Yan Xixi only had to cover someone’s shift in the Harem once, and she already ran into a guy like Wan Donglin. How old was Xu Xiaoya when she started working there? Eighteen? Twenty? In the prime of her youth, enchantingly beautiful, with countless men’s eyes on her?
Otherwise, how could a simple tea girl bring in millions to build a new house for her family, while also supporting her boyfriend through his doctorate studies?
"Once, a man was nice to me and proposed to fund a coffee shop for me, but half a year later, he was gone..."
Every girl has this dream: someday, after a hard day’s work, you meet a wonderful man at a client’s place. He is confident, mature, humorous, and incredibly caring. You fall in love with him. He tells you, "Stop working, I’ll help you open a coffee shop!" So your life changes. Every day, you immerse yourself in the charming atmosphere of the coffee shop, exploring coffee and desserts. You start to believe in love again. Then you find out your boyfriend has opened a dozen or so coffee shops already.
"Since the year before last, I’ve been seriously working as a tea girl... Alas, my looks are fading, and I’m aging quickly. At least I’m earning money honestly now... But Xixi, I have my own struggles. Even now, I don’t dare tell Zhong Minghui my real profession, terrified he’d look down on me. I wanted to change jobs last year, but what could I do? All my previous savings were gone. We have a new house back home, but I can’t just go back and live there, can I? Here in the city, I don’t even have enough for a down payment. Am I supposed to just rely on Zhong Minghui? His family lives in a remote rural area, and his parents are farmers. While they don’t lack food or clothing, they’re very concerned about face. They tell everyone their son is a PhD graduate, that he’s made something of himself, a cut above the rest, and that it’s time for them to live like lords and enjoy their old age. But Zhong Minghui’s stipend and side income don’t amount to much, do they? To keep up appearances, he has to send more than half of it home every month. If we rely solely on him, when will we ever be able to afford a house? I still have to keep struggling for a while to save up for our down payment. But I swear, Xixi, the money I’m earning now is truly clean. It’s not much, but every cent is honestly earned. I haven’t done anything to bring shame to Zhong Minghui..."
"Xixi, you had such a hard life before because of your mother. But truthfully, in this society, even without sick relatives or friends dragging them down, many people struggle. They’re mortgage slaves, car slaves. Xixi, please don’t mind me speaking so bluntly, but what woman who has fallen into this life doesn’t eagerly hope for a day to get out? Meeting a man like Wan Donglin isn’t just getting out; it’s like winning five million in the lottery!"
Yan Xixi’s thoughts wandered far.
"Xixi, look at where you’re living now and the things you’re eating, wearing, and using. Many women yearn for such a life..."
Selling your soul and principles isn’t disgraceful. The disgrace is not being able to set a high price.
Yan Xixi turned her gaze back and said with a faint smile, "Xiaoya, do you think I’m pitiful?"
Xu Xiaoya raised her eyebrows.
Isn’t she? In novels and on TV, it often plays out that beautiful women abandon love and everything else for money, turning into golden canaries. Yet, after becoming a golden canary, they are always unhappy, tormented and melancholy, spending their days in tears... If not that, they play mahjong or do whatever all day long, bored to death, killing time. Their lives wasted just like that...