Chapter 2, Section 126: If 1: Starting with this guy...
The first snow of the year.
Young couples strolled back and forth in the streets and alleys, shops with various glittering billboards were dazzling, and towering buildings displayed blessings for 2016, such as "May wealth roll in" and "May everything go smoothly." Everywhere exuded a festive atmosphere.
And next to a trash can at the bottom of the building.
The young man was wearing a wrinkled and stained suit. He was squatting in the corner with his knees drawn up to his chest, looking pitiful and shivering from the cold.
Upon closer inspection, the young man's appearance was quite striking; it was just a mystery why he was homeless.
Most passersby would glance at him, and those who could afford it would throw in five or ten yuan as a token of their appreciation. Those who couldn't would kindly remind him that these days it's much more convenient to put up a QR code than to display bowls.
When there are fewer people, some strange cards will sometimes drift down to the young man's side; upon closer inspection, they are probably promotional business cards for some club or organization.
Yin Zhihua is going crazy.
He's been wandering around this strange place for a week!
Seven days ago, he clearly remembered that he was on a private plane, heading to someone's wedding to steal the bride. But when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a green belt in the dead of winter, and he almost froze to death.
Everything here was familiar to him, yet it felt so strange. He went to the police station immediately, but no matter whose name he gave, the staff said there was no such person. No matter how many times he dialed the phone number he remembered, it was always a dead number.
In his endless breakdown, he heard people around him speculating about his mental state.
Enraged, Yin Zhihua ran away.
He began to wander, and as time passed, his self-esteem teetered like a candle flame in the dead of winter.
He glanced at the few loose coins scattered around him and silently reached out.
He's almost saved up a hundred yuan in the last two days, and he's already starting to dream about a meager yet warm future...
Just as my fingers were about to touch it, a sudden gust of wind blew the banknotes at my feet far away!
As passersby picked up the money that had been tossed about, Yin Zhihua collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed with grief, despair, and regret...
The money was picked up by someone.
Yin Zhihua sadly squatted back down.
He had been looking forward to the upcoming New Year, hoping to find a cheap hotel to rest or have a good meal. But now, having lost five yuan, his life felt incomplete…
Damn it, he wanted to go home.
The homeless man squatting on the ground was almost crying; God knows, he had never been so miserable in his life.
"Excuse me... is this your money?"
The sudden female voice startled Yin Zhihua. He looked up in disbelief, and the next second, tears streamed down his face.
His reaction clearly startled the girl in front of him. She was a little flustered, but still leaned down and spoke gently.
"Don't cry, what happened? You can tell me, and I can help you contact your family or call the police..."
It was already 11:30, and even though the nearby buildings were still brightly lit, there were not many pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Jin Chu had just finished working overtime until now and was only now leaving her cubicle. Her phone's weather forecast indicated that the temperature might drop to minus eight degrees Celsius tonight, and she had originally planned to go home early.
But somehow we ended up here.
She had actually noticed the homeless man for several days. In this dazzling and expensive metropolis, he was far too conspicuous. Although his suit was in disarray, it was still respectable upon closer inspection.
He had been squatting at this intersection for three or four days. At first, Jin Chuwan thought that something must have happened to him and that someone would help him. But on the second and third days, he was still squatting there pitifully. His colleagues in the office started to gossip, and everyone thought that this handsome homeless man must have suffered some kind of trauma.
'He's definitely crazy. Don't get close if you see him on the street. If something happens to him, it won't do you any good even if you report him...'
In fact, Jin Chuwan thought the same thing in her heart, but when she went to work in the morning, she still secretly put fifty yuan next to him.
She thought that even if someone was an idiot, they would at least know how to buy some food with the money.
But to my surprise, he really was just being silly, clutching those few coins, neither eating nor drinking, and not moving an inch.
The wind howled, stinging her face like needles. If it were daytime, Jin Chuwan probably wouldn't do anything too conspicuous, but it was nighttime and there weren't many people around.
Kim Cho-wan took off the scarf from her neck and hung it around the neck of the young and pitiful homeless man.
"Put it on, you won't be cold if you wear it." Jin Chuwan looked at the young man who couldn't stop crying and stepped back a little.
"Um... are you out of your mind?"
As soon as she asked the question, Jin Chuwan felt that she had asked a stupid question. She was about to consider changing her answer when she saw the other person nodding frantically.
It seemed like he had used up all his strength.
"...Jin Chuwan, don't you remember me? It's me, Yin Zhihua!"
The young man looked up, his eyes filled with eagerness and expectation, but Jin Chuwan, whose name had been called by a stranger, was so frightened that she wanted to run away immediately. She saw the young man stand up and quickly raised her hands to signal him to calm down.
"Um, I'm sure I don't know you! You, you, you stay away! If you come any closer, I'll call the police!"
The homeless man stopped in his tracks, heartbroken.
Those beautiful eyes looked like those of some kind of abandoned large canine, and were now moist because they had just cried.
Jin Chuwan looked around. There was a 24-hour convenience store not far away, and the hotel lights were on across the street.
In short, she can run away at any time.
"How do you know my name, and who are you?"
Yin Zhihua wiped away his tears, wrapped the scarf Jin Chuwan had given him tightly around his neck, and, as if seeing a savior, told Jin Chuwan everything that had happened to him in the past few days.
At first, Kim Cho-wan was very nervous.
Gradually, her gaze became complicated.
Finally, her expression changed from wary to pitying.
How can a perfectly normal person suddenly become stupid?
No wonder his family didn't want him and he ended up homeless on the streets...
Jin Chuwan sighed, took out her phone and searched for a romance novel from the early 2000s based on her memory, then placed it in front of Yin Zhihua.
Is this the story you're referring to?
……story?
Yin Zhihua, his scarf wrapped around his head, leaned closer. He glanced at it casually at first, then his expression turned serious. Suddenly, he snatched Jin Chuwan's phone and even opened some chapters to read.
The young man crouched back in his psychological safety zone. Jin Chuwan glanced at her phone that had been taken from her and began to feel a pang of regret.
I should have known better than to cause trouble.
You should call the police directly and let them handle it.
About ten minutes later, the homeless man finally handed the phone back to Jin Chuwan. He looked dazed, somewhat shocked, dejected, and dejected.
Like a normal person whose worldview has been turned upside down.
Seeing him like this, Jin Chuwan inexplicably felt a pang of guilt.
She glanced at the homeless man cautiously, then advised, "Stories are stories, and reality is reality. Since you're so young, why don't you pull yourself together and stop indulging in a fictional world?"
Yin Zhihua looked at Jin Chuwan, then raised his finger and pointed to himself.
Am I fictional?
Jin Chuwan was taken aback: "You're not, you're a living, breathing person, with flesh and blood, you get hungry and cold, don't you?"
The young man lowered his head and let out a soft, ambiguous laugh.
At first, he thought he was having a ridiculous dream. He thought that if he could just endure it and persevere a little longer, he would wake up. He was still thinking about his family and friends, and whether someone could get a divorce soon after getting married.
But as time went by, he became fearful, confused, doubtful, and exhausted, and finally reluctantly accepted it.
He began to get used to the stares of those around him and resigned himself to picking up the loose change scattered on the ground.
It was very cold, and there was still snow on the ground.
He was like the little match girl in the story, but Yin Zhihua swore he never made a wish.
He didn't want to see Kim Cho-wan under these circumstances at all.
But as if by fate, she suddenly appeared before him. However, she did not recognize him, and at this moment, he was not quite sure if she was the one he thought she was.
No.
He shouldn't doubt her; he should doubt himself.
Perhaps he really is a madman.
He heard the sound of footsteps fading away. Yin Zhihua quietly raised his head and watched Jin Chuwan walk away. He wanted to follow her, but he felt that he was not qualified.
In my current state, even if I chased after her, she would probably be scared.
Yin Zhihua thought to himself, burying his head in his arms. He thought dejectedly, "I might as well just freeze to death tonight. If I freeze to death, maybe I can go back. Even if I can't go back, it's better than making a fool of myself every day like this."
Everything around us at this moment looks like a prop for creating atmosphere in a movie or TV show.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the roadside again.
Amazingly, he knew the person who came was Jin Chuwan just by listening to her.
Just like that night long ago, when she rushed to pick him up after receiving a phone call.
He looked up, his eyes red.
"Why did you come back? Just think of me as a lunatic. Anyway, I'm nothing now, my very existence is a fabrication."
Jin Chuwan sighed and pressed her temples. She had already called the police station, and they said someone would handle it, but she waited at the intersection for half an hour and no one had come.
It's so cold tonight, even she can't stand it wearing a down jacket.
Jin Chuwan stared at the homeless man in front of her, who claimed to be a male supporting character in a novel, and remained silent for a long time.
She felt she must be bewitched.
"I can let you stay for one night..."
The streetlights flickered, and as the wind grew stronger, snow began to fall again.
Pure white, translucent crystals fluttered and danced, quickly covering their shoulders.
Yin Zhihua looked up at Jin Chuwan under the streetlights for a while, then lowered his eyes again.
No...don't want to?
Jin Chuwan was stunned. She had finally made up her mind, but this fool still complained?
"You'll freeze to death if you stay here one night. It's minus eight degrees tonight, you know?"
This homeless man in front of her was really ungrateful. Jin Chuwan took a deep breath and simply left.
If she doesn't want it, then she doesn't want it! It's better if she doesn't want it! She must be crazy to care about the life or death of a homeless man. There are plenty of pitiful people in the world. She would be better off using that time to feed the stray cats downstairs. At least the cats will remember that she was a good person!
Jin Chuwan strode away, but after a short while, she realized that someone seemed to be following her.
She glanced back, and the other person immediately shrank back.
"I, I'm not going with you, I just... I just want to take you home."
Under the streetlights, the young man looked terrible. He had barely eaten in the past few days and had been squatting in this weather for days in just a thin shirt. He looked like an empty clothes rack, his face pale and bluish, and he was too weak to walk.
At that moment, Jin Chuwan suddenly had a feeling that if she didn't care about him, he might not make it through the night.
A note from the author:
Poor little dog, time-traveling online~~
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