An Xiaoyan went back to his rented house and opened the bag full of bottles that he brought home. He wanted to inject himself according to the doctor's instructions. However, it was difficult to do it with one hand. With the help of the landlord, he managed to do so.
Calculating the days, he had been out of prison for two months already. When he was in prison, he used to call home once a month. After his release, he had been caught up with the daily hustle and had forgotten to call home.
But the problem now was that he did not have a mobile phone.
Entering the shopping mall, An Xiaoyan was dazzled by the variety of goods on display. Everything looked quite different. Before, there were not nearly as many things in the mall and there were fewer mobile phone brands too.
He walked to a random counter and was attracted by the mobile phones with big screens over a glance .
"Sir, would you like to try this new phone? It has huge memory storage and high performance features. It supports the latest 3G frequency too."
An Xiaoyan really wished he could have it. He had never seen such a big screened cellphone before. The one he used to have had a keyboard. He was caught off guard when he saw the latest models on display.
When he saw the price above, he had to suppress his desire. 4999 was a figure he could not afford.
When the shop assistant saw An Xiaoyan glancing over to the old models on the side, he gave an obvious look of disdain. Initially, he thought his customer was a trendy young man who wanted to get the latest model. However, it turned out that this young man was a pauper.
"Can you take this phone out and let me see it?"
The shop assistant quipped rudely, "This kind with a keyboard has long been outdated. They were used by people more than four or five years ago. You young lad aren't thinking of using these old models, are you? Can't you afford to pay a few hundred dollars?"
An Xiaoyan gave a wry smile. Indeed, he could not even afford to pay a few hundred dollars.
"I'll take this. Please help me set it up," said An Xiaoyan, pointing at a black phone with a small square screen.
The shop assistant did not feel to need to say more. Standing beside An Xiaoyan was a teenager who looked about eighteen or nineteen, whose parents just bought him a big screen mobile phone and left the shop happily. An Xiaoyan was entranced at the sight of it.
"Sir, Sir…"
An Xiaoyan turned around, took the bag from the shop assistant and paid for it then left. The shop assistant spoke loudly to her fellow shop assistant, quipping that it was so old-fashioned for a young man in his twenties to use an old model phone.
An Xiaoyan heard the conversation but was not bothered by it. This heavy old phone was the only hope for him to contact his family.
Gu Jun came to the shopping mall to inspect some work. As he arrived, he saw a slender figure resembling An Xiaoyan. Chen Chen, who was sitting at the driver's seat with a broader view, also saw An Xiaoyan.
"Sir, do you want me to stop Mr. An?" Chen Chen had known Gu Jun well enough these past few years to be able to figure out what was on his mind. Gu Jun's hatred for An Xiaoyan had probably become fixated in his personality. Whenever Gu Jun saw An Xiaoyan, his face would show a vicious expression. Chen Chen couldn't say if this was a good or bad thing for Mr. An.
"No, no need to. Go and find out what he just did."
"Yes, sir."
Gu Jun got out of the car and went into the mall for inspection. The mall was a property of the Gu family. The Gu family was a big family and had a huge family business. The two candidates to be the successor were Gu Jing and Gu Jun.
Gu Jing was Gu Jun's cousin. Despite shared family blood, they had deep hatred for each other. After all, the Gu Family only needed one master. And one of the factors that would determine who would be the successor was whether their offspring were talented and intelligent children. Only the intelligence of the next generation could guarantee the success and long-standing status of the Gu family in this city.
After Gu Jun returned from a round of inspection, Chen Chen was done with his investigation on the matter of An Xiaoyan.
Sitting in the car, Gu Jun pulled off his tie and asked lazily, "What did he do?"
"Mr. An went to buy a cellphone."
"Cellphone? What kind?"
"An old-fashioned one with a keyboard."
Gu Jun's heart was full of contempt, thinking that a lowly person was suited to use a lowly phone. The thought of An Xiaoyan making a phone call using that despicable phone gave Gu Jun a peculiar sense of joy. In his heart, he felt that this was how a murderer's life should be.
"Sir, do we still need to keep tab on Mr. An?" Chen Chen subconsciously felt that he should ask this question. As a subordinate, he ought to guess the mood of his boss in order to keep his job.
"Keep watching him and tell me everything. Can't let him off easy."
"Alright."
An Xiaoyan returned home, took out from his pocket the new phone and SIM card he just bought, inserted the card and turned the phone on. The signal was displayed at the top of the screen. He could finally rest assured as he could now call home anytime and anywhere he wanted.
Ring…
An Xiaoyan felt worried and excited at the same time, similar to how he felt when he made his first phone call from prison.
"Is it Yan Zi?"
"Yes."
"When will you come back?"
An Xiaoyan recalled that he had not returned home for four years, he really needed to find time to make a trip back home. When he thought of his parents who were still working hard back at home, his heart was filled with sorrow. His parents were already in their sixties, but were still tolling because of him.
"National Day. I'll go back home when the hospital grants me a holiday break during that time."
Father An smiled happily. On the other end of the phone, Father An could be heard saying excitedly, "Honey, Yan Zi said that he is coming back on National Day. It's only more than a month away from now, so get the food ready."
"Yan Zi, you must be very busy, why don't you go back to work first? The telephone fee is very expensive."
"Alright, you and Mother stay at home and wait for me to come back."
When he hung up the phone, An Xiaoyan slumped on the ground feeling weak. His lies had snowballed, but he had no choice but to do so. His aged parents worked day and night in order to give him a chance to break free from the countryside and thrive in the big city. He could not bring himself to tell them the sad truth.
He wondered if he should be glad that Gu Jun did not blow up the matter. At least outsiders were unaware of it.
Life still goes on.
An Xiaoyan again dove into job hunting. The places he went to interview the most were either restaurants or grocery stores because these were the only ones that did not require any educational qualifications.
He gradually felt at a loss after being rejected time and time again.
"You are An Xiaoyan, right?"
"Yes."
The head of human resources looked at him with a squint.
"You are already 25 years old and yet you come to our grocery store for a job. What kind of work have you done before?"
Talking about serious work, waitering was probably the only experience he had.
"Waiter? Okay, it seems that you really have no desire for material stuff. You're in. Come to work tomorrow. Fill out a form over there first."
Gu Jun was shocked when Chen Chen told him about it.
"How did the like of An Xiaoyan get accepted into one of our Gu Group's stores? Does the supervisor not know our company policy?"
"What policy?" Chen Chen was puzzled.
When Gu Jun was asked the question, he could not answer it since there was no agreed restraint regarding the criminal records of cashiers. As he saw it, people like An Xiaoyan are not qualified for any work. But how could he survive without a job…
"Nevermind, let him stay. I'll see what he's capable of."