"She got fired and still can't land another job. At this point, she might as well get married and be done with it."
I looked toward the source of the voice. Mom's lips were tightly pressed together. She hadn't said a word.
"I only get eight thousand dollars a month from my pension, and that's not enough for David. Selena must have savings. I need to make her hand it over."
My heart skipped a beat. I was certain now. That voice belonged to Mom, and it was her inner thoughts.
Questions flooded my mind. Why could I hear her thoughts? And since when was her retirement pension eight thousand dollars a month? Wasn't it supposed to be four thousand?
She had always cried to me about being broke, saying all her pension money was spent on David and that she couldn't even afford groceries. Feeling sorry for her, I had transferred several thousand dollars to her every month.
Now, it was clear. She had been lying to me all along.
"What's the matter? Selena is just taking a short break. Apologize to her now," Mom said to David.
David seemed to have heard Mom's thoughts as well. He lowered his head and said, "Sorry, Selena. I was just worried about you. What if you really can't find a job?"
Mom then turned to comfort me. "Don't listen to David. Even if you can't find work, we'll take care of you. I'm heading to the supermarket now.
"The vegetables are discounted at this hour. I have to snatch with a bunch of old people, but at least things are cheaper."
Suppose I heard that in my previous life, I would've immediately transferred some money to her and told her not to go. But now, I wanted to push a little and see what would happen.
With that in mind, I simply nodded and said, "Then, hurry up, Mom. Otherwise, the good stuff will all be gone."
"What's wrong with her today? It's so hot outside. Why would she ask me to go out?"
Mom's thoughts rang out again, but I pretended not to hear anything and went back to my room.
At that point, I was sure. In my previous life, Mom had used her inner thoughts to lie about me, causing me to lose my job and eventually my life.
But this time, I could hear her thoughts, too.
At dinner that night, she asked again whether I had any new job leads. I nodded. "I just got an email. I can start work tomorrow."
"That fast? You said this afternoon you hadn't found a job yet."
"I was going to announce it, but I got interrupted by David."
Dad nodded, clearly pleased. "That's good. Work hard at the new company. Get along well with your colleagues and superiors. Don't get fired again."
At my previous job, a business partner had tried to take advantage of me during a work event. I cursed him out on the spot. The company demanded I apologize. I refused, and I was fired because of it.
When I told my parents, they were only worried about what I would do after losing my job. They didn't say much else.
"What's going on? Selena doesn't have much education or ability. There's no way she could find a job this quickly.
"She must've done something shameful to land her new job. After all, she was fired from her last company for messing around with men."
Mom's inner voice sounded again. Sure enough, both Dad's and David's expressions changed instantly.
"What kind of company is it?" David asked. "Jobs are really hard to find these days. You got one so fast. Are you sure you're not being scammed?"
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "When I didn't have a job, you said I was freeloading. Now that I've found one, you're saying I got scammed. Do you have nothing better to say?"
"Well, I also find it fishy. You should think it over and find another one," Dad said.
I understood him perfectly. When he told me to think it over, he really meant he didn't want me to go.
Luckily, I was prepared. I pulled out the documents I had readied in advance. "This is the information about the new company. Take a look at it yourselves.
"They work with several national-level projects. Opportunities like this don't come around twice."
"Dad, don't you always brag about Mr. Green's kid working at a state-owned company? Mine sounds even better than that," I added.
Dad studied the documents carefully, his frown slowly disappearing. What he cared about most was his pride. With me working for a good company, he would have something to show off to his friends.
"Not bad. Do your best, then," he said. He then shot Mom a sharp look. She lowered her head and said nothing.
I pretended not to notice and forced a laugh. "Of course. I definitely won't get fired this time."
