Hanging up the phone, the girl furrowed her brows, found a WeChat contact named "Uncle," opened the chat window, hesitated, and then transferred 100 yuan.
She returned to the chat interface and opened her WeChat wallet to check her balance.
Balance—7.6.
Hu Jiasheng had never met anyone so poor and couldn't understand why the girl was so weak, not daring to tell her family about her problems.
Despite having only a little over 100 yuan left herself, she still transferred all of it to the other person.
To be honest, he felt sympathetic towards girls from small towns who had low educational attainment, only knew how to do manual labor, and didn't know how to resist.
They were mostly feudal remnants of a patriarchal society, only knowing how to submit to men and not understanding their own worth.
Hu Jiasheng felt sorry for her, but he wouldn't help her.
Because he helped those in urgent need, not those who were chronically poor.
Generally, poor people were poor in thought and narrow in vision.
His perspective on problems was not on the same level as hers. Even if he spoke, she might not listen, or might not understand.
Moreover, they didn't know each other at all. Why would Hu Jiasheng waste his breath?
She closed her phone, her brows still furrowed. Hu Jiasheng withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again.
The girl was quiet for only a moment before she started fiddling with her phone again.
Hu Jiasheng could sense her typing.
Because the seats were so cramped, their shoulders would inadvertently touch. The girl was typing quite quickly.
While they were chatting, her phone rang again.
Within a second, she brought it to her ear.
Another girl's voice came through.
"Why did you borrow so much money? What happened to you?"
"A small incident occurred. My car was flooded, the engine broke down, and it won't start."
"Ah? Was it because of the rain yesterday? You still went driving in such heavy rain yesterday?"
"Mm."
The two fell silent.
After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end said.
"Don't you have insurance? Why didn't you claim it?"
"It's not covered in this situation. If you have it, lend it to me. If not, forget it."
"It's not that I won't lend it to you, Nannan. You know, we're planning to get married soon and have been looking at houses."
"I understand. I was just asking. Forget it if you don't have it. You must be busy."
"Then what will you do? Besides me, you don't have many other friends."
"It's okay. Anyway, the car was second-hand and not worth much to begin with, so don't worry about it. I still have some savings, and buying another second-hand one won't be a problem."
She didn't get the money but ended up comforting the other person.
After hanging up, Hu Jiasheng couldn't help but open his eyes to look at her again, his brows furrowed even deeper than before.
She didn't notice the water in the bottle had finished dripping. It was an elderly woman next to her who reminded her.
The girl seemed anxious to earn money. She took down the empty bottle and looked for a nurse, asking to take the remaining infusion with her.
The nurse replied impatiently, "Once you leave this hospital, we are not responsible for anything."
"It's okay." Holding the bottle in one hand and the IV drip in the other, she left the queue of patients.
The next day, Hu Jiasheng went to the hospital as usual.
Perhaps their schedules were different, or for some other reason, he didn't see the girl again.
The same was true for the third day.
The rash on Hu Jiasheng's body completely disappeared, and the weather cleared up. He resumed his work.
The heavy workload made him forget about this small episode until a week later, when all the charging piles in the district were installed. A technician from Huaguang Technology provided him with significant assistance. Hu Jiasheng invited him out for a meal, and it was then that he encountered her again.
It was a Saturday, and since there was no work on the weekend, Hu Jiasheng would no longer have any interaction with the technician. They shared similar views on new energy and felt a sense of mutual appreciation, so they sat together for a while longer.
They talked until past nine o'clock. Hu Jiasheng suggested they part ways, but the technician didn't want to go home.
"Since tomorrow is not a workday, I'll be alone at home anyway. How about I treat you to a drink? There's a famous bar nearby that my colleagues often mention, but I've never been there."
Hu Jiasheng wasn't interested in drinking, but the technician seemed very enthusiastic.
If everything went as expected, this would be the last time they met. He couldn't refuse without being impolite, so he agreed.
They took a taxi to the bar, which was celebrating its anniversary with a promotion. The atmosphere was incredibly lively.
A significant portion of the lively atmosphere was created by the waitresses.
They were all slender, fair-skinned young women.
Dressed in a scarlet, form-fitting improved qipao with a halter neck and a plunging neckline that barely covered their hips.
Wearing a deer antler-shaped hairband and black thigh-high boots.
Each one of them flitted around like spirited elves, a feast for the eyes.
The technician was overjoyed and kept telling Hu Jiasheng that the trip was worthwhile.
The bar counter was packed with attractive men and women. Hu Jiasheng didn't want to squeeze through the crowd, so he offered to pay and took the technician to the sofa area in the back.
They sat back on the sofas, sipping their drinks, watching the handsome men and women circulating, the swaying crowd, and listening to the dynamic music. The technician was in an extremely good mood.
Hu Jiasheng was not interested in these things.
When he studied abroad, his classmates often held parties, and he had seen much more lively and boisterous scenes than this.
This was nothing compared to those times.
Moreover, he knew better than anyone else what motivations brought people here.
He had no such needs and staying any longer would just be a waste of time.
Out of politeness, he accompanied the technician for two drinks before preparing to leave.
Before he could say anything, a commotion suddenly erupted in the swaying crowd ahead.
Amidst the noise of the crowd parting and the sounds of women screaming and bottles shattering on the floor, they soon saw clearly.
Someone was fighting in the center of the venue.
And it wasn't a one-on-one fight; it was a free-for-all.
Some staff rushed to call security, and a crowd of security guards came in.
For some reason, they stopped when they reached the scene.
They didn't know what was happening, but someone nearby did.
People in the crowd were discussing, "I've always heard that Brother He strikes hard. Today I finally saw it. My god, such a large group of people fighting one person. They're not afraid of getting into trouble at all."
"Exactly. Someone like him wouldn't lack women, why would he fight like this for a waitress?"
"What do you know? Who doesn't know Brother He's reputation in this area? He's in charge of everything here. Who would dare disrespect him? Even if he fights violently, he'll still walk around proudly tomorrow, believe it or not?"
Everyone naturally believed it, and no one argued.
Someone scoffed, "Who is so blind to provoke Brother He? It's the bar's anniversary today. Isn't it seeking death?"
"He's also a regular here. Isn't it that guy, the one who likes to pretend to be rich when he's poor?"
"You mean him? I see him every time he comes. He's clearly desperately poor but insists on acting like a rich man. I've heard many people call him a sucker behind his back."
"Whether he's a sucker or not, we don't know. But he does love to show off and has gotten into trouble several times. Dare to provoke Brother He, and today we'll have a good show to watch."