The morning sun did not wake Mu Yuting; instead, it was the alarm on her phone.
The familiar melody of a classical-style ringtone played twice before she extended a hand from her warm blanket to silence it, then got up to wash and prepare for the day.
She loved this classical tune—in her previous life, she had used it as her ringtone for over thirty years, never changing it until the day she died.
Mu's Mother had already prepared a healthy breakfast: freshly ground soy milk from their home soy milk maker and three steamed buns.
"Tingting, I've poured you a cup of soy milk. Take two buns to eat on your way."
"Got it, Mom."
Mother and daughter left home together, each carrying their breakfast, heading off to work.
Outside the courtyard, Mu's Mother boarded the company's seven-seater commuter van, while Mu Yuting walked toward the bus stop. They worked at different places, and their routes were completely separate.
Fortunately, the bus stop had clear signage. Although Mu Yuting remembered her workplace from before, she couldn’t recall which bus to take. After all, in her previous life, she had lived to 55, and the city’s bus routes had changed countless times over the years.
While waiting for the bus, she opened her crossbody bag, took out the transparent water bottle she always carried with her, sipped some soy milk, and began nibbling on a steamed bun.
The winter morning was still chilly. The bun was warm, and the soy milk brought comfort straight to her heart.
By the time the bus arrived, she had finished the bun and was cradling the water bottle to warm her hands, taking occasional sips of soy milk.
There weren’t many passengers on the bus, so she went straight to the back row and sat down. Gazing out at the shops and scenery, she began contemplating her future plans.
After calling off the wedding and dealing with that scumbag, she wanted to rethink her career path—to earn more money and also develop her personal hobbies.
A woman’s life isn’t just about marriage and children; there are many more meaningful things to do. Finding joy and living happily—that’s how to make this life worthwhile.
Her current job wasn’t demanding. She was an off-staff employee at a municipal public institution, handling clerical and miscellaneous tasks in the office. The pay wasn’t high—1,500 yuan a month—but it came with social security.
H City was a third or fourth-tier city. In an era where the iPhone 4 was nicknamed the "Kidney 4" for its high cost, a monthly salary of 1,500 yuan was quite common here.
Mu's Mother was quite satisfied with her daughter’s job—safe, stable, with hours from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weekends off, and located close to home in the city. It suited her well-behaved daughter perfectly.
But Mu Yuting wasn’t entirely content; she felt the salary was too low. She hoped to earn more, just like her mother.
Mu's Mother worked as a finance supervisor at a mid-sized private company. Her hours were from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and though the work wasn’t overly busy, she only had one day off on weekends. Her monthly salary was 5,000 yuan. The company was located in the suburbs, and her daily commute on the company shuttle took three hours round trip. In addition, she did part-time bookkeeping for two small firms, earning an extra 2,000 yuan each month.
"How can one have it all—high pay, light workload, and a short commute?" Mu Yuting couldn’t help but sigh.
After getting off the bus, she walked straight along a row of plane trees for five minutes and arrived at her workplace.
It was her habit to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early. She opened the windows to air out the room, cleaned her office, brewed some tea, and turned on her computer—just in time for 8 a.m.
"Ah-Ting, already so busy this early?" A tall, fair-faced young man stood beside Mu Yuting, watching her fingers fly across the keyboard as she typed up a request report on the computer screen.
"Yeah, the boss needs it urgently," Mu Yuting replied, her eyes fixed on the screen, her fingers never stopping.
The boy stood nearby for a moment, shifting from the left side of the computer to the right, hesitating to speak.
"Brother Yi, is something the matter?" Mu Yuting turned her head and asked with a smile. She knew he was shy and reserved, not one to approach others without a reason.
"...I heard you're getting married soon. Congratulations!" Ma Ziyi mustered the courage to say.
Mu Yuting was taken aback. She remembered that during this time, she hadn't told any colleagues about her marriage plans. Not in her previous life, and certainly not in this one.
So, where did this news come from? Who else knew?
Seeing her expression change, Ma Ziyi quickly explained, "A-Ting, I didn’t mean anything by it, just... wishing you well."
"What marriage? There’s no such thing. Brother Yi, who told you that?"
"Your boyfriend, Du Dawei, sent me a message last night. He asked me to pass on the good news to everyone and said he’d come to the office in a few days to hand out wedding invitations personally."
Mu Yuting clenched her fist. She hadn’t replied to that scumbag’s message last night, and now he was targeting her colleagues, trying to force this marriage into the open to pressure her into compliance.
How despicable!
"I’ve already broken up with him. Brother Yi, don’t believe anything he says from now on," she clarified sternly.
She had carefully checked all the messages on her phone last night. She had formally broken up with him two days ago, but Du Dawei was unilaterally refusing to accept it and was still pestering her.
Realizing he had trusted the wrong person, Ma Ziyi flushed red, his 1.85-meter frame seeming to shrink to 1.6 meters.
"Alright, I won’t believe him. Then... I won’t disturb your work anymore." Ma Ziyi took a few steps away, then suddenly remembered something and turned back. "I won’t tell anyone about this. It’s your... privacy."
"Thank you!"
After Ma Ziyi left, Mu Yuting continued typing her report, but her keystrokes grew heavier, the keyboard clacking incessantly.
After submitting the report on time, she checked her QQ messages, handled some statistical reports, and took care of miscellaneous tasks. Among the QQ messages was a pile from Du Dawei.
【Tingting, why didn’t you reply to my message last night? I couldn’t sleep all night.】Oh, so he pulled another all-nighter at the internet cafe playing games.
【Tingting, even though I have no car, no money, no house, and no diamond ring, I have a heart that will stay with you till old age.】This was a classic line from the recently popular drama "Naked Wedding Era." Du Dawei sure knew how to put it to use. Mu Yuting shook her head. In her previous life, he had said the same thing, moving Mu's Mother to tears.
【Tingting, I have ambition. Being poor is only temporary. In the future, I’ll give you a better life and make you the happiest woman!】Starting to paint a rosy picture now.
【Tingting, are you really that kind of materialistic woman? Is the reason you won’t marry me because my family is poor and has no money?!】PUA alert! I knew your family was dirt-poor from day one. My family even prepared a fully paid marital home—do you think I care about you being broke?!
After skimming through these messages, Mu Yuting replied with just one line: 【Do you dare to go with me to the hospital for a health check?】
Du Dawei replied unusually fast: 【Why waste money on a health check? We’re both young and healthy.】
【If you’re healthy, why are you afraid of getting checked?】
After a long while, Du Dawei finally replied: 【I’ll pick you up after work this afternoon. We’ll talk in person.】
Want to come deliver wedding invitations at my workplace? Mu Yuting didn’t reply, a cold smile playing on her lips. Fine, once you show up, we’ll settle this properly.
Some people live their entire lives in exhaustion because of pride. Faced with others’ provocations, they don’t dare tear down the other’s dignity, yet still try to protect their own, ending up in constant compromise. A classic case of "preferring to suffer for the sake of saving face"!
Having lived a lifetime already, Mu Yuting’s stance was clear: Pride? If you have no shame, why should I give you any respect!
At noon, she had lunch at the nearby office cafeteria and took a proper nap during her break in the office.
At five in the afternoon, half an hour before clocking out, Du Dawei showed up early. He worked at a county-level office under this municipal unit, also as an off-the-books staff member, and had come under the pretense of submitting documents.
“A-Ting, your boyfriend Dawei is here,” colleague Sister Qin called out cheerfully at the office entrance. “Oh, and he’s handing out candy. Red candy—does this mean…”
Mu Yuting looked toward the door and said loudly, “Sister Qin, I don’t have a boyfriend. We broke up a while ago.”
Comments
Post a Comment