My Terrible Life in Those Years

Amidst the indifferent and apathetic atmosphere of everyone on the bus, I grasped a crucial fact: even if I turned back, I wouldn't be able to find the people who had cut my bag and stolen my money. And even if I did, I probably couldn't do anything to them. I might even lose the last three hundred dollars I had on me and get a beating along the way.

Endure it!

I suppressed the urge to go back, find them, and beat them up.

The little girl with the round face looked at me with a dark expression, almost crushing the envelope in her hand: "You got a lot of money stolen?"

"All my possessions!"

The girl was shocked for a moment. Looking at the small envelope and then at the two old and tattered backpacks, she suddenly felt that the milk I had just squeezed out was really no big deal.

She remained silent, and my heart ached so much I could hardly breathe!

I silently calculated in my mind that I only had three hundred yuan in my inner pocket and a few dozen yuan in loose change.

If I need to rent a place, plus food and job hunting, how long can I hold out?

Should we go home first or borrow some living expenses from relatives?

This is absolutely unacceptable; I can't afford to lose face like that!

Should we confront Lao Liu?

That's possible, but it's over 300 kilometers to his place. What if he's out again? I'd have to pay for the travel expenses myself! I'd also have to find somewhere else to stay. I can't afford that kind of hassle right now.

I should try to find a place to stay first, and then find a job that pays daily as quickly as possible.

This is the path I quickly charted for myself.

Don't be upset about milk that's spilled on the ground and can't be drunk! Which celebrity said that?

To hell with which celebrity it is, I just believe that my bad luck has definitely hit rock bottom today!

"Hey girl, I want to ask you about a place!" I felt it was necessary to subtly inquire about the place I needed to go from her right away.

"Oh, you mean you're new to Huacheng?" The girl had already sized me up, as well as the large woven bag at my feet.

"Yeah, I just got off the train. My classmate used to live here. I was trying to find him, but when I called him just now, that jerk said he'd been reassigned by his company to another place. He told me to find somewhere to stay myself, saying there's a place called Xiancun?"

I don't mind sharing some basic information about myself.

If you want to know the truth from others, you must first be honest yourself.

Most importantly, I'm not short, and I'm also quite good-looking. I wouldn't say I'm obviously handsome, but I'm clean, neat, and square-faced. There's a small dimple on the left side of my face. Some people who know my background might mistake it for a dimple, but actually, it's a dimple left from when I was a child. Back then, medical treatment wasn't very advanced, and the wound didn't heal properly. It only makes me more likable, especially to infatuated girls.

Sure enough, the little girl chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.

I noticed that her fingers didn't match her height—they were so slender and long, and so fair! And her mouth, how come it's so small? If they were to kiss, wouldn't she just swallow the whole mouth?

I looked down on myself. What time is it? How can I still have this kind of leisure?

"That's really a rip-off! But what he said isn't wrong. Xiancun is a large urban village with many farmers' houses and rental rooms. It's the urban village closest to the city center. Many outsiders choose it as their first stop."

Okay, at least Old Liu, that scoundrel, didn't spout nonsense.

The impression score went from a drop to 50 to 51.

"Are rental apartments easy to find there? What are the prices?" This is my top priority right now.

There is no room for carelessness.

"There are expensive and cheap options, depending on what kind of accommodation you want. A nicer one is around 500, a less nice one is 300, and an even less nice one is around 100 or 200."

Hearing this, my heart sank.

"You seem to know quite a bit about this?"

"I live there too." The girl's face was still slightly flushed.

"Oh? Is that so? That's great! I'll get off with you and we'll be on the right track. When we get to the station, I'll buy you back your milk!"

The little girl quickly said, "No, no!"

The bus braked suddenly again, and one of the two passengers behind her lost his balance and bumped into the little girl's back. The little girl's round face hurt so much that she slumped against the handrail, and her other hand involuntarily grabbed my chest. Goodness, those nails were so long, digging into my chest, and I cried out in pain.

When the girl heard my scream of pain, which sounded like my kidney had been stepped on, she immediately changed her gripping fingers to pushing, steadied herself on the handrail with her other hand, and once again, with her pretty face flushed, leaned back half a body with difficulty.

She turned to the two men who had bumped into her and demanded, "You two should hold on tighter!"

Indeed, look at her little face; it turned deathly pale the instant she was hit.

With such a small frame, it's a miracle it hasn't fallen apart.

The other two didn't give her a friendly look either: "You should yell at the driver, not us! Which passenger doesn't get bumped or jostled? If you're afraid of being hit, just hit them!"

The little girl with the round face probably hadn't bumped into anyone as fierce and domineering as her. Her face turned pale and then red, and her hands were visibly trembling. She didn't know what to say next.

I can't stand by and watch this happen.

"Hey you two, you didn't hold on properly and bumped into someone, and you didn't even apologize? And you were so rude! What kind of manners do you have?"

Bullying women? That's fucking outrageous! If anyone's going to bully someone, it'll be me! Who gave you the right to do it?

The two of them, after I suddenly sprayed them with water, stubbornly retorted, "What's it to you?!"

I straightened up, making me appear nearly 1.8 meters tall, revealing the muscular physique tucked into my sleeves. My eyes widened slightly as I earnestly addressed the two men: "What did you just say? Say it again!"

I caught a glimpse of Xiao Yuan's face out of the corner of my eye. She had looked completely flustered just moments before, but now she was calm and looking at me with her head slightly tilted back, her eyes sparkling.

The two fierce-looking passengers visibly cowered and fell silent.

Two stops later, they didn't dare look me in the eye before getting off the bus.

There's a saying, isn't there? The tough guy fears the muscular one? That's damn true.

After the two got out of the car, the atmosphere inside immediately relaxed.

"Thank you so much!" The girl with the round face still blushed easily, probably because she had never seen a hero save a damsel in distress before.

And so, on the rest of the journey, in a relaxed atmosphere, we chatted idly for a while, and I learned a lot about Xiancun and other parts of Huacheng from her.

For example, when taking the bus, you need to prepare some coins in advance, because no one will give change.

For example, when looking for a job, you would read the Huacheng Daily and Huacheng Metropolitan Daily, which cost one yuan a copy. They came in a thick stack, and in addition to the news, there were large pages of various job postings.

After swaying and bumping for more than ten stops, we finally arrived at our stop and got off.

Cross the road and follow the little round-faced girl into the legendary Xian Village.