"Sister Li..."
"Be good. Girls should always smile. You look so pitiful crying, it makes uncomfortable just looking at you. It’s fate that we et, consider this a welcoming gift. Don’t pull and fight with in public, it’s not a good look." She smiled, paid the bill, and led Yang Yun away.
As soon as they left, the enthusiastic servants exchanged a glance and shrugged.
"Did you see that? Another one fell for it. Every now and then, Sister Li brings soone here to buy clothes, and then that poor girl just turns from a virtuous woman into..."
"Shh! She wants it. Didn’t you see the girl’s eyes light up at the sight of those clothes? As poor workers ourselves, what right do we have to ddle in other people’s business?"
Sister Li and Yang Yun went to a fancy restaurant for a lavish al, the kind of upscale Russian-style dining Yang Yun had never experienced before. It wasn’t particularly delicious, but the prestigious atmosphere and luxurious decor brought Yang Yun’s vanity the utmost satisfaction. She found herself transported back to a few months ago, before that wretched woman Sun Chan returned ho, when she was treated like a little princess. She could have anything she wanted! But alas, after dining, she would have to confront reality again.
Sister Li noticed Yang Yun sighing and asked with a smile, "What’s wrong? Even a al can’t make you happy?"
"No, it’s just... I don’t have a job now, can’t go back ho, and when I think about my future, I just..." She considered Sister Li a confidante and shared her troubles.
Sister Li took a sip of red wine, smiled faintly, and said, "I was like you back then. My parents favored sons over daughters, having four or five daughters before they had my brother, and I was already twelve, the eldest child. Do you know how much I endured? Never wore a decent piece of clothing, never had a full al. My sisters were married off early and haven’t contacted in years. I don’t bother with my brother and parents anymore because, once I fled ho, I never planned on returning."
"Exactly! Biased parents are worthless. My mom and grandpa favor Sun Chan, and my dad just fulfills his duties now, without genuinely caring for !" Thinking of these things made her grind her teeth in anger, hating them so much it gave her a headache!
Completely ignoring what she had done to make others dislike her.
Sister Li said, "Don’t worry, since you’re jobless, why not join ? I run a dance hall, and I’ve always needed soone to help manage the place."
Yang Yun was taken aback, then shook her head, "No, my parents would never agree!"
"Oh? You think it’s not a decent place?"
Yang Yun blushed, indeed, her parents were conservative, and they wouldn’t allow her to go to such places. They always said dancing halls and video halls were frequented by disreputable people.
Sister Li wasn’t bothered and said with a gentle smile, "Isn’t everything that exists reasonable? Do I look like an indecent woman to you?"
Yang Yun glanced at Sister Li and quickly shook her head.
"Exactly! In places like Hong Kong and foreign countries, dance halls are legitimate venues for socializing. Our country’s outdated views prevent us from understanding, leading to perceptions of it as disreputable. Yet, many businessn and celebrities visit for leisure. Years ago, people said it was shaful for won to work. But now, won can hold up half the sky."
Yang Yun nodded, "That’s true."
Sister Li said, "You won’t be required to do much, just help oversee the cleaners and staff. I won’t let you suffer; how about a salary of three hundred a month?"
Yang Yun widened her eyes, looking at her in disbelief.
"What, too little? Work for six months, then I’ll give you a raise. Can’t increase too much at once."
"No, it’s too much!" Her own parents earned just over a hundred a month, and now she could earn three hundred! More than both of them combined! And without much work, just a supervisory role, how exciting!
"I felt an instant connection with you and truly regard you as a younger sister." She warmly took Yang Yun’s hand and patted it.
Yang Yun pursed her lips in a smile, feeling extraordinarily happy.
Sister Li, however, picked up her glass with a grin, thinking to herself how ignorant this fool was. She mused, "I should call Han Dong later."
Yang Yun easily approached a trap filled with sweet allure.
anwhile, Wang Hu was having a headache; his parents called after work, saying Yang Bailan showed up again.
"What’s wrong with this woman? We’ve already divorced her and agreed to all her terms, the house is practically emptied for her, yet after just a few days, she’s sitting at our place every day. If we don’t let her in, she cries at the courtyard gate!" Mrs. Wang angrily exclaid, "If this goes on, my heart condition will flare up!"
Yang Bailan was once the daughter-in-law of this family, familiar to everyone, and the Wang Family didn’t disclose the reasons for their divorce, making people feel she was quite pitiful.
Mrs. Wang said with exasperation, "We tried to be kind, but what about Yang Bailan? Does she think our kindness is to be exploited? Honestly, I could really put her in her place! You spend your days at the dormitory avoiding this, but what about us? We see her every day!"
Wang Hu said, "Mom, don’t worry, I’ll head ho now." He hung up and rushed ho.
Yang Bailan was at her wits’ end, realizing post-divorce how many failures her life had encountered.
She was placed back at the military hospital by the Wang Family, but her dical skills were average, having made several errors before; thus, she was sidelined at work without prospects for training or pay raises, only waiting for retirent.
There were matchmakers introducing new prospects, but they were mostly n over forty, divorced with children, mainly from the countryside, lacking in every aspect, and relying on the woman for support.
Even a fifty-seven or fifty-eight-year-old boiler operator at the hospital harassed her.
In anger, Yang Bailan had a spat with him, finally making him leave her alone.
Who knew, before leaving, that boiler operator said, "Really think you’re so hot stuff? In a few years, even a sixty-year-old won’t want you! Pfft, soone tossed aside for ssing around!"
Yang Bailan swayed, her face losing all color. Although the Wang Family never spoke about the child’s real father not being Wang Hu, rumors had gradually spread.
Yang Bailan felt imnse pressure, unable to sleep at night, filled with deep regret. If only she had terminated the pregnancy back then! The doctor had said it was possible, not definite, that she wouldn’t be able to conceive again afterward, and even if she couldn’t, Wang Hu might not have divorced her.
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