Chapter 102: Gift
“This is the bonus for this month’s best employee. Take it.”
When Xia Qian Ge had changed out of her work clothes and was getting ready to leave, the manager stopped her. He held an envelope in his hand and forcefully stuffed it into Xia Qian Ge’s bag. “We won’t go through the formal procedure for this. I’ll just give you the cash directly.”
“Manager, this…” Xia Qian Ge held the money, her expression conflicted.
“Just take the money. Look at your pants, they’re so faded.” The manager pointed at Xia Qian Ge’s faded and wrinkled pants and smacked his lips helplessly. “Go buy some clothes you like, some good food. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re so young and hardworking, you’re already better than many people.”
“Then… thank you, manager.” Xia Qian Ge still put the money in her pocket. She smiled and nodded in thanks, then left the supermarket with her bag.
Xia Qian Ge, with her mother’s old and worn-out leather bag, walked into a brand-name clothing store for young people on the second floor of the shopping center. The store was filled with racks of fashionable and trendy youth clothing.
She rarely bought clothes in physical stores, unless the price was exceptionally low. Her clothes were mostly bought online at a lower price, and she mostly focused on practicality rather than deliberately pursuing too much meaningless beauty. Only in this way would she not be too much of a financial burden.
But no girl is without a princess dream. Of course, she also liked the beautifully designed and expensive clothes on the shelves, with their intricate and dazzling patterns. Even an ordinary girl would look radiant in such a dress.
People often praised her appearance, saying that even the ugliest clothes would shine on her. Indeed, a pair of faded and wrinkled jeans could not tarnish a beautiful face. But why couldn’t she have the best? If the price of this beautiful face was such a dark life, then she would rather not have it.
No one wants to have a maturity that doesn’t belong to their age. Her peers would look down on her, and the elders would praise her for being sensible. But how could a girl who was too sensible get any so-called care? She was so sensible that no one could see her fragility, so much so that she couldn’t get a single bit of care.
After all, who doesn’t like a soft and gentle girl? A girl who is doted on by everyone, with a delicate and beautiful face. No matter how willful and savage, no matter how ignorant, she is still pleasing.
As long as they acted cute, they could get a lot of attention and comfort. A small cut on their delicate skin would make them cry with red-rimmed eyes for a long time. As long as they cried… someone would bring a tissue to wipe their tears.
But a child who is not cared for, no matter how much they cry, will not get a response. She had to endure the pain of her wound and stand up.
She struggled on the edge of a dark hell, enduring the despair of a terminal illness. But for the boy, she still had a beacon to live for. Otherwise, she really didn’t know what meaning such a dying life had.
“Hello, can I help you with anything?”
A well-mannered saleswoman walked up. She looked at Xia Qian Ge’s cheap clothes and felt that she was probably not a customer here. But her good professional ethics made her provide the same service to her.
“Oh… I’m here to buy a bag.”
“Is it a ladies’ leather bag of this type on your shoulder?” The saleswoman looked at the wrinkled and old leather bag on Xia Qian Ge’s shoulder and smiled. “No problem. We have several new models in the store, and the prices are relatively moderate. You can consider…”
“Oh, no. I’m buying a men’s bag. Do you have any?”
“Men’s? The saleswoman frowned, but quickly reacted. “Okay, we have men’s bags too. They’re over here.”
“Thank you.”
Xia Qian Ge smiled and nodded in thanks, then followed the saleswoman to a row of men’s waist bags displayed on the shelves. The saleswoman introduced the different styles one by one, making it easy for Xia Qian Ge to choose.
The prices of branded goods often rose exponentially. Xia Qian Ge thought she would never consider such expensive things. But today was different. The boy’s birthday… was coming up.
Actually, Xia Qian Ge could have chosen a cheaper gift, but one that was more meaningful, like a hand-knitted scarf. But she didn’t want the gift to have too much meaning, or rather… she didn’t want the boy to see too much through the gift, like her dark, hidden, yet burning love.
In the end, Xia Qian Ge chose a men’s waist bag with red and white as the main colors. Although she was partial to dark colors like gray and black, she felt that a bright color would suit the boy better.
“Thank you.”
Xia Qian Ge paid for the bag with the bonus the manager had given her. After she got the packaged waist bag, there was not much money left. She then bought a gift box and a ribbon from a gift shop, put the waist bag in the gift box, and tied the ribbon into a bow. She then put it in a birthday gift bag.
These were all services that could be bought with money. They didn’t seem very thoughtful, but they were still presentable. For most girls, expressing their love for their favorite boy through such small gestures was a very romantic thing. But Xia Qian Ge hated and even despised such behavior and would not do it.
Xia Qian Ge still believed that her mother’s submissive and humble attitude in front of that man was an important reason for the breakdown of their family relationship. In such a relationship, the father, who was deeply loved by her mother, had abandoned her mother without a second thought, leading to the breakdown of their family relationship.
And the father, in this relationship, held a position of life and death. Love that was too intense would seem cheap and lowly. Things that were easily obtained would make people naturally feel that they didn’t care. If the father had also loved her mother deeply, then this relationship would have become an indestructible, loyal love.
She had not much sympathy for her mother’s current situation. Instead, she believed that these were the results of her own actions. She remembered these painful memories just to warn herself not to repeat the same mistakes.
She knew she had an intense, almost morbid love for the boy. But she also wanted to occupy the main position in this relationship.
She didn’t want to be possessed.
She didn’t want to be doted on.
Instead, she would possess, dote on, and then dominate.
She wanted to see the boy’s fragile side, his defenseless side, his sleeping side in her arms…
She would lead the direction of this relationship. The boy just needed to pour all his love into her. She would never change her heart. This relationship would become an indestructible love, not a repeat of others’ mistakes.
