"You're leaving?"
Da Mei looked down at his leg.
As a doctor, she knew he hadn't fully recovered yet. What was the point of him leaving now?
"Why so sudden? Your leg..."
"It's fine. It's almost there."
"...Perhaps you've been out of touch with your family for over a month, and they're used to it. These two days won't make a difference..."
Da Mei genuinely felt he was rushing things by leaving now, but Min Er came running out, furious.
"Da Mei, let him go, hurry up and go!"
"Am I not working hard enough? Not only working twenty-four hours a day, but I also have to come back to bring him food and take care of his every need!"
"He's not related to me in any way, and I don't have to serve him forever. If he can walk, why isn't he leaving? How long do you plan to let him stay?"
"If you keep him here, you can take care of him yourself. I'm done! Hmph!"
With that, Min Er, looking wronged as if she had been bullied, her face red and neck flushed, walked away.
Da Mei didn't know what had happened between the two of them. The words she wanted to say to persuade Zhan Bei Jue to stay caught in her throat and she swallowed them back.
Watching Min Er walk away, she sighed and said to Zhan Bei Jue.
"She's truly tired and has suffered a lot. Perhaps she was wronged again today and is in a bad mood, saying things out of anger. Don't take it to heart."
Zhan Bei Jue looked at Min Er's thin and worn-out back. His heart ached more with pity and sadness. He had no right to hate her.
"I understand. She's a good person."
Da Mei finally said a bit more.
"Min Er, this girl, was originally a young lady from a very good family. If it weren't for that financial crisis..."
"Anyway, their family went bankrupt, and they are said to owe a lot of debt. Her father moved from the city center to here to avoid creditors."
"We've been neighbors for over three years. I've seen her father drink more and more heavily, her mother get sicker and sicker, and no matter how hard she worked day and night, her life didn't improve."
"She's only twenty this year, sigh. No friends, no entertainment, and no one to talk to about her worries. She's too pitiful."
Yes, she was very pitiful.
But what could he do?
The current Zhan Bei Jue didn't even know where he was going next.
He had no money and knew that no matter what he wanted to do, the first step was to have money.
So he walked slowly along the street, paying attention to every poster at the entrance, trying to find a job advertisement, and get a job to make a living.
But after walking for more than an hour, his legs started to ache, and no one was willing to hire him.
Just by looking at his appearance, they knew he was a foreigner. As soon as they saw him, they asked for his identification.
If it continued like this, he might never find a job.
And this wasn't the scariest part. The scariest part was that he hadn't found a place to stay, and the sky was covered with dark clouds, as if it was going to rain.
What is meant by misfortunes never come singly, Zhan Bei Jue now understood.
The rain started to fall as soon as it was said, and it was huge and endless.
He had no choice but to sit outside a coffee shop.
The feeling of being unable to do anything was truly frustrating.
He felt unprecedentedly depressed all afternoon.
He wished he could pry open his head and see what was missing inside, why he was so useless.
At first, many people sought shelter from the rain. Gradually, everyone bought umbrellas, took taxis, or someone came to pick them up, leaving only him.
The sky grew darker and darker. Zhan Bei Jue leaned against the wall alone, like a lonely ghost.
Suddenly, a pair of yellowed white sneakers with oil stains on the uppers appeared in his field of vision.
The shoes were soaked in water, and they didn't move closer to him, just stood there quietly.
Zhan Bei Jue's eyes lit up. He slowly looked up along the shoes and saw Min Er, whom he hadn't seen all afternoon.
She was holding a broken umbrella, her face slightly pale from running hard.
The two looked at each other. After a few seconds, she reprimanded Zhan Bei Jue with dissatisfaction.
"Aren't you coming back with me?"
The house was dark, and only the outlines could be vaguely seen.
Min Er tiptoed and brought Zhan Bei Jue into her room.
Closing the door, she threw a t-shirt at him to wipe off the water and turned on the dim bedside lamp.
Through the simple but warm decorations in the room, Zhan Bei Jue knew it was her boudoir.
He wiped himself roughly a few times, put the t-shirt away, and placed his hand on the doorknob.
"I'll leave when the rain stops tomorrow. I'll sleep in the basement tonight. Thank you for letting me come back."
After saying that, he was about to go out, but Min Er quickly ran over and stopped his hand.
"Don't move."
"?"
"My mother has been having a bad episode these past two days and keeps running to the basement. You can't go there anymore."
"..."
"Just stay here. I brought dinner back. You must be hungry, eat first."
As she spoke, she took out two plastic bags from the cloth bag she was carrying.
One bag was rice, and the other was a mixture of various leftover dishes.
Zhan Bei Jue had been eating like this for a month and was used to it.
The two spread out the bags and placed them on a small wooden table by the window. One sat on the edge of the bed, and the other squatted, taking a spoon and eating.
In the past, even leftovers would have been better than this.
Who would have thought that one day, the dignified president of Zhan Group would eat leftovers from others and eat so heartily?
Seeing him eat heartily, and that he had returned and didn't seem to hold a grudge against her, Min Er was secretly happy.
She pushed a piece of beef towards Zhan Bei Jue. Just as she was about to apologize to him for what happened at noon, suddenly,
"Bang!"
The glass was hit heavily.
Zhan Bei Jue reacted extremely quickly. He dropped his spoon and was about to stand up to look outside, but Min Er stopped him in time.
"Don't move!"
"?"
"Shh, I know who's here."
The two stopped eating and listened quietly to the sounds outside.
Amidst the drizzling rain, the mocking voices of several men soon came.
"Mr. Shen, it's been a few days. You're living well. You're out drinking even in the rain. It seems your daughter has earned some money recently."
"How is it? Is the rent ready? Hurry up and invite us in for a seat."
Rent?
Zhan Bei Jue understood. Min Er's landlord had arrived.
The group entered the house not like walking, but more like an earthquake, with a loud clatter, as if they wanted to shake the house apart.
Min Er wiped her mouth, reached into her pocket, felt around, stood up, and instructed Zhan Bei Jue.
"Don't go out. If you go out, you'll be in trouble. Go hide in my closet. I'll be back in a moment."
Zhan Bei Jue stood in the closet, and she covered him with clothes. Min Er pulled open the door and walked out.
Soon, a rascal's voice came from outside the door.
"Only this much? Who are you trying to fool?"
"I told your father long ago that someone else wanted to rent this house, and the rent has increased now."
"You think it's too expensive and can't afford it, so you give it to someone else. But now he doesn't want to give it to someone else and doesn't pay the money. What are you trying to do? Rebel?"
"Don't talk nonsense to me. I'll give you two choices: First, pay me the money immediately. Second, pack up and get out. Choose!"
Min Er stood in front, lowering her head and saying nothing.
Her father, who was drunk beside her, suddenly sobered up.
Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward, grabbed her hair, and started hitting her.