Hanging up the phone, the girl furrowed her brows, found a contact saved as "Uncle," opened the chat window, hesitated for a long time, and then transferred 100 yuan.
Then she returned to the chat interface and opened her WeChat wallet to check her balance.
Balance – 7.6.
Hu Jiasheng had never met anyone so poor, nor did he understand why the girl was so weak, afraid to tell her family the truth when she encountered problems.
Even though she only had a little over 100 yuan left, she still transferred it all to the other person.
Honestly, he felt sorry for the girls from smaller towns with low education, who only knew how to work hard and didn't know how to resist.
They were mostly feudal remnants of a patriarchal society, only knowing how to submit to men, completely unaware of their own value.
Hu Jiasheng pitied her, but he wouldn't help her.
Because it's better to help someone in urgent need than someone perpetually poor.
Generally, poor people are poor due to barren thoughts and narrow horizons.
His perspective on problems was on a completely different level from hers; even if he spoke, she might not listen, or might not understand.
Moreover, they didn't know each other at all, so why should Hu Jiasheng waste his breath?
She closed her phone with a furrowed brow, Hu Jiasheng withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again.
The girl was quiet for a moment, then quickly started fiddling with her phone again.
Hu Jiasheng felt her typing.
Because the seats were so crowded, their shoulders would occasionally brush against each other, and the girl typed quite quickly.
As they chatted, her phone rang again.
Within a second, she put it to her ear.
Another girl's voice came through.
"Why did you borrow so much money? What's wrong?"
"Just a small issue, my car got flooded, the engine is damaged, it won't start."
"Ah? Is it because of yesterday's rain? You still went driving in such heavy rain yesterday?"
"Yes."
The two fell silent.
After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end said.
"Don't you have insurance? Why didn't you claim it?"
"It's not covered in this situation. If you have it, lend it to me; if not, forget it."
"It's not that I won't lend it to you, Nannan, you know we're planning to get married soon and have been looking at houses."
"I understand. I was just asking casually, forget it if you don't have it. You're busy."
"Then what will you do? Besides me, you don't have many other friends."
"It's okay. Anyway, it's a used car, not worth much, so don't worry about it. I still have some savings, and buying another used one won't be a problem."
She didn't get the money, but instead comforted the other person.
After hanging up the phone, Hu Jiasheng couldn't help but open his eyes to look at her again, his brows furrowed even deeper than before.
She didn't notice the IV bag emptying until an elderly woman next to her reminded her.
The girl seemed anxious to earn money, removed the empty bag, and found a nurse, asking to take the remaining infusion back with her.
The nurse replied impatiently, "We are not responsible for anything once you leave this hospital."
"It's okay." Holding the bag in one hand and the IV line in the other, she left the infusion queue.
The next day, Hu Jiasheng went to the hospital as usual.
He didn't see the girl again, perhaps their schedules had shifted or for some other reason.
The third day was the same.
Hu Jiasheng's rash completely disappeared, the weather cleared up, and he returned to work.
The demanding work made him forget about this minor incident until a week later, when all the charging piles in the district were installed. A technician from Huaguang Technology provided him with great assistance. Hu Jiasheng invited him out for a meal, and that's when he encountered her again.
It was a Saturday, and since he didn't have to work on weekends and wouldn't have any further interaction with the technician, they found common ground in their views on new energy, feeling a sense of mutual appreciation, and ended up sitting together for a while longer.
They talked until past nine o'clock, when Hu Jiasheng suggested they part ways. The technician didn't want to go home.
"Since I don't have to work tomorrow, I'll just be alone at home. How about I treat you to a drink? There's a famous bar nearby that I've heard colleagues mention often, but I've never been."
Hu Jiasheng wasn't particularly interested in drinking, but the technician seemed very enthusiastic.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this would be their last meeting in this life, and he didn't want to refuse him, so he agreed.
They took a taxi to the bar, which was celebrating its anniversary and had a promotion, making the atmosphere incredibly lively.
A significant part of the atmosphere was created by the female servers.
They were all slender, fair-skinned young women.
Dressed in a red, form-fitting, modified qipao with a halter neck, barely covering their hips.
They wore reindeer antler headbands, and black knee-high boots.
Each one was like a dewy elf, flitting around the venue, a truly pleasing sight.
The technician was overjoyed, constantly telling Hu Jiasheng that the trip was worthwhile.
The bar counter was filled with a row of attractive men and women. Hu Jiasheng didn't want to squeeze through the crowd, so he offered to pay and took the technician to the sofa area at the back.
They leaned back on the sofas, sipping their drinks, watching the handsome men and women darting around, the swaying crowd, and listening to the dynamic music. The technician was in an extremely good mood.
Hu Jiasheng was not interested in these things.
When he was studying abroad, his classmates often held parties, and he had seen much livelier and more exciting scenes than this.
This was nothing compared to those experiences.
Moreover, he understood better than anyone else the motivations of people who came here.
He had no such needs, and staying here was purely a waste of time.
Out of politeness, he accompanied the technician for two drinks before preparing to leave.
Before he could say anything, a commotion suddenly erupted in the swaying crowd ahead.
Accompanied by the noisy sound of the crowd parting to one side, women's screams, and the sound of wine bottles falling to the ground, they soon saw clearly.
There was a fight in the center of the venue.
And it wasn't a one-on-one duel, but a free-for-all.
Some servers rushed to call security, and a large group of security guards entered.
For some reason, they stopped when they got closer.
They didn't know what was happening, but someone nearby did.
People in the crowd were discussing, "I've always heard that Brother He Third is ruthless with his hands, and today I finally witnessed it. My goodness, so many people ganging up on one, they're not afraid of trouble."
"Exactly. Someone like him doesn't lack women, why would he fight like this over a server?"
"What do you know? Everyone in this area knows the reputation of Brother He Third. He's in charge of everything, who dares to disrespect him? Even if he fights fiercely, he'll still walk around swaggering tomorrow, believe it or not?"
Everyone naturally believed it, and no one refuted it.
Someone scoffed, "Who is so blind to provoke Brother He Third? It's the bar's anniversary today, aren't they just asking for death?"
"He's also a regular here. Isn't it that guy, the one who likes to put on a brave face when he's broke?"
"You mean him? I see him every time I come. He's clearly dirt poor but insists on acting like a rich man. I've heard many people call him a sucker behind his back."
"Whether he's a sucker or not, we don't know, but he certainly likes to show off. He's already caused several incidents. Daring to provoke Brother He Third, today there will be a good show."