Diary of Getting Rich Quick in the South

I had a pretty good idea of ​​what she was planning, and I felt a little helpless.

"Mom, what are you going to say now?"

My mother looked serious, without a hint of joking: "I'm being serious, when you go back to the city this time, try to have as little contact with Su Wan as possible."

I frowned, somewhat amused and exasperated. "Mom, why are you bringing this up again? You said the same thing when I came back last time. Last time, it was for my cousin's reputation. We didn't make it public that he fell from a building because of debt, and there was a lot of gossip in the village, so I didn't defend myself. Now everything is clear, and the whole village knows it has nothing to do with Sister Wan. Why are you still harping on me and her?"

My mother looked at me with a very serious expression: "I understand everything, and I know the reasons, but I still stand by what I said last time."

She paused, then continued, "Look at Su Wan's eyes, something's not right. And the way Su Wan looks at you, that's not right either."

I was stunned for a moment, my mind went completely blank.

Why is Wan Jie looking at me like that? How could that be?

I quickly retorted, "Mom, you're overthinking it. I treat Sister Wan like my own sister-in-law, and I've always kept to myself. I've never overstepped my bounds."

My mother sighed, looking worried: "I hope I'm overthinking it, but I'm telling you this beforehand, you and Su Wan are not a good match."

She stared at me and said, word by word, "Next time you go back to the village, don't bring Su Wan back with you. Your cousin is gone, and she's still young. She'll eventually remarry, and from now on, we'll be two separate families. We should distance ourselves from each other."

These words hit me like a stone, leaving me feeling inexplicably choked up.

I never thought about those dirty things.

But in the eyes of elders, once a man and a woman get a little too close, things can never be clearly defined.

Seeing that I was keeping my head down and not saying anything, my mother reached out and pushed my arm.

"I'm talking to you, are you even hearing me? If you really get involved with her, our whole family will be talked about behind our backs for the rest of our lives!"

I remained silent for a long time, feeling both depressed and helpless, and could only respond in a low voice.

"I understand. She's my cousin's wife. I've always treated her like my own sister-in-law. I've never thought too much about it and I would never do anything inappropriate."

My mother finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "Good to know. Just keep your distance and don't cause trouble for yourself or for her."

I didn't say anything more; my mind was a mess.

That night I slept on the long bench in the living room, while Su Wan stayed alone in the room, enjoying a rare quiet night's rest.

The next morning, we said goodbye to our uncle and aunt and boarded the bus back home.

As the car drove away from the village entrance, Su Wan looked out the window at the village receding into the distance and let out a long breath, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

The journey back to the city was long, and the car swayed and bumped along.

After two days of this, I'm exhausted, both physically and mentally. My mind is filled with my mother's words from last night, and I feel frustrated and confused. I'm completely out of sorts.

The bus stopped at a service area for a break, and everyone got off to get some fresh air and stretch their legs. I had been holding my pee the whole way, so I got up and prepared to run to the toilet.

I had just stood up when Su Wan grabbed me, her face flushed and she seemed hesitant to speak.

"Sister Wan, what's wrong?" I asked, puzzled.

Su Wan hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Chen An, my phone is dead and turned off. I don't have any cash on me. Can I borrow your phone for a moment? I'm on my period and want to buy something."

Without thinking much, I handed her the phone and ran to the bathroom.

I returned and got into the car a few minutes later.

As soon as I got to my seat, I realized the atmosphere was completely off.

Su Wan sat upright, her face ashen, clutching my phone tightly, staring at me without saying a word.

A sudden panic gripped me. Thinking she was just tired and unwell, I quickly sat down and asked, "Sister Wan, what's wrong? Are you feeling carsick?"

Su Wan didn't reply, but simply looked at me coldly: "Chen An, didn't you change jobs a long time ago?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I instantly felt weak.

He feigned ignorance and asked her, "No, I've always worked at Mr. Zhang's logistics company, I haven't changed jobs."

But Su Wan wasn't buying it. She opened her phone, looked me straight in the eye, and said clearly, "Does working for a logistics company require you to work night shifts and all-nighters at Hongyun KTV?"

These words struck me like a thunderbolt, leaving my mind blank.

What the hell!

How could I forget that I lent her my phone? She used WeChat Pay, and as soon as she opened it, she could see my work group messages.

Seeing that I couldn't keep up the act any longer, I felt guilty and didn't dare to look her in the eye. After stammering for a long time, I could only honestly confess: "I... I really don't work at the logistics company anymore. I'm working at Hongyun KTV now."

The gentleness on Su Wan's face gradually faded, and she stared straight at me: "You... what did you say? You really went to work at Hongyun KTV and started hanging out with Zhao Hongqi?"

I quickly made up an excuse: "No... I just occasionally help out part-time; my main job is in logistics..."

"Don't lie to me, Chen An."

Su Wan interrupted me directly, her disappointment evident.

"Tell me honestly, didn't you leave the logistics company a long time ago? Your real job is working at Hongyun KTV, isn't it?"

I bit my lower lip, unable to utter a single word.

Seeing that I didn't speak, Su Wan's face darkened completely, and the astonishment in her eyes slowly turned into anger.

She didn't get angry immediately; instead, she took out her phone, found Zhang Dongting's number, and dialed it directly.

I wanted to stop them, but I had no right to do so. I could only sit there stiffly, waiting for the lie to be completely exposed.

The call was quickly answered, and Zhang Dongting's gentle voice came through the receiver: "Hello, Wanwan, what's wrong?"

Suppressing her anger, Su Wan asked coldly, "Dong Ting, tell me the truth, is Chen An working for you now? Don't hide it from me, this is very important."

The other end of the phone fell into dead silence for several seconds.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Dongting's somewhat guilty voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Wanwan... um... Chen An... he resigned from my company. I... I thought he told you himself, but I didn't dare to mention it because I was afraid you'd worry..."

Su Wan hung up the phone expressionlessly and slowly turned to look at me.

At that moment, all the trust, gratitude, and reassurance in her eyes vanished, leaving only utter despair.

"So you've been lying to me from the very beginning."

Su Wan was clearly furious, her voice trembling: "Giving up a proper, stable job to go and waste your life in a shady place like nightclubs, dealing with those kinds of thugs every day?"

I lowered my head and explained in a low voice, "Sister Wan, I'm just doing this temporarily. The salary is higher over there. I haven't gone astray or been messing around."

"transition?"

Su Wan's eyes reddened with anger, and her voice unconsciously rose several decibels: "Who can afford to spend all their time in such messy circles?"

"Chen An, are you even a little bit sober? Don't you know how your cousin died?"

Why did you follow in your cousin's footsteps?!

"You've really disappointed me!"