Being Reborn And Starting Off By Not Being A Simp - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Rain That Night

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the beginning, Huo Zhenzhen was not as bossy and rude to Liu Qing as she was now.

In Liu Qing’s memories, the two of them had previously gone through a comforting and beautiful time together.

One could say that Huo Zhenzhen was a girl that Liu Qing had picked up from the streets.

She did not want to go on blind dates that her family had arranged for her. She did not want to find a job in the small county town that was her hometown. She did not want to stay in that small place for the rest of her life and she wanted to see the world. So, she had a falling out with her family and ran away from home in a fit of anger, coming to Pengcheng with only a suitcase.

She felt that since Pengcheng was a first-tier city in the country, there would be many opportunities for her to live the upwardly mobile life that she yearned for.

However, she was only a girl with high school qualifications who had spent two years idling at home after graduation. She did not possess any skills and yet she was adamant that she did not want to waste her youth on a factory assembly line.

For a few days, she went around looking for a job, but either she did not like the job that was offered or she did not get an offer. In the end, she did not manage to find any employment.

Not long after, she ran out of money. Not only was a hotel room no longer affordable, she could not even afford to stay in a place where a bed space cost 10 dollars. She ended up on the streets with her suitcase.

That day, Liu Qing was on the night shift. In the middle of the night, he felt hungry and headed towards the convenience store outside the apartment complex to buy some food. He had barely taken a few steps when he saw a girl sitting under the eaves of a small shop, her head slumped over her suitcase and crying her eyes out.

There was a light drizzle that night. On a night like that, seeing a girl sitting there and crying sadly, any normal person would feel sorry for her.

Liu Qing went over to ask her why she had not gone home so late at night but was instead sitting here and crying.

That girl was Huo Zhenzhen.

That was how they met each other.

At that time, Huo Zhenzhen had already wandered the streets for a whole day. She had been hungry all day with no place to stay and she was as miserable as an abandoned puppy.

She did not dare to go and slum under the overpass because there were homeless men there.

She knew that at this location outside this apartment complex, there was a security guard sentry post nearby and the light from the post made her feel a little safer. Therefore, she came to sleep under the eaves of the shops here before she continued looking for a job tomorrow.

It started to drizzle in the middle of the night and the eaves were not big enough to shelter her from the rain.

This atmosphere made her think of her own experiences. As she thought about it, she felt even more hurt than usual and could not help crying. It was then that Liu Qing came by and asked about her.

Perhaps it was Liu Qing’s security guard uniform that made her feel safe. As she wept, she told Liu Qing about what she had gone through.

Towards the end, she sobbed even harder.

Liu Qing’s own background was not any better. When he was in his teens, his father got into a car accident and then his mother ran off with a rich man. He did not even manage to finish middle school as he had to drop out to take care of his father. Within a year after that, his father passed away, leaving him alone in the world and bearing a debt of tens of thousands of dollars.

He was not even 18 years old when he had to start working. Due to his low education level, he was not able to find a good job.

He had worked at a construction site and he had also worked at a factory, clocking in more than ten hours a day. After he paid off his debt, he felt that his body could not take the punishing schedule anymore. He then managed to find a relatively easier job, which was the job that he had now.

He was able to find work as a security guard in this apartment complex because he was six feet tall, had a decent image and was still fairly young.

Without a family, he had no burden and this job allowed him to continue living in the city.

As for the future, he had no idea what it would be like.

Pengcheng was an immigrant city. In this city, most people did not know what their future would be like. They were all just trying to survive.

As it drizzled, Liu Qing suddenly felt a little sad as he listened to Huo Zhenzhen’s tearful laments.

Pitiful city people.

All pitiful people.

He took out 20 dollars and handed it to this stranger whom he was meeting for the first time.

“Take it and go buy something to eat. Since it’s raining, don’t stay here anymore. I’ll take you into our apartment complex and you can rest in the lobby for the night.”

He had wanted to give the girl 200 dollars so that she could find a cheap hostel to stay in, but he was worried that she was a scammer, so he took out only 20 dollars. It would not matter that much if he was cheated of the small amount.

For a long time after that, Huo Zhenzhen grumbled many times that Liu Qing had beguiled her with 20 dollars.

Later now, however, it was Liu Qing who regretted it—if he had known what would happen after that, he would not have left the sentry post that night to go to that location, let alone offered the 20 dollars.

Huo Zhenzhen managed to have a full meal with the 20 dollars Liu Qing gave her. Then, she followed him into the security booth.

Liu Qing had wanted to bring her to the apartment complex lobby to rest, but she was afraid that she would be chased out. She decided to just take shelter from the rain at the security booth where Liu Qing worked and even chatted with him for half the night.

The Jiayi property management company also needed female security guards. After Liu Qing understood what she was going through, he advised her to apply for a job at the property management company. He told her that she should just find a job first and save some money before slowly looking for a better opportunity.

After all, the company took care of their staff’s meals and accommodation. Although one might not earn a lot of money working here, at least one would not starve to death.

The next day, he brought Huo Zhenzhen to the management office to submit her application. She completed the recruitment procedures that day and became his colleague.

Between the two of them, one had no relatives while the other one had severed ties with her family. Both of them lived in a world where they had no kinship and they had many common topics, so they became very close.

More than a month later, they became a couple.

Another month later, they moved out of the staff dormitory and rented a one-bedroom house together in the middle of town, not far from the apartment complex. There, they started cohabiting.

In the beginning, Huo Zhenzhen treated Liu Qing quite well and he really did experience the beauty of being in love.

However, it was inevitable that cohabiting would bring about some friction between them and they argued at times.

In such a scenario, the one being loved was always fearless and the one giving love would always be riddled with wounds.

The person who chose to give in was always the one who loved more deeply.

Liu Qing was the one in the relationship who loved more deeply.

He had lost his family as a teenager and had never felt kinship since then. Now that this woman had come into his life and allowed him to feel kinship and love, he cherished it very much.

Therefore, whenever they had an argument, he always chose to be the one to back down.

He would rather feel humiliated than make her feel upset.

However, for all his giving in, what he got back in return was a situation whereby the one being loved became more and more fearless, and the one giving love became more and more inferior.

Huo Zhenzhen did not work long at the property company. She did not want to be a security guard for the rest of her life.

Half a year later, she resigned to pursue a course in accountancy.

During that period, it was Liu Qing’s sole salary that supported both their living expenses.

Later on, Huo Zhenzhen got her qualifications in basic accountancy and found an office job.

The pay was not even as high as what she got when she was a security guard, but the job was easy and she only needed to work eight hours a day. She also did not have to work on public holidays.

From that moment on, she felt that Liu Qing was out of her league. She always said to him, “It must be your ancestorsâ€TM blessing that you can find such an outstanding girlfriend like me. You should feel content!”

She said things like this so many times that Liu Qing began to feel that he indeed had a girlfriend who was out of his league.

That was why he fulfilled all her requests, even the outrageous ones, and did his best to make his girl happy.

At that time, he was still very naive. He thought that as long as he tried his best to be good to her, she would treat him well in return.

In the end, what he got back was betrayal.

In that life, he did not see this woman clearly for what she was and got himself riddled with wounds.

After being reborn and knowing her true colors, he would naturally not let this woman hurt him again.

After sending that message on WeChat, Liu Qing suddenly felt relieved.

He felt as if the chains from his last life, as well as the chains of this life, were all unlocked at this moment.

There was a lightness in his soul.