In this desolate autumn, you are the only warm sun bestowed upon me by the heavens — Shi Yao
At the end of November, the autumn wind swept across the earth with withered, yellow fallen leaves, dressing the world in a coat of gold.
In the night market, a dazzling array of lights shone in all directions. Seemingly bustling and hedonistic, the alleyways were actually the only place where adults could find emotional solace.
Xia Chen was twenty-four years old. Two years out of college, it had taken him only two years to transition from a high-spirited, ambitious youth to a successful member of the "free" faction—otherwise known as an unemployed resident.
To commemorate Xia Chen's pioneering courage in standing up to capitalists and saying "no," his good buddies specially hosted a grand "hero's" celebration for him at the night market.
"Brothers, Chen Ge was fired by his boss today! To celebrate this great victory for us working-class laborers, cheers!"
At the dining table, Cheng Ruo, Xia Chen's friend and partner in crime, raised his glass and shouted carelessly.
"Hold on, Lao Cheng, is that any way to talk? This is what Chen Ge calls a strategist entering the game in person to turn the tables with a single move. On the surface, Chen Ge got fired, but in reality, his spirit has already spread among the rank-and-file employees. So I'd say the advantage is firmly with our Chen Ge."
"Well said! One Chen Ge gets fired today, but tomorrow thousands more Chen Res will stand out. As the representative figure of us post-zeros straightening out the corporate world, Chen Ge is simply unfireable."
"Come on, Chen Ge, cheers."
Xia Chen propped his forehead up with one hand while his other hand reluctantly picked up the wine glass on the table to clink it against the glass extended toward him.
To be honest, hanging out with these guys sometimes made him really want to call the police.
Xia Chen raised his glass and drained it in one gulp, thinking to himself, "Damn it, is my only option really to go back and inherit a hundred billion fortune?"
"No way." Xia Chen quickly dismissed the thought. Once he went back, he would lose his goal in life. If a person has no dreams, what difference do they make from a salted fish?
But if he didn't go back, having lost his job, he would struggle even to cover his basic food and clothing needs. By then, let alone a salted fish, he would quickly become a dead fish.
"Damn it, just drinking without eating skewers is way too boring." Just as Xia Chen was feeling troubled, Cheng Ruo's rough voice reached his ears.
"Then what do you propose? There are so many people lining up for skewers around here; by the time our turn comes, dawn will probably have broken," complained Chen Nan, another friend of Xia Chen's.
Cheng Ruo rolled his clever little brain and smiled, "We can go check out the front."
"You go if you want, I'm exhausted." Knowing Cheng Ruo's little tricks, Chen Nan immediately shattered the other man's illusions.
"I've had too much to drink, it's too dangerous to walk on the road, so naturally I can't go," Cheng Ruo said, not forgetting to let out a loud hiccup midway.
Passing the buck back and forth among themselves, the group finally and tacitly cast their gazes toward Xia Chen.
"Damn it, it's aimed at me!" Xia Chen had originally wanted to watch a good drama of scheming and plotting, only to realize he was the Gotham clown all along.
"Chen Ge, you're so handsome!"
"Chen Ge, how can someone in this world be as handsome as you?"
"Kids, stop shouting. Dad knows what to do." Xia Chen originally wanted to refuse, but his grandsons' flattery was simply too well-executed.
"Daddy Xia Chen is the best," the group chimed in unison.
After Xia Chen had walked away, Cheng Ruo, who had looked thoroughly drunk just moments before, suddenly regained a crystal-clear gaze.
"Brothers, did everyone transfer the money to Chen Ge?"
Chen Nan nodded. "Don't worry, we're all brothers. Chen Ge is in trouble right now, we can't just ignore it. I've sent mine."
Cheng Ruo breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's get out of here first. Otherwise, once Chen Ge realizes he has an extra tens of thousands of bucks in his bank account, he'll probably come looking to settle scores with us."
"Let's go!" The group put down their wine glasses and clapped in celebration.
Meanwhile, Xia Chen, completely in the dark, was still hunting down meat skewers for his good sons.
"Damn it, since when did meat skewers become a luxury item in the night market? So many people standing in line," Xia Chen muttered helplessly, looking around at the seemingly endless lines stretching out before him.
Just as he was about to give up, he accidentally noticed a small barbecue cart parked in a corner. Even better, there was no one waiting in line there at all.
"Talk about divine assistance!" A flicker of joy crossed Xia Chen's mind. He was about to step forward when his footsteps suddenly halted. "Not a single person in line—could it be unsanitary?"
But he quickly brushed that thought aside.
Your sons are waiting for skewers, do you really care if it's sanitary?
Xia Chen walked closer, preparing to greet the vendor. But the moment he looked up, he locked eyes with a pair of clear, watery big eyes, and for a split second, his entire body stiffened.
The vendor before him wasn't some elderly grandpa or grandma, nor a middle-aged auntie, but a pretty, graceful young girl.
The girl had lovely doe-like eyes, her fair, pretty face still retaining a trace of lingering childishness, and a cascade of dark hair stirred in the wind, as if a single smile from her could outshine all the scenery in the night market.
The only flaw was that the young girl was wearing a shabby, yellowed sweater, and judging by the style, it looked custom-made for an elderly family member back home. However, this did not detract from the fact that she looked like a celestial maiden.
What puzzled Xia Chen was that the girl in front of him looked to be only about eighteen years old. Logically speaking, someone her age should be in college, so why would she waste her youth coming to the night market to sell skewers?
Though puzzled, Xia Chen didn't dare ask. As the saying goes: respect others' destinies, enjoy a correct life.
"H-Hello, are you c-coming over to buy skewers?"
Facing the tall man before her, the girl's doe-like eyes were filled with panic, and her delicate shoulders trembled slightly.
"Of course, why else would I be here?"
Unprepared for the girl's reaction, Xia Chen thought to himself, "I may not look drop-dead gorgeous, but I'm hardly as fierce-looking as Lao Cheng, am I?"
Hearing Xia Chen's reply, the girl felt a surge of joy. She cautiously asked, "Which kind of skewers would you like? I'll make them for you right now, they're completely sanitary."
"Great, sorry to trouble you."
Xia Chen smiled, taking her latter remark as mere merchant politeness—having eaten meat skewers for so many years, he had never heard of anyone admitting their food was unsanitary.
"By the way, how much is this per skewer?" he asked, checking the price first.
"Vegetable skewers are one yuan each, and meat skewers are two yuan each." The girl's voice grew softer and softer, and her head sank lower and lower.
Xia Chen's eyes widened in surprise. At first, he thought the girl was charging too much, which was why no one was willing to come over, but now it seemed this kid had no intention of making a profit at all.
Seeing Xia Chen fall silent, the girl assumed her prices were too high. She raised her gaze—this time, Xia Chen saw it clearly: the young girl's eyes seemed to hold a sea of stars, so pure, flawless, sacred, and inviolable.
Her tone suddenly turned urgent: "If you think it's too expensive, I can knock off another fifty cents. Please, just don't leave."
Xia Chen was her very first customer today, and the only person who didn't think she was dirty. As for whether she could make a profit, she no longer cared; if she didn't sell out all the skewers, she would face a brutal beating upon returning home.
Xia Chen was amused by the endearing young girl before him.
"Kiddo, other people do business to make a profit, but you're doing the exact opposite. Forget it, I'll take all of these."
"Y-You're serious?"
Incredulity filled the girl's eyes. The tall figure of the man before her was already deeply etched into her mind.
"What, don't want to sell them?" Regaining his playful mood, Xia Chen teased with a smile.
"N-No, please wait a moment, just a moment!" Tears of joy welled up in the girl's eyes as she grilled the skewers while crying.
Her movements were practiced, her skills easily rivaling those of the older vendors here. Beads of hot sweat rolled down her pretty face.
The girl didn't bother to wipe them away; instead, she stared with rapt attention at the skewers on the rack, not daring to slack off for even a second.
Witnessing this, Xia Chen sighed helplessly, thinking to himself, "In this world, pitiful people really are a dime a dozen."
Once finished, the girl packed up the meat skewers and handed them carefully to the man before her.
As Xia Chen took the skewers, he noticed the calluses covering the girl's clean hands, and guessed she hadn't been doing this sort of heavy work for just a day or two.
A wave of sympathy welled up inside him. Though he was unemployed, he at least had the protection of his family, and the worst-case scenario was simply going back to inherit the family fortune.
But the hardships of the working class were probably only truly understood by themselves.
"Sir, you gave me too much money." Looking at the small stack of red bills in her hand, the girl said in awe and trepidation.
Yet when she raised her head once more, all that met her eyes was the man's handsome retreating back.
"Kiddo, don't be so foolish next time. You came out here to make money, not to run a charity."
The voice drifting from afar left the girl's heart churning with emotion for a long time. Her clean little hands tightly clutched the small stack of bills as tears streamed down her face, and she murmured softly under her breath.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Well, well, if it isn't little Shi Yao? Why are you crying again? Who bullied you? Tell your big brothers about it."
"Little Shi Yao's business is booming today! The skewers that never used to sell actually sold out completely."
Just as Xia Chen left, two frivolous voices sounded from behind the girl.
In the distance, two dyed-blond youths were closing in on the girl.