No Money

That evening, Gabrielle returned to her apartment, kicked off her high heels, and walked barefoot to where her mother used to keep money. To her surprise, when she reached out, she touched emptiness.

She blinked in confusion, touching a few more times, but found nothing. There couldn't have been a thief at home because she lived in a den of thieves. Growing up, no one knew better than her how to defend against thieves.

So, there was only one possibility.

She had spent all the money.

Where had it gone?

She didn't know.

Gabrielle genuinely didn't know.

Gabrielle tried to recall what she had bought in the past few days but found that she seemed to have bought nothing at all. Wait, initially, she bought some small things like earrings, hairpins, false eyelashes, etc. These trinkets cost only a few cents each, and she felt she could afford them, so she bought a bunch at once.

Later, she passed by a magazine stand. The magazine displayed at the forefront featured a female model in a white bikini with a seductive gaze and bright pink lips slightly parted, revealing neatly arranged teeth. Many men lingered in front of this magazine. Disdainful of these men's lustful behavior, she still involuntarily walked into the department store and bought a metal tube of lipstick.

In the moment the lipstick was in her hands, a trace of regret flashed through her mind, but it was quickly replaced by a swelling sense of satisfaction.

In this way, she unknowingly bought many unnecessary cosmetics. As it wasn't a one-time spending spree, she didn't even feel guilty about spending money, nor did she think she was spending recklessly until she got home and realized she had spent all her money!

Despite having found a job, the time until she received her first paycheck was still a while away. Moreover, this restaurant, unlike others, didn't provide meals for the staff. With the money gone, even eating became a problem.

Thinking about this, a cold sweat broke out on her back. It was the first time she realized how terrifying it was for her mother to be absent.

She had no more family, no more shelter from the storm. Everything had to be faced alone.

Gabrielle stood up and walked dazedly to the bathroom, wanting to wash her face to calm down. However, as she turned on the tap and watched the flowing water, her first reaction was, in the future, would she have to pay the water bill...?

How do I pay it?

Where can I pay it?

How much should I pay?

Only at this moment did she realize how her mother had pampered her. To protect her, her mother wrapped her in a warm and safe cocoon, isolating darkness and filth from her. Her mother never complained about how hard she had it, nor did she express love. She simply provided the nutrients necessary for survival. Gabrielle did survive, but she had no idea how to survive. The one responsible for providing nutrients was gone. She stumbled out of the cocoon, then stepped into the swamp of darkness.

She calmly turned off the tap, wiped her damp cheeks with a towel, and approached the mirror, carefully examining her beautiful face.

Washing away the eyebrows, mascara, and lipstick, her face became even more beautiful. Her skin was honey-like, with a healthy pink glow. Even without lipstick, her lips were a bright rose color. However, Gabrielle was extremely unhappy about this because now, bright pink and light pink were in vogue, making her feel especially ridiculous with lipstick on.

Her hair and eyebrows were particularly thick. Almost every two days, she had to trim her eyebrows, or they would grow like overgrown weeds, spreading to her hairline. Her excessively thick hair made her proud but also gave her a headache. Her hair was coarse, each strand vibrant, requiring at least ten minutes to comb every day, causing her to miss the bus every time.

With such a beautiful face, without the nourishment of money, it would quickly lose its luster.

She remembered her mother's friend, a call girl not yet twenty years old. Her mother told her that the girl had taken this unfortunate path because she got pregnant by accident. "Gabrielle, these girls nowadays are done for. There's even a girl in her high school who got pregnant! I heard that in their school, some girls even come back to class after giving birth—such terrifying things! You must never follow her example; you're going to college!"

After saying this, her mother extinguished her cigarette, opened the door, and brought the girl in. It was Gabrielle's first time seeing an indecent call girl—before this, she thought all call girls, like her mother, lived a romantic life running away with clients from time to time. The girl had a pale complexion, cheeks covered in yellow-brown freckles, and a piece of raised dead skin on her lower lip. It seemed like she hadn't taken care of herself for a long time.

Gabrielle didn't sympathize with the girl's situation—she didn't understand what it meant for a girl to have a child before the age of twenty. However, she did sympathize with the girl's inability to take care of herself. If one day she became so disheveled, so swollen, so ugly, she would rather die.

Thinking of this, Gabrielle raised her head, looked at her youthful and beautiful self in the mirror, and made a decision.

The next day, Gabrielle found Charlotte and asked straightforwardly, "How did you find a wealthy man?"

Hearing this, Charlotte's cheeks blushed as if she was about to bleed. She thought Gabrielle was going to humiliate her, stammering and unable to speak. Little did she know, Gabrielle's next words were, "Can you help me find one too?"

Charlotte: "..."