Susan had no memories of how things were eventually resolved at home.All she knew was that she moved back to the house in the village from the city and slept on the same bed with her grandmother. She heard from her grandma that there was still a debt left unpaid.She could no longer buy new, beautiful clothes. There were people who pitied her and sent her clothes. They said they bought them for their daughter last year, and their daughter had only worn them once or twice. Since their daughter had gotten new clothes, they thought it would be a waste to throw them away, so they thought of giving them to her.Her grandmother told her to throw the clothes away, but she couldn't bear to because they were really beautiful, and she didn't have any other dresses.Her older brother couldn't afford to pay for his high school fees, so he dropped out.His homeroom teacher came to their home and advised them that no matter what, he should finish his studies. Even if the family faced difficu
However, she didn't dwell on her thoughts for too long.The words of encouragement from her classmates were straightforward and powerful, but they were also as subtle as a gentle breeze.They tacitly avoided mentioning the unhappy past and only discussed homework or study materials with each other.The words written on little pieces of paper or their notebooks became their little secrets.At that time, Susan would read those cards every time she finished an exam to deal with exhaustion after a long day. Or, in the early morning, when there were only one or two people in the classroom, she would sneakily glance at those words before burying herself in textbooks again.She adjusted her attitude well, as if she were a carefree child.When June arrived, she suddenly acted like a normal teenager. She joked with her classmates and even helped them with questions about homework.Having dominated first place in her class for a long time, she was always the standout student.No one coul
She stayed in the company for another half year.But she didn't foolishly let her leaders make her do whatever they wanted.She learned to find time to rest and make use of the company's resources to study, improving herself while working on projects.While her peers were dating, working, and traveling, she used all the free time she had to keep on improving herself.When she received the bonus from the projects she did, she finally felt a little joy.Although most of the money went to the boss, she had been so unlucky that having one thing go smoothly was enough to make her happy for a long time.She returned a portion of the money she earned from working this year to her brother, kept a portion for herself, and set aside another portion for her mother.Her mother's health was still stable at this time. She even started growing some vegetables in front of the house. As long as she didn't have to go to work or do any labor, she was basically no different from healthy people her
Disclosing one's family background to the leader and laying bare one's personal history essentially meant surrendering one's vulnerabilities and weaknesses into the hands of a superior.Having knowledge of her situation, her superior later exploited this information. Under the guise of being 'kind' to her, she was assigned all the dirty and arduous tasks.She was given money, but it was not much.It was like she was working in this first company and doing all the jobs, but her superiors took most of the credit.She would then get the slightest bit of credit.In the end, she ended up in the hospital because of over-exhaustion.Perhaps startled by her sudden collapse at work, her superior finally seemed to have a conscience after a few days. Her superior showed some concern and inquired about her well-being. It might also be influenced by recent media reports on sudden employee deaths that made her superior fear the loss of a laborer who essentially did her bidding without compla
In the end, she ended her working life that was away from home and went back to her hometown after discussing it with her brother. She started a new life then.There was a huge change back home.Even though she returned for New Year each year, she never walked the familiar paths with the current mindset. The muddy roads from her memories had all solidified, and even the significant routes were paved with asphalt. The surrounding trees were lush, and every few steps, one could spot a streetlight.The only constant was the farmland and rivers along the way. When the wind blew, the paddy swayed with the breeze, and the rustling sound could be heard. However, upon closer listening, all that could be heard were the croaking of frogs and the chirping of birds.She suddenly felt like it wasn't that bad to come back home.At least during summer rains, she could leisurely listen to the sound of raindrops the size of beans hitting the trees, without worrying about her clothes getting mudd
As someone who had climbed the ranks to department management in the workplace, how could she not understand people's words? Yet, she chose to play dumb.When others praised her for being a good daughter, she would casually respond that it was only natural. If they tried to involve their own children in the conversation, she would simply smile without giving much of a response.In the past, she might have entertained a comment or two and acknowledged the success of their children who chose not to return to their hometowns. However, as time went on, she saw through the gossip. What did this gossip have to do with her?Were they expecting her to help ensure their children were filial?Susan only cared about her own matters.The cost of living in the small town wasn't high, and her savings could cover her daily expenses. Moreover, by working on poverty alleviation projects with fellow entrepreneurs in the village, she successfully shed the label of being a poverty-stricken household.
Susan knew that behaving this way would only make her social circle life difficult. After all, before her mother passed away, she still had to stay in this area. She couldn't avoid meeting neighbors and fellow villagers. Speaking out in this manner would only strain relationships and make things awkward for everyone involved.However, she didn't care.These people didn't think about her feelings when they gossiped about her, so why did she need to care?She resigned to take care of her mother, and over the years, she worked tirelessly. Any reasonable person would acknowledge that she had done well. She even received recognition from the village. As for those gossiping men and women, who were they?Some people also said she was naive. They called her foolish for returning to take care of her mother while her brother enjoyed life abroad. They did not know where her brother was. They accused her of bearing the burden on her own shoulders.She argued with these people and almost fough
Susan sat up from the bed.She habitually looked for her bag to touch up her makeup before realizing that she was forcefully brought here, so she didn't bring anything with her.The good thing was that there were some daily necessities in the room here. Although it was small, it was filled with things that were needed.She took some tissue and went to the basin to clean her face.Rebecca got up from the bed and leaned by the pillar beside as she watched her. "I'm sorry because you got into this mess because of me."Susan wiped away the traces of tears on her face and turned to smile at Rebecca. "Didn't you negotiate with those people already? I should be thanking my lucky stars to have met you and gotten to this new place, right? Don't you want me to be grateful?"Rebecca furrowed her brows and shook her head. "I just stated my identity. I don't know how they will ultimately react. So ... I'm still sorry."When Beardo heard her words and left, he might not have checked her ident