The next morning, Chen Jiaxian's entire face was swollen.
She put the electric toothbrush into her mouth, and the mint-flavored toothpaste penetrated into her brain with coolness.
The girl in the mirror is still very young, her eyes are swollen like rotten peaches, and there are five clear finger prints on the left side of her face.
How can I still go to work?
She splashed cold water on her face. Looking up again, Mother Chen was standing aside.
"Your dad is also doing it for your own good." Mother Chen advised uneasily, "You and your dad should give in."
Chen Jiaxian was silent.
"You kid!" Mother Chen stamped her feet, "How come you can't tell the difference between good and bad! I ask you to pay 2,000 home every month because I'm afraid you'll spend it randomly, but it's for your own good!"
Chen Jiaxian buried her face in the cold water, then turned her head wetly, her face pale.
She looked into Mother Chen's eyes.
"Mom, I haven't paid my salary yet. I really have no money now."
"Look at you, let's just say you are loose and can't save money at all."
The anger in her chest surged, but Chen Jiaxian wanted to laugh a little.
Now she can't save money? What about the dowry money that you agreed to save for her?
She thought so and asked.
Mother Chen was so angry that her face changed: "I haven't forgotten! You white-eyed wolf, all you can think about is money, money, money! When you get married, can your parents not give it to you?! How can you show any humanity between relatives? None? If Jiahao uses your computer, you will argue with him! "
Chen Jiaxian wiped her face, picked up the computer she got back from Chen Jiahao, and walked across the mess in the living room.
Mother Chen stopped her and said, "Give me a hand and mop the living room floor."
Chen Jiaxian stood still.
The mother and daughter were in a stalemate with cold faces. In the end, the mother surrendered first.
Mother Chen sighed: "One by one, I can't do anything to you!" She began to bend down and get busy.
Chen Jiaxian said: "Mom, don't clean it up either." She said softly, "Whoever broke it will clean it up."
Mother Chen spat at her: "Listen, what are you talking about? Such a conspiracy between family members!"
Chen Jiaxian stopped talking. Chen's mother has a herniated disc in her waist, which causes pain when she works. She watched Mother Chen tidying up the living room while hammering her waist. She was always a busy gray shadow at home.
She opened the door and walked down the stairs. Mother Chen chased down from behind.
Mother Chen put a roll of banknotes into Chen Jiaxian's hand. A few fifties, a few twenties, a few ten bucks, and a few five bucks.
"Mom gave this to you." Mother Chen whispered, looking back at the room nervously, and gave her a push, "Go to work, don't tell your dad and brother."
Chen Jiaxian did not answer.
Because of the store, most of the family's money is spent in the store, and the financial power is in the hands of Chen's father.
"Mom, where did you get the money?"
Mother Chen said nothing and pointed to the next door.
It's a chess and card room opened by a neighbor. When the candy shop is not busy, Chen's mother occasionally helps with cooking.
Of course it was behind Father Chen's back.
Chen Jiaxian's eyes began to heat up again. With emotions surging in her chest, she said, "Mom, are you really happy?"
Mother Chen glanced at her and sneered, as if she thought the question was ridiculous.
Chen Jiaxian took out the three hundred-dollar bills she had left, and stuffed them back into Chen's mother's pocket along with the roll of change: "Mom, take this money and go to the hospital to have your waist checked. I'll make an appointment for you. Come with you." She almost begged, "Love yourself more, okay?"
Chen's mother refused to accept it, so Chen Jiaxian forced it back.
Mother Chen touched Chen Jiaxian's hair with her rough hands: "Good girl, I will cook your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs for you tonight." She warned, "Take it easy with your dad. It's for your own good to pay for the household expenses."
"Mom, I don't like eating ribs." Chen Jiaxian finally said it.
Mother Chen was a little confused for a moment: "How can you say that you don't like something that you have liked to eat since you were a child?"
Do I "like" it?
Is it because I didn’t clearly object that I was forced to comply with other people’s desires and become my “like”?
On this day when she was twenty, in the cramped corridor, Chen Jiaxian suddenly realized that the desire surging in her chest was strong and clear.
She no longer wanted to be controlled by other people's desires.
Chen Jiaxian looked at Mother Chen steadily for a while, then turned and left.
…
There was a regular project meeting today, and she went into the conference room to debug the computer.
After following several project meetings, Chen Jiaxian gradually became familiar with the process of meeting minutes. She followed the method taught in the online class and made a movable excel table based on the different functional lines of each port.
The summary list is divided into follow-up of last week’s key work and this week’s key work. In addition, fill in the work content, start time, estimated completion time, person in charge, completion status, and remarks in several columns.
Chen Jiaxian quickly recorded the key points and completed the meeting minutes on the spot. Pan Qiaomu glanced at her: "Well done."
Chen Jiaxian controlled her smile and subconsciously held her pockets.
She really needs this job.
She is really short of money.
When the meeting ended, Zhou Ke came over with a cup and said hello in Xiguan dialect: "Your performance was great today."
Chen Jiaxian was stunned for a moment, then responded: "Thank you. Are you a local too?"
Zhou Xike narrowed her eyes: "Yes, I am also Miss Xiguan." She raised the cup in her hand, "Coffee?"
Chen Jiaxian didn't know what to say. She doesn't have the habit of drinking coffee because her living expenses have never been sufficient, and even convenience store coffee is very expensive for her.
She is also used to being a busy gray shadow in the workplace, just like Chen's mother. She doesn’t know how to have a decent conversation with her coworkers.
Chen Jiaxian walked into the tea room in silence.
She was about to get a scented tea bag when Zhou Ke stopped her.
"I'm losing weight recently. Drinking American style can quickly reduce edema." Zhou Ke said leisurely, pressing the "American" button on the coffee machine, "Together?"
The sound of grinding beans suddenly sounded, and Chen Jiaxian subconsciously touched her swollen face, feeling a strong sense of shame.
She luckily thought she could hide it, but in fact everyone saw it.
"Okay." she said.
The two men were leaning against the bar, holding glasses. Zhou Ke told Chen Jiaxian: "It's best to put on some makeup when you go to work. Do you know how to put on makeup?"
Chen Jiaxian shook her head.
Zhou Ke said: "I have a bottle of foundation, but the color is not suitable. I think you have fair skin. Do you want to try it?"
Facing the kindness of others, Chen Jiaxian once again felt ashamed. This is a physiological reaction.
Not many people were nice to her, so she subconsciously felt that kindness was extremely valuable, and she felt ashamed of herself.
Chen Jiaxian waved her hand: "...It's too precious."
Zhou Xiaoxiao said: "Why is it expensive? It's just a color test. How many drops can you use?"
Chen Jiaxian was embarrassed, Zhou Ke took out the foundation: "Come on, let's try it."
Chen Jiaxian felt the foundation evenly covering her left face. Especially the place where Father Chen slapped him last night.
"Look." Zhou Ke took out a small mirror, "The left side is painted, the right side is not painted, it's just different."
Chen Jiaxian whispered: "Yes."
"Paint the right side yourself."
Chen Jiaxian squeezed some into her hand. She noticed that only half of the foundation was left in the bottle.
If the color number is not suitable, can I still use only half of it?
Chen Jiaxian lowered her eyes.
"Thank you," she said.
