“That’s true. It’s not uncommon for an adoptive mother to treat her like this. If she was the biological mother… How heartbreaking.” The lady boss nodded repeatedly.
The boss became speechless. “Okay, stop delaying the customer’s time. You have already kept her waiting for so long. Now, you’re even dragging her to chat with you. Are you planning to give her a salary?”
“I’m not that Qiao Zijin. How is it that I couldn’t afford her salary?” The lady boss became unhappy. She was chatting happily with the customer. The customer didn’t seem to be unhappy either. Why did her husband comment as such? It was so irritating.
“Here’s the money. It’s exact, so there’s no need for any change. Bye.” Seeing that the couple was about to argue because of her, Qiao Nan took out the money, placed it in the lady boss’s hands, and hurriedly left with her items.
Qiao Nan had sent out the information that was received by the TV station. Qiao Nan knew that unless nobody from the TV station saw her message, someone from the TV station would definitely check on the information she provided regarding Qiao Zijin’s financial situation. Qiao Nan bought an off-plan house that was still under construction. Her rented house didn’t have a TV, thus it was inconvenient at times to watch the news and she had to make a few trips to the supermarket to use their TV instead.
Upon seeing a result that satisfied her and that the public’s kind donations were not wasted on a person like Qiao Zijin, Qiao Nan felt happy. This world could be cold to some and warm to some. However, warmth shouldn’t be extended to a cold person like Qiao Zijin.
Qiao Nan walked back to her rented house in a relaxed mood. At this time, Qiao Nan saw an extremely familiar car. In her dreams, she had sat in this car for a few years. However, wasn’t that only a dream? Why did the car in her dreams actually exist in real life?
Qiao Nan couldn’t recover herself for quite some time after seeing the car leaving her sight. Even the license plate was exactly the same as the one in her dream. This license plate had a special significance. Only people in the military and political circles would have it. If that was the case, could the owner of the car be the same as the one in her dream?
The confused Qiao Nan rubbed her face and collapsed on the bed. She felt that she was going crazy. She always wanted to distinguish the difference between reality and dream. Why did she keep encountering the same situation from her dream again and again in reality?
Feeling extremely complicated, Qiao Nan couldn’t help it and went to see a psychiatrist. It was just that Qiao Nan wasn’t satisfied with the result. The psychiatrist said that she was getting older and was living in poor conditions, thus she might have desired strongly in her heart a person who could pull herself out of the pit. She also had an assumption of this person in her heart, thus she had made a dream that projected this reality, causing the reality and dream not to be clearly distinguished.
She repeatedly encountered the same situation from her dream because the subject of her emotional projection had long received her subconscious attention. She had also subconsciously read information about this person and memorized it. As such, everything was reflected in her dream. It was just that she didn’t notice this subconscious.
In short, her dreams reflected her thoughts in the day.
Qiao Nan fancied Zhai Sheng and thus got married to him in the dream and formed a family with him. In reality, Qiao Nan led an unsatisfactory life. She was getting old, but not only was she not married, but she also didn’t have children. As such, in her dream, Qiao Nan was blessed to have given birth to triplets. All of this was a projection of Qiao Nan’s mood.
The psychiatrist’s explanation didn’t make Qiao Nan’s condition better. Instead, it made her feel more irritable, like a trapped beast. As she looked at the mirror in all directions, she couldn’t figure out if she was in the mirror, or if the person the mirror reflected was her.
Just as Qiao Nan was about to walk into a dead end, someone came knocking on the door. “Is anyone home?”
Qiao Nan tidied her hair so that she wouldn’t look like a madwoman and scare her guest away. “I’m home. Hello, landlady? Is anything the matter?” When she saw that the person who came looking for her was her landlady, Qiao Nan was surprised. “Is there anything I can help with?” The rental was paid thrice. She was paying the utility bills herself. There shouldn’t be a problem.
“Don’t be nervous. It has nothing to do with the house.” The landlady’s smile contained a little flattery. Qiao Nan felt inexplicable.
In her dream, Qiao Nan had seen too much of such a smile. The problem was that this was reality. She was only a tenant. Why would the landlady try to please her?
“Oh, okay. Then, tell me. What’s the matter?” Qiao Nan nodded. Perhaps the psychiatrist’s words had caused her to be even more confused, and her eyes weren’t working well as well. She could actually see the look of flattery and guilt from the landlady’s face. Aside from the high-spirited self in her dream, she was a nobody.
The landlady took a deep breath. “If I didn’t remember wrongly, you came over from Ping Cheng, right? You’re a local from Ping Cheng?”
“Uh, yes.” Doing a check?
“Oh, then that’s great.” The landlady smiled happily. Thankfully, she had indeed not remembered wrongly. Otherwise, she would be embarrassed. “I would like to ask you for a favor. Don’t worry, it’s not for nothing. You will receive some money. It could be said that you’re helping me. It could also be said that I’m introducing a part-time job to you. Do you think that works?”
This would be mutually beneficial.
She observed that this tenant was not bad. She usually lived very quietly, had good hygiene, and cooked her meals at home. She was a woman who knew how to lead a life. As to why she was old but still single and didn’t have a man by her side, the landlady didn’t care so much, and it wasn’t convenient for her to ask either.
Most importantly, she thought of this tenant immediately when she encountered this problem because the tenant was working, but she didn’t know what jobs she was taking. She looked relaxed and stayed at home every day.
In this way, her time matched the job that she wanted to introduce to her.
Upon hearing that the landlady wanted to introduce a job to her, Qiao Nan could neither laugh nor cry. She wasn’t unemployed and she didn’t owe the landlady money. She didn’t understand why she wanted to introduce a job to her. “Actually, I am employed.” Not only was she employed, but she was also a part-time translator.
“I know. I don’t mean anything else.” The landlady hesitated on what to say. After all, she had an ax to grind for introducing this job to Qiao Nan. “I’ve said it before that my main purpose isn’t to introduce a job to you.” Where would she have the skill and time to care if the tenant had a job?
