"If I give another penny today, my name was not Ma Jing, do you take me for a fool who wasn't born from her mother's womb. Is it fair that whenever there's trouble, I'm the only one who has to empty my savings? Am I the only one expected to solve every problem, while all of you can't even manage anything?"
Ma Jing's voice rang out in anger the morning after Mama came to her door, asking for more money. Hao and Kai had brought some funds, but they weren't enough to cover the hospital bills, and Mama requested that Ma Jing to contribute again.
"Oh, I see. Because you think the one who brought you here isn't on your side anymore, you feel emboldened to speak like this? Let's not forget who gave you the privilege of living in this house—a house that's clearly above your station!" Mama said.
With a dramatic flourish, Ma Jing slammed her door.
"Oh, please! Let me remind you, there's nothing someone can have in life that another can claim they don't deserve if fate has decided otherwise. What exactly is in this house that you think I'm not worthy of? And Lu Fei..."
She stepped out into the courtyard, adjusting her stance as if preparing for a showdown.
"Let's stop beating around the bush. We're all adults here, and we all know the games women play. You're trying to drain me dry so that if He Jun doesn't wake up, my children and I will end up on the streets. Well, I won't let that happen! I've done my part, and that's the end of it. If anyone dares ask me for even a cent more, I swear I'll make sure they regret it."
Min stormed into the scene, her temper matching Ma Jing's.
"Mama, just leave her alone! What's the point of begging her when all she does is insult everyone? Let her keep her money. Whether she helps or not, Baba will recover!"
Min's words brought the argument to an abrupt halt. Mama sighed heavily, feeling the weight of Ma Jing's callousness. Yesterday had been a battle in itself. Hao had tried everything to scrape together the hospital fees. He even begged his part-time employer for an advance, but the man refused, explaining he was still trying to cover his wife's hospital bills after she gave birth two days ago.
Desperate, Kai had took some Christmas money their father had been saving to buy new clothes and gifts for them, while Wen drained his meager savings from school expenses. Ning went to her friends, pleading for loans, and Hao continued his frantic search.
"Poverty is a curse," Mama muttered bitterly as she reentered the room with Min. "You won't understand its true cruelty until illness strikes."
Mama's voice wavered as she turned to Zhan, who was dusting off some old dishes from under the bed. "We're at the point where everyone's throwing themselves into helping He Jun, but if there were any justice in the world, money wouldn't dictate life or death."
"Mama, please don't cry. Baba's not gone; he's just ill. He'll recover. We have to believe that." Min coaxed her.
Mama wiped her eyes, determined to stay strong. "I don't believe for a second that Ma Jing cares about our father. She's only concerned about her money. And let's not forget, she hasn't even contributed as much as she claims."
Min sighed, her eyes drifting toward Zhan's hands, dusty from the work.
"Do you think these old dishes will fetch anything?"
"Who knows? It's worth trying. Once Zhan finishes, he can take them to the market. I'm sure someone will give us a fair price."
Zhan swallowed his frustration, pushing his feelings aside. He had been preparing to attend his lesson earlier with Yue, but their plans were derailed by this emergency. Now, as he wiped his hands and prepared to sell the dishes, he realized that he would do anything—no matter how menial—to ensure Baba got the care he needed.
Without waiting for Min to finish speaking, Zhan hurried to wash his feet, applied some of the leftover Vaseline Ning had left by the door, and got ready to head out.
"Zhan, this shirt is dirty. Please change into another one," Min said after giving him a critical look as he stood by the door of their mother's room, waiting. Zhan had been standing there, waiting for Min to finish using Ning's makeup since she wasn't home. Meanwhile, the courtyard buzzed with the chatter of buyers flocking to Ma Jing's millet cake, where she was engrossed in her work. It almost seemed like everything was running smoothly in the household, with no hint of any underlying issues.
"This is the only one left among the three I have. You know the other two got burnt," Zhan replied, inspecting the shirt he was wearing, silently agreeing it wasn't the best.
"Let me grab something from Hao-ge or Wen-ge's wardrobe," Min suggested, heading into Hao's room. She returned shortly, holding a neatly folded ash-gray top.
Zhan glanced at it and shook his head. "You know they'll make a fuss if they see me wearing this. Since we're only going to the market, let's leave it. I'll just wear this," he said reluctantly.
Min raised an eyebrow. "Who said we're going to the market? Do you think I'd follow Mama order for such trivial things? No, we're going to look for a job. Just take it and wear it."
Just like that, Zhan's heart sank. Job hunting? Where could they possibly find work, especially without any proper documents? Despite his doubts, he didn't argue further. He took the shirt, put it on, and hurried toward the gate, almost bumping into a child running out of the bathroom.
At the roadside, they found a shopkeeper and handed over an old box of dishes as collateral. Then, they hailed a rickshaw.
"City center," Min instructed the driver before they both got in.
Zhan hesitated as he stepped into the rickshaw, his mind replaying the accident from the previous day. He could still picture the car speeding toward them, only to be struck by another vehicle—a matrix—that swerved to avoid it. The image of smoke rising from the crash and the crowd gathering to pull out the driver haunted him. Min had brushed it off, claiming he was just startled, but Zhan couldn't forget the fear he felt. He silently hoped the second driver had been rescued unharmed.
As the rickshaw moved, Min's phone buzzed on her lap. Without looking, she already knew who it was—Chang, her boyfriend. She ignored the call, letting the name flash on the screen as she stared ahead. The weight of her emotions from yesterday lingered, clouding any affection she once felt.
Her friend Zo Ling's voice echoed in her mind, a memory of countless warnings.
"I've never seen anyone as naive as you, Min. You and Ning both! If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't even be in this city anymore. In today's world, who doesn't chase success? But here you are, stuck on Chang, who barely earns enough to bring you anything decent. Money solves life's problems, Min. Yet you keep folding your dreams one by one, forgetting your own struggles."
Min had always laughed off Zo Ling's blunt advice, brushing it aside out of loyalty to Chang and the promises they had made to each other. Deep down, she knew her friend wasn't wrong, but her heart refused to let go. Unlike Zo Ling, who lived in her sister's carefree, modern home, Min came from a strict household of older brothers and a father whose silence was more oppressive than words. Straying from their expectations felt like a betrayal, no matter how suffocating it was.
In just two days, after seeing a side of life she had never experienced before—a side that shattered everything she knew—Min felt the urgency of doing whatever it took to survive. The chaos threatened not just their lives but also the dignity that now seemed as fragile as a plate in the hands of a running child.
She sighed deeply as the rickshaw driver continued along the road that would take them to Zo Ling's house. Zo Ling, who would soon lead them somewhere that Min hadn't foreseen—a place that would become the starting point of many unexpected events.
Min glanced at Zhan, who was lost in thought. Only now did it occur to her: why had she assumed Zhan would agree to her bold plan?
:-*:-*:-*:-*:-*
Yibo stood in his hospital room, holding a photograph he couldn't tear his eyes away from. He wasn't even looking at the faces in the picture anymore; his mind was consumed by thoughts of the moment it was taken and the reasons behind it.
It was during a Lunar New Year celebration. He had worn a white traditional outfit that Liu had buy for him using her carefully saved earnings. To complete the look, he had paired it with a black hat with white patterns, a gift from a neighbor whose child had tragically passed away. After a year, the family had distributed the boy's belongings, and Yibo had ended up with two hats and a few other items.
"You look just like your father, a proper Chinese gentleman," Pei, his mother, had said as she unbuttoned his shirt after he had spent the day showing off his outfit. He could also recall her scolding Liu for taking too long to get ready and complaining about the overpowering perfume Liu had worn.
Despite the bickering, they had locked the door to their modest home and made the long trek to the photo studio Liu insisted they visit "for posterity."
He vividly remembered Liu's bright red dress and Pei's deep blue outfit, though the black-and-white photograph muted all the colors. Just like those colors, the people in the photo had also faded from his life.
His thoughts shifted again to the moment the photo had been recovered from their chaotic, wrecked room. Everything had been left in disarray after fate returned him alone, without Pei or Liu.
When it was confirmed that Pei had also passed, the nurses panicked, unsure what to do with the bodies of the mother and daughter, whose identities and origins were unknown.
Dr. Gabriel, an African doctor working in Kowloon, had been the one called to confirm Liu's death before Pei's arrival. When Pei's death was also confirmed, the same nurses called him back.
He remembered how Dr. Gabriel had turned to him, who was standing there, his young eyes darting around in panic. Without a word, the doctor gently took Yibo's hand and led him to his office. Through skillful questioning, Dr. Gabriel managed to coax the name of their neighborhood from him.
Arranging for the bodies to be sent to the mortuary, the doctor gave Yibo some food, which the boy devoured, his cries of hunger evident from the state he was in. It wasn't until 8 PM, after his shift ended, that Dr. Gabriel drove Yibo to his neighborhood. The journey was slow and exhausting, as Yibo couldn't recognize much on the way. After a series of inquiries and wandering through long streets, they finally arrived at the house around 10 PM.
When they reached the house, someone pulled the wooden door open for them, but otherwise, everything inside was in complete disarray, wrecked by Ping and his men.
Dr. Gabriel stood there, surveying the mess, his thoughts racing about how people could live in such conditions, calling it "home." He stepped outside to question the neighbors. It was through them and a few locals that he pieced together the tragic story of Pei and Liu.
Despite his training and resolve as a doctor, Dr. Gabriel found himself wiping away tears he hadn't realized were falling. After informing the neighbors of Pei and Liu's deaths, the house was soon filled with people—neighbors and onlookers alike, some crying softly, others wailing openly.
In the middle of it all, an elderly woman began shouting angrily, accusing the crowd of being cowards who had failed to help Pei because they feared Ping.
Dr. Gabriel didn't linger on the commotion. He went back inside the room, carefully gathering items he thought Yibo would need for his future—schoolbooks, a few pieces of clothing. He wanted to take something of Pei's or Liu's, perhaps their clothes, but he didn't know what purpose it would serve, so he left everything else behind.
As he took Yibo's hand and headed for his car, the neighborhood children watched them leave, their curious eyes following every step. Just as they reached the vehicle, a large man stopped them, panting heavily.
He said he had run all the way from his house upon hearing the news that Pei and her daughter had died. Introducing himself as their landlord, he immediately complained that they were behind on their rent, which they paid monthly, and the current month was about to end without payment.
Dr. Gabriel stared at him with a mix of disgust and disbelief, his expression reflecting the frustration he felt. He couldn't comprehend the kind of people who lived in such a place—people devoid of empathy or humanity, consumed solely by greed and their pursuit of money. Without a word, he handed over the rent and walked away, ignoring the landlord's further questions about what should be done with the belongings in the room so he could rent it out to someone else. Overwhelmed with frustration, Dr. Gabriel took Yibo to his car and drove away, silently hoping never to find himself in such a place again. That was when Yibo had come into possession of the photo; Dr. Gabriel had found it among the boy's belongings as he packed up his things.
Without blinking, Yibo continued staring at the photo, focusing on his sister Liu. While he had come to terms with the inevitability of death and fate, he could have sworn he saw her the other day, walking along the side of the road—exactly as she had been in life, down to every last detail.
If there were any differences, he hadn't had the chance to notice them before the accident occurred.
Yibo let out a slow sigh, his gaze lifting to take in the room. But then—what was this? There she was, standing before him. It wasn't Liu, though. It was a girl wearing a dress he instantly recognized, the girl from his accident, her face lit up with a broad smile that revealed perfect teeth, and his heart painted the moment with warmth.
Before he could react, she began stepping back into the room, beckoning him with both hands to come closer.
Her face radiated pure joy, her fingers moving playfully in the air, gesturing for him to approach her.
Then, in an instant, the sound of a knock on the door shattered the moment, tearing through the air and scattering his thoughts like fragments of a broken dream.
Zhanxianyibo ❤️💚💛