Qingshui Town.

“Mom, I’m home.”

Lin Qing carried her luggage and took a one-hour high-speed train back to her hometown.

“Oh! My girl is home!”

Lin Qing’s mother peered out and, seeing it was Lin Qing, broke into a wide smile. She immediately knocked over the Great Wall — scattering the mahjong tiles — and shooed her card-game companions away like herding chickens.

“Auntie Fatty, Auntie Wang, Auntie Lin.”

The neighbors filed out one by one, somewhat sheepish smiles plastered on their faces.

Lin Qing greeted each of them with energetic warmth, her smile bright and genuine as she consciously radiated an air of wholesome propriety.

“Oh, why bother being so polite to them?”

The neighbors hadn’t even made it far down the road before Lin Qing’s mother started venting with unbridled abandon.

“Auntie Fatty wins ten yuan off me every single day! That’s practically as if I’m buying their groceries for them! She should be the one bowing to us.”

Lin Qing smiled but said nothing.

In her freshman year, she’d read a book called The Crowd, originally titled in French as a study of mass psychology.

Qingshui Town was home to many elderly residents who had stayed behind, most without a high level of education.

They tended to piece together appearances and draw conclusions, rather than deal in facts.

The village head’s son had done quite well academically and was sent by his university on an exchange program to Singapore for a year. He hadn’t come back for twelve months.

By the time the neighbors had processed it, the story had become: the village head’s family was so rich and powerful, and yet their son had still been tricked into going to northern Myanmar to have his kidneys harvested.

The previous summer holiday, Lin Qing hadn’t come back to the town — she’d taken her mother on a trip for over half a month instead.

They’d had a wonderful time. But when her mother returned, she came back furious, her blood pressure through the roof.

The townspeople had been spreading a rumor: that Lin Qing had become someone’s mistress in the city and gotten pregnant, and that her mother had gone to take care of her during her confinement period…

“What do you feel like eating?”

Her mother rolled up her sleeves, cheerful and bustling, and began fussing around the kitchen.

“Savory pork terrine. And barley porridge.”

“You’re so easy to please.”

Lin Qing leaned against the TV cabinet, swinging her aching, tired legs back and forth as she watched her mother bustle in and out.

She could have just gone out to eat — the noodle stall at the end of the alley was only six yuan a bowl.

But she knew better than to suggest it. The busier her mother was right now, the happier she’d be.

Two bowls of porridge were set on the table, and Lin Qing had barely touched her chopsticks to the meat when her mother fired away: “How come you’re back at this time? It’s not a holiday or a festival.”

Lin Qing took a bite of the meat and answered matter-of-factly: “Mom, winter break.”

“What? Do fourth-years even get a winter break?”

Her mother deliberately widened her eyes to their fullest, as if afraid her daughter might miss the expression.

“You’re right. Fourth-years don’t get a winter break.”

Lin Qing played along, slumping her head in exaggerated gloom.

“Yesterday our department held its graduation gathering. After that, it’s everyone off doing their own thing — the ones going abroad go abroad, the ones interning start interning, the ones pursuing graduate studies pursue graduate studies. Off to their respective busy lives!”

Her mother chuckled. She’d guessed her daughter’s state of mind and offered immediate comfort: “Then let them go be busy! Good things come to those who wait — we won’t compare ourselves to others.”

The world’s two best therapists are, first, a mother; and second, a partner.

It wasn’t that Lin Qing was comparing herself to others — she simply had her own ideas about finding work.

“Mom, do you have any suggestions for my job situation?”

Her mother took a long, enthusiastic slurp of barley porridge and mumbled through it: “My girl, your work is not for me to decide! I trust your judgment.”

Lin Qing had never given her mother cause for worry, from childhood all the way through university.

She was trusted.

“But—”

At that, her mother suddenly set down what she was doing with great solemnity, her expression turning serious. “You can work wherever you want — just don’t come back to this town.”

Lin Qing hadn’t considered coming back to begin with.

“This place has beautiful mountains and clear water — it’s truly a good place to retire,” her mother said. “But in a small town like this, the temple is small yet the demons are fierce. People resent your success and mock your failures. Society here is built on personal connections and runs deep. Your mother would rather you build your life somewhere a little more fair.”

“Where is there fairness?” Lin Qing laughed, snatching the last piece of meat from the bowl.

All these years, the two of them had depended on each other in this small place — had they not encountered their fair share of unfairness?

Or perhaps the truth was: as long as you’re not the one benefiting, everyone feels things are unfair.

“Oh, right — last month, your Seventh Great-Uncle came by for a visit.” Her mother lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Care to guess why?”

“To matchmake for you?”

Lin Qing deliberately went for a cheeky jab.

Her father had been gone for many years now — it had long since become a running joke between mother and daughter.

As expected, her mother rapped her on the head with her chopsticks. “He came to matchmake for you!”

Lin Qing kept drinking her porridge, treating the whole thing as idle gossip.

“Your Seventh Great-Uncle’s sister-in-law has a son, you know. He works at the neighborhood committee now — practically a government position. Your Seventh Great-Uncle has been thinking about your 985 prestigious university diploma and figured he’d get you back here once you graduated.”

“Get me back here?” Lin Qing laughed despite herself. “What is that, human trafficking?”

“Nonsense.” Her mother gave her another affectionate tap with the chopstick. “You’re not worth that much.”

Mother and daughter shared a knowing smile.

At that moment, the television in the living room broadcast the local noon news: “Ms. Liang Meng, the successor of Longquan Group, recently held a press conference to officially announce the immediate termination of her endorsement partnership with actor Mr. Zhou Zelong. This corporate decision has since sparked heated debate among online users…”

“Zhou Zelong?! Which Zhou Zelong? Is that the one from Mountains and Rivers Through the Years? He’s been popular for years now…” Her mother’s attention was caught, and she remarked offhandedly.

“Shh~~”

Lin Qing’s full attention snapped to the screen. She gestured urgently for her mother to be quiet.

Without realizing it, she stood up, her expression grave, and slowly moved closer to the television.

Even after the news segment ended, Lin Qing was still standing there with furrowed brows.

Her mother walked over and waved her chopsticks in front of Lin Qing’s face several times, but she didn’t come back to herself.

“What’s the matter? Are you a fan of Zhou Zelong?” her mother asked, puzzled.

Lin Qing sat back down at the table, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and said nothing.

She looked preoccupied.

Her mother, unbothered, carried on: “What do you think about this Ms. Liang — is something wrong with her? Zhou Zelong has such a wholesome image! And he’s so handsome! I always looked forward to watching him in Mountains and Rivers Through the Years! He was even on the Spring Festival Gala, performing a comedy sketch with someone or other…”

“Mom! I want to talk to you about my work!”

Lin Qing suddenly raised her voice, cutting her mother off.

Her mother froze, chopsticks swinging between the television and Lin Qing.

Wasn’t this just gossip time? About Zhou Zelong?

That was a sharp topic change.

“Didn’t I just say, I’m not getting involved,” her mother repeated, a little put-out.

“But surely you’d want to hear where your daughter is going to work, what the job involves, and how much she’ll earn each month,” Lin Qing said.

Her mother looked even more confused. “Wait — my girl, are you saying you’ve found a job?”

She hadn’t heard anything about this.

Her mother hadn’t heard Lin Qing say so herself, at least.

“Government office?” her mother ventured.

“No.”

“Public institution?”

“No.”

“Fortune 500 company?”

“No.”

“Then… private enterprise?”

The more she guessed, the less confident her mother felt, her voice dropping lower with each attempt.

“Factory?”

After Lin Qing shook her head again, even her mother was starting to get anxious.

If none of those were right, was her daughter heading off to northern Myanmar? For kidney harvesting?

At that thought, her mother mentally slapped herself.

The environment was getting to her — she’d been led astray by the neighbors.

Her mother hurriedly grabbed Lin Qing’s hand. “Then what kind of work is it?”

Lin Qing tried to pull free, but faced with her mother’s sincere, earnest eyes, she told the truth: “Mom, I recently found a job. It pays 140,000 yuan a month…”

“Stop right there!!!”

The moment her mother heard “140,000,” she literally planted one foot up on the stool, striking a dramatic standoff pose!

Urging her to stop!!

Thank heaven, thank earth, thank the neighbors.

Her daughter really had been lured in and was going to harvest kidneys!

Even if she was a top student from a prestigious 985 university with a mathematics degree, what reputable family would pay a fresh graduate 140,000 yuan a month?!

Maybe 140,000 a year — that would make sense.

“Mom! Let me explain.” Lin Qing patiently tried to clarify.

Her mother covered her ears. “I’m not listening, I’m not listening, I’m not listening…”

In the end, Lin Qing physically pried her hands from her head, held them down firmly, and continued: “I recently applied for a position as a personal assistant…”

“As a kept woman?!”

Her mother was even more agitated now, squirming in her seat as though a needle had been jabbed into it, fretfully making a fuss.

What respectable person would pay a personal assistant 140,000?

Something would have to be given in return for that kind of money — otherwise it defied all moral order.

Lin Qing rolled her eyes enormously at her mother, fished her phone out of her pocket, pulled up an interface, and shoved it in front of her face.

Her mother squinted her far-sighted eyes and read, word by word:

“Service of the Young Mistress requires kneeling attendance.”

“Not permitted to dine at the table.”

“Must know to put on shoes when the Young Mistress extends a foot, and remove clothing when she shrugs her shoulders.”

“Height 165 cm or above, weight 110 jin or below.”

“Must be able to sing and dance.”

“Friendly reminder: Those with a strong sense of self-dignity need not apply.”

Finished reading.

Her mother blinked her aging eyelashes and stared hard at Lin Qing.

After a long moment, she squeezed out a row of words from between her teeth: “Is. This. Not. Just. Looking. For. A. Personal. Handmaid?”

Absolutely not acceptable.

Her mother’s head immediately began shaking like a rattle drum.

She objected: “My girl, I won’t go so far as to say — your getting into university was entirely your own hard work. That’s genuinely true, all your own effort. But this… isn’t this just being a servant? Ten years of grueling study, graduating from a top 985 university, and you’re willing to do this?”

“Mom! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t interfere?” Lin Qing shot back cleverly.

“This…”

Thunder rumbled.

Realizing the situation had taken a bad turn, her mother immediately slapped herself and wheedled with her daughter: “I didn’t say that!”

When you’re a mother, that’s exactly how flexible you have to be!

But she observed Lin Qing’s expression again. She didn’t look like she was joking.

Her mother knew that this girl of hers had always had a strong, independent mind since she was small.

There was no stopping her in anything, no matter what.

So she had no choice but to set down her “dramatic standoff” leg first, pull her stool closer, and sit back down properly.

Her mother then pretended to use a spoon to scrape up the last of the porridge from the bottom of the pot, and while scraping, said: “You’ve already been for an interview?”

“Yes.” Lin Qing nodded, chopstick between her teeth, not daring to meet her mother’s eyes directly.

“What kind of person is the employer?” her mother asked.

She was genuinely curious — was the other party some imperial descendant? Some member of the royal clan?

To post recruitment requirements this outrageous!

This was treating a person as something less than a person.

“Does having money mean you can do whatever you want?”

Her mother trotted out a trendy phrase she’d just picked up from a short drama.

Lin Qing said nothing.

She scraped her bowl of porridge completely clean — so clean it looked as though the bowl had never held a single grain of rice.

“Ms. Liang.”

Lin Qing wiped her mouth.

“What?”

Her mother couldn’t process it for a moment.

“Who?” She’d gone deaf.

Lin Qing had no choice but to point at the television again and repeat at a raised volume: “Ms. Liang from Longquan Group.”