When Vivian met the Blackwood brothers again.
Something had happened in the meantime.
It wasn't a big deal. Recently, Vivian received her university admission notice from a private railway school. It's a second-tier university. As the start of the school year approached, there was no news in the student discussion group. The school hadn't asked students to pay tuition, nor had they provided any information about when to start classes.
This was quite strange, especially considering how terrible the school was. The admission scores dropped year by year, and the enrollment situation was poor, leading some seniors to speculate that the school was about to shut down.
First of all, Vivian wasn't very clear about it.
Secondly, a university closing down was a good thing.
When a private university closes, the local education bureau will transfer you to a better public university. Vivian might even be able to upgrade from a second-tier university to a first-tier one. That would be worth celebrating, and the tuition fees at public universities were lower, so she'd save a lot over the next four years.
Vivian went drinking with her high school classmates again.
They scolded Vivian for being lucky.
"The things are good things," Vivian humbly said. "But I definitely won't start school this September, even if they reallocate me, that'll be next year. So, I'll just be a year late. While you guys are doing summer military training at the Beginning of the School Year, I'll be lounging in an air-conditioned room…"
Vivian was the kind of person who could get classmates to scold her for life with just three sentences. She was either too cheap or too funny; either way, it made her stand out. Her unique charm was a blend of those two contrasting colors.
"Seriously," she stopped joking. "You know my family's situation. I'll be idle for a year, not knowing what to do. I'll just eat a year's worth of white rice at home… I was thinking of finding a part-time job. What do you think? What kind of part-time job can a high school graduate get?"
Someone laughed at her: "You've forgotten, we all forgot everything after the college entrance exam. You probably don't even have a high school diploma anymore!"Laughter filled the room.
Vivian rubbed her temples in thought.
"Hey, what do you think about me working at a bubble tea shop? It's two or three thousand RMB a month."
"They don't hire college students anymore! Only those working for three months, who would want you?"
Vivian came up with another idea: "Then I could do food delivery. Delivery doesn't have many requirements, right?"
"Working in the heat, suffering for no reason," a guy complained, "You have no idea how tiring food delivery is!"
One classmate's dad was a driver: "Vivian, didn't you just get a New Energy Vehicle? You could try working for a ride-hailing service. Recently, many platforms have been offering assistance for ride-sharing drivers."
Vivian asked which platform, and he said, "Didi is the biggest platform right now. My dad says if you drive a new energy vehicle, it's pretty cost-effective. You can earn five to six thousand a month if you take enough orders. The conditions for joining have been relaxed this summer, you could give it a try."
"Sounds good." Vivian's eyes lit up. "Can you help me register?"
In just a few minutes, Vivian became a Didi ride-sharing driver.
That was Vivian's first job.
Vivian thought the job suited her perfectly. She had always been passionate about driving and had a natural talent for it. She passed her driver's test in one month without failing once. The instructors even said she was exceptional. In her batch of students, she passed both the second and third tests on the first try because Vivian taught better than the instructor. When Coach Gao asked her to work at the driving training school before, she turned him down, saying she had to go back to her "second-tier" university.
But that second-tier university is currently not accessible now.
Vivian started working from nine in the morning to ten at night. She still remembers her first ride clearly. She was nervous but managed to get to the pick-up point on time. The passenger was a middle-aged white-collar man. Vivian, new to the job, was full of enthusiasm, and ambition, and had a mouth that couldn't stay idle. She tried to strike up a conversation, but the man just told her to focus on the road and drive well, then added that he wouldn't ride with a female driver again next time.
Vivian felt embarrassed throughout the ride.
But she still received a five-star rating in the end.
Before this, the classmate whose dad was a driver had warned her that many passengers could be hard to deal with, and there was a lot of internal strife in the driver community. When his dad isn't working, his dad drinks a lot of alcohol and smokes a pack after a pack of cigarettes.
Vivian thought it wasn't that bad. After all, there were always minor and major conflicts between people. The society ran on these little frictions. Vivian understood people, and of course, she also hoped others could understand her. So far, she hadn't faced too much hardship at work, and she liked the feeling of being on the road. She worked for two months and saw many different kinds of people and situations... the ups and downs of life.
Vivian usually worked around the Riverbank WH district, across the two rivers, an area where veteran drivers gathered.
She joined a driver's group with no entry requirements—both ride-sharing and taxi drivers were in it. Most of the members were locals, speaking with a thick WH city dialect that makes you feel like aged wine.
They'd send voice messages, sharing funny or bizarre stories that happened in their cars, usually only after the passengers had left.
Vivian loved listening to them.
The people in the group were all older than her. The first time she found a lost phone in her car, she considered trying to get a medal for her honesty in returning lost property on the platform, and it is the older members who taught her how to do it over a video call. Since Vivian was young and a female driver, they'd ask her why she decided to do this.
"The school closed down," Vivian explained honestly.
Someone replied, "My daughter's school also closed down. The second-tier universities in WH city have been getting worse every year."
"Education resources have always been terrible here."
Only locals were allowed to criticize WH city like that. Even though these local drivers often complained about the city, they'd get defensive if an outsider said anything.
Speaking of outsiders, there were several peak periods when tourists came—besides weekends, it was the start of the school year and holidays. During the National Day holidays, Vivian received the most orders from the airport, train stations, and bus stations, running between the two sides of the river. Despite the heavy traffic on the overpasses, she made a lot of money.
Vivian worked diligently.
Time passed, and time arrived in November. One day, Vivian got an order from the East-West Lake District, a new industrial zone with wide roads, many large trucks, and construction sites everywhere. It had rained today, so Vivian drove carefully, knowing that a small vehicle couldn't compare to a big truck with full insurance.
Fortunately, the road conditions were good at night, and after completing her last delivery, she headed home. As she was about to drive onto the national road, the rain suddenly intensified. The rain blocked the visibility, what the hell is this weather? At that time, Vivian was in a hurry to navigate the curve and was a few seconds late in turning on the windshield wipers and high beams.
It was just these few seconds of a mistake.
A shadow suddenly appeared in front of the car.
"Damn!" Vivian exclaimed.
She quickly swerved to avoid it.
The common saying goes, "Yield speed, not the lane," but braking was already too late. Vivian's heart raced wildly, her ten fingers clenched rigidly on the steering wheel. She managed to avoid a collision, the rear of the car splashing up water as it narrowly came to a halt by the roadside. Only after the car had fully stopped did Vivian begin to tremble, and she stepped out of the vehicle in a fit of frustration and anger.
"What the hell are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?"
The rain blurred her vision, but she was still worried that she had hit something.
When she returned to the scene, she focused her eyes. "...Ethan?"
Ethan was sitting by the roadside, holding a motionless Noah. The fine rain pelted his pale face, the high beams casting shadows on his gaunt features and dry lips. He was shaking uncontrollably, fear in his eyes, and he looked up at her. They locked eyes in the dim rain.
"Please, save my little brother!" Ethan cried, tugging at her pant leg. "Please, I beg you, Vivian, Noah really can't hold on any longer."
Vivian kicked him away and turned to walk toward her car.
Ethan stood frozen. Vivian turned back.
"Keep up! Do I have to invite you or what?"
"What have you been doing these days?"Vivian leaned lazily against the hospital corridor wall, glancing at Ethan. "Look at the state you're in, barely alive. And your brother too, burning up to the point where all he can do is drool, and you still haven't taken him to the hospital? What good is just hanging an IV going to do?"
Ethan wiped the rain from his forehead. His eyelashes were drenched, resembling tears. His eyes were red, bloodshot, and he struggled to find the words. Vivian, however, noticed his worn-out clothes. "ZJ Construction? Are you doing illegal work at a construction site?"
"…Yes," Ethan's voice was hoarse.
Vivian looked him over again; he had indeed gotten quite a bit tanner, but he hadn't lost much weight—he'd always been as thin as a rail.
Ethan was dirty and didn't sit on the metal chair but squatted in the corner. His worn-out work pants were caked with mud, and his hair was soaked, dripping with filthy water.
Vivian stared at him, then suddenly chuckled. "Ethan, do you remember when you and Noah stuffed mud into my bed during the summer? Dare I ask, what were you thinking at that time? Did you ever imagine you'd end up dealing with mud all day?"
Even though Ethan was on guard, he still felt a sting in his heart.
He scratched the calluses on his palm, lowering his head, and staying silent. Vivian couldn't help but find it amusing that even in such a state, he was still struggling to maintain that tiny shred of dignity.
"What's the matter? Think my words are too harsh? But that's just how people are. When you're riding high, friends are everywhere, and everyone's so kind. But once you hit rock bottom, just look at how the Blackwoods family have treated you and your brother. Look at the kind of life you've been living lately!"
Before Vivian could finish her sarcasm, a doctor came over and asked who the patient's family member was. Ethan quickly walked over to take the blood test form.
They talked for a while, mostly about how Noah had always been physically weak. He had previously caught a chill, and during this period, he hadn't been resting properly, nor was his nutrition adequate. As soon as the weather turned colder, it was only natural that the flu would come knocking. The doctor also asked where the patient usually lived, to which Ethan replied, "The construction site dormitory."
"If possible, try to improve the patient's living conditions and diet," the doctor said. "The air quality at construction sites is very poor, and the noise is significant." Hospitalization, of course, would be the best solution, but Ethan only had his wages from two months ago; last month's pay hadn't been issued yet.
Ethan said he'd think about it.
Vivian was blunt: "You don't have money?"
Ethan said he had some money—a thousand yuan in the dormitory, but only a little over eighty yuan on him. Vivian didn't say anything and turned to leave. After walking a few meters, she turned back and returned.
Ethan's eyes brightened slightly.
"Listen, I... when I transport patients with emergencies to the hospital, I can apply for a bravery medal on the platform. Don't lose those medical records of Noah, okay? Come with me to the police station this weekend to verify the materials." Vivian grinned shamelessly. "A favor for a favor, right? "
After a moment of silence, Ethan's light dimmed.
He whispered, "Okay."
Vivian hummed as she walked away.
He knew. He knew. Ethan rubbed his eyes and walked into the hospital room. Noah lay on the snow-white bed, a thin tube inserted into his hand.
Noah's brows and eyes had relaxed; this might be the best rest he'd gotten in days. Noah was more delicate, not like Ethan, who could manage to live and even eat and sleep well no matter where he was. In truth, Ethan wasn't doing great either—exhausted every day, still waiting on his wages. But life doesn't stop just because it's tough.
He walked to the foot of the hospital bed, picked up the payment slip, and dragged his heavy steps to the lobby. When he reached the payment counter, he asked if they could give him a few days' grace, as he didn't have the cash on hand.
"Bed number 20080, right?" the staff said. "The patient's fees have already been paid."
Ethan was stunned. "What?"
"Someone paid for the treatment and hospitalization for the next four days, totaling ￥1,525. Is there any problem?"
"…Who paid?"
At that moment, Ethan just wanted to hear that name.
"A very young lady. She seemed to have been caught in the rain."
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.
He ran toward the hall's exit.
In the night rain by the street, Vivian's car was still parked there, about to start, when someone knocked on the opposite side window.
Vivian slowly rolled down the car window. Ethan's face appeared in the rain, his cheeks flushed and tense.
"Money, money," he gasped.
"I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
Vivian looked him over from head to toe, her gaze nothing short of teasing, scrutinizing. And there was the usual careless indifference of this unfamiliar elder sister.
Ethan's heart pounded under her gaze.
Vivian withdrew her gaze, not taking it seriously.
"...Alright, got it. Go on, do whatever you need to do"