3 days before.
Xi Ping trudged through the streets of Crystal Cove, her arms straining under the weight of the huge bags she carried.
The eyes of the people around her followed her every step, their reactions a mixture of envy and suspicion.
Some openly ogled the bags, their lips curling with desire at the sight of so much food in a world where hunger was a constant companion.
Others sneered, their voices dripping with malice.
"Look at her," one woman muttered. "Bet she sold herself for that."
"Yeah, probably to some fat old guy," a man added with a snicker. "No way she could have gotten that much food any other way."
Xi Ping kept her head down and ignored the taunts.
She had no time for their petty words, not when her arms were aching, and her mind was spinning from the events that had just unfolded.
