Walking along the street, the sun in the sky, after the initial coolness of the early morning had passed, had become exceptionally fierce and scorching. The hot air seemed to ripple visibly to the naked eye.
Cicada cries began to ring out across the town. This year’s summer seemed to be arriving more intensely and with greater heat than ever before.
However, the sweltering climate had absolutely no effect on Gu Lian. Wearing her jacket, she walked down the street, glancing left and right at every intersection and corner as if searching for something.
After walking several blocks in a row, Gu Lian turned and entered a small alley. What she needed right now was a stable job.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Staying at the old man’s place was just a temporary measure. It was fine for a short while, but if it went on too long, who could say what might happen? A person’s heart is hidden behind their ribs.
The alley was slightly dimmer compared to the bright street outside. All sorts of small advertisements were plastered on the walls. Kitchen waste was carelessly discarded here. Stepping on the pitch-black ground, each time she lifted her foot, her shoe sole would pull sticky strands from the surface.
“This place is so filthy and chaotic. I really hate places like this…”
Muttering a complaint, Gu Lian snatched a recruitment flyer from the wall and began to examine it carefully.
[Sincerely hiring movers. 150 yuan per day. Food and lodging provided. Utilities not included.]
[Hiring one female housekeeper. Must have a younger sister and own property. Both parents deceased. 200 yuan per day!]
[Hiring a part-time cleaner. 35 yuan per hour. Just household chores.]
[Seeking a female technician. No technical skills or education required. Just needs to be good-looking. 250 yuan per day. Food and lodging provided!]
…
What in the world is all this?!
Are the brains of these people hiring full of holes or something? Just looking at this on the surface, it’s already getting shady. Doesn’t the city management do anything about this?!
This isn’t even about finding a job or not anymore. It’s about whether you’ll end up in trouble if you go!
Taking a deep breath, Gu Lian forced her temper to cool down. You really couldn’t rush things like work. Sometimes, wanting a stable life might require some effort too.
Thinking this, Gu Lian turned and walked out of this alley, heading straight for the exit. A sudden gust of wind blew up, sweeping large swathes of leaves from the trees lining the street. A shower of fallen leaves rained down, rustling loudly.
“This wind…”
Gu Lian turned her head away, raising her arm to shield her eyes. The leaves struck her arm with soft pattering sounds.
After a moment, the leaves stopped falling. Gu Lian lowered her hand, brushed the leaves off her clothes, and continued her search for a suitable job.
Time began to pass. The sun gradually sank westward. The clouds on the horizon were dyed a brilliant orange-red. The cicada cries also began to fade away as the temperature dropped.
Gu Lian sat on the edge of a building’s rooftop. One leg was bent, her foot resting on the parapet, while the other leg dangled naturally, swaying slightly with her movements.
The evening breeze stirred a few fallen leaves. The strands of hair hanging down her back swayed in the wind. From her high vantage point, Gu Lian looked down upon the scenery of this small town. Vaguely, she could still see pedestrians coming and going on the streets and children chasing each other in games.
The scenery was beautiful, no doubt about it, but in her heart, she felt somewhat speechless…
She had been looking for a job all day, and yet, she hadn’t seen a single normal job posting. Instead, all the strange and bizarre recruitment methods had left her utterly dumbfounded.
Female technicians, female coaches, male chefs, basketball training partners who specifically required slender and flexible males…
She felt like all her previous life experiences had been completely rewritten in this single day. This was no longer something that could be described as just ‘impressive’.
“Sigh… I thought I’d seen enough already, but I never expected…“
Gu Lian raised her arm and pressed her hand against her forehead.
Night was about to fall. The sun’s warmth was gradually diminishing. An elderly woman, having finished making dinner, opened her window to retrieve the laundry she had hung out to dry.
When she looked up and used a pole hook to take down the clothes hanging outside, her expression froze for a moment.
On the rooftop opposite and above her, a girl dressed in somewhat tattered clothes was sitting on the edge of the parapet. One hand was pressed against her forehead, obscuring her eyes in an unreadable gesture. Her body was trembling slightly, one shake after another, looking exactly like a despairing female supporting character in a Korean drama, about to jump from the rooftop with deep-seated resentment as the setting sun shone on her back.
In that instant, the old woman’s mind instantly conjured up a dramatic story of love and hate spanning over 150,000 words, and the word count was still increasing.
While her imagination ran wild, the old woman stretched out her hand and shouted, “Young lady! You need to calm down!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Gu Lian’s body jolted. Maintaining her original posture, she immediately leaped down from the rooftop.
The old woman was stunned for a moment, then immediately leaned forward to look down. “Someone, quick! There’s an accid—… Huh?”
In her bewildered gaze, Gu Lian jumped from a height equivalent to five stories. She flipped once in mid-air, her hands occasionally grabbing onto corners of anti-theft window grilles. Her right foot kicked off against the wall, propelling her to the side of their building, where her hands firmly grasped another set of grilles. Repeating this process twice in succession, Gu Lian’s figure disappeared between the floors.
“Ababababa…”
The old woman’s mouth hung open. It took her a good while to recover. She muttered a low curse, “Did I just see a ghost?“
“Old woman, what are you yelling about now?!” A deep male voice came from behind the old woman. The old woman muttered, “I really saw a ghost,” before yelling back, “I’m going through menopause! What’s wrong with yelling a couple of times?!”
—
Back on the ground, Gu Lian walked on her way back. Quickly, she glanced at a bulletin board as she passed by. She really couldn’t be bothered to examine these things in detail anymore.
But in that instant, Gu Lian backtracked. Frowning, she began to carefully read the only advertisement on the board.
[Sincerely hiring swimming pool lifeguards. Three-shift rotation. Monthly salary. Starting at 3,000 yuan. Further details require an interview.]
“This one… looks fairly normal…”
Gu Lian went over it carefully, confirming there were no weird or bizarre requirements, and nodded in satisfaction.
The job seemed decent. Three days per shift, each shift from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Not only was the workload light, but it also seemed pretty relaxed.
The only somewhat lame requirement was having to wear their provided swimsuit. Although it was embarrassing… she couldn’t resist how tempting the offer was!
Reaching out, she peeled the recruitment ad off the board and stuffed it into her pocket. Gu Lian then headed towards the address listed on the ad. Night was gradually falling. Streetlights flickered on. Some shops that weren’t very noticeable during the day became distinctly recognizable as night arrived.
Walking straight ahead, after turning a few corners, Gu Lian arrived in front of an oval-shaped building. The building was brightly lit from within. The sounds of people playing in the water drifted out. The light fanned out in a扇形 shape, illuminating the sky above.
Gu Lian reached into her collar and scratched, then compared the address on the recruitment ad with the real-world location. She nodded with great satisfaction.
This place looked high-class and upscale. She, Gu Lian, was determined to get this job!
If any blind fool dared to try and snatch this job from her, she would absolutely scatter their ashes to the wind that very night!
At the street corner, Sister Yu walked up to the intersection. Her gaze immediately locked onto Gu Lian. Then, the corners of her mouth stretched into a wide grin, reaching almost to her ears.
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