From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

The taxi slowly drove away, leaving me alone at the empty bus stop in the night.

I was still clutching the Bai Liqun cigarettes she had specially gone out to buy for me, and the faint fragrance of her body seemed to linger on my fingertips.

In just a few hours tonight, she brought me so many unexpected surprises, filling my heart with warm emotions and allowing me to see a soft and sincere side of her that I had never known before.

She may seem spoiled and willful on the surface, with the airs of a rich young lady, but she doesn't look down on me, who is struggling at the bottom of society.

To appease me, she would go out and buy me the cigarettes I like to smoke, and even swallow her pride and bark like a dog to cheer me up.

What surprised me even more was that we were just strangers who met by chance, yet she was willing to mortgage her grandmother's heirloom just to raise money to help me buy a car and start a business.

As I watched the car disappear into the distance, I felt a surge of emotion.

Su Qing is simply a hidden gem.

I stood alone on the platform, a cigarette between my fingers, a myriad of emotions surging within me.

Having lived for over twenty years, I've struggled and witnessed the coldness and sycophancy of people.

Back when I was working on construction sites and delivering food, everyone would kick you when you were poor and avoid you when you were down on your luck.

I had long accepted the rules of this world:

Self-interest comes first, while human relationships are the least important.

But Su Qing is different.

She was a pampered young lady who grew up in luxury, and should have been high and mighty, looking down on the pathetic state of someone like me from the bottom of society.

But she was so sincere and naive that it was heartbreaking.

To help me raise money to buy a car, she didn't hesitate to pawn her grandmother's heirloom bracelet, which had been passed down through generations.

That's a keepsake left by the older generation, carrying the hopes and dreams of several generations. It's priceless, a treasure that money can't buy.

But just because we met by chance and she saw me hitting a wall everywhere, she unreservedly gave me her most precious possession to cover my losses.

I stared down at the cigarette burning between my fingers, my chest feeling a warm, sour, and mixed mix of emotions that I couldn't quite describe.

I have never been a sentimental or melodramatic person.

Over the years, despite being schemed against and suppressed, suffering setbacks and injuries, I have never shed a single tear. I grit my teeth and persevere, overcoming even the toughest challenges.

But today, this girl's pure kindness completely broke down my defenses.

I muttered to myself, "Silly girl, she's really too silly."

Fang Heng is rich and powerful; he can cut off my path with a flick of his finger and easily crush everything I've worked so hard to achieve.

I have nothing now; I'm just a pathetic, lowly person who can be manipulated at any time.

How can I repay her?

She said I had potential and was willing to risk her family heirloom to help me.

But with the continuous suppression coming, even I sometimes couldn't help but feel lost.

The courier station, painstakingly built up over the years, changed hands overnight, and all the hard work went up to nothing.

But when I think of Su Qing's pleading eyes as she urged me to cheer up, and how she even barked like a dog to cheer me up...

And the way he tried his best to comfort me even though he was worried himself...

The confusion and dejection in my heart were instantly suppressed by a strong will.

I can't lose, and I can't afford to lose anymore.

I raised my hand and lit the cigarette in my hand. The flame lit up, and the smoke slowly billowed out, dispersing the darkness in front of me.

The cool smoke entering my throat completely calmed my chaotic thoughts.

Fang Heng.

I had been holding back all along, not because I was afraid of trouble, but because I didn't have the resources to confront things head-on.

I know he comes from a wealthy family, and dealing with me is just a piece of cake for him.

My impulsive actions will only result in me suffering losses and achieving nothing.

So I endured, I waited, I lay low.

But he went further and further, becoming increasingly unscrupulous in his actions.

First, they secretly took away my hard-earned express delivery station, cutting off my only source of income.

It's one thing for them to target me, but they won't even spare Brother Luo, a law-abiding ordinary person whom I've only met a few times.

Brother Luo is an honest man who runs a small barbecue stall to make a living. Just because I talked to him a few more times, he maliciously reported me and I was unjustly caught up in this trouble.

And then there were those thugs at the night market last time, I got stabbed in the middle of the night, one thing after another…

I know perfectly well, even without evidence, that it was all his doing.

He just wanted to drive me to the brink of collapse, to make me bow down and admit defeat in front of him.

On what grounds?

I, Lin Ye, earn money honestly and live an upright life, and have never provoked him in the slightest.

Just because Su Qing and I met by chance, just because I, a nobody, refused to grovel before him, I have to endure his endless scheming and crushing.

At that moment, the last bit of concession and forbearance in my heart completely vanished.

I gently exhaled a puff of smoke, all warmth vanishing from my eyes, leaving only a serene coldness.

"Fang Heng, if you want to play, I'll play with you to the very end."

He is rich and powerful, but he has many concerns.

I am all alone, with nothing to lose but my life.

He wants to completely destroy me, so even if I have to give it my all, I'll skin him alive!

The cigarette had burned down to almost nothing, burning my fingertips, before I snapped out of my daze and casually stubbed it out on a roadside trash can.

I got up and dusted myself off. Although my clothes were still damp and heavy, my whole spirit had completely changed.

The dejection, frustration, and self-doubt I felt just moments ago vanished completely.

So what if the sky falls?

If things don't work out, we can always start over.

If I can get the courier station up and running the first time, I can establish a firm foothold the second and third time!

After composing myself, I got on the bus back to the courier station.

Traffic flowed continuously on the road, and neon lights illuminated the entire street.

This city is brightly lit and bustling. I used to feel like an outsider who didn't fit in, insignificant and nobody cared about me.

But at this moment, a sense of confidence I had never felt before ignited within me.

When I got back to the entrance of the courier station, it was already past 10 p.m.

The bustling station, usually busy with cars during the day, is now quiet and deserted.

The sign at the entrance still has a faint light, but there is no trace of me left.

During the day, people from headquarters came to take over, and all equipment, vehicles, and procedures were handed over. This place is no longer the small plot of land I worked so hard to build.

Standing at the door, I watched quietly for a few seconds.

The resentment and desolation of the day were gone, leaving only a sense of peace.

Gains and losses, ups and downs, are the norm.

Pushing open the door, the inside had been cleaned up spotlessly.

We brothers basically moved out all our belongings, leaving only my suitcase in the corner.

I walked over and picked up my luggage. There wasn't much of value inside; it was all my belongings from the past six months of hard work away from home.

I glanced back at the empty station one last time and whispered:

"Bye now."

This is not the end, but just a farewell to the wretched and bleak past.

Carrying my luggage, I walked out the door and pulled down the heavy roller shutter.

The road ahead is long and thorny, but my steps have not faltered in the slightest.

I found a cheap little hotel nearby and booked a standard room.

After a quick wash, I stood by the window gazing at the city's night view, my mind racing to organize all my plans for the future.