Chapter 35: My Boyfriend Is Great
The lady who was smiling brightly in the beginning suddenly pulled a long face. She waved her hands firmly and said, “I can’t do that, young lady. That would be fraud. I would be punished severely if my boss finds out. I can’t help you with this.”
Song Ran criticized her silently, people from the ’80s are just so rigid and inflexible.
She quickly handed over the jar of salted plums and said, “Auntie, these plums are salted by my nanny and they are very delicious. This is for you.”
The lady looked at Song Ran with righteousness and said, “Young lady, don’t try to bribe me with this. It won’t work and I strictly forbid this. We have our regulations to comply with here. Don’t put me in a difficult spot, alright?”
At that time, there were visitors who were standing behind waiting to purchase their tickets. The lady returned the ten-dollar note to Song Ran and said, “Young lady, please stand out of the way. There are people who are waiting to purchase tickets.”
Song Ran clenched onto the note, carried the plums, and clutched the bag of bread from the Ruby Cake Shop. As she retreated to a corner, she mulled over the events that had just transpired in her head. Song Ran wasn’t surprised. She had expected things to not go down smoothly.
The people in this generation values rules over anything else.
Opposite the ticketing counter, a willow tree stood by the roadside. Song Ran leaned on the tree trunk and stared at the lady through the small window. However, the lady did not bother with her at all.
Song Ran continued to stand there until afternoon. When she saw that the ticketing counter was empty, she insisted on trying her luck again. She tried lowering her stance so that she could look at the lady with her pitiful eyes. She said, “Auntie, could you try to accommodate my request?”
I am not refusing to pay. Is it so hard to cooperate and put on a show?
The lady waved her hand to reject her again and Song Ran’s heart sank.
“Young lady, don’t make things difficult for me.”
There were people queueing behind her waiting to purchase tickets again. Song Ran mumbled to herself, “What a rough day.”
She could only carry the plums and bread and go back to stand under the willow tree. After standing there for the entire morning, she was tired and hungry. Fortunately, she had bread with her.
She took out a small piece of bun and tossed it into her mouth. The bread was dry and tough, and she did not have water with her. She was so suffocated that her face turned red. She continually patted her chest while coughing as she supported herself using the tree.
What had she done to deserve this?
The ticketing officer behind the small window burst out laughing. Another middle-aged lady wearing a red armband walked into the ticketing counter. She was the security officer in charge of maintaining safety in the park.
The lady shouted as she entered, “Supervisor Li, what are you laughing at?”
The ticketing officer pointed at Song Ran and recounted the story. The security officer laughed and said, “Aiya, Supervisor. Just agree to her request.”
The ticketing officer laughed and said, “I’m going to wait and see how long she holds up for before I do that.”
In the afternoon, the sun was scorching hot. Song Ran felt dizzy. She could not feel her legs anymore so she disregarded her image and sat down on the tree roots.
The dog days of summer was the hottest period of the year without any breeze. She felt suffocated from the heat and she felt that her throat was burning up.
She waited until the counter was empty before going forward to engage in another discussion again. However, the ticketing officer was cold towards her without giving her any room for negotiation.
She hugged the jar of salted plums and sat below the tree helplessly and sighed resignedly. A ticket costs three dollars, so two tickets would cost six dollars. Team Leader Gu only earns 30 dollars a month.
She used to be insensitive, wasting so much of Gu Jinghang’s money. Now that she wished to save his money for him, she could not do it and her heart hurt.
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