The ceaseless honking of vehicles in the city of wide avenues and little places to sit and eat filled the calming breeze of the evening as the sun sank lower in the sky and the light of day drained away.
Working class men and women, Highschool teens, and other citizens made their way through the crowded city centre after another long day of their respective jobs.
Shopping malls, cafes and restaurants were done for the day, and the workers locked the entrance to the buildings huddled on the streets.
Chang Wu was lucky enough to get what he'd saved up for, and it brought a smile to his face after a long day of carrying a frown around.
He walked down the back alleys of old apartment buildings, held a bouquet in his left, and a box of chocolate in his right.
After he got his month pay, his boss fired him because of how bad his constant daydreaming got. Another job was lost for the tenth time that year and all for different reasons. What weighed his mind was how his girlfriend would feel about the news of his dismissal. She might've gotten used to it, Wu supposed.
He trudged home, hoping to see her again. At least she'd be by his side during these times, kiss him, embrace him, say something nice to him, and maybe turn him on in some way. He thumped on the door to his small apartment, and waited for her to come running to him like before, but no one showed up to welcome him.
He sighed, pulled out his keys, then unlocked the door. His eyes filtered the desolate living room with a couple of beer bottles, manga, and computer game CDs out of place.
He called out her name "Meilin! Meilin I'm home!" No answer.
He went further to announce, "I have flowers and chocolates. Your favorite!" Out of his small salary, he used some of it to buy her something to make her smile before he uncovers the bad news to her.
Chocolate and roses were his typical gifts, the same old thing every single time. He was unable to bear the cost of anything else because of rent, and other expenses, but the little gift was just to make her a bit content with his financial situation. Every day, he promised it would get better, but he had made no progress.
"Sweetie" He moved to the bedroom, and he dropped the flowers as soon as he noticed his room was half empty. Her bags and clothes were all gone. He scurried to the taped paper that hung loosely from the picture frame they took last valentines, and he read what she wrote. His heart raced, and his eyes sunk with every line he read.
"Hi Wu, you're most likely home now, and wondering where my things are. Well, the answer to your questions is the worst-case scenario you don't want to think about. I'm sorry, but I can't continue this relationship with you." Chang Wu dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he continued to read.
'What's the reason this time? Why do these things always happen to me?' His head ached in sync with his heart as he continued to read the letter.
"I'm so sorry, I should've told you this sooner. I just couldn't handle the guilt anymore. Remember my best friend that came over? I had sex with him when you had to work a night shift. I'm sorry, I was drunk and lonely, but ever since that day I couldn't stop thinking about being with him. I know I'm not supposed to tell you this in detail, but I just have to get things off my chest. I wish I could tell you face to face, but I don't want us to ever meet again. Honestly, I was never happy with this relationship. The chocolates and flowers never satisfied my desires. I expected you to spend on me like my exes, but you didn't.
While you kept buying my so called 'favorite', my best friend Haru bought me clothes, jeweleries, took me to expensive restaurants, and he filled in your spot in my life. For a long time now, I've had nothing but hate growing in my heart for you. I wasted so much time being your girlfriend, and I blame you as much as I blame myself. I just found out I'm pregnant for Haru's baby, and he's accepted our child. We're planning on getting married, and leaving Beijing…"
In that tranquil second, Chang Wu stifled with sadness and his brain hovered through many emotions. Unfit to peruse further, he squeezed the paper then tossed it at the wall.
The sad man stumbled back to the living room, almost tripping over the chocolate box he wasted money to get.
He nestled in the only sofa in the living room after grabbing a beer can from the fridge, and a pack of coconut chips from the kitchen pantry. He cocooned himself in his blanket, eyes spellbound by the old TV box, flipping through channels with a blank expression on his face. He paused once he came across the channel he hated the most.
"Have you ever wanted to be so rich you can actually bathe in your money just like you see on tv? Have a large closet and barely wear half of what's inside? What about burn your hard earned money and not give a damn? Well, that's a hundred percent possible. Here in Lunar-Net show of the top ten rich and beautiful people in Beijing, we interview your favorite celebs, and because of popular demand, we've invited Sir Fu Hong to join us on the show."
The technical team played the usual recording of a fake crowd clapping along with the program's theme song as the guest made his way to his seat.
"Ah yes, Mr Fu. One look at this handsome man and both women and men will swoon no matter their sexual preferences. I also heard a word from his lips had even the straightest of men flushing shades of red that nobody ever knew was naturally possible..." The host continued to shower exaggerated praises on the man.
Chang Wu didn't know why he was watching it. He didn't laugh when he was supposed to; he didn't feel any sort of excitement, and he barely followed the discussion. He just sat there next to the beer can that was now empty. He hardly noticed he was taking small sips from it until it was all gone.
His eyes rested back on the flickering screen and found that in his brief distraction the commercials had begun. Often he preferred them to the show. They were short, attention grabbing and required no intellectual effort, but he couldn't deny the fact that a part of him craved to be on LunarNet.
Once the show came back on, and he saw the face of the handsome, rich man, he changed the station to a music channel, and in that moment, the signal was cut, then a brief message about his expired time subscription showed up.
"Shit!" He cussed. The man threw the remote at the TV before rubbing his wet eyes "my day keeps getting worse!"
His phone rang, and he angrily picked it without checking who the caller was "WHAT!!!"
"Relax brother" That voice…
"What happened this time? Don't tell me…"
Chang Wu said nothing, and his best friend could tell something was wrong. "Come to the bar. Drink's on me."
*
Wu moved between the pools of streetlight, feet almost silent as it smacked against the sidewalk.
A pair of headlights of a speeding car came, blinding him temporarily before disappearing in seconds.
By that time, the bar would be stuffed with people, but he was still anxious to go there, absorb himself with the slow jazz music, drink whisky to turn down the volume on his sad thoughts, and enjoy the company of his brother from another mother.
He laid a hand on the entryway to the bar and pushed. A twirl of smoke welcomed him, framing twists in the despair, enlightened by the age-speckled lights.
His ears perked to the sound of tinkling glass and he spotted his friend mixing cocktail as the saxophone's notes rises in the smoky bar.
Assortment of people were already perched on the bar stools before the bartender. So, Chang Wu sat elsewhere, while his friend continued to attend to the customers before him.
Glasses slid over the wood top, cash was dropped and a drunk man left with his murmuring wrath about the high costs of the liquor. Chang Wu noticed a stool was empty and rushed to take it before someone else would.
"I'm glad you made it" The barkeep grinned as the towel squeaks in the glass he was drying. He set the cup on a rack close to the sink and pushed his hands in his pocket, "So tell me what happened?" The man said as he pulled out a lighter and a cigarette. He put it in his mouth and drew. In seconds, his chest pushed out smoke in rapid, deliberate bursts.
"She left." Chang Wu said prior to biting his lower lip. His old friend exhaled and some of the smoke escaped from his nostrils. He left the cigarette hanging from his mouth and pointed at the bottles along the walls "You're free to choose."
Wu raised a finger at his usual "A bottle of gin."
Wrapping his long fingers around the glass, he swirled the beer in it, listening to the chinking of the ice cubes. He raised it higher to sip, feeling the keen burn on his tongue.
"She wrote a letter."
The bartender tilted his head "How pleasant of her?"
"Read it for yourself. It's squeezed, but try to get a thing or two."
His friend's brow knitted, and he cussed silently "You know what? Forget women!"
"You know I can't do that" Wu laughed as he continued to pour himself more liquor.
"I warned you about that chick, though. Stop simping for them."
"I'm not even a good simp. I'm too poor to be."
"Don't tell me you lost your job again?"
Wu switched his gaze from the bottle to his friend's face and said, "I can't help but dream about happiness."
For someone that cared about Wu, It hurt to listen to him as he sat there in wallowing sadness. It wasn't the first time he was getting dumped, but what was strange was that it was always for the same reason.
"I'm gonna head to the back to watch the game" he said as he got up and headed for a spot he could get an unrestricted view of the Tv screen. The bartender sighed before switching his attention to a new customer that entered.
"Chang wu, brother!!!" Wu diverted his gaze to his drunk friends, and he felt somewhat livelier. They had a free seat for him and he moved to sit with them.
"You look down. What's wrong?"
"Women."
"Oh" They all dramatically exclaimed at the same time, and one gave Wu a rub on his back.
"Meilin left you? After all you've done for her? Such disrespect!" The man spat and the others nodded in agreement.
"Thanks for understanding me Bao, but I won't really blame her. That's a character most women have in common. I've had a relationship with seven women in the past, and none of them were satisfied with what I tried my best to do. I gave them a place to live, I bought them what I could afford, but in the end, they cheated and dumped me."
"Women like her never play their part. They're like parasites feeding on the money of their boyfriend. Once all the cash is gone, they move to a new host."
"What an intellectual description of them." the men on the table clapped for Bao and the man proudly nodded, "Despite being a dropout, I know a lot."
"Very true, O wise one" Chang Wu praised before he frowned again, remembering all he had done in the past.
"I honestly prefer Meilin to Qiu" Jie added to the discussion "She barely even did anything in your house. All she did was work you like a dog. You always handled the cooking, cleaning, and also had shifts you had to do while that bitch was flexing on your couch and mocking you with her friends."
Chang wu rested his head on his palm and sighed, "I feel like a fool. Maybe I should just listen to Xin and give up on women. He's fine without them, so I guess, I can do the same."
"You're a great guy, Chang Wu, maybe you'd get someone that can love you for who you are."
"I've dated many girls, but none of them lasted long. There must be some kind of evil spirit jinxing my love life, don't you think?"
Bao shook his head "Not really. Women nowadays just want men for their money and you don't fall into the rich category, so that's probably why. You're also short"
"Just because you're taller doesn't make me short!" He slammed the table and the men around laughed. He sat back on his seat, then crossed his arms before murmuring.
"To win a woman's heart I have to be rich, huh?" Wu looked at the magazine that was left on the table and sighed. Lunar Monthly was the headline, and it had a very pretty lady on the cover "To get someone like the woman here, I have to be rich."
"That's the sad truth" Bao responded to Wu's statement.
The men turned their gaze to the door that opened and a gasp swept the room. The men looked at the magazine again with widened eyes, then stared at the woman that had just entered.
"Oi, is it just me, or does that lady look exactly like the one on the magazine cover?" Jie asked.
"If she's on Lunar Monthly then she's obviously some kind of 'kazillionaire' and with a face like that, she's definitely the daughter of a rich man" Bao said with his eyes locked on the lady as she passed.
"What if I dated a rich woman?"
The men around the table burst into laughter at Wu's silly question "Middle-class women won't look at you, and you think a goddess like her will pity you? C'mon man" Bao said, but Wu was a bit certain that maybe things might work out.
"She might seem as something impossible to touch, but I have a feeling that she might be different from other women. Why else would she be in a bar tagged for hoodlums?"
The men agreed that he had a point, but he'd just lost his job, and she was above his class. Chances of success were indeed less than a zero.
"I want to be spoiled by a rich woman. Maybe they taste different if you think about it..."
"If you want a rich woman so bad, why don't you find a sugar mama? It worked out for boys and they got their ps5" Zhelin who wasn't talking the entire time at last added to the conversation, and from his tone, it was clear something aggravated him. Chang Wu always had a feeling that Zhelin didn't like him, but he never really minded him and his attitude till date.
Bao and Jie intently stared at the TV screen, which was playing a rather bland match of golf after the soccer match had ended minutes ago. There was no doubt that Bao was now drunk, and Jie was still going for more bottles.
"I'm going to talk to her" Wu stood up but Jie held his hand and hiccupped afterwards.
"Are you stupid?" He asked and Wu nodded "I guess I am." He freed himself from his friend's grasp and headed for the bar counter. He stopped in his tracks when another man, out of nowhere, took the only empty seat there. Chang Wu bit his lip in anger and clenched his fists before turning back.
"That's a sign not to do it. Don't embarrass yourself. I have a feeling things won't end well if you try talking to her."
Wu didn't listen. He still had his eyes on the counter while waiting for a chance to get a seat, no matter how far away it would be from her.
The lady drank in silence as smoke billowed around her and through the dark room filled with songs. A sour and vile taste slipped into before she lowered the glass to the table, letting it fall heavily but not enough to leave a crack. She rested her head in her left hand and sighed. She observed the red lipstick on the rim before attempting to wipe it off.
Her black hair laid over one shoulder of her sequined dress, and she twiddled with the loose strands. She wasn't drunk yet, but she was giving the impression that she was.
"Hello beautiful"
She knew she'd been getting stares right from the moment she stepped into the pub, but she didn't expect anyone to talk to her. She didn't like his scent; she didn't like his manner of approach either. Thus, she ignored.
A man in a security shirt moved forward and gave a heavy tap on the man's shoulder after he'd witnessed the stranger's attempt to talk to his boss. The man on the counter shrieked at the bodyguard's size and the signs of muscles under his shirt. He timidly slithered away and hastened to the door. The bouncer moved back to his seat, watching out for any delinquent that would try to talk to her again.
The stool was currently vacant, but after the scene Wu witnessed, he chose to remain back and not face challenges.
Zhelin sneered "You really think you can win the heart of a lady like her? You don't have cash!" Once again Zhelin was blowing up for reasons unknown.
Wu smiled then said, "It's not nice to look down on someone. We're both in the same shoes" He was trying his best not to get agitated. He'd always looked at him as a friend, but he'd never considered what he was to Zhelin and wasn't bothered to find out.
"We're not the same. You're unemployed and you were a low salary earner. That's why all your girls dumped you. You're also short!"
Wu slowly tapped the table, making an honest effort to keep calm. His friend wouldn't like it if he got into a fight at his bar again.
"I can get a rich woman to love me," Wu said confidently, looking into Zhelin's eyes.
"Let's make a bet," Zhelin proposed.
"If you don't get a rich woman to fall in love with you, you'll have to pay me a thousand dollars upfront, but if you do, I'll be the one to pay. Is that a deal?"
Chang Wu nodded "It's a deal."