My name is Jane Petrov. Our whole family can hear my mom Fiona Petrov’s thoughts. I found a new job with good pay and benefits. But she worried deeply, thinking, “My daughter has low education and lacks ability. How could she get a new job by selling her body?” My dad, Ivan Petrov, heard it and firmly refused to let me work. He went to the company and caused a scene, getting me fired right after I started. Furious, I decided to move out and temporarily stay at my boyfriend Nash Fowler’s place. Fiona outwardly supported but secretly tried to stop me. “What should I do? Her boyfriend has been married for years and even has kids. Is she trying to be a mistress? If she really moves in, she’ll definitely get beaten to death, and she’ll disgrace our entire family.” To stop me, my brother Alex Petrov even broke my legs with a stick and locked me at home, leaving me to fend for myself. My wounds became infected and inflamed, and I wanted to go to the hospital. Fiona sighed inwardly, “This child is so rebellious, insisting on leaving this home. Her legs aren’t even that serious. If she goes to the hospital, she’ll definitely climb the wall and escape.” Now, no one was willing to care about me, leaving me to die in pain in the room. Even until my death, I never knew who was the one that killed me. When I opened my eyes again, I realized I could hear Fiona’s inner thoughts too. “Congratulations, you can come to complete the onboarding formalities tomorrow.” On the other end of the phone, the HR’s voice was crisp and cheerful. I stared blankly at the phone screen, checking the date—I had actually been reborn. “That’s awesome! It’s so hard to get into this company. You have to treat me to a meal today to celebrate.” My good friend Anna Sanchez held my arm, her face full of excitement. She was right. This company truly offers excellent benefits. I went through five rounds of interviews and took a whole month to get the offer. But I just couldn’t feel happy now. Because in my previous life, when I shared this news with my family, before I could even celebrate, their expressions suddenly changed. They scolded me for being shameless for money and firmly refused to let me work at that company. Faced with the hard-earned opportunity, I chose to secretly report to work. But Alex actually came to the company, caused a huge scene, and took me back. I was also fired. Now that this opportunity has come back to me, I must seize it no matter what. Thinking of this, I immediately said, “I have something to do today, so I need to leave first. Please don’t tell anyone about my new job, especially my family. I want to surprise them.” Anna saw my serious expression and understood the importance of the matter, so she immediately agreed. After parting with her, I went straight home. As soon as I walked in, Alex came up and said, “Did you find a new job? How long have you been unemployed? You can’t keep relying on Mom and Dad forever.” I sneered and said, “I’ve only been unemployed for two weeks, and you can’t stand it? What about you living off Mom and Dad’s pension and playing video games at home for two years after graduating college?” After graduating from college, Alex didn’t find a job and stayed home playing games for two years. It wasn’t until last year that he joined a gaming company. He couldn’t argue with me. Just then, Fiona came over. He started complaining to her, “Mom, her words are so hurtful.” Fiona has always treated everyone fairly at home, never showing favoritism. Just when I thought this time would be no different, I heard a familiar voice.
“She’s already this age, got fired from her job, and still can’t find a new one. Might as well get married early.” I looked at the owner of the voice, Fiona, but her lips were tightly closed, and she said nothing. “My $8,000 monthly pension isn’t even enough for my son to spend. She must have savings, and she needs to bring it out.” I was startled, realizing that this voice was actually Fiona’s inner thoughts. I thought, “How can I hear her inner thoughts? And wasn’t her pension $4,000? When did it become $8,000?” All along, she kept complaining to me about being broke, saying her pension was all spent by Alex, leaving her without even grocery money. Feeling sorry for her, I transferred her several thousand dollars every month. Now it seems she was lying to me. “Jane is just resting at home for a few days, what are you talking about? Apologize to her right now,” Fiona said to Alex. Alex seemed to hear her inner thoughts too and obediently lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Jane. I’m just worried about you. What if you still can’t find a job?” Fiona comforted me, “Don’t listen to him. Even if you can’t find a job, the family will support you. I’m heading to buy groceries now. The supermarket has discounts at this time. Though I have to compete with a bunch of old folks, it’s worth it for the deals.” If it were before, hearing this would have softened my heart, and I would have transferred money to her right away. But now, I want to test her a bit more. So, I nodded. “Then hurry up, or the groceries will be gone soon.” Fiona’s inner voice sounded again, “What’s wrong with this girl today? It’s so hot, I really don’t want to go out.” I pretended not to hear and went back to my room. Now I can be sure, in my past life, it was her inner voice that spread rumors about me, causing me to lose my job and even my life. But this time, I can hear her inner voice too. At dinner, Fiona asked again if there were any new job offers contacting me. I nodded. “I just got an email, I can start work tomorrow.” Fiona said, “So soon? Didn’t you say there was no news this afternoon?” I said, “I was going to tell you, but I got interrupted.” Ivan nodded with satisfaction. “That’s good. Work hard at the new company, get along with your boss and colleagues, and don’t get fired again.” In my previous job, I was harassed by a partner during a business dinner. I angrily scolded that creepy guy on the spot, but the company demanded I apologize. I refused, so I was fired. I told them what happened, but they only cared about what I would do after losing my job, not whether I was hurt or felt wronged. Fiona’s inner voice sounded again, “Ah, what should I do? Jane has low education and lacks skills. How could she find a job so quickly? She probably used improper means.” “After all, at her last company, she was fired by the boss for fooling around.” Sure enough, the next second, Alex and Ivan’s expressions turned a bit strange. “What kind of company is that? I heard it’s really hard to find a job nowadays. You found one so quickly, are you sure you weren’t scammed?” Alex asked. I clicked my tongue impatiently. “When I didn’t have a job, you complained about me staying home all the time. Now that I found a job, you’re saying I got scammed? What exactly do you want me to do?” Ivan said, “I also think it’s not very reliable. You should reconsider and find another one.” Although he said I should reconsider, he actually meant he didn’t want me to go. Luckily, I was prepared and directly took out the materials I had ready. I said, “This is my new company’s information. See for yourselves, they even collaborate on several national-level projects. Such a great opportunity, once missed, it’s gone.” “And Dad, don’t you always talk about your friend’s kid working in a public institution? My company is way better than that.” Ivan took the materials and carefully flipped through them, his frown gradually easing. What he cares about most is his pride, and now that I’ve joined the new company, he can show off to his friends. He finally nodded. “Hmm, not bad. Do your best.” He glared at Fiona. She lowered her head, not daring to speak. I pretended not to notice, smiled, and said, “Definitely, this time I definitely won’t get fired.”
No matter what you do, you need money first. Now that my job is finally settled, everything else will be easier. The next morning, afraid something might go wrong, I got up at dawn, changed clothes, and left home straight away, waiting outside the company early. I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until I finished the onboarding process. In the following days, using “too busy with work” as an excuse, I didn’t go home for several days and took the chance to quietly rent a place, preparing to move out. This time, I didn’t alert anyone and moved little by little each day, like a hamster. During this time, Nash was also helping. In my previous life, I was confined at home with broken legs, and he couldn’t reach me. He asked around for news about me and even considered reporting to the police to find me. But I didn’t live to see him rescue me; I was already dead. I didn’t tell him about what happened in my previous life, only said that I had fallen out with my family and needed his help. I only told them I was moving out after I had almost finished moving everything. This time, I deliberately didn’t mention Nash, only said it was because home was too far from the company and commuting was inconvenient, so I rented a place near work. Fiona thought, “She doesn’t have to say it, I already know. She’s probably moving out to live with her boyfriend. So shameless.” Her boyfriend already has a wife and kids, yet she’s sunk so low as to become the other woman. Absolutely shameless. If the wife comes knocking, our family’s reputation will be completely ruined.” Ivan and Alex instantly glared at me, their eyes almost burning two holes in my face. Fiona continued in her heart, “Having a daughter who’s a mistress, what’s the point of living? I might as well be dead. It’s so humiliating!” Fiona kept badmouthing me in her heart, making up lies about me. Hearing it, I just wanted her to shut up. I really can’t understand why she’s so fixated on spreading dirty rumors about me. I even doubt if I’m really her biological child. Ivan, furious with veins bulging on his forehead, raised his hand and slapped me. He shouted angrily, “You shameless thing! Are you moving out just to mess around with men outside?” I covered my face and said incredulously, “Dad, what are you talking about? Don’t you know what kind of person I am?” “There are barely any people of the opposite sex in my WhatsApp. Who could I possibly mess around with?” I handed my phone directly to him, letting him check it freely. Fiona sneered inwardly, “I don’t even need to guess; she must have already deleted all the chat records. There’s nothing to find.” “Anyone with eyes can see the necklace on her neck. Such a big diamond, I’ve only seen it on TV. How could she afford it? It must have been given by another man.” Ivan yanked off my necklace and angrily questioned, “Did you buy this yourself? How can you be so shameless? How have I been teaching you all this time?” I retorted, “This was a gift from my boyfriend! How does accepting a gift make me shameless?” “Boyfriend? Well, you admitted it yourself! Don’t blame us for accusing you now!” Alex said eagerly. I pretended to look utterly confused and said, “What are you even talking about? You all knew I was dating someone. Dad, he even asked me to give you a fishing rod. Alex, that game console you wanted before, he gave it to you too. Have you forgotten?”
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