The sofa in Terry's house was really too small. Every time he slept on it, his legs either hung over the armrest or he had to curl up tightly just to fit. He turned over uncomfortably, but then found it impossible to sleep. Slowly, he sat up; feeling sleep-deprived, his eyelids felt unusually heavy. The sun had just risen, and soft morning light streamed into the room, casting a warm glow on Terry's bed. He stared at the bed for a moment, then glanced toward the corner where the suitcase belonging to Li Ren was placed. He stood up, dragging his feet to the bathroom, and opened the bathroom door—
Empty…
Terry squinted his slightly swollen eyes, rubbed them with his hands, and then ran his fingers through his hair. After staring blankly at the living room for a while, he quickly walked over to the coffee table, picked up his phone, and opened it to find a message: The key is in the mailbox.
"What's this?"
Terry looked at the phone in disbelief and then dialled Li Ren's number.
—The person you called is unavailable; please try again later—
No matter how many times he called, all he heard was that same message. After trying two or three times, Terry finally gave up. "Was he turning off his phone…? At least say goodbye or something, really..." His disappointment was evident on his face.
Terry's bed was neatly made, with hardly a wrinkle. The clothes he lent to Li Ren were neatly folded and placed on the bed. Without the contrast of the previous day, one wouldn't notice that this clean and tidy little space had a touch of emptiness... "Looks like I haven't met up with friends in too long..." he thought.
He gently placed his phone back on the table and picked up the clothes on the bed to put them back in the wardrobe. "Where could he have gone so early? Is it for work again? At least tell me where he's working... If only there were someone else I could ask..." Terry thought, feeling frustrated, when suddenly he stopped in his tracks. "Wait, I do have someone I can ask!"
Terry picked up his phone again and opened his messaging app to the first person, a colleague's contact Li Ren gave him yesterday. "Morning, Lin An. I wanted to ask if you know what work Li Ren has today? He left without saying goodbye, and I'm quite worried about him. I tried calling him, but his phone is off. If you know anything, please let me know. Thanks!" Terry sent him a voice message, a smile returning to his face.
Just as Terry placed his phone back on the table, he noticed the money he had left for Li Ren yesterday. "Not a penny spent?" He then saw a neatly written note from Li Ren:
Just transfer my salary to my account.
$300
xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
Glory Bank
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The train moved steadily along the tracks, with the blue sky, white clouds, towering mountains, and lush greenery piecing together a picturesque view outside the window. The rhythmic sound of the wheels on the tracks was the best lullaby for Li Ren. The temperature on the train was a bit low, causing the thinly dressed Li Ren to cross his arms over his chest for warmth. He gently leaned against the window on his right and quietly fell asleep, only waking when the train reached its destination, the sounds of people shuffling around rousing him.
He slowly opened his eyes, watching as passengers on the train lined up leisurely to get off. He closed his eyes again for a moment, then stood up, grabbed his belongings, and slowly joined the line.
Li Ren arrived at the center of the train station, where there were many pedestrians coming and going, but even more were various eateries. The air was filled with enticing aromas, and the food looked even more tempting under the warm lights.
Li Ren bought a croissant, and the vendor wrapped it in a brown paper bag before handing it to him. He gently accepted the bread, offering a faint smile in return to the vendor's kind and warm expression. "Thank you," Li Ren said. He turned to leave, taking out his phone from his pocket to check the time. 'There are still about eight hours until I need to report…' he thought.
He found a spot to sit down and slowly enjoyed the bread. The buttery aroma of the croissant, combined with its warmth, lingered in his mouth before gradually fading away. It felt much like the travellers who met with family and friends at the station, warmly gathering before slowly drifting out of Li Ren's sight.
He tore off pieces of the bread, a mix of emotions stirring in his heart, cursing silently. He stuffed the last piece into his mouth, staring at the sign at the entrance of the station for a long while—Lousheng Station, the very place Li Ren hadn't returned to in years.
Before arriving at this place, Li Ren firmly believed he wouldn't feel anything. Did he want to come back? No. He hadn't thought about it at all until Terry mentioned it last night. 'Ugh... so annoying!' Li Ren crumpled the brown paper bag with frustration and tossed it into the trash can.
He stood in front of the trash can for a while, then opened his bag and took out an old-fashioned flip phone. After powering it on, numerous messages and missed call notifications popped up. He hesitated for a long time but ultimately did nothing and put the phone back in his bag, then stepped out of the station.
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The sun hung high in the sky, and the weather today was bright and clear, pleasantly warm without being harsh on the skin. Terry sat in the restaurant by the window, staring intently outside. It was a holiday today, and there were no classes at the university; if it were a regular day, the place would be packed by now. As Terry gazed blankly out the window, a pair of hands gently placed a plate of tea bread in front of him. "What's with that gloomy look? You've made my customer runaway," a familiar voice brought Terry back to reality.
"Grandpa." Terry politely addressed the old man as usual. "Hmm," the old man replied, pressing his hands gently on the table as he slowly sat down. Seeing this, Terry stood up slightly to help him, but the old man waved his hand, nodding to indicate he was fine. "Where's your friend?" the old man asked.
"He left before dawn," Terry responded as he settled back into his seat, tearing off a small piece of the tea bread and popping it into his mouth. "So early? I thought you two would have breakfast together," the old man said, interlacing his fingers and resting them in front of his mouth while watching Terry.
Terry tore off another small piece of the bread and scrunched his nose. "I thought so too. But he seemed busy and left on his own this morning, just left me a message. Didn't even say goodbye, really ungrateful…" He stuffed the bread into his mouth, slowly chewing. Watching Terry, the old man thought he looked like a sulking child. After a moment, he asked, "Is he also your classmate?"
Although Terry hadn't known the old man for very long, he often visited his restaurant and was quite chatty, always eager to share stories about his friends—how they met, funny incidents, their interests, family backgrounds, and so on. But he hadn't introduced Li Ren, this special boy who was completely different from his other friends.
Terry paused for a moment, looking at the old man. "Him? No, I just met him the night before last. He collapsed at the bus station, and I happened to be there, so I took him to the hospital." After saying that, he continued eating his bread. The old man, hearing Terry's response, felt his heart sink. "So you don't even know him! You took him around, even brought him home?! Do you want to get yourself in trouble?" The old man reprimanded Terry sternly.
However, Terry shrugged it off. "What's there to be afraid of? He looks like he could fly away with the wind; I'm much bigger than him." The old man slammed his hand on the table, making it shake as if it were about to break under his force, startling Terry. "Don't you read the news? You don't know there are many people who use the elderly, the weak, and the sick to lure naive folks like you into traps, and then their accomplices strike? You're lucky nothing happened; if it did, you wouldn't have time to cry!" The old man pointed at Terry's nose, earnestly trying to make him understand the danger of meddling in things that didn't concern him.
Terry raised his hands in the air, trying to soothe the old man's worries and anger. "Alright... I get it. But I think he needs help more than I thought." After saying that, he let out a soft sigh, lowering his head to look at the bread in his hands. 'If what Lin An said is true…' Terry's mind kept replaying yesterday's events.
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That night, Terry merely closed his eyes to rest for a moment before getting up. The ticking of the clock surrounded the house, and Li Ren's breathing sounded very steady. The surroundings were dim, but through the faint light that filtered in, Terry could vaguely see the small, thin figure curled up in the blankets, eyes closed and brows relaxed, completely lacking the sharpness he displayed when awake.
Terry stretched lazily, then sat up and gently tapped his phone screen twice to check the time. After that, he washed up as quietly as possible, left some money and a note, and quietly left the house.
He found a parking spot outside the workplace and rested in the car until twenty minutes before the reporting time. Then he slowly walked into the venue to check in. That morning, the leader explained and assigned everyone their roles and responsibilities, and before long, work began.
The job wasn't difficult; it just required being alert and racing against time to ensure that every guest was served perfectly during the event. There were many guests, and the pace was so fast that there was barely a moment to check the time. The next segment felt like a train crashing into him. By the time he could catch his breath and let his legs rest a bit, it was already lunchtime.
He sat in the staff room, took a large gulp of water, sighed in comfort, and leaned back in his chair to relax. The temperature in the staff room was low, and the faint scent of wood in the air had a soothing effect, making him feel like he was about to hibernate.
"Are you very tired?" A gentle voice reached Terry's ears. It was Zhang Lin An, someone who often worked with Li Ren and had been the one to hand over tasks to Terry that morning. He had thick, curly black hair that looked like a bird's nest, and under his black-framed glasses were two large, round eyes. Despite his cute face, he had a well-exercised body and was as tall as Terry.
"No, I can still manage," Terry replied with a bright smile. Zhang Lin An placed a lunch box in front of Terry, and Terry nodded at him. "Are you Li Ren's friend?" Zhang Lin An asked as he opened the lunch box. Today's meal was quite hearty, featuring simple stir-fried vegetables and a large drumstick, accompanied by a sauce made of green and red peppers with lime, making both of them salivate at the aroma wafting from the box.
"No. He collapsed at the bus station outside my house last night. I happened to be there, so I took him to the hospital. Later, he said he had nowhere to stay, so I let him stay at my place. The doctor said he couldn't work for the next few days, so I came in for him." Terry opened his lunch box as well and took a bite of rice. Hearing Terry's words, Zhang Lin An couldn't hide his concern and asked nervously, "Is it serious? How is he now?"
Terry smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing serious; luckily, he didn't hurt himself when he fell. The doctor just said he's malnourished and overworked, and he fell asleep quite quickly last night."
Zhang Lin An sighed in relief, spooning up a piece of chicken. "Thank goodness you were there. I really appreciate your help. Otherwise, I can't imagine what would have happened. But I'm really surprised that you managed to convince him to stay. What did you say to make him stay at your place?"
"At first, he didn't want to. I made a little deal with him, offered to pay him double to help me clean the house, and that's how he agreed to stay and rest." Terry said casually. Zhang Lin An's eyes widened in surprise as he laughed. "What? A deal? How did you come up with that? You must be losing money on this! He really only cares about money, huh?"
Terry chuckled helplessly. "I had no choice; he's really a bit stubborn. But I'd be very worried if he came to work, you know?"
Zhang Lin An cleared his throat, patted his chest, and after swallowing said, "He's incredibly stubborn! Do you know what his highest record is?" Terry looked at him with anticipation, shaking his head with a smile, waiting for Zhang Lin An's answer.
Zhang Lin An put down his spoon, leaned slightly toward Terry, and said, "He insisted on coming to work with a fever of 38.8 degrees just for 200 bucks a day, not including overtime pay. No matter how the leader tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen. He didn't disrupt the workflow, so we couldn't really scold him. In the end, the leader couldn't stand it and forcibly took him to the hospital for an IV, promising he would pay him for the work, and only then did he stop." After saying this, Zhang Lin An glanced at Terry with a smirk, looking as if he had won a prize, then continued eating.
Terry was astonished, unconsciously pausing his actions, tilting his head as he asked, "Why does he work so hard?"
Zhang Lin An thought for a moment and said calmly, "I don't know much, just that he has a pretty tough life. His family situation isn't great, and I've never seen him with any friends. Normally, he should be making a decent amount of money, but I've never seen him buy anything new for himself or treat himself to something nice."
The more Terry listened, the more complicated his feelings became, and his expression looked as if he had eaten a bitter lotus seed.
Zhang Lin An continued, "He doesn't have a fixed job because the pay for places that provide housing is too low. Doing odd jobs not only pays better but sometimes also includes meals and lodging. I want to help him, but he's unwilling to share. Whenever I ask about his family situation, he either changes the subject or flat-out refuses to answer. Over time, I've stopped asking. All I know is that he comes from a single-parent family, has no father, and has a younger sister. That's about it."
Zhang Lin An gently poked at the clumped white rice with his spoon and added, "If he's willing to open up to you, maybe you can listen to him more and help him if necessary."
Terry merely responded with a soft acknowledgment, his brows still furrowed. 'What on earth has he been through...?' he thought, then continued to eat his meal heartily.
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Ding—
Terry's phone made a sound, indicating he had received a message. He leaned over to take a look. 'Is it Lin An?' He quickly picked up his phone and opened the message.
—Morning, Terry. Li Ren does have work today, that's right. I handed over to him last night on short notice, but he doesn't need to report so early. The check-in time is at six in the evening. I just called him, and his phone isn't off, so you can try calling him again. He should be just hanging around right now. Besides, this job happens to be in his hometown. Maybe he left early to go home for a bit? There's nothing to worry about.—
'Hometown? What? What time did he say he was reporting? Did he know he was going back today when I asked him yesterday?' Terry felt a rush of confusion, furrowing his brow and staring at the message on his phone repeatedly. "What's got you looking like you've been struck by lightning?" The old man teased Terry lightly.
Terry ignored the old man's question, stared at his phone for a moment, and then called Li Ren's number again.
—The person you called is un- —
Before the voicemail could finish, Terry hung up the phone. 'Why does it still say it's unavailable...?'. He frowned, as if he could bore a hole through the phone with his gaze. Suddenly, a thought struck him:
"Could he have blocked me?!"
To be continue...