Since the onset of autumn, the rain in the northern city seemed never-ending.

Yu Zi sat in the backseat of a taxi, watching raindrops rapidly strike the car window. The rain quickly formed a curtain of water, distorting the scenery outside.

This was the second time Yu Zi had moved this month.

To say he was moving wasn’t entirely accurate; he was just moving from one temporary residence to another. None of them could be considered a proper home.

Yesterday, he was still staying in a slightly more upscale hotel. This morning, he was reminded that his card balance was insufficient and he needed to check out as soon as possible.

The rainy roads were slippery, and traffic ahead began to congest.

Suddenly, a black ride-hailing car darted out from the adjacent lane, narrowly missing their taxi.

The driver immediately swerved and honked the horn frantically.

Seemingly unsatisfied, the driver then rolled down the window and cursed at the car ahead, “Are you crazy? Can’t you drive properly?!”

Yu Zi subconsciously furrowed his brows. He lowered his head and glanced at his phone, finding no unread messages.

The navigation app reminded him that the destination was still three kilometers away.

Yu Zi glanced at the traffic conditions alert, all glowing red. He was familiar with this route; he had raced cars with a bunch of rich kids here late at night. Back then, the roads were empty, and even the air smelled sweeter than it did now.

It was a pity that the red sports car had been auctioned off months ago. Those so-called rich kids had long cut ties with him.

After passing through the congested intersection, the driver stepped on the gas, and the car sped away.

Five minutes later, the taxi screeched to a stop by the roadside.

Yu Zi, who wasn’t seated securely, leaned forward and nearly collided with the transparent acrylic divider in front of him.

“We’ve arrived. Pay and get off,” the driver said without much patience, turning his head to face Yu Zi.

Suppressing his anger, Yu Zi opened his phone and paid. Then he walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and struggled to lift his suitcase.

In front of him was a suburban motel. Half of the lights on the sign were broken, leaving only three or four radicals of the original five-character name still lit.

The rain had just stopped, leaving the surface of the asphalt road wet. Neon lights on the street emitted a glaring light, reflecting on the ground.

Yu Zi had never been to such a place before, and he felt the air was excessively humid. The manhole covers under his feet emitted a foul odor.

His suitcase contained all his belongings. Yu Zi heaved it up with effort; it was still quite heavy.

He stood at the entrance of the motel, waiting for someone to come.

Five minutes later, unable to contain his anger, Yu Zi shouted at the front desk, “Is there no concierge?!”

The receptionist of this small motel slowly got up from his reclining chair, a middle-aged man with a bald head.

He walked out while chewing on a toothpick, “Who’s Li Bin? We don’t have such a person here.”

Yu Zi took a deep breath, “I mean, is there no concierge here? Can anyone help me with my luggage?”

The man suddenly chuckled a couple of times, looking at the well-dressed young man in front of him somewhat incredulously, “Are you okay? This is a motel, not a five-star hotel. Where’s the concierge department? If you want to stay, please carry your luggage yourself.”

After saying that, he shook his bulk and walked back to the front desk.

“Unbelievable,” Yu Zi cursed under his breath, clenched his fist, and lifted the huge suitcase with one hand while grabbing his briefcase with the other, leaning forward and walking forward.

In the split second he turned around, he saw a black car parked where he had just got off. It looked somewhat familiar, like the one that had just cut them off on the road.

Yu Zi clicked his tongue and continued to turn around and walk inside.

Thirty minutes later, he kicked his suitcase into a small room at the end of the corridor.

He didn’t expect that even in this remote motel, the rooms would be tight. Due to his late arrival, he only booked a north-facing room. The already humid night became even stickier and more unbearable in this compact space.

He put away his suitcase, took out a tissue from his bag, and carefully wiped away the water stains on the soles of his shoes. However, before he could finish, he heard strange cries from the next room.

Yu Zi paused and listened; it was obvious that a couple was staying next door, and they had started to make uninhibited, earth-shattering noises even before eight o’clock in the evening.

He threw the tissue into the trash can and massaged his temples.

There was a wobbly wooden stool by the bed. Yu Zi sat on it, opened his phone, and glanced at his bank card balance.

The number on it was depressingly short. After a moment’s thought, he opened his contacts, found a name, and made a call.

The phone rang several times, but no one answered. It wasn’t until half a minute later that a gentle female voice reminded him: “The number you dialed is currently unavailable, please try again later.”

Yu Zi bit his lip with his teeth, almost breaking the skin.

Smack! He angrily threw the phone, which hadn’t even turned off, to the ground.

However, three seconds later, he slowly bent down, picked up the phone, and checked to see if it was damaged.

Uncle, uncles, these relatives who used to be very close to him had now intentionally or unintentionally cut off contact with him, seeming to want to sever all ties.

Yu Zi still remembered the obsequious faces of these relatives during the New Year’s Eve dinner at his family’s villa in the western suburbs two years ago.

They held glasses of wine, walked to the main table, one on the left and one on the right, and chatted with him in every possible way.

But as his biological father’s investment failed and the Yu family struggled for a while before ultimately declaring bankruptcy, these relatives disappeared instantly from his life.

What surprised him even more was that the instigator of all this, his father, Yu Qing, actually flew thousands of kilometers away to a foreign country with his current wife and younger son after selling off all the family’s property and paying off the debts.

Yu Zi later learned that they were being received abroad by a distant relative of his stepmother. Yu Qing had no other skills, but he was adept at finding powerful backers.

After they left, Yu Qing only left him a voicemail. The gist was for Yu Zi to stay in China with peace of mind, and he would come back to pick him up a year later.

Yu Zi was too familiar with this kind of rhetoric. When his father divorced his mother, he was fed similar lies. He said he would only be separated from his mother for a year and go on a trip. But he returned with a new wife, who was pregnant at the time.

Later, Yu Zi learned that his worthless father also had some talent. After he finished one bowl of soft rice, he could still find another.

When Yu Qing married Shang Ping, he was attracted by the Shang family’s wealth and took over the management rights of two hotels owned by the Shang family. In less than two years, he became a famous nouveau riche in North City.

After his relationship with Shang Ping broke down, Yu Qing quickly found a rich young lady from a neighboring city. She had just divorced and was emotionally vulnerable, so she was captivated by Yu Qing’s decent appearance. Yu Qing smoothly got her pregnant and successfully forced her into marriage.

Yu Zi took his toiletries and walked into the cramped bathroom, preparing to take a shower. He turned on the overhead light and looked at himself in the mirror.

The only thing his father left him was this good appearance. Although Yu Qing was just a hooligan when he was young, he had a face as handsome as a movie star. Coupled with Shang Ping’s good looks, Yu Zi inherited the advantages of both of them.

Unfortunately, this face couldn’t bring back the luxurious life he once had. 

The bathroom of the motel had a smell similar to being pickled for years, and Yu Zi felt a bit nauseous after smelling it for a few seconds.

The couple next door suddenly changed their position, and there was a wall between the two bathrooms.

Yu Zi listened to the loud moaning coming from next door and angrily slammed the wall with his hand.

Bang! The sound was loud, and the entire wall seemed to vibrate several times.

There was suddenly no sound from the other side.

After he finished washing up, he returned to the bed, looked at the rough sheets of the motel, endured his temper, and lay down. The ceiling of the small room was a bit moldy, and half of the wall plaster was hanging in the air, swaying.

Yu Zi closed his eyes and remembered the balance he had seen on his phone, then suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He had been busy packing and moving today and hadn’t eaten properly. Now lying on the bed, he felt hungry.

He rolled off the bed, picked up his bag, and went downstairs.

Next to the motel was a shabby restaurant, and the landlady stood outside warmly welcoming customers. Yu Zi stepped in and immediately stepped back out. The environment here made it difficult to set foot in.

He walked half a block before finally finding a 24-hour convenience store.

Yu Zi looked around, took a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk from the shelf.

He stood at the counter, remembered that he didn’t have much money in his phone, and still had to pay for the room for the next few days. He opened his bag and looked for his wallet. He remembered there should be a few bills left inside.

He opened his wallet, counted quickly, and found that there were still five hundred yuan left. He took out a banknote and handed it to the cashier.

The cashier was a little surprised; few people had used cash for purchases recently. The cashier held the banknote in her hand, looked up at the incandescent lamp for several times, and finally confirmed that it was a genuine banknote.

Soon, the cashier gave him a stack of change. Yu Zi took it and counted it carefully before putting it into his wallet.

He walked out of the convenience store with the bread and milk.

Woof woof—

He was about to walk back when he was attracted by two barks nearby.

There was a dirty stray dog squatting outside the convenience store, with rough hair and wounds, half of which had scabs. The dog stared at the bread in Yu Zi’s hand, looking pitiful.

Yu Zi was in a bad mood, but still squatted down, tore off two pieces of bread for the old dog, and threw them into the flower bed in front of it.

The stray dog’s eyes lit up instantly, dragging its lame legs to pounce on the bread and even eating the crumbs on the side.

After watching the dog finish eating, he stood up and was about to leave when suddenly a black shadow ran past him.

Yu Zi felt a strong bump and immediately turned around and cursed, “Damn, can’t you watch where you’re going?!”

However, ten seconds later, he suddenly realized what had happened and reached out to touch his bag.

His wallet had been stolen!

Yu Zi immediately turned around and chased after the thief, his shoes making a tapping sound in the dark night.

That person seemed to be a habitual thief, running extremely fast. After turning two small alleys, he disappeared without a trace.

Yu Zi stood at the mouth of the alley, supporting his knees with his hands, his throat almost on fire. He looked up, fiercely punching the wall with his fist: “Damn it!”

His knuckles were scraped by the rough red wall, and his mood reached its lowest point.

What they say about “misfortunes never come singly,” “when it rains, it pours,” and “a lone star falling from the sky” – he experienced them all today.

Back at the motel, Yu Zi threw the remaining toast onto the table beside the bed. Then he drank a few sips of milk and lay down on the bed.

At twenty-five years old, it was the first time he faced such a dire situation.

Losing five hundred yuan just by going out, the money on him was barely enough to survive here for a few days.

His own father was nowhere to be found, and all his relatives were avoiding him like rats and cockroaches.

Ding—

Yu Zi’s mind was blank, but his phone suddenly rang.

He reached over, unlocked it, and checked. Surprisingly, it was a text message.

“If you have nowhere to stay, you can stay with me – Xie Dongcheng.”

Looking at this unfamiliar number, Yu Zi thought, are scam messages this sophisticated now?

And who is Xie Dongcheng anyway?

He held his phone, staring at the message for half a minute.

Forget it, chatting with this scammer might pass the time. He replied to the other side: “Who is this?”

But just two seconds later, the phone lit up again.

The other side replied with three words: “Your former driver.”