Rebirth: Daily Face Slaps - Chapter 44

After bidding a reluctant farewell to her new boyfriend, Qin Mei’s flushed cheeks returned to normal as soon as she entered the elevator.

In the shiny elevator, she looked at her somewhat swollen lips. A flash of annoyance crossed her eyes as she recalled the scene in the teahouse that had played out in front of Lin Mengting and that strange girl. Anger and resentment welled up inside her.

—If only she were as young as Lin Mengting, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state now!

But Lin Mengting didn’t seem to appreciate her youth. She always had an attitude of “work is most important,” “interests are most important,” and “self-improvement is most important.” She often looked at Qin Mei with disdain and contempt.

It was as if all her energy spent on “marrying a rich and handsome man, living a luxurious life focused on clothes, jewelry, and beauty” was immediately devalued. It was almost as if Lin Mengting had openly declared herself too ashamed to associate with Qin Mei.

How could anyone not be envious of such a person? How could they not want to tear apart her “feigned purity” facade with all their might?!

…

The phone rang persistently after being ignored for a long time. When it stopped, it quickly started ringing again.

Qin Mei, who was rummaging through her bag for the keys, paused and hesitated before quickly unlocking the door and running inside to answer the call.

“Qin Mei, where did you go? I’ve called you several times, and you didn’t answer!”

The familiar voice on the other end made Qin Mei frown, though she couldn’t help but mock herself silently How could she have thought the factory leader would call her on a weekend?

“Mom, I went to the city and just got back.”

Mother Qin looked at the clock on the wall and realized that almost three hours had passed since she first tried calling Qin Mei. She couldn’t help but frown even more, feeling a slight dissatisfaction and annoyance at Qin Mei for leaving the factory dormitory without a word.

“What did you go to the city for? Don’t tell me you went to see Lin Mengting on behalf of Qin Dong again? I don’t understand you two siblings. Lin Mengting has already rejected him, yet you keep pushing. It’s as if our Qin family can’t find a better daughter-in-law than her!”

“Mom, you need to tell that to Qin Dong, not me. I’ve advised him countless times, but he’s fixated on Lin Mengting and won’t listen to me. What can I do?”

Here we go again with this topic!

For a moment, Qin Mei wanted to hang up the phone so her mother, who was complaining endlessly, could feel her frustration and helplessness.

“As his sister, you should persuade him more. You two are blood relatives and should support and understand each other, not just complain.”

They say “a mother can feel her child’s emotions,” and even though Qin Mei’s expression didn’t change much, Mother Qin still sensed her irritation from her tone.

“Mom, it’s easy for you to say!” Qin Mei scoffed. She had argued with her parents countless times about Lin Mengting. Even Qin Dong didn’t understand and had become distant from her.

“If you think you can do better, go ahead. I’m done being the bad guy!”

Such a thankless task, whoever wanted to do it could do it. She was going to get married eventually; why should she care so much and risk being disliked?

“Fine, you always have this attitude when I say something.” Mother Qin felt that “a daughter doesn’t stay a daughter forever.” Since leaving M City, Qin Mei had changed, becoming less obedient and sensible.

She must have been influenced by those “unscrupulous” people outside!

They shouldn’t have let Qin Mei take Qin Dong to S City to work in the first place!

Qin Mei stayed silent, knowing from countless past experiences that interrupting now would only make her mother more verbose.

In the past, Mother Qin could rant for half an hour without repeating herself, but today, perhaps due to the irritation Qin Mei had inadvertently shown, she quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, what exactly does Lin Mengting do for work? Why does she keep sending money to her family? Today, they received another remittance of one thousand yuan!”

Only two months into her new job and she could send a thousand yuan home each month. Such an easy and comfortable lifestyle spoke volumes.

For instance, how high must Lin Mengting’s salary be to make sending a thousand yuan home so effortlessly? And whether Lin Mengting, a technical school graduate, had taken some “shortcut” to achieve such high earnings? Could Qin Mei and Qin Dong, both university graduates, learn from her example?

After all, it was the year 2000. Even if Qin and Lin’s combined salaries and bonuses, after deducting various expenses, only amounted to about 1500 yuan per month.

And that was considered a lot!

Regular employees or temporary workers only made three to four hundred yuan a month!

“Isn’t it hard to find a good job there? How does a technical school graduate like Lin Mengting earn so much money so easily?!”

Even though Mother Qin didn’t voice her suspicions, “mother-daughter intuition” told Qin Mei what she was thinking. Qin Mei’s lips curled into a sinister smile “Didn’t I tell you? She’s in sales!”

Mother Qin asked again, “What kind of sales job? What does she actually do?”

“Entertaining clients, eating, drinking, and getting orders,” Qin Mei replied without hesitation, her eyes full of malice.

“I see!” Mother Qin said with disdain and scorn in her eyes. “No wonder she earns so much money every month. She’s selling smiles!”

After a pause, Mother Qin sternly warned, “Qin Mei, I’m telling you, no matter what, you can’t do that kind of work. Our Qin family can’t afford to lose face like that! It seems that Lin Mengting knows her place, feeling unworthy of Qin Dong and politely declining his pursuit. Otherwise, thinking about having such a daughter-in-law in our Qin family makes me lose my appetite and sleep. Even our ancestors would turn in their graves!”

Qin Mei didn’t intend to correct her mother’s thoughts. In fact, she was struggling to find a way to ruin Lin Mengting’s reputation. Now, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?