Five years ago, in a residential area of City H.
A young man in a black T-shirt walked out of the building hallway, his hands stained with spots of spilled soup.
It was the height of summer, just past noon, with temperatures reaching around 38 or 39 degrees. Sweat stains were already visible on his short-sleeved shirt.
His hair was cut very short, almost like a buzz cut. His skin was tanned from the sun, and faint muscles showed on his arms. At the moment, he stood somewhat confused at the entrance to the residential area.
He searched back and forth several times but couldn’t find the electric scooter he had ridden to deliver food.
For about half an hour, he stared at the tilted surveillance camera at the entrance, which was covered in spider webs. This was an older neighborhood.
His phone was already ringing, and he guessed it was his boss. After all, the neighborhood was only about a ten-minute ride from the restaurant where he worked, but he had been gone for over forty minutes and still hadn’t returned.
He finally answered the call. Perhaps because his throat was dry, his voice came out low and hoarse. “Hello, boss.”
The person on the other end shouted impatiently.
After a moment’s hesitation, he admitted, “Boss, I think someone stole the scooter.”
The shouting on the other end grew louder.
He had to hold the phone farther from his ear. The noise pounded against his eardrums in the heat, and his head started to buzz.
In the end, he was fired.
He had worked at the restaurant for just three months, washing dishes, delivering food, and serving meals.
The boss withheld a month’s salary to cover the loss of the old electric scooter.
He returned to his rental house, located in a very remote area. When it rained, water would seep through the corners of the walls, but at least the roof didn’t leak; otherwise, his bed would have been ruined.
A single bed was practically the only piece of furniture in his house. Other household items, such as buckets, kitchen utensils, and a heater, were piled in one corner against the wall.
He lay down on his bed, which had a thin mat on it. A dim incandescent bulb hung overhead, and a half-broken fan wobbled, creaking noisily.
Summer nights were only slightly more bearable than the days, but not by much.
He took two cold showers before the sticky heat on his body faded a little. Lying on the mat, he drifted into a groggy sleep.
The next morning, as he got up to wash, he ran into the migrant worker who lived next door.
The man, in his forties or fifties, greeted him warmly. “Hey, Xiao Hei, how come you’re up so early today?”
Xiao Hei hadn’t always been called that. He had told people here his real name, but after a summer of delivering food and getting tanned, someone started calling him Xiao Hei, and soon everyone followed suit.1Xiao Hei means “Little black” but it’s used in a neutral way (not malicious). For example, it’s a common name for pets.
Although Xiao Hei had tanned from the sun, his eyes seemed even more spirited and bright in contrast, giving him an earnest look.
Xiao Hei replied, “I got fired because I lost my boss’s electric scooter.”
The older migrant worker took the towel off his shoulder and wiped his face, then turned to Xiao Hei and said, “Hey, don’t worry. Why don’t you sell shoe polish with your sister-in-law2The worker is referring to his own wife. for a while? You can go to the mall and promote it. She made quite a bit this month, more than I did.”
Xiao Hei’s eyes lit up. “Really!?”
“Why would I lie to you? Go to my place and see for yourself. There’s a pile of shoe polish from your sister-in-law. If you think it’s a good idea, take some to sell. You can find another job later, and sell shoe polish after work if you want. The hours are flexible.”
After about twenty minutes of training, Xiao Hei headed out with a backpack full of shoe polish.
He wandered around crowded areas the entire morning. At first, he was too shy to approach anyone, but then he remembered what the guy’s wife had told him: if you want to sell something, you have to be thick-skinned.
After some mental preparation, he managed to sell three bottles by mid-afternoon.
Then, he decided to look for a new job while still carrying his backpack of shoe polish.
–
Gu Chen had been accompanying An Fei at the mall for over an hour and a half. Although the mall was well air-conditioned, he had stayed up half the night dealing with a scandal caused by Lu Lianning, and now dark circles were visible under his eyes.
He finally couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “An Fei-jie3Jie = older sister, used for females similarly as “ge” is used for males, I’m going to sit over there for a bit. Let me know when you’re done trying on clothes. Just use my card.”
Seeing how tired he looked, An Fei decided not to push him further. She took his card, waved her hand, and let him go.
Gu Chen found a less crowded area near a fake giant tree with a small row of sofas. He walked over and sat down.
After pulling out his phone to respond to a few texts, he blinked his sore eyes, feeling a desperate need for a two-day break. This feeling only intensified when he saw that Lu Lianning had driven away the third assistant he had hired.
He shut off his phone, hoping “out of sight, out of mind” would help.
Suddenly, he felt pressure on his foot. Looking down, he saw a young man kneeling, squeezing shoe polish onto his custom-made Italian leather shoes.
Gu Chen quickly pulled his foot back, frowning. “What are you doing?”
The young man looked up and grinned. His teeth were so white they seemed to shine, perhaps exaggerated by his overly tanned skin.
“Sir, let me polish your shoes. No charge, no charge! If you like how they look, you can buy a bottle. Right now, if you buy one, you get one free—ten yuan for two bottles!” As soon as he finished speaking, he energetically began polishing the shoes.
Gu Chen was about to refuse, but the words got stuck in his throat. The dark-skinned young man moved too quickly and was already spreading the polish on his shoes with a cloth.
Gu Chen sighed and let him continue, even extending his other foot in cooperation.
The young man, still kneeling halfway, noticed him stretch out his foot. “Look, sir. See how much shinier the shoe I just polished is compared to the other one.”
Gu Chen glanced down. Indeed, the polished shoe gleamed as if it had been coated with lard.
“I’m actually a university student. It’s not easy working while studying. Please buy a bottle, sir.”
Gu Chen looked from his sun-tanned face to his knees pressed against the ground and asked, “Is this all you do? How much can you earn?”
“Not much. I also move goods at another job. After that, I come here to sell shoe polish.”
“Are you really a university student?”
“…”
“I can offer you a job. Would you take it?” Gu Chen glanced at the young man’s still-lowered knees, then at his pants, faded from too many washes.
Xiao Hei looked up and asked, “How much does it pay?”
Gu Chen laughed. “Why don’t you ask what the job is first?” Then, after a moment, he replied, “At least three times what you’re making now, but you’d have to sign a contract and commit for at least a year.”
Gu Chen took Xiao Hei to Lu Lianning’s house, bought him a new set of clothes, and treated him to a meal.
Xiao Hei devoured his food and glanced down at his new clothes. He hadn’t followed Gu Chen when he went to pay, but he could tell the fabric was comfortable. With a meal, new clothes, and a contract to sign, it felt like he was being lured into a lion’s den.
Gu Chen then took him to a well-maintained, high-security neighborhood filled with standalone villas.
Gu Chen pulled out a key and unlocked the door. The lights were on inside and clothes were strewn across the floor from the sofa to the bedroom doorway.
Hearing unmistakable sounds of sweet, unrestrained moans from inside, Gu Chen rubbed his temples in frustration.
Lu Lianning must have heard the door too, but it took another twenty minutes before the bedroom door opened.
Two people emerged.
Xiao Hei froze for a moment when he saw a familiar face and was unable to react right away. It was Xiao Ming. He’d seen Xiao Ming’s face before on the packaging of a drink a customer had ordered while he was delivering food.
He didn’t recognize the other man, having not watched TV or followed entertainment news in a long time.
But Xiao Ming’s companion was even more striking—captivatingly handsome, with a high nose bridge and beautifully shaped lips that naturally curved, giving him a gentle appearance.
Xiao Ming looked surprised to see Gu Chen. Quickly pulling his clothes together, he greeted him, “Gu-ge, you’re here.”
Gu Chen’s expression was stern. “How many times have I told you? Don’t come looking for him right now. I’ve spent days cleaning up his negative press. What if you get photographed visiting him? Don’t you think there’s already enough trouble to deal with?”
With his slightly curly hair and baby face, Xiao Ming flashed a smile and sweet-talked Gu Chen, “Come on, just this once. I missed him too much.”
Gu Chen wasn’t having it. He tossed Xiao Ming his clothes and told him to get dressed and leave.
Grinning, Xiao Ming slipped on his clothes and hurried out. Just before leaving, he gave Xiao Hei a curious glance, seeing him standing there dumbfounded. But noticing Gu Chen’s grim expression, he made a quick exit.
Meanwhile, Lu Lianning, who had been silent the entire time, grabbed a glass of ice water from the table. He drank most of it before turning his gaze to Gu Chen, who was now seated, and then to Xiao Hei.
Following his gaze, Gu Chen said, “I found a new assistant for you, so please show some restraint.”
Lu Lianning’s eyes fell on Xiao Hei before turning back to Gu Chen. “What’s this? A brother from Africa?”
