The Choice Is All Yours

Lin Qingyan, Lin Qingxiu, and Jiang Shuqin had rented a single room together.

This room cost only two thousand yuan a month—a very small space.

The food they usually ate was just one simple vegetable dish and one meat dish.

Jiang Shuqin couldn’t stand it.

“It’s too small,” she said.

Jiang Shuqin had grown up living a life of luxury, with almost everything she wanted at her fingertips.

She had never been so destitute before.

Lin Qingyan pressed her lips together and said, “Mom, with the money we have now, this is all we can afford to rent.”

“Mom, you should find a job. We can’t just sit at home and eat through our savings.”

Jiang Shuqin let out a scornful laugh. “Yeah, we have no money. The Jiang family doesn’t acknowledge me anymore, Xuan’er doesn’t acknowledge me, and all the Lin family’s money was swindled away by Lin Li.”

“You’re right. I should go find a job.”

It was all because she had been blind and foolish, doting on a selfish illegitimate son while neglecting her own biological child, that she had ended up like this.

She had to pay the price for what she had done.

Jiang Shuqin wiped away the tears streaming down her face.

Her voice was slightly hoarse as she said, “I’ll go out and look for a job today.”

Jiang Shuqin had never been a good student academically, and after getting married, she had been a stay-at-home mom the whole time.

She had virtually no work skills.

The only job she could find was as a hotel cleaner, earning three thousand yuan a month.

Such a pittance.

Back in the day, Jiang Shuqin wouldn’t have even glanced at that amount if it were lying on the ground.

Many guests saw Jiang Shuqin and started gossiping.

“Who is that? Why does she look so familiar?”

“Let me tell you, she’s the Jiang Shuqin who’s been all over the news lately—the one who abused her own son and spoiled her illegitimate child.”

“So that’s Jiang Shuqin? A wealthy lady like her has fallen to being a cleaner?”

“Exactly. She brought it all on herself.”

Jiang Shuqin was mopping the floor.

She often heard these remarks.

Every time the guests brought it up, she felt as if she were being flayed alive.

But.

This was the only job she could get.

If she quit, she truly didn’t know what else she could do.

Jiang Shuqin could only pretend she hadn’t heard their chatter, keeping her head down and continuing to mop the filthy floor.

Lin Qingxiu was skilled in medicine.

However, she had been banned from practicing in the medical field. She only knew how to treat patients and had no other skills.

Lin Qingxiu had originally hoped to find a job that was both easy and well-paid.

But.

She couldn’t find anything at all.

Lin Qingxiu slumped down on a flower bed, exhausted and thirsty.

She had been job-hunting for several days, only to face rejection after rejection.

With trembling hands, she pulled out the last of her money—a single one-hundred-yuan bill.

“Hahaha—”

Lin Qingxiu let out a bitter laugh.

“I never thought I’d end up this pathetic one day.”

Scenes of bullying Lin Xuan flashed through her mind again and again.

Along with the countless times she had defended Lin Li.

Even after she realized how badly she had treated Lin Xuan and felt guilty toward him, she still spoiled Lin Li as before.

When Lin Li wanted to start a company, she had unhesitatingly given him every cent she had.

Now, living in such poverty and hardship,

it was her just deserts.

Lin Qingxiu looked at the factory gate.

She had no choice.

She stood up and walked step by step toward the shabby-looking factory. She went inside and became a worker on an assembly line.

That evening.

She returned to the rented room.

The room was only sixty-five square meters, with two bedrooms and a living room. She shared a room with Lin Qingyan.

In the past, even a single room of theirs had been bigger than this entire apartment.

She slumped into a chair, utterly worn out.

“Second Sister,” Lin Qingxiu said, her voice raspy. “Is this retribution? Back then, Xiao Xuan lived in a tiny place like this. Now it’s our turn.”

Lin Qingyan remained silent.

After a long while, she spoke, her voice also hoarse, “Yes, it’s retribution.”

“Third Sister, I’ve already signed with a company. Once I start making money, things will get better for us.”

With that, they both fell into silence.

The next day.

Lin Qingyan received a call from her new agent, Sister Chen.

“Qingyan, come to the office.”

“Okay.”

Lin Qingyan rushed to the company and went straight to Sister Chen’s office.

“Sister Chen.” Lin Qingyan bowed and scraped, all former pride gone.

Sister Chen said, “Qingyan, this afternoon, you need to go and entertain Mr. Liu from Tianhan Group. He’s the main investor for the drama ‘A Hairpin in Flowers.’ If you keep him happy, you might get the role of the female second lead.”

“What? You want me to entertain Mr. Liu?” Lin Qingyan was stunned.

She understood that Sister Chen was asking her to submit to the casting couch.

Sister Chen continued, “Lin Qingyan, you need to face reality. The Lin family has completely fallen. You’re no different from ordinary people now. You have a bit of fame, but you’re mired in scandals. Plus, everyone knows you’re on bad terms with Lin Xuan.”

“If you want to keep going in the entertainment industry, you’ll have to lower yourself. Otherwise, you might end up playing nothing but a maidservant.”

Lin Qingyan had always been the one being pampered at Star Glory Group.

How could she stomach playing a mere maidservant?

“But…”

Lin Qingyan bit her lip, still hesitating.

She knew she should refuse Sister Chen, but she couldn’t.

If she turned this down, she might never get another chance to make a comeback in the entertainment world.

She didn’t want to leave the industry just like that.

She still wanted to be a popular star.

Besides, aside from acting, she didn’t know what else she could do.

Sister Chen didn’t pressure her further. She simply said, “Lin Qingyan, go home and think it over. Seven o’clock tonight, Room 605 at the Emperor’s Hotel. If you make up your mind, come.”

“If you don’t want to come, that’s fine too. The choice is yours.”

Lin Qingyan returned to the rented room, utterly dejected.

She knew that Sister Chen’s words were an opportunity handed to her.

If she refused now, there would be no going back if she changed her mind later.

Back then, when someone had tried to force her into the casting couch, Xiao Xuan had saved her.

Was she now going to degrade herself willingly?

If Xiao Xuan found out… he would surely be disappointed, and regret ever saving her.

But if she wanted to keep climbing in the entertainment world, if she still craved fame,

she had no choice.