In the early mornings, while the air was still fresh, Weiwei would walk downtown. She didn't want to spend money on the bus over there, and she also liked to observe the city life while she walked. Most people in Xīnchéngshì appeared busy and serious to her, but she'd still find heartwarming scenes along the way, such as a mother dotting on her child, a boy playing with a dog, or a man helping an old lady cross the road.
"Grandma was right, there is plenty of good in this world," she reminded herself each time something caught her eye.
When downtown, Weiwei would find a place with a good, cheap breakfast and Wi-Fi, and would sit and eat, browse job postings on her phone, and send out applications. She sent out many, more than she could remember. She hadn't received a single reply. The thought of giving up crossed her mind a couple of times, but Weiwei forced herself to persevere.
She had to because she could sense how eager Cousin Mei was for her to find a job and start getting paid.
Soon, through an acquaintance, Cousin Mei arranged an interview for Weiwei at a small accounting firm.
"Finally," thought Weiwei. "Now I'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief."
When Weiwei arrived at the interview, a gaunt woman in thick glasses asked her a couple of basic questions and then took her to speak with the boss, Mr. Bai.
The first thing Weiwei noticed in Mr. Bai's office was how simple and messy it was. Lots of folders overflowed from the desk and lay on chairs and the floor in a seemingly random order.
Then, she saw Mr. Bai's face behind a computer screen. Weiwei thought his eyes looked big and odd. There was something unpleasant and cold in his stare.
Weiwei looked down to avoid meeting Mr. Bai's eyes, when he started asking her questions. His voice was loud and rough.
"What is your work experience?" he bellowed.
"I…"
Suddenly, Weiwei felt very nervous. She didn't know the exact reason why, but she felt ashamed of not having work experience, desperately needing a job, and being in this messy room with this odd man staring at her - she lost her cool. She started breathing heavily, looking down at her feet as she tried to compose herself.
"I…"
"Are you good with spreadsheets?" she heard.
"Yes," Weiwei forced out in a meek voice, angry at herself for how ridiculous she sounded. "Yes, I'm very good at them."
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Jingjing!" Mr. Bai suddenly yelled even louder, startling Weiwei.
What am I doing here?
"Jingjing, show the newbie to her desk and explain the work," the man said loudly. Weiwei was so intimidated and ashamed of her weakness that she didn't even take another look at him. "That's all. You can get to work," she heard. "And remember, I don't need slackers. You can work here only if you work hard."
Weiwei's life was only getting worse. Not only was she alone in the universe, she now had to spend all her days suffering at work.
Even though the place was located downtown, it was small and in an older building. About ten women worked in two large rooms adjacent to Mr. Bai's small office.
Mr. Bai was a middle-aged ill-tempered man with thinning hair and long, skinny arms. He was always dressed in the same worn-out suit pants and white shirt that strongly smelled of body odor.
From the first day, Weiwei's desk was covered in piles of documents she had to process.
There was endless data to enter, check, double-check, confirm with colleagues, then with Mr. Bai, correct, print, present, and maybe correct again.
The work itself was simple, but there was a lot of it, and one had to avoid making mistakes because each error was closely scrutinized and then talked about for a while.
During the first weekend, Weiwei felt like spending most of Saturday in bed. She felt completely exhausted.
But around midday, Cousin Mei entered the room to chat.
"How is your new place?" she asked calmly. Cousin Mei always had a cold and steady demeanor.
"It's good," Weiwei forced out a little smile.
Cousin Mei wrinkled her eyes a bit again – the most she'd do to indicate friendliness.
"I'm happy to hear that." She pointed at the room. "Now that my daughter is coming back, I was thinking… When I spoke to Susu, the girl who arranged the interview for you, she said she really wanted a roommate to split her rent. You both work downtown, so it might actually be the best arrangement for both of you. Don't you agree?"
Weiwei blinked. Yes, Cousin Mei was a pretty distant relative. But she never expected the cousin to kick her out of the house so soon.
"I don't know Susu well," mumbled Weiwei.
Cousin Mei nodded. "That's okay. Sharing an apartment, you'll have lots of opportunities to get to know each other better."
"How big is her apartment?"
"Hmm," Cousin Mei pondered for a bit. "I'm not sure, but she was sure she could have a roommate. Why don't you visit her and settle everything on the spot?"
Weiwei felt very tired. "Today?"
"It's best to do it today. That way you can move before the weekend is over – before you go back to work on Monday morning."
Weiwei found it difficult to adjust to Susu's habit of watching TV dramas late into the night. One day Weiwei woke up very early from a nightmare and looked out the window. The sun had yet to rise, but there was something beautiful about the brightening morning skies.
Weiwei decided to go for a walk before work and quickly got ready.
Everything was still closed downtown, with deliveries just being made and breakfast stall owners starting to set up for the morning rush.
Weiwei loved mornings, with something charming, soothing, and hopeful about the rising sun. Everything seemed more cheerful in the morning, with the youthful energy of the new day that made you feel younger. It also made you think of new beginnings, made you believe that you can start over and do things better in life.
As Weiwei wandered around the corner, she came across a tiny path behind a skyscraper next door that wasn't normally visible from the street, but in the low rays of the rising sun, it suddenly became noticeable.
Weiwei slowly moved from one tree to the next, every step expecting the path to end. It was getting less and less clear where to go, but then, unexpectedly, as Weiwei peeked beyond yet another tree branch, she saw a large rock.
From the rock, a magical view of the entire harbor opened to Weiwei. The entire city, fresh and clean after the cool night, lay before her.
Arrays of windows of tall buildings glowed, with horizontal sun rays giving them a slightly bloody golden hue. All shadows on the shore were long and sharp. The waters of the harbor shimmered like freshly polished crystal, blinding you.
Weiwei felt so good, that she wanted to yell "hello" to the city. She smiled from ear to ear.
How magical it was that I was given a chance to discover this place today when I felt the worst I've ever felt? It can't be a simple coincidence.
Weiwei decided that it was a sign.
There was still hope, after all.