Chapter 12

Xie Xiaojiang cowered in a corner of the internet cafe, shivering with fear. It was his third day on the run.

The previous day, in the early hours of the morning, he had fled with a large bag of luggage, wandering several kilometers before finding a remote hotel. But in the expensive city of S, even a shabby room with only a single bed costs over 100 yuan per night. Xie Xiaojiang felt a sharp pain in his wallet – that was the weekly budget he had set for himself.

After staying for only one night, he checked out and roamed around fast-food restaurants like KFC and McDonald’s. But with his baggage and without purchasing anything, he was eventually kicked out by staff members who thought he was a homeless person.

Finally, Xie Xiaojiang came to an internet cafe. He wasn’t there to surf the web, but he noticed a sign outside that said “30 yuan for overnight stay.” He thought that was better than the hotel and decided to spend the night there.

When he paid, the internet cafe owner looked suspiciously at his large snake-skin bag, which had a pot handle sticking out of the opening. Xie Xiaojiang carefully tried to hide it with his body, but the owner sneered at him.

Feeling guilty and vulnerable, Xie Xiaojiang shrunk his neck and didn’t dare to look up. Luckily, the owner didn’t kick him out after taking his money and let him find a place to sit.

Recalling the experience of almost being caught by Wei, Xie Xiaojiang still felt frightened. He realized that the way Wei had looked at him was strange from the beginning. Xie Xiaojiang knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and that being given money and alcohol was probably a trap!

Xie Xiaojiang hadn’t turned on his phone for two days. He was afraid that the people after him might track him down through his phone signal. He had heard that this was how it worked in TV dramas.

The temperature had dropped day by day in the past two days, and Xie Xiaojiang curled up in his small internet cafe chair, feeling distressed about what to do next.

He had lived in S for half a year, but he didn’t have many friends. Now, not only had he been recognized by his “creditors,” but he had also lost his job, and his future was uncertain.

He had fled too hastily and couldn’t even bring bedding and pillows, let alone the electric stove.

Remembering this, Xie Xiaojiang regretted it deeply. He could’ve left everything behind, but how could he not bring that induction cooker? It was the most luxurious thing he had ever bought, a 998 yuan cooker, imported from Germany, it was simply the fighter jet among induction cookers!

He had only used it for a few months, and now he left it behind. He didn’t even know if Manager Wang would confiscate everything he left behind. If they weren’t confiscated, leaving the induction cooker to Ding, who couldn’t cook, would be useless.

After thinking it over, Xie Xiaojiang still couldn’t bear to leave it behind, and decided to take the risk and go back to get it.

But before going back, he needed to contact Ding to check the situation, to avoid going back for nothing.

Xie Xiaojiang pulled out his black-screened phone from his pocket and nervously pressed the power button.

After the startup screen, the phone successfully searched for a signal, and Xie Xiaojiang’s heart was pounding.

Two seconds later, a series of vibrations almost made him faint – over 50 unread messages, over 30 missed calls… oh my god!

Xie Xiaojiang glanced at the missed calls, Manager Wang called the most, followed by Ding, and then “Huanbao” Tingjie, Xiaotao, Xiaomei, Xiaofang… was he going to be chased down by his former colleagues?

Trembling, Xie Xiaojiang clicked on the message interface –

Tingjie: “Xiaojiang, where are you? Do you have time to come out for a meal? Sister will treat you!”

Xiaotao: “Xiaojiang, the big boss you offended yesterday came again today, they seem very angry. By the way, where are you now?”

Xiaomei: “Xiaojiang, you are so daring, how could you offend such a big boss!”

Xiaofang: “Xiaojiang little brother, why didn’t you even say goodbye before leaving? Do you still treat us as sisters?”

…

Xie Xiaojiang’s eye twitched. Despite receiving a bunch of concerned messages, he still had a strange sense of crisis.

He continued scrolling down and finally saw a message from Xiao Ding. There were two messages in total: the first one asked what had happened to him and that the manager had been looking for him. The second one asked where he was and whether he still needed the dormitory’s induction cooker.

As soon as he saw the words “induction cooker,” Xie Xiaojiang’s eyes lit up, and he quickly replied, “Yes, please help me keep it!”

Xiao Ding, who received the message, immediately called Xie Xiaojiang and said, “You finally turned on your phone! Oh my god, a couple of big bosses have been looking for you for the past few days! What did you do to offend them?”

“Um, it’s a long story…” Xie Xiaojiang slightly furrowed his brows. This experience not only offended the person surnamed Wei but also involved a sad story from his past. Xie Xiaojiang had never told anyone about it, so he naturally didn’t want to tell Xiao Ding.

Xiao Ding asked again, “One of them also said that he has your naked photos and inappropriate videos. What’s that all about?”

“Really?” Xie Xiaojiang found it very unbelievable, “Is it true or false?”

Xiao Ding replied, “He said it himself, and he also asked me to tell you to proactively come and see him. Otherwise, he’ll show those photos to the girl you like. You don’t know about these photos? Hmph, I always felt that guy wasn’t a good person. Maybe he’s just making it up!”

Suddenly, Xie Xiaojiang remembered that he had seen his own photo being secretly taken at Chunjiang Huajing Garden before, but that photo wasn’t a naked one…could it be that Wei had taken other photos?

“Dang it!” Xie Xiaojiang’s face turned red with anger and frustration, “Sneaky, shameless, vulgar, and perverted!”

Xiao Ding: “…”

After cursing, Xie Xiaojiang cautiously looked around and huddled up, afraid of being discovered.

He said gloomily, “What else did that bastard say?”

Xiao Ding replied, “Nothing else. Um, what do you plan to do?”

Xie Xiaojiang was struggling in his heart. He never expected that the seemingly refined Wei boss would use such a despicable method to threaten him!

He had not seen what kind of photos the other party had taken, but he guessed that they were probably scenes of him taking a bath or something like that.

Xie Xiaojiang was so angry that he felt like he was on fire. He pursed his lips and wanted to confront the other party.

But after thinking about it, he had a good figure and was not an ugly person. Besides, he was neither a celebrity nor a young girl. If he was exposed, so be it. What’s so scary about that? Even if he couldn’t make it here, he could go to Beijing or Shenzhen. There were plenty of places where he could make a living. And in a different city, who would recognize him?

Xie Xiaojiang quickly adjusted his mentality and said to Xiao Ding, “Let him be!”

He couldn’t afford to throw himself into the trap and end up in jail, or his sister would be in trouble.

Anyway, he had nothing to lose, so he wasn’t afraid of anyone!

“… You’re really something, bro!” Xiao Ding sneered a few more times before asking him when he could get the induction cooker.

Xie Xiaojiang remembered some of his experiences when he first came to S City and kept his guard up. “Let’s talk about it later. I’m not sure when I’ll have time, and that guy Wei is probably still waiting to catch me. I can’t go back now. With you keeping an eye on that induction cooker, I can rest assured. I’ll go back and get it when I have the chance.”

Xiao Ding: “…”

Xie Xiaojiang had known Xiao Ding for almost half a year. Although they usually called each other brothers, a little bit of temptation could make a lot of things change for poor people like them.

It wasn’t that Xie Xiaojiang didn’t trust Xiao Ding, but he didn’t trust this society.

After hanging up the phone, Xie Xiaojiang quickly found a few friends’ phone numbers from his phone and copied them down. He then took out the SIM card from his phone and broke it in half.

Holding the useless card, he seemed to see the tragic events he encountered when he first came to S City.

Eight months ago, Xie Xiaojiang came to S City to work at the urging of a fellow villager. At that time, the fellow villager promised him that he would introduce him to a large company to work as a security guard, where he would be provided with food and housing, as well as social insurance and welfare benefits. His salary would be comparable to that of a white-collar worker. Xie Xiaojiang was tempted and followed him to S City.

In S City, Xie Xiaojiang first slept on a makeshift bed in the apartment rented by his fellow villager. The fellow villager ran around every day to help him with the paperwork. After ten or so days, he told Xie Xiaojiang that he had to pay a training fee of 4,000 yuan before he could start working as a security guard. This training fee would be refunded to him in installments of 1,000 yuan per month for four months.

Xie Xiaojiang didn’t suspect anything and gave all his savings, 3,500 yuan, to his fellow villager.

He was still short of 500 yuan and begged his fellow villager to lend him the money. The fellow villager pretended to hesitate before finally agreeing to help him. Xie Xiaojiang was grateful and promised to pay him back twice the amount in the future. However, after taking the money, the fellow villager disappeared without a trace. Xie Xiaojiang couldn’t reach him on the phone and was worried that something had happened to him. He waited for him to return to the apartment. It wasn’t until the fourth day, when the fierce-looking landlord suddenly came to his door to ask for the two months’ rent his fellow villager had owed, that Xie Xiaojiang realized he had been deceived.

At that time, 21-year-old Xie Xiaojiang could not imagine that a person could be so despicable!

He fled from his rented room and wandered around the bustling streets like a beggar, wiping away tears and cursing his fellow villagers in his heart.

Passersby avoided him, their eyes full of disdain.

Xie Xiaojiang had no family or money in S city, and couldn’t even afford a ticket back to his hometown.

As he strolled along the banks of the Fengjiang River, he gazed at the dark waters, filled with despair.

But seeing the brightly lit homes on the other side, he felt unwilling to give up. In such a big city with so many opportunities, could there really be no place for him to settle down?

Coincidentally, a young couple next to him were leaning against the railing chatting. The woman said, “When can we buy our own apartment across the river?”

The man exclaimed, “A river view apartment? The price there is seven to eight thousand per square meter. I could work my whole life and still not be able to afford it!”

The woman replied, “Oh come on, I’m just dreaming. What if one day the property market crashes or we win the lottery?”

The man said, “You’re just daydreaming. Let me tell you, this is where the rich people live. We working-class folks can’t even afford a second-hand apartment in the city center. And if it gets demolished a few years later, we’ll have to move to some remote area!”

The woman pointed to the other side and said, “But look, there are also many apartments with dark windows over there. They haven’t been sold yet. If they can’t be sold, why don’t they lower the price?”

The man laughed and said, “Who said they haven’t been sold? Those rich people buy multiple apartments. They can’t live in all of them, so some of them just sit empty until the property prices go up and then they sell them.”

The woman grumbled, “What a waste. It’s better to let us live there…”

…

Xie Xiaojiang gazed at the apartments on the other side of the river, his pupils reflecting the light from the street lamps along the riverbank. In that moment, he seemed to see hope.