The job hunt was seriously breaking me. I spent almost another whole week walking miles every single day, applying to what felt like a hundred pathetic minimum-wage jobs, and getting rejected every single time because I was too young and didn't have a high school diploma yet. My feet were constantly aching, and the emotional exhaustion was worse than the physical pain from the beatdown; I was starting to lose hope that I would ever find anything, and the thought of failing my sister because I couldn't get a damn paycheck was terrifying me. I felt like a total failure, and that feeling was starting to overwhelm even the hatred I had for Liang Xu. I knew if I didn't find something soon, the huge lie I told my parents was going to completely fall apart.
But then, late on a Friday afternoon, when I was honestly ready to give up and just go home and cry, I stumbled into this really old, dingy laundromat near the bad side of town. The place smelled horribly like stale detergent and sweat, but the manager, a tired-looking older man named Mr. Lee, looked like he needed help desperately. I walked up to the counter, handed him my application, and tried to sound as responsible and mature as possible. He looked at my young face, and then down at my lack of experience, but he sighed deeply and finally told me he needed someone to handle the late-night shifts, washing and folding clothes and cleaning the machines, because nobody else wanted to do the awful closing work.
I didn't even hesitate for a second, man. I immediately told him I would take it, saying, "I can start right now, sir. I really need this job." The pay was barely anything, just a few cents above minimum wage, and the hours were completely terrible—from nine at night until closing after midnight—but it was a paycheck, and it was mine. I didn't care how miserable the job was; it was honest work, and it was the only way I had left to fight for my sister's future, since Liang Xu had destroyed my academic one. I walked out of that smelly laundromat with the biggest, most unbelievable sense of relief I had felt in weeks, even though my clothes already smelled faintly of bleach and dirty laundry.
That night, I started my first shift, washing and folding mountains of strangers' clothes, dealing with gross lint traps and sticky floors. My back was killing me, and my hands were totally rough from the detergent, but I didn't complain once. Every time I felt tired or started to feel sorry for myself, I just thought about Liang Xu's smug, handsome face and the awful threat he made against my sister, and the pure, cold hatred would instantly refuel me. This miserable job wasn't just work; it was my new weapon, a way for me to slowly and surely build up the money I needed to get my family to a safer place, far away from that rich bastard's reach. My new, difficult life had officially begun.