The next morning, Yu Zi was the first to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the sofa, covered with a blanket.

Feeling hungover, he pressed his temples, feeling a bit dizzy. As he sat up and looked around, he didn’t see Xie Dongcheng.

It wasn’t until he glanced down at the floor that he noticed he was actually sleeping on the floor, without even a pillow.

He’s quite resilient. It’s already October, and he managed to survive sleeping on the floor all night.

Yu Zi took the blanket off himself, tiptoed to the floor, and gently covered Xie Dongcheng’s back with it.

Just as he covered him, Xie Dongcheng suddenly woke up.

Xie Dongcheng opened his eyes first, looking a bit dazed, and it took him several seconds before he sat up.

“Why did you sleep on the floor?” Yu Zi asked him.

“I don’t know. Last night…” Xie Dongcheng squinted, trying to recall some details from before he fell asleep, but his brain couldn’t seem to function properly, everything was a blur.

Seeing him hesitate, Yu Zi felt a bit nervous. Could it be that something happened between them in the living room last night? He quickly checked his collar just in case.

Phew—thankfully, everything was clean. Nothing happened.

“…I remember now. You fell asleep first last night. I wanted to move you to the bedroom, but you insisted on staying on the sofa,” Xie Dongcheng said, carefully recalling, pinching his waist with his fingers.

Yu Zi’s expression froze on his face, really wanting to slap himself. He thought last night was just a fantasy in his head, but did he really hug the guy’s waist?!

He couldn’t help but curse himself inwardly: Yu Zi, you’ve really lost your mind due to poverty.

Fortunately, Xie Dongcheng didn’t seem to mind much. He got up, patted his pants, and went to the kitchen to make hangover soup.

Yu Zi checked his sprained ankle, it had reduced swelling quite a bit. He gently lifted his leg and took a few steps forward, feeling much less pain. It should be completely better in a couple of days.

Soon, the aroma of stew wafted from the kitchen. Xie Dongcheng’s phone, placed on the small coffee table, suddenly rang.

Wiping his hands on his apron, he walked over to answer the phone, it was an unfamiliar number.

Who would call so early in the morning?

Yu Zi was brushing his teeth in the bathroom when he heard the sound.

He saw Xie Dongcheng answering the phone with two “uh-huh” sounds, then his face turned grim. Half a minute later, he hung up the phone.

Yu Zi asked casually, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Dongcheng turned to look at him and said two words, “It’s over.”

Half an hour later, the two of them hurriedly arrived at a wasteland in the suburbs.

Looking up, Yu Zi saw a dilapidated sign hanging on the large iron gate in front of them: Lao Wang’s Auto Repair Shop.

Soon, Lao Wang himself walked out from inside, waving to Xie Dongcheng who was standing in front.

Xie Dongcheng hurried over and asked, “Sir, what’s going on? Why is the car suddenly declared scrap?”

Lao Wang took off his hat and fanned himself. “The engine broke. Can’t be fixed, it needs a new engine. But I don’t recommend you to replace it, your car is many years old now, it’s better to buy a new one.”

“I just went for the annual inspection the day before yesterday, why did the engine suddenly break?” Xie Dongcheng’s tone was a bit agitated, stepping closer to question.

“Hey, don’t blame me. I took pictures as soon as it was delivered yesterday. It was in terrible condition.” Lao Wang saw him being tall and sturdy, and took a step back, “These old second-hand cars are like this, they break down with a little accident, you can only accept it as bad luck.”

Xie Dongcheng’s heart sank. “No, this won’t do. I rely on it for a living!”

“Are you a taxi driver? This car definitely can’t be on the road anymore. There are a lot of electric cars being sold lately, you should get one of those. This one won’t even fetch two thousand for scrap.”

Xie Dongcheng’s head buzzed. Where could he get the money to buy another new car? This old second-hand car was bought with all his savings.

Glancing back at Yu Zi, Xie Dongcheng hesitated.

The two of them wore identical expressions of despair.

An hour later, with two thousand yuan in his pocket from Lao Wang, Xie Dongcheng carried a large paper bag with the things originally in the car. The little pig ornament, swaying its head, lay quietly on top of the bag with a silly smile on its face.

Then, he and Yu Zi stood at the entrance of the repair shop, watching as the tow truck took away the shell of the broken second-hand car.

Dust flew, choking them both with coughs.

After a while, they looked at each other and said in unison, “It’s over.”

“Let’s go back,” Yu Zi patted his shoulder.

Xie Dongcheng, looking dejected, followed behind him.

Yu Zi stood on the roadside, preparing to hail a taxi, but then thought better of it and withdrew his hand.

“Forget it, is there a bus here? Let’s just take the bus back.”

The two of them swayed on the bus for over an hour before finally returning to home.

Now, without Xie Dongcheng’s means of transportation, their meal ticket was gone. It also meant that they had completely lost their source of income.

One couldn’t find a job, the other dropped out of college. And the one who couldn’t find a job was also dragging a half-limp leg.

Wanting to sit and eat while there’s nothing to eat.

The two of them were tacitly unwilling to go home, so they sat on a bench outside the community, blankly watching the coming and going of people.

Until an ambulance came from the opposite lane, sirens blaring.

“How about I go find a construction site to carry bricks?” Xie Dongcheng looked at himself and figured he could sell his labor.

“You save your energy. I’ll figure something out.” On the way back, Yu Zi thought of many things. He still had some things brought from home in his suitcase, not sure how much they could sell for.

With that in mind, he got up and walked towards the entrance. Xie Dongcheng quickly got up and followed his footsteps.

“Take it easy, your foot isn’t fully healed yet.”

As soon as Yu Zi got home, he dragged the suitcase into the living room and opened it.

Xie Dongcheng was a little puzzled. “What are you looking for?”

“See if there’s anything to sell.” Yu Zi rummaged through but didn’t find anything suitable to sell.

He didn’t bring many personal belongings from the villa, and if he sold more, he probably wouldn’t have any clothes to wear in the winter. Moreover, luxury items like these, unless they are rare leather goods from top brands, have poor value retention and are difficult to sell.

Yu Zi had a headache.

Finally, he reached for the innermost small box. After gently opening it, there lay the Swiss watch.

Xie Dongcheng saw the watch and squatted down, asking him, “This watch is very expensive, right?”

Yu Zi nodded. This watch was the only valuable thing he had now.

Although it was an old style, if he sold it, he should be able to get a good price. The money he would get from it would be enough for him to live on for a year or two.

But his fingers hesitated for a long time without moving. He swallowed twice, then finally closed the box.

Xie Dongcheng had never seen him wear this watch, nor had he seen him take it out when they were at the villa in the western suburbs.

“Is this watch left to you by Mr. Yu?” Xie Dongcheng asked.

Yu Zi chuckled. “Him? It’s good enough if he didn’t leave me with debt.”

“Then…” Xie Dongcheng subconsciously asked again.

Yu Zi looked up at him. “Why so concerned?”

“Not really, just asking.” 

He figured it must have been given by someone important to Yu Zi, judging from how he cherished it.

“Given by an old friend.” Yu Zi glanced at him, casually answering.

“What old friend?” Xie Dongcheng asked instinctively.

Yu Zi tilted his head, glanced at him, and teased him jokingly, “Why? Does it concern you?”

Xie Dongcheng was stunned for a moment, realizing that his words had crossed the line, and quickly shook his head. “No, no, I was just asking randomly. Pretend you didn’t hear it.”

Yu Zi tidied up the suitcase and was about to lock it with the password when a dark wooden box peeked out from the corner.

He pulled out the box and used his fingers to lift the sliding lid.

Inside lay a cigar. It was the last one he brought from home.

He picked up the cigar and felt it. “Ah, it’s damp.”

With the continuous rainy weather, combined with improper storage, this cigar would go bad if not smoked soon.

He looked up at Xie Dongcheng. “Do you have a lighter?”

“…I don’t have a lighter.” Xie Dongcheng rarely smoked, and there was no lighter at home.

Yu Zi thought for a moment, then walked into the kitchen and pointed to the stove. “Light it there.”

Xie Dongcheng turned the knob of the stove, and the gas burner lit up with a popping sound.

A blue-green flame surged out, flickering.

Yu Zi placed the cigar on the burner and slowly lit it up. The sparks slowly ignited. He suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat humorous. He used to have a special lighter for cigars, and even got a metal box specially for it. But now he was burning the cigar end with gas in front of the stove.

Seeing that he had lit it up, Xie Dongcheng quickly turned off the stove and opened the window for ventilation.

Yu Zi leaned against the tiled wall of the kitchen, holding the cigar between his index and middle fingers, took a deep breath, and then exhaled a faint smoke ring.

Xie Dongcheng’s gaze was drawn to his lips, staring for two seconds.

It was the first time he had seen Yu Zi smoke a cigar. Although Yu Zi’s temper wasn’t good, he had never smoked in the car before.

Yu Zi sensed his gaze and smiled, teasing him, “Want a drag?”

Before Xie Dongcheng could hear what he said clearly, Yu Zi’s fingers had already handed the cigar to him.

Feeling as if he was enchanted by the smoke, Xie Dongcheng actually took a puff from the cigar.

But he forgot to exhale after taking a drag, and the smoke choked him, almost making him cough. His face turned red.

Yu Zi chuckled, quickly took the cigar back, and put it back between his own lips.

Xie Dongcheng subconsciously touched his lips, feeling like there was still a lingering warmth.

“What are you thinking?” Yu Zi waved his hand in front of him, his face expressionless.

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Xie Dongcheng shook his head, suddenly snapping out of his daze.

“So, where do we go next to make money?” Yu Zi exhaled a second smoke ring, rubbing his tired eyes.