Chapter 58

“When did our family get so close to hers?”

Ye Yao didn’t care about the wages, but recently, more and more people had been coming to ask her mother for help.

Most of them were well-intentioned, trying to support them through tough times, but some had ulterior motives.

Yet, the old lady never refused anyone.

“They’re all neighbors in the compound, and I have nothing better to do anyway,” Zhang Qiufeng replied.

That had practically become her catchphrase.

Ye Yao was speechless. It seemed like the only solution was for her to earn money as soon as possible, so her mother could live more comfortably.

“What time should I go tomorrow?”

“Eight o’clock is fine, but I might not have time to make you lunch.”

“I’ll go in your place tomorrow,” Ye Yao decided seriously.

There was no reason for a young, strong person like her to stay at home doing nothing while the elderly went out to do hard labor.

Zhang Qiufeng’s eyes widened in shock. “You don’t know how to—”

“It’s just cleaning. What wouldn’t I know?”

Ye Yao was confident—until the next day, when the supervisor led her to the work site. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to strangle Auntie Wang.

“This is the women’s restroom. Clean it up properly. Pay special attention to the areas I mentioned earlier,” the supervisor instructed.

Ye Yao’s head buzzed; she barely heard a word.

Was it too late to leave now?

“The men’s restroom is over there. Once the class bell rings, go clean it. Be quick, and don’t slack off, got it?”

“The men’s restroom… too?”

Ye Yao felt a thousand horses galloping through her mind.

“Of course! Now get to work.”

Watching the supervisor walk away, Ye Yao’s expression darkened completely.

Her first reaction was to find a mask, gloves, rags, a mop, and detergent—everything except a mask.

“Ye Yao, oh Ye Yao, who would’ve thought you’d end up cleaning toilets?”

But she had already agreed. If she didn’t do it, her mother would have to.

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and convinced herself:

No job is beneath anyone—every profession is respectable as long as you earn an honest living…

After repeating this mantra a dozen times, she finally felt a little better.

Since there was no mask, she untied the cloth belt from her pants—it was just a long strip of fabric anyway.

She wrapped it around her head, tying a knot at the back so it covered her nose.

Problem solved! Even if she looked ridiculous, at least it blocked some of the smell.

“Look at that fat girl! She looks hilarious!”

“Is she the new janitor?”

Ye Yao’s ridiculous getup made her stand out in the women’s restroom.

She shut her ears to the gossip and focused on her work.

The sooner she finished, the sooner she could leave.

“Professor Li is really here?”

“Yes! His lecture starts in a few minutes—let’s hurry and grab seats!”

“I can’t believe I’ll finally see Professor Li in person!”

As Ye Yao scrubbed the floor, she overheard a group of excited girls running past.

They were her age, yet they could sit in bright classrooms, swooning over some professor, while she… was scrubbing toilets.

In her past life, she had been just like them—no, even more carefree and radiant.

She hadn’t realized how precious those times were until now.

How nostalgic.