She was getting older, not particularly attractive, rather slow-witted, and not too fond of talking to people, so good fortune naturally never knocked on her door.
The wages at the clothing factory weren't high, less than 1000 yuan a month. After paying the rent and taking care of her own food and drinks, the money she managed to save had to be set aside every month for her former in-laws.
Although her in-laws were hateful, they were pitiable as well. They spent their lives raising just that one son, who had some family assets in the early years but managed to squander them all on eating, drinking, and gambling, until his death left them with nothing but a heap of bad debts. The elderly couple couldn't pay them off, and in the end, the burden fell on her. The creditors had turned their attention to her, as they knew well that they wouldn't be able to squeeze ten cents out of anyone else. Fine, she would pay; she would pay.
What difference did it make how she lived her life? She would repay those debts, even if it was that man who racked them up through gambling; she would still pay them off.
She continued her unchanged, monotonous life, simply waiting for payday every month.
Yet when she got her pay, she didn't feel any joy. Indeed, before she even returned, she saw an old lady with white hair already waiting beneath the building she rented. Upon seeing Qin Xiangnuan approaching, the old lady's face contorted with anxious folds.
"It's time to pay this month's money."
She reached out her hand to Qin Xiangnuan, demanding the money as if it were rightfully her own.
Qin Xiangnuan took out the wages she had just received, kept a few bills for herself, and then handed the rest to the old lady.
"What, you want to keep some for yourself?" The old lady's voice became sharp. Her eyes weren't dim; even if they were, she wouldn't misread the money. Qin Xiangnuan gave a few bills and kept a few, which her keen eyes clearly saw.
"Yes, I want to keep some for myself," Qin Xiangnuan wouldn't hand over all of her wages to her former mother-in-law. She was penniless now and needed to save some money for living expenses, food, and rent.
"Why do you get to keep my money?" the old lady snapped, grabbing Qin Xiangnuan's clothes, "Hand over the money to me, it's my money."
Her money—Qin Xiangnuan really felt like laughing. The money she worked so hard for a month to earn had somehow become someone else's.
She pulled the old lady's hand away, and as the old lady tried to grab her again, her voice grew louder.
"Qin Xiangnuan, don't forget, you still owe us money?"
Qin Xiangnuan closed her eyes and a hint of sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. It was her son who owed the money; what did it have to do with her?
"That money...," she opened her eyes again, "has long been paid off." She turned her head, and with those clear eyes, she inexplicably made the old lady's heart skip a beat, feeling a sense of embarrassed discomfiture.
"Anyway, you still have to give us the money, supporting the elderly is your duty."
The old lady raised her voice and stomped her feet as she left.
"Do I... have anything to do with you?"
The marriage had ended long ago, and even if it hadn't, the husband was dead. She was obligated to care for her own parents, but was she required to support her in-laws?
"Qin Xiangnuan," suddenly, a voice came from behind her.
She was almost momentarily stunned.
This voice shouldn't have appeared.
Not long after.
She entered the rented room, with a young woman following her, who frowned in disgust; her designer clothes completely mismatched with the surroundings. She should have been living in a villa, waited on by others, not in this tiny space of a dozen square meters, where one could smell various odors everywhere - from people, toilets, leftover food that hadn't been thrown away for days, the smell of foot odor from shoes, the smell of something moldy, or the sour stench from the pets' mess.
"Do you need something?" Qin Xiangnuan never thought that Qin Xiangmei would harbor any sisterly affection for her, to see her living poorly and come to offer her aid. She didn't need it, and Qin Xiangmei wouldn't either.
Qin Xiangmei waved her hand to clear the air, "You can actually live in this place."
"If I can't, I still have to."
Qin Xiangnuan poured herself a glass of water. There was no tea, only boiled tap water, and she didn't offer any to Qin Xiangmei. How could such a picky person touch the water here? Qin Xiangmei didn't even want to sit on her chair although Qin Xiangnuan wiped it every day - it would still feel dirty to her.
Qin Xiangmei could barely tolerate the air here.
"Let's talk outside, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll treat you to a meal, you can choose anything you want, even a five-star hotel, Korean or Japanese cuisine, whatever you like."
"No need," Qin Xiangnuan interrupted Qin Xiangmei, her gaze falling somewhere, with a quietly ironic feeling, My stomach is weak, I can't eat such expensive food, just say what you want to say.
A flash of annoyance passed through Qin Xiangmei's eyes, but she forcefully suppressed it.
"I need to talk to you," Qin Xiangmei stepped forward, standing in front of Qin Xiangnuan.
"I don't think I have the ability to help you with anything?" Qin Xiangnuan's eyes moved to her own hands on the table, dark and skinny, she had no power, no money, no ability. To Qin Xiangmei, she was a middle-aged woman with nothing, so what's the big deal? Qin Xiangmei actually asking her for help is a huge joke, isn't it?
Qin Xiangmei's exquisitely red lips tightened, and then she sat down on the chair opposite Qin Xiangnuan. However, as soon as she sat down, she felt as if she were sitting on something dirty and felt very uncomfortable.
"Qin Xiangnuan, life isn't treating you well now, is it?" Qin Xiangmei spoke with certainty, also calculating her own bargaining chips.
"Can't you see?" Qin Xiangnuan retracted her hand back into her sleeve, she is a woman too, with some inherent tendency to compare, and she had it, just like when they compared hands, she would feel ashamed of herself.
"I can help you," Qin Xiangmei hurriedly spoke, somewhat eager.
"Hmm," Qin Xiang Nuan's heart was calm as the ocean, without a ripple.
Offering unwarranted help could only mean conspiracy or theft. She wouldn't think that Qin Xiangmei came here out of kindness to help her sister. As expected, the main topic begins now.
Qin Xiangnuan, if you agree, your life won't be like this anymore. Qin Xiangmei swept her hair that had fallen on her shoulder behind her ear, her features delicate, a young woman always pleasing to the eye, but among these people, Qin Xiangnuan wasn't included. She had seen that face for decades, and under that beautiful facade, who knows how much scheming and calculating were hidden? Since childhood, hasn't she suffered enough at the hands of Qin Xiangmei?