Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Beautiful country.

A large section of the plaster had peeled off the wall of the storage room.

Anxi Yang stood by the pool and splashed her face hard with cold water.

On the simple iron-framed bed behind him, Sanbao was sleeping soundly, hugging the corner of the quilt.

The floor above made a dull creaking sound; the landlady was getting up.

Anxi Yang grabbed a towel to dry her face, counted out a few banknotes from the tin box in the cabinet, folded them neatly, and held them in her hand as she walked upstairs.

When the door was knocked on, the old lady, wearing a shawl, peeked out.

"Hello, this is the nursing fee for this month." An Xiyang handed over the money, "and the food money too. Please take care of Sanbao."

The old lady took the money and rubbed the thickness between her fingers.

"Don't worry, we're both compatriots and women. You're renting my place. I take better care of your child than others, but... could you raise the childcare fee next month?"

This is the third time the landlady has increased the care fee.

She nodded and had no choice but to agree.

He turned around and went back to his room, grabbing the half-eaten baguette left over from last night and biting into it.

The baguette was so hard it hurt my throat.

She has to keep making money non-stop.

……

After finishing her first day of work, Anxi Yang rushed to a Western restaurant in the city center.

Having been an exchange student at a prestigious university, she speaks fluent English and is also strikingly beautiful.

The owner of the Western restaurant readily hired her part-time.

Most importantly, her alcoholic current husband can't even get in.

That man is incredibly chauvinistic; he beats her when he's drunk. He also won't let her work, saying An Xiyang should just stay home and take care of the children.

After being beaten for the third time.

It took Anxi Yang a lot of effort to escape the apartment with the child, cut off all contact, and hide here.

She couldn't rely on men at all, and she had long ago personally cut away anything related to love.

"Okay, table seven, check please." The supervisor snapped his fingers.

Anxi Yang walked over with the bill folder in her hand.

A middle-aged white man with a thick beard was sitting at the table.

"Sir, your bill for tonight is one hundred and fifty dollars." Anxi Yang placed the bill on the table.

The man pulled out two hundred-dollar bills and placed them on the bill.

"Keep the change. Fifty is your tip."

"Thank you, sir." Anxi Yang put away the money.

"Did you study locally before?" the man asked, looking at her.

"I spent a year as an exchange student."

"No wonder your manner of speaking is different." The man pulled a gold-embossed business card from his jacket pocket and pushed it towards him. "My name is Steven, and I'm a producer. I'm currently preparing a film, and there's an Asian woman in it. Your appearance is perfect for the role."

Anxi Yang did not accept the business card.

"I'm sorry, I have no acting experience. Besides, I have a full-time job to take care of."

"A supporting role will only take up two days of your time at most," Steven said, standing up. "If you're interested, come to this address at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Once you become famous, you'll be a dazzling superstar."

After the man left, An Xiyang stared at the business card on the table.

This is an opportunity.

If she becomes a star, then...

Anxi Yang clenched the business card and stuffed it into her pocket.

After get off work.

She was changing clothes in the locker room.

"Did that customer just strike up a conversation with you?" Mary, his colleague, leaned over and lit a cigarette.

"He gave me a business card and said there was a supporting role for me to play." Anxi Yang zipped the zipper all the way up.

Mary exhaled a smoke ring, her expression grave.

"Ann, tear up the business card and throw it away. This tactic of white men coming to restaurants to scout for actresses is specifically designed to target young Asian girls like us who desperately need money."

Last month, one of our part-time workers believed this scam and went to audition, but never came back to work. I heard that two Asian girls were also scammed last year; if it's true, why don't they come and collect their wages?

Nobody turns down money.

I can't just leave without collecting my hard-earned wages and tips.

"Missing?" Anxi Yang stopped moving.

"Who knows?" Mary flicked her cigarette ash. "I've heard that girls without legal status get scammed even more often. You should never get involved in that kind of trouble."

Anxi Yang touched the hard edge of the business card in her pocket but didn't pick it up.

I returned to the storage room in the middle of the night.

She sat on the iron-framed bed, lost in thought as she looked at Sanbao, who was sleeping restlessly.

If she hadn't been so strong-willed and hadn't fought for her pride by divorcing Zhou Fang, would her life be different now?

In the dead of night.

She often thinks of Zhou Fang and the two children left behind in China.

The two babies were easier to take care of, or rather, Zhou Fang took on more of the responsibility.

She was responsible for all three babies by herself, and didn't even have a proper postpartum period here. It was the first time she had ever realized how difficult it was to take care of a child. She didn't know why the baby would always wake up in the middle of the night and wouldn't go back to sleep, insisting that she play with the baby.

That was a wrong move.

The price of growing up is the excruciating pain of being skinned alive.

What's lost can never be regained.

But there's no going back in this world.

She has no other hope but to work hard to earn money.

Only with money can you completely get rid of that persistent ex-husband; only with money can you open your own shop.

She even hated her own mother.

An Xiyang took the business card out of her pocket and looked at the address on it in the dim light of the small chandelier.

The timid starve, the bold feast.

Go check the situation; if there's a problem, run away immediately.

She is different from other illegal immigrants; she has legal status and shouldn't be afraid of this.

Haishi, the first hospital of the city.

Ms. Sheng stayed in the hospital for more than half a month. The surgery and anticoagulation treatment went smoothly, and she was able to be discharged and go home to recuperate.

On the morning of her discharge, Song Xianglan settled the remaining bill in the outpatient hall.

She returned to the ward with several receipts.

Sheng Ruzhi is helping her mother put on a coat.

"The receipts are all here. The remaining money has also been refunded." Song Xianglan handed over the items.

"Aunt Song, thank you so much for running around these past few days."

Song Xianglan glanced around the ward. "Ready to go back?"

Sheng Ruzhi continued working, gathering several bags of luggage together. "Well, my mom's staying in a hotel today. I bought train tickets for tomorrow."

She escorted Song Xianglan to the ward and hugged her. "Aunt Song, I'd like to treat you to lunch. Please say yes, okay? Give me a chance to thank you."

"He's not showing up?" Song Xianglan frowned.

"He paid for the medical expenses and has been running errands for us these past two days; he's worked so hard." Sheng Ruzhi picked up her canvas bag. "He just called and offered to hire a car to take us back to our hometown. I didn't agree."

"Why won't you agree?"

Sheng Ruzhi raised her head, "If the neighbors ask about the chartered car back home, how will my mother explain it to them? Will she say that my boyfriend paid for it? We're not officially married yet, and I don't want my mother to be gossiped about behind her back when she goes back to her hometown."

Song Xianglan was speechless.

Sheng Ruzhi has completely given up.

Liu Yukun avoided meeting Sheng's mother because he didn't want to be involved in any responsibility of meeting the parents.

This coward would rather throw money at the problem than show his face and make a promise.

……

At noon, after settling Sheng's mother in.

Sheng Ruzhi invited Song Xianglan to a home-style restaurant at the entrance of an alley.

"Auntie, my mother was able to escape with her life thanks to your help. I'd like to offer you this cup of tea." Sheng Ruzhi picked up her teacup.

Song Xianglan took a sip of tea and put down the cup.

"Has the handover of work been completed?"

"Your resignation letter has been approved." Sheng Ruzhi took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and pushed it to Song Xianglan's side.

"This is my hometown address." Sheng Ruzhi smiled. "Auntie, I'm so glad to have met you in Haishi. I hope we can be friends with your daughter in the future. If you ever visit our area, please be sure to come and see me."

Song Xianglan picked up the letter.

He glanced at the writing on it and put it in his pocket.

"Ruzhi, are you planning to leave so quietly?" Song Xianglan stared at her.

"Auntie, I'm afraid to say goodbye, and I'm also afraid he'll blame me for breaking my promise. In the end, I asked for too much." Sheng Ruzhi lowered her head and picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks. "My mother's serious illness has really woken me up."

I have loved, possessed, and even forced things.

I lost. I resigned myself to my fate and went back to my hometown to find a stable job. Everyone else can find love and get married, so I should be able to too. What good is love anyway? In the end, a woman still has to get married, be a wife and mother.

"Didn't he give you a definite answer?"

"I've already pressured him enough, I won't force him anymore." Sheng Ruzhi chewed on her food. "It's better for everyone to be decisive."

Looking at the girl in front of her whose eyes had completely calmed down, Song Xianglan felt a tightness in her chest.

She didn't press the issue at this sensitive juncture.

Such a promise should have been made by the man, not by a girl shamelessly demanding a result.

Too much work.

"Auntie, many outsiders know that I'm with Liu Yukun and think I'm after his money. Only you don't look down on me and never gossip about me."

"Ruzhi." Song Xianglan paused, her tone becoming very solemn.

Sheng Ruzhi put down her chopsticks.

"It's already tough for women to make a living outside, especially for pretty girls. Whether it's relationships or career, people will say they're using their looks." Song Xianglan looked directly at her. "But that's not a woman's fault."

Sheng Ruzhi lowered her eyelids.

"Liu Yukun is my godson. His scoundrel behavior is his own fault. I apologize to you on his behalf. You've suffered these past few years. Ultimately, he doesn't deserve you."

Sheng Ruzhi was completely stunned.

In this bustling city, this fruitless relationship felt like a thorn stuck in her throat.

She thought she had become a joke.

But Song Xianglan used these simple and straightforward words to help her preserve her last shred of dignity.

"Aunt……"

Sheng Ruzhi stood up, walked around the table, and hugged Song Xianglan tightly.

Song Xianglan didn't move, but raised her hand and patted her shoulder.

"Silly girl. Don't doubt yourself, you deserve better."

A few minutes later, Sheng Ruzhi released her grip.

She didn't cry.

Her eyes curved into a beautiful arc, and her smile spread across her face.

This was the time Song Xianglan had seen her laugh the most heartily.