A Miao had no idea that she was being shadowed. The experience tonight made her heart and soul tired. The next morning, when the alarm clock rang, she was still dreamy. She cleaned up causally and rushed to the cafe on the corner of the street. Every day from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, she had to work there as a waitress. If she were late for one second, the fat landlady would deduct her salary of that day.
The salary would be her living expenses and related to her food and clothing at school, so she must treat this job seriously.
When it was time to get off work, A Miao started to worry again. She had to go to the company to receive the Dur*x that she was going to give out this evening, but yesterday she lost the box that was used to pack Dur*x. Moreover, the key was that the chicken costume had been broken.
“It’s all his fault—the man who was not in his right mind. It must be him who has broken it!” A Miao cursed indignantly and then nerved herself to enter the company.
Half an hour later, she walked out with a dejected look.
“Our costumes are customized from abroad. Since you broke it, the previous deposit of 500 yuan will be the compensation you shall pay us. Also, a salesman said yesterday that you didn’t distribute our products well and threw them on the ground. I don’t think you are suitable for this job.”
A Miao felt like weeping but had no tears. Now that was it. She had lost money and her job at the same time.
“Fu*k, damn psycho!” She began to curse the man she encountered last night.
What should she do now? She had to find a job again, otherwise, there would be no tuition fees for school.
Just as she was wandering on the road, the copycat mobile phone that cost her 200 yuan rang.
“Hey, A Miao, where are you?” Zhou Xiao shouted over the phone.
Only she would call A Miao because A Miao only had this friend.
“What happened?”
“Come back quickly, your family is here!” Zhou Xiao hung up the phone after finishing speaking.
A Miao stood in the same place for a long time. Her family came? How could someone come to see her from her family…
At the same time, Shen I was putting A Miao’s information on Shen Xinglan’s table.
“The granddaughter of the Xia’s consortium…” Shen Xinglan looked at the woman in the photo, who was very delicate, but her triangular dull eyes had destroyed her entire facial features. He should be glad that he had been so strict to himself last night.
Shen I saw the disgusted expression on his face and quickly said, “This woman is called A Miao. She is 21 years old this year.”
“No surname…” Shen Xinglan meditated.
Shen I continued, “She is an illegitimate daughter and her father’s whereabouts are unknown.”
This incident was very well-known in City S in those days.
A Miao’s mother, Xia He, was the only daughter of the Xia family. Because of her beauty, she was very famous in the circle. People had speculated that the Xia family was going to be connected through marriage to the Bai family, who was a real estate tycoon at the time until the news that Xia He had had a child before marriage was exposed.
“Xia Yongqiang is really hard-hearted.” Shen Xinglan looked at the report while listening to Shen I, “He drove his only daughter out and disowned her.”
“Yes. Xia He died of illness when A Miao was twelve years old. Since then, she lived in an orphanage for three years until she was adopted by her mother’s friend. But, because she had no money and her life was tough, she was just admitted to a college this year.”
In a few minutes, Shen Xinglan had finished reading the information on the 20 years of life about A Miao and threw it into the trash can with dislike.
“Are you sure there is nothing else?”
Shen I felt that his words sounded cold. He didn’t know why his boss wanted to bring this girl back. At first, he thought his boss must like her. But when he saw her photo, he thought it was impossible.
“Nothing… left!” His eyes wandered around. The woman’s experience was simple, and there was nothing suspicious.
Shen Xinglan sneered and said, “Are you sure? Then tell me, how did a very simple woman steal my jade pendant from my neck…?”
When he ran out that night, the jade pendant was still with him. Later, the only one who had touched him was this woman named A Miao.
“I’ll check it right away!!” Shen I was in a cold sweat. The jade pendant was the thing that the boss’s mother left him. If it were really lost, the woman would die.
Behind the glitz of every city, there were dirty and dark corners. Even if there were villas and luxury cars everywhere, there would always be a group of people working hard for three meals.
A Miao’s home was in Eastern City, where the people from the bottom of society lived. Zhou Xiao, who called her, was her neighbor. Since A Miao knew things, she had been living in the block housing until her mother died. Later, she was taken to the welfare home and did not go back until she is fifteen.
“A Miao!” Zhou Xiao stood at the black door of the building, “Look, those people came here by car.”
She noticed that a black car was parked not far away, and she did not know the logo on it. In her cognition, there were two kinds of most expensive and best cars; the one with four circles and the other with a blue and white circle as their logos.
“This car must be very expensive!” Zhou Xiao enviously reached out her hand but withdrew it immediately.
A Miao shook her head and asked, “How many people have you seen? Male or female?”
“Three, two men and one woman.” Zhou Xiao was excited again. “The woman is so beautiful. The pearl necklace on her neck is so big!” She gestured. “A Miao, is it possible that your dad comes back to you?”
A Miao said that it was impossible, but she felt excited in her heart. Her mother told her before her death that her dad didn’t abandon them. He couldn’t come back because he had difficulties. After so many years, did he really return?
“Zhou Xiao, I’ll go home and have a look.” She waved her hand nervously and went upstairs against the wall.
Her home was on the third floor and there was no light in the corridor, but A Miao was too familiar with it. She went faster and faster and finally, she began to run. When she got close to her home, she suddenly stopped and slowly moved toward her door.
“Why hasn’t she come back? It’s dirty here.” A woman’s voice came out of the house.