Chapter 92: Tears
Weekend convenience stores were likely the busiest they were all week. Not only did they have to deal with a large number of customers, but they also needed to verify the entire week’s bills to ensure a smooth restocking process on Monday.
The relatively quiet cashier work became busy on weekend evenings. Xia Qian Ge smiled and politely served each customer, then watched them leave with their bags of groceries.
Convenience stores, as warm and bright beacons in the city, not only provided daily necessities and basic services but also served as a source of spiritual comfort and a reflection of the city’s warmth.
Convenience stores served a variety of customers: tired office workers after a long day, housewives in a hurry to buy seasonings for dinner, and families out shopping together…
Xia Qian Ge’s excellent appearance gave her a natural advantage. Even young, innocent children held by their parents would be attracted by her gentle smile, feeling a natural affinity for her. Watching their children cling to the pretty sister, unwilling to leave, often brought smiles to the faces of the family and other customers.
Xia Qian Ge didn’t dislike this warm and harmonious atmosphere. Instead, she would smile and put herself in the child’s shoes, wondering if she had ever had such a warm scene before her own family broke apart. But unfortunately, her memories of her childhood were very blurry. No matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn’t find a single trace of such a memory. But it was also possible that it had never happened.
She was not one to indulge in self-pity. Compared to the disasters that had already happened to her, or the misfortunes she had witnessed happening to others, she preferred to learn from them and change her future destiny. She would definitely not repeat the same mistakes.
“Xia Qian Ge, it’s time to change shifts. You should go home before it gets dark. I’ll still pay you by the day.”
The slightly overweight manager adjusted his white-rimmed glasses and specially came to remind Xia Qian Ge to get off work early.
“Okay, thank you, manager.” Xia Qian Ge didn’t refuse and nodded slightly, putting down her instrument to go to the locker room and change out of her work uniform.
The manager frowned, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening. He was a little worried about the pretty girl who always had a smile on her face. The police had suddenly come in the morning and taken away both Zhang Lin and Xia Qian Ge, causing quite a stir in the store.
During lunch, everyone had heatedly discussed the matter, but the conclusion was almost unanimous. The employees all believed that Zhang Lin had done something extremely malicious to Xia Qian Ge, which had even led to the police’s arrest.
Compared to the mean-spirited… and completely delinquent-like Zhang Lin, they all instinctively felt that Xia Qian Ge, who was diligent in her work and friendly to others, was almost beyond suspicion. Both customers and employees had unwavering trust in this well-behaved girl who was highly educated yet still humble and polite.
And the facts were indeed so. Xia Qian Ge, who had finished her statement at the police station, quickly returned to the store. When faced with everyone’s questions, she even repeatedly defended Zhang Lin, who had hired someone to harm her and had committed a great mistake, saying that the other party was just temporarily blinded by hatred and that everyone should not blame her too much. She also expressed her welcome for Zhang Lin to return to work at the store.
But this immediately met with strong opposition from the employees who were indignant at Xia Qian Ge’s suffering. They had seen the girl secretly treating the wound on her knee in a corner and then continuing to work with slightly red-rimmed eyes. Even if the girl was strong and had experienced unusual hardships, she shouldn’t have to endure such unprovoked pain. This made everyone feel even more sorry for this poor girl with a difficult family background.
The manager rubbed his hands and asked cautiously, afraid of disturbing the girl’s hard-won peace of mind. “Um… is everything okay with that Zhang Lin matter today?”
“It’s okay. I didn’t suffer any losses. I’m sorry for causing trouble for you, manager, and for disrupting the store’s business.” Xia Qian Ge quickly shook her head, a gentle smile on her face, indicating that she was fine.
“Are you really okay?” the manager continued to ask, still worried.
“I’m fine. I’m not that fragile.”
“Oh, this is actually my fault. During the back-to-school season, the store was busy and short on staff. Otherwise, I would never have hired those lazy students for part-time work. Who would have thought that Zhang Lin, besides her poor work ethic, would do such a heinous thing in private? You’ve really suffered.”
The manager let out a heavy sigh. The more the girl didn’t care, the more guilty he felt. “Although you’re just a part-timer, I’ve seen your diligence. I was planning to give you the employee of the month award this month. I’ll just add a few hundred yuan to it for you.”
“How can I accept this, manager? This is my personal matter. I shouldn’t bring it into my work.” Xia Qian Ge shook her head, wanting to refuse.
“This was a unanimous decision after everyone discussed it. If you, a top student, respect us and still want to work with us in the future, then you should accept this money with a clear conscience.”
“But manager, I…”
“Really, no more nonsense. Hurry up and go home. It’s not safe when it gets dark. I’ll also schedule you for fewer night shifts in the future.”
The manager took over Xia Qian Ge’s cashier position, frowned, and waved his hand to dismiss her, as if he didn’t want to argue anymore. Xia Qian Ge had no choice but to say thank you and go to the locker room to get ready to leave.
On her way, she met a few colleagues who were starting their night shift. They had also heard about what had happened in the morning from others and expressed their condolences for her ordeal, hoping she could overcome this misfortune. Xia Qian Ge smiled and nodded to each of them, saying she was fine, before changing into her casual clothes and leaving the convenience store.
…
Evening was the busiest time for this commercial street. Pedestrians taking a walk after dinner or students out on weekends were everywhere. Xia Qian Ge didn’t leave the shopping center directly through the back door as usual, but instead walked out from the front, planning to browse the mall.
Although she often worked here, Xia Qian Ge rarely bought anything in the mall. Her financial situation couldn’t afford the goods here. Even for lunch, she would usually eat at the relatively cheap snack stalls in the basement, or just quickly heat up some leftover bentos from the convenience store.
Xia Qian Ge first went to the restroom and then called her mother from a stall. Compared to her roommates who were always annoyed by their parents’ phone calls, she would actively call her mother once a week as a routine.
Because today’s phone call was a bit special, when she pressed the call button, she could clearly feel her heart beating faster, as if she were secretly looking forward to something.
Although her mother on the other end of the phone couldn’t see, Xia Qian Ge still put on a very gentle smile and greeted her sweetly, “Hello, Mom. I’m off work. I miss you.”
“Hello, is that Qian Ge? Why are you calling back?”
A very familiar man’s voice came from the other end of the phone, but it sounded a little embarrassed. This made the smile on Xia Qian Ge’s face instantly freeze. But considering that her mother might be nearby, she still responded to the man as politely as possible. “Dad? You’re at home? Are you here to see Mom?”
“Ah… yes, yes. I came to… see her. Isn’t your mom coughing? So I brought some medicine to see her.”
The man answered hesitantly, as if he was a little embarrassed to face his daughter whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. After a burst of static, the voice on the other end of the phone finally changed to her mother’s. But compared to the man’s embarrassment, her mother’s voice was clearly panting.
“Ah… is that Qian Ge? Why are you calling at this time?”
“Well, don’t I call you every week?”
Xia Qian Ge slightly turned up the volume on her phone. The gradually amplifying ambiguous sound revealed what a disgusting scene was probably happening on the other end of the phone.
The conversation between the two of them sounded really like a deeply in love couple, as if they had completely forgotten that they had been divorced for almost half a year.
“Qian Ge? Are you still there? I’m sorry, Mom was a little busy just now. Is there anything else you need?” The mother, who had moved the phone away, picked it up again and asked Xia Qian Ge carefully, yet she couldn’t suppress the heavy panting in her throat.
“It’s nothing. It’s a bit noisy on my end. I can’t hear you clearly. I’ll call you back when I get home.”
“Good, good. Then I’ll hang up now.” The mother on the other end of the phone sounded relieved and then eagerly hung up, as if she was afraid that her daughter, who was a thousand miles away, would waste the time she could have spent with her beloved ex-husband.
“Mom, do you remember today is…”
Xia Qian Ge was still unwilling to give up and wanted to ask the question in her heart. But hearing the busy tone on the other end of the phone, the words that were already on her lips had to stop.
She leaned against the cold white ceramic wall of the restroom and stared blankly at the disconnected call log on her phone. She looked at it for a long time, her eyes sore. Suddenly, a text message from her service provider came in.
“Dear Ms. Xia, today is your birthday. We wish you a happy birthday. For the next 24 hours, you can enjoy free domestic calls…”
The message was very long. Xia Qian Ge couldn’t see the rest of it clearly. She didn’t know what was blurring her vision. She squatted silently in the corner, her nails digging into her palms, the sharp pain waking her up. She warned herself over and over again, making an unbreakable vow.
She told herself, this was the last time she would cry… the last time.
