mother?
Tu Mi raised her hand and pinched her face. It hurt a lot; everything was real.
She staggered backward, her back hitting the door. Jiulixiang, who had been outside, heard the noise and ran in. Seeing the unfamiliar woman, her alarm bells rang. Her small frame grabbed the broom that was propped up on the door and swung it at Xu Mei.
There was a commotion inside, and many people rushed over. They were all shocked to see strangers. Manager Chen heard the noise and came over as well. Pei Youwen peeked out from behind him. The moment Xu Mei saw him, she grabbed Tu Mi's wrist and pulled her over, snatched the broom from Jiu Li Xiang's hand, and pointed it at Pei Youwen.
"Don't come any closer! You're the one who bullied my daughter. How old is she? You got her pregnant. You men are all all talk and no action. Let me tell you, as long as I'm here, I won't let the child of a corrupt official like you be with my daughter."
Chaos erupted in the cramped space. Even the seasoned Manager Chen panicked for a moment. Pei Youwen, fearing that she might hurt Tu Mi, dared not rush over. But then someone suddenly recognized Xu Mei.
"Isn't this the senior from the dance hall who married the son of a high-ranking official? How come her daughter is here too..."
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, saying all sorts of things, but Xu Mei ignored them and continued to hurl insults at Pei Youwen.
“A man who has to rely on the inheritance of his supposedly dead father to make ends meet is trying to find my daughter. He is utterly depraved. He not only hurt my daughter, but he also deceived other girls.”
Her words were impassioned and righteous, intimidating many. But Tu Mi, behind her, raised her head, opened her mouth, and softly uttered a single syllable.
"Mother……"
"Mommy's here, baby. Mommy will take you out now."
"Where have you been all these years? Why haven't you come looking for me?"
“My mother is not doing well either, she’s always busy… but I’ve been looking for you, searching everywhere, and only now have I found out.”
"Then why am I here? Why aren't we together? Don't you want me anymore?"
"without……"
Even though Xu Mei had said many sweet words that didn't reflect her true feelings, the long-lost guilt she felt when facing her daughter still filled her heart, making it impossible for her to utter a lie against her conscience.
Next door, the woman who had been pushed and knocked unconscious on the floor woke up. She groped her way to the noisy room next door, spotted Pei Youwen who had lied to her, and rushed over to grab his hair.
"Liar! You dare show your face! Where did you take me?! And give me the money you promised!"
Her appearance changed Xu Mei's topic; she pointed to the insane woman and told Tu Mi,
"It's her. Pei Youwen hired her to put on an act in front of his mother, pretending to be pregnant with his deceased father's child, and extorted a large sum of money from her. Now that he's got the money, he's abandoned this ally and is causing all sorts of trouble in her non-pregnant womb..."
Tu Mi broke free from Xu Mei's grasp, covered her ears with both hands, unable to bear the sound any longer. She kept backing away, leaning against the wall behind her. The wall shifted back slightly, revealing a passage she had never seen before. It was pitch black inside, but she resolutely crawled out.
She tripped and fell in the dark passage, her slippers falling to the side. The noise behind her had faded into the distance. She didn't know where the passage led, she just kept running forward.
Her stomach started to hurt, but she didn't care. After going around in circles, she finally saw a glimmer of light. Jiulixiang told her that this kind of weather was called a dark day, with no sunlight, but the unfamiliar light still hurt her eyes.
The first breeze of nature blew on her, so cold it made her shiver, yet so refreshing. It made her feel much better after it entered her nostrils. She ran towards the light, but the light was so dazzling that she couldn't open her eyes and instinctively shielded them with her hand.
She was illiterate and only knew a few words. She could only speak but not write many things, but she also understood that there was something in the world called a burden, which could also be used to describe a person, like herself.
If she weren't a burden, she wouldn't have been abandoned despite having a mother. If she were useful, Pei Youwen wouldn't have done so many bad things. It's all her fault, all her fault.
People are catching up from behind, a lot of them.
She could no longer run, but her legs moved forward mechanically. At the end of a flight of stairs, she saw a huge platform, wider than she had ever seen before. She walked over, mesmerized, and stood on the edge. For the first time in her life, she had seen such a beautiful view.
So this is what the human world is like.
When Qi Yu arrived at the old town, about half an hour had passed. Qi Shuyao followed him and unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed open the door the moment the car stopped. She had only run two steps toward the gate when, with a thud, a pale body fell in front of her. The blindingly white, bare arm drew a streak of light in the air and vanished in an instant, leaving a large patch of blood spreading out beneath it.
She tilted her head back.
A bird died, and the wind buried her in the flowerbed. The surrounding flowers all raised their heads, as if to inquire about the news from the sky for her.
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