Chapter 8

“Xiaowan… why have you gotten so thin? Has anyone there been treating you badly? If things aren’t good over there, come back here. I have plenty of money…”

I crouched beside the bed and wiped her tears, smiling.

“Mrs. Zhang, no one’s treating me badly. I’m doing very well there. Mr. Chen treats me well, and Professor Chen is kind to me too.”

“Then… then come visit me often, okay?”

“I will.”

The day I left, Mrs. Zhang leaned toward the windowsill to watch me go. She kept watching until I disappeared from view, then slowly sat back down.

I looked back at her, feeling both tender and sad.

When Mr. Chen heard about it later, he didn’t say anything. He quietly raised my salary by another fifteen hundred and gave me two extra days off each month.

“Ms. Song, visit Mrs. Zhang once a month from now on. I’ll cover the travel expenses.”

He said, “Anyone who can still treat a former employer this kindly will surely treat my father well too.”

The moon outside the window was bright.

I knew that this time, I had won.

Not because I had made more money, but because I had stuck to my principles.

In this line of work, some people cut corners, some chase the highest pay, some are dazzled by money, and others go whichever way the wind blows.

But in the end, the winners are the ones who put their whole heart into the work and hold fast to their principles.

Li Mei saved three thousand and ended up paying well over a hundred thousand.

Wang Cuilan pocketed five thousand and lost her reputation entirely.

And I, Song Wan, didn’t fight anyone. I just stuck to six words: “If you give your word, see it through.”

In the end, the money came, the respect came, and so did a good reputation.

I turned off my phone and pulled up the blanket.

Tomorrow I’d have to get up early and cook multigrain porridge for Professor Chen.

There was still a long way to go.