Chapter 721: Going to Work at the Construction Site
Chapter 721: Chapter 721: Going to Work at the Construction Site
Lucy Summers heard those familiar words once again.
"Your brother is still young. Can’t you give in to him?"
She had just finished her college entrance exams. Only the day before, Lucy Summers had been happily thinking that her scores would surely be excellent, and she would definitely be able to choose a good university.
When she heard her mother say the family couldn’t afford to send two children to college, Lucy Summers replied almost instinctively, "I understand, Mom."
Once she processed what her mother had said, her eyes widened in disbelief, and her voice trembled uncontrollably. "Mom, what do you mean?"
"Lulu," her mother said tearfully, gripping Lucy’s hand. "I know this is terribly unfair to you, but if there were any other way, I would never do this to you..."
It was the first time Lucy Summers had ever refused her mother’s request. "Mom, no. I can agree to anything else, but not this. I want to go to school. I love to study!"
After speaking, she looked at her mother nervously and heard her self-reproachful voice. "I’m sorry, Lulu. It’s my fault. I’ll... I’ll try to think of something else."
When Lucy Summers woke up, she found the house eerily silent. No one was there.
She searched the neighborhood several times but couldn’t find a trace of her family.
Lucy’s heart pounded with panic. She couldn’t even eat all day.
It wasn’t until late at night that her parents dragged their exhausted bodies home.
"Mom, Dad, where were you? Why are you back so late? And where’s my brother?" Lucy asked anxiously.
Mr. Summers said, "Lulu, we left in a hurry today and forgot to tell you. Your mom and I are going to be working at a construction site from now on. We have to leave at 5:30 every morning."
Mrs. Summers added, "Oh, right. Your brother is staying at your grandma’s for a while. He’ll probably have to live there from now on. I have to work at the construction site, so I can’t be home to cook for him."
"Working at a construction site?" A look of disbelief washed over Lucy’s face. Her pupils contracted, and only then did she notice that her parents’ hands were covered in bandages, and their clothes were stained with dirt and grime.
Her father used to wear a clean, white shirt, carry a briefcase, and drive to work looking sharp and full of energy.
Her mother would dress nicely, occasionally meet up with friends, or take a leisurely stroll through the market to buy groceries for a warm, home-cooked meal.
But now?
They were wearing dusty, gray clothes, their faces haggard, doing back-breaking manual labor on a filthy construction site...
A lump formed in Lucy’s throat. The mere thought of it made her unbearably sad.
’Why did it come to this?’
That night, she lay in bed, crying all through the night.
’I can’t be so selfish,’ she thought. ’My parents have already given so much for this family.’
’With this sudden change in our circumstances, how can I just think about my own education? I should be doing my part to help.’
The next day, Lucy Summers didn’t get out of bed until the afternoon. The house was still empty.
She made herself a bowl of noodles, cleaned the house, and then went back to her room to pull a long-unused suitcase out from under her bed.
She wiped the suitcase clean and began packing her clothes, one piece at a time.
Late that night, her parents returned, once again covered in grime and exhaustion.
While they were showering, Lucy made them a late-night snack.
"Dad, Mom, I made you some egg noodles. Eat them while they’re hot." She placed two bowls of noodles on the dining table.
Mrs. Summers looked at her, her gaze gentle. "Silly Lulu, I know you’re worried about me, but I’m honestly too tired to eat. I don’t have an appetite. You have it."
"I don’t have much of an appetite either," Mr. Summers sighed. "But since Lulu stayed up late to cook this, I’ll finish it even if I’m not hungry."
Hearing this, Mrs. Summers nodded. "Then I’ll have some too. Lulu, let’s share a bowl."
"Okay." Lucy turned to get a bowl and chopsticks from the sterilizer cabinet.
As he ate his noodles, Mr. Summers said, "Lulu, don’t wait up for us tomorrow night. Go to bed early."
"That’s right," Mrs. Summers added helplessly. "Your father and I have no choice but to stay up late. You shouldn’t."
Lucy put down her chopsticks and said softly, "Dad, Mom, I’ve made up my mind."
Mr. and Mrs. Summers exchanged a look.
Mrs. Summers asked in confusion, "Lulu, what have you made up your mind about? Which university to choose? Aren’t your exam scores not even out yet?"
"It’s not that." Lucy shook her head, her gaze dropping as she said in a low voice, "I’ve decided. I’m not going to college."
"Why?" Mr. Summers frowned. "Lulu, don’t overthink things. Your mother and I will definitely figure out a way to pay for your tuition and living expenses. You don’t need to worry about anything. Just pick a school you like and study the major you want."
Mrs. Summers also chimed in anxiously, "That’s right, Lulu! Your father and I have jobs now. We can definitely afford to send you and your brother to school. It was my fault the other day. I shouldn’t have said those things to you and put you under pressure."
"No." Lucy shook her head forcefully, her voice cracking. "It’s not your fault, Mom. I’m the one who doesn’t want to go anymore."
In that moment, she felt so foolish.
’All these years, I actually suspected my parents didn’t love me.’
’They would rather toil away at a construction site, exposed to the sun and rain, just so I could go to college... ’
’How could I ever have doubted their love?’
’I was so wrong!’
"Lulu, don’t say things like that again," Mr. Summers said with a stern expression. "Your job right now is to focus on your studies."
Lucy didn’t say anything, simply throwing herself into their arms and hugging them tightly.
On the day she left home, she didn’t wake her parents. She just left a letter, silently departing with the small suitcase containing a few changes of clothes.
She didn’t want her parents to work so hard, nor did she want her brother to live under someone else’s roof.
Lucy Summers took out an online loan for two thousand yuan and struggled to find a job in a strange city where she had no one to turn to.
At first, she submitted her resume online, but when she went for an interview, she realized she had been tricked.
The man wasn’t hiring a regular employee, but a mistress.
Terrified, Lucy ran for her life.
After that, she learned her lesson. She avoided any listings for small-scale companies or those with addresses that didn’t seem like they were in office districts.
But two thousand yuan wouldn’t last long.
To save money, Lucy survived on steamed buns every day.
When her parents called, she didn’t want them to worry, so she lied and said she had found a very good job.
In reality, she was one step away from begging on a pedestrian bridge with a bowl in her hand.
Lucy wanted to find a company where she could start as a clerk. One company told her to come in to work, but on her first day, they demanded she pay a three-thousand-yuan training fee upfront.
Although she was new to the working world, she knew there was something wrong with a company that made its employees pay. She quickly made an excuse and fled.
Hitting a wall at every turn in her job search, Lucy felt like she wanted to die.
She stood on a pedestrian overpass, watching the vehicles pass by below. For a fleeting moment, she had the impulse to jump and end it all.
But reason kept reminding her that she couldn’t let herself be defeated by life’s small setbacks.
She refused to believe that she wouldn’t be able to find a job.