Chapter 4

Chapter 4

March 10th, Sunday, Sunny.

I didn’t know people could be so malicious. What did I do wrong to be mocked like this by them?

March 15th, Friday, Light rain.

They caused trouble at the café where I worked part-time, saying I hadn’t cleaned the cups properly, that my hands were too dirty to serve coffee, and that they got stomachaches after drinking and needed to go to the hospital, demanding I pay compensation.

I only earned eight hundred a month from my hard part-time work, but they wanted twenty thousand. Where would I get that kind of money?

The boss was very kind. Before firing me, he quietly lent me twenty thousand. He said there was no rush to repay it, but I still felt guilty. Fine, I’ll just find a few more part-time jobs. I’ll push through a few more tough days, just get my diploma, and it’ll be okay.

March 19th, Tuesday, Overcast.

They still wouldn’t let me go.

I lost my tutoring job too. They complained that I molested children and seduced the man of the house. The lady of the house, who was usually so amiable, came to my school to call me a mistress, grabbed me by the hair, and hit me.

Nobody helped me. Everyone pointed and whispered. When I returned to the dorm, they threw out my sheets and blankets, saying it was a disgrace to share a room with me.

It hurts so much. Why? I didn’t do anything.

April 6th, Saturday, Heavy rain.

It’s been months since I sent money to the orphanage. I wonder how Taotao is doing with her studies, if she’s eating enough?

So everything had a reason. If I had known earlier-no, if I could do it over, I’d still help her.

We’re both girls. How could I bear to see her humiliated and stripped in that shop? Who knew just helping her pay a bill would provoke a bunch of lunatics?

It’s the lunatics who are wrong, not me.

But I don’t know how much longer I can hold on… It’s been a long time since I called Taotao. I’ve been in such a bad state lately; she’ll definitely be worried.

Endure, Tao Yun. To live is to endure. You can’t give up like this.

Three months later, she jumped off the school rooftop.

Because it was graduation season, the school didn’t want to make a big deal of it. They hastily dealt with Tao Yun’s remains and belongings, and everything returned to calm.

After all, she was just an orphan, without parents.

The passing of a human life didn’t cause a ripple, less even than a stone thrown into the center of a lake.