Her man went ahead without even asking her opinion. While Tian Sangsang mocked Hua Jun, she couldn’t help but feel the bitterness herself. But what was the point of talking about all this? The man’s body was barely cold, but he was completely gone. A liar, a big liar, promising he’d co back. There’s an old saying: you reap what you sow. And now, they say you have to crawl to the finish line of the path you choose, even if on your knees. When she chose marriage back then, she should’ve anticipated today’s situation.
The situation where she might have to beco a widow at any ti.
Back then, though, she hadn’t taken marriage seriously. It wasn’t until her feelings deepened that she suddenly understood.
Trying to pull away felt like betraying him. Not pulling away ant enduring the agony of it all.
Hua Jun’s chest heaved, her rage making her teeth itch.
"And now you don’t have him either. You have nothing, just like ."
"At least I had him, but you—what about you?" Tian Sangsang smiled lightly, brightly.
Hua Jun took a deep breath, her gaze suddenly falling on Sangsang’s belly, filled with rooted jealousy.
Tian Sangsang had had him, had everything. And now she even had a posthumous child—she still had a posthumous child. How could she have a child left behind? Looking at her swollen belly, it seed like a grotesque smile mocking Hua Jun’s unrequited love. Hua Jun wished she could tear her belly apart!
The only thing left in this world that had the closest connection to him was inside Tian Sangsang’s belly.
The terrifying part was that she wanted to destroy it and yet felt compelled to touch it.
"Soon enough, you’ll be nothing but a widow, Tian Sangsang!" Hua Jun shot back bitterly, wanting to see her cry, to see her bawling miserably.
Why wasn’t she crying?
"That’s right, Hua Jun, I’m already a widow, while you’re still a maiden." As Sangsang spoke the last six words, her tone sharpened, repeating them: "I truly envy you. Who wouldn’t want to be a pure maiden, eternally sixteen years old? Ti is a butcher’s knife, you know. I used to be beautiful as a flower, but now I’m bloated like a fishball."
The person who made her look like a fishball was still lying in his grave.
She wanted to dredge him up from that grave and lash him harshly, but the grave was empty.
What she hated most was that at her age, other people’s kids were already old enough to buy soy sauce, yet she herself was still just "the girl"; there was no glory in that. Hua Jun’s lofty deanor couldn’t hold any longer—she stord off! She feared her image would crumble if she stayed even a second more.
No sooner had Hua Jun left than Tian Sangsang’s smile instantly froze. She closed her eyes for a few monts.
Inside, Jin Zhi, who was filling out her resu, hadn’t intended to eavesdrop but still heard every word they’d exchanged. The doubts in her heart resolved one by one. So it turned out the boss’s husband had just passed away. No wonder she was still struggling to keep things running alone. In a situation like this, she’s probably planning to remarry. Who would’ve thought she looked so radiant, yet was such a pitiful person? However, choosing to remarry now would greatly lower her appeal. And in their rural hotown, it wasn’t usual for a woman with a visible pregnancy to remarry—it’d diminish her prospects.
Moreover, the boss was quite sharp-tongued; her words made Jin Zhi chuckle quietly. The woman earlier seed like she ca to provoke her, yet the boss had angered her into leaving. But when Jin Zhi stepped out, seeing the boss’s expression, lifeless and hollow, she couldn’t laugh anymore. So it turns out the boss’s smiles were forced.
Jin Zhi stood there awkwardly, hesitating and self-conscious.
Tian Sangsang was the first to notice her, hurriedly pulling herself out of her thoughts. She calmly asked, "Is it finished?"
Jin Zhi nodded quickly, exhaling as she handed her resu over.
She had been so afraid the boss would lose her temper at her, but luckily, she didn’t.
The two stepped into the inner room again. Tian Sangsang settled on the couch to look over the resu, while Jin Zhi remained standing.
Tian Sangsang spoke: "You can sit." In that mont, she was struck by a mory of facing Ye Binyi for the first ti, trembling with fear. She hadn’t let her sit then, and Ye Binyi hadn’t dared to sit down, just stood there blankly. What was her mood back then? Respectful? Fearful? Was this girl feeling the sa way now?
Jin Zhi nervously took a seat.
The atmosphere was unusually quiet. Jin Zhi didn’t dare look around, her hands rested on her knees, making her seem very demure.
Scanning through the resu, Tian Sangsang learned that the girl’s na was Jin Zhi, twenty years old, still very young, unmarried, with a high school education, a native of Beijing but originally from a rural area.
On closer examination, her background was quite clean and her life seed like a blank slate.
"I’ll just call you Jin Zhi, ok? Your na is really well-chosen."
Tian Sangsang smiled lightly, still holding the resu in her hands.
Jin Zhi murmured her agreent, unsure how to respond. Everyone seed to complint her na, but it was just a good na. She wasn’t born into wealth and privilege—her parents had picked the na purely because they loved money.
"I’m from the countryside too. At your age, I already had a child."
Ah? Jin Zhi’s eyes widened in disbelief, but then she quickly realized it was inappropriate and composed her expression.
"What I ant was that, generally in rural areas, girls your age are mostly married with children. So why did you decide to co to the city to build your career? Is it because your family is here?" Tian Sangsang asked.
Jin Zhi understood—this was her probing for family information.
She answered truthfully: "I didn’t get into college after the exams, so I started working outside. My parents aren’t in a hurry to marry off. There’s not much one can do in the countryside, and I’ve heard there are more opportunities in the city. I want to better support my family. I’m not afraid of hard work, and I don’t want to be confined to the countryside, so I ca here." Actually, there were other reasons why she hadn’t married yet. Family scandals shouldn’t be aired, so Jin Zhi left it at that.
"So how did you think of applying to work here?" That was sothing Tian Sangsang needed to understand.
Jin Zhi hesitated for a while before answering, "A gentleman surnad Zhao recomnded ."
Tian Sangsang thought for a mont. "Surnad Zhao?"
Jin Zhi nodded. "One day, I ran into so thugs outside, and Mr. Zhao intervened to help. When he heard I was unemployed, he kindly recomnded to you. He said you’re a good person and that you need help here. He’s your friend."
A friend? Surnad Zhao? Aside from Zhao Chun, Tian Sangsang couldn’t think of anyone else.
Her view of Jin Zhi changed imdiately. Zhao Chun introduced soone to her? He hadn’t inford her beforehand. Initially, Sangsang had thought of delaying her decision to hire Jin Zhi, as the girl seed a bit shy and timid.
But now that there was so connection to Zhao Chun, she decided to give her a chance.
Could it be... She pressed her lips together in thought. Could Zhao Chun have taken a liking to this girl? She was indeed Qingxiu and sweet-looking.
No matter Zhao Chun’s motives, since he had gone out of his way to recomnd her, he surely cared enough. Sangsang couldn’t bear to reject her. Tian Sangsang didn’t say anything like "we’ll notify you after consideration"; instead, she said, "Alright, co here tomorrow morning to report in. Tomorrow will be your first day of work. Since you’re new, I’ll teach you about the products here, and you’ll need to familiarize yourself with them all. Once you’ve learned, you’ll manage things here for now. I’ll occasionally co by to help out as needed."
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