American homeless people, surviving in the city

Lynch wanted to say that he decided to spend the money on Tang En because of a system mission, but he obviously couldn't answer Raul's question with that answer.

Moreover, if he were to ask himself honestly, he had already been considering this before the system task even appeared.

Was it out of pity? Perhaps. Were they moved by the bond between the three of them? Somewhat.

Because it could gain friends? No, before the system task notification, Lin Qi had never considered that possibility.

After much thought, Lynch realized that there were many reasons that drove him to make this decision, and one of them was very important: he didn't actually care about the thousand dollars.

He earned the thousand dollars in about two days, and he was confident that he could continue to earn money.

Therefore, although this thousand dollars accounted for more than two-thirds of Lynch's current total assets, he did not feel bad about it.

His attitude towards this thousand dollars was different from that of other homeless people.

He simply wanted to use the money, which wouldn't hurt him too much, to help a friend within his means.

After sorting out his thoughts, he did not hide anything and told Raul everything he had to say.

After listening, Raul simply nodded quietly:

"You see, that's the problem."

Lin Qi was taken aback, and asked somewhat confusedly, "What...where do you even begin to explain this?"

Raul kicked a fallen leaf hard on the street, watching it rustle as it drifted down, and said calmly:

"Boss, you actually think people like us are quite pathetic, right?"

Lin Qi fell silent; he didn't know how to answer the question.

Raul, however, seemed to have finally had a switch flipped, and began to talk incessantly:

"I understand why you suddenly asked about Tang En and the deceased homeless man. I know exactly what you're thinking..."

"You think this place is terrible, you look down on the people here, yet you act all high and mighty and pity us who are struggling on the streets."

"The reason you think this way is actually the same as the reason you paid such a large sum of money for Tang En's medical expenses."

Raul sighed: "Boss, you don't really see yourself as a homeless person."

"Raul..."

Raul simply shook his head: "I'm not blaming you. I think what you did was pretty cool. I'm just... a little envious."

"Boss, you're definitely a good person, and a capable one too. Someone like you isn't destined to stay on the streets for long."

"But in the past, I presumptuously assumed that you and I were the same kind of people. But today I finally realize that although you are on the streets, you have never truly become a homeless person."

"Boss, you have the ability, the courage, and the charisma to unite people around you—"

"...Do I have one?" Lynch scratched his head.

Raul's voice sounded weary: "—So, I understand that you'll leave here someday. I firmly believe that. I can see that the probability of you leaving the streets is higher than that of those three programmers who have been trying to reintegrate into society."

"And me? I see no hope of leaving this place."

"I can only stay here until tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that... I will stay here forever, watching people die one by one, and then dumping them in the bushes, while comforting myself not to think too much... not to think that one day I might end up like that, lying by the roadside forever."

"What's even more ironic is that, even so, it's still so much better here than my hometown..."

"Therefore, the reason I feel chest tightness... is perhaps partly, jealousy."

As he was speaking, Raul suddenly shook his head violently and waved his hand:

"Never mind, never mind!"

"I shouldn't have said those things, it was my fault. Boss, please just pretend you didn't hear it, okay?"

"I...maybe I'm just tired. Don't worry, don't take it to heart. Let me rest for a bit, and I'll be full of energy again tomorrow."

He didn't give Lin Qi a chance to respond. As he spoke, he started jogging and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

Perhaps he was also in a state of confusion and didn't know what else to say.

Lynch stood silently in place for a long time before continuing to walk forward.

It was already late at night when we returned to the camp.

A faint snore came from Raul's tent; he seemed to be asleep.

The lights were still on in Charlotte's family's RV, perhaps because she was still doing some crafts, or perhaps Emily was still doing her homework.

The camp was peaceful and serene, but Lin Qi crawled into his tent and lay there for a long time but still couldn't fall asleep.

After tossing and turning in his sleeping bag for a while, Lin Qi, still wide awake, irritably pulled out his phone.

Although I have a competition in a couple of days, I think it should be fine to use some energy-consuming methods to fall asleep tonight...

But when I turned on the phone screen, I was surprised to see an unread message from Chen Yumo:

[Mr. Lin, how was your day? I just finished a presentation, I'm so tired...]

Looking at this line of text, Lin Qi could picture Chen Yumo's voice and her little expressions as she spoke, and he couldn't help but laugh.

But when she started thinking about how to reply, the smile on her face disappeared involuntarily.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Lin Qi replied, "You've had a tough day, get some rest. I had a pretty good day, but too many things happened, it's hard to explain in a few words."

He didn't expect that, even though it was late at night, his phone rang again with a notification of a new message just seconds after he sent the message.

Chen Yumo replied to several messages in succession:

"What's wrong? Do you need help?"

"Still not asleep so late?" Lin Qi asked, somewhat surprised.

"Oh, that's not important! I finally finished a project, and although there's still a lot to do, I need to rest!"

"So, what's the problem?"

"If you need money, just tell me! I've worked several part-time jobs during the holidays and saved up quite a bit!"

"If I run into trouble, I'll talk to my cousin!"

Chen Yumo's enthusiasm warmed Lin Qi's heart. After thinking for a moment, he told Chen Yumo about his experience at the illegal clinic that afternoon and how he had paid a thousand dollars for Tang En's medical expenses:

"...But I don't know if what I did was right."

After receiving Lin Qi's message, Chen Yumo replied quickly:

"How could that be? I think you did the right thing!"

"I think it takes real courage to spend most of your money just to save a friend!"

Lin Qi's hands hovered over the keyboard on the screen as he pondered how to clearly express his thoughts to Chen Yumo.

He typed slowly:

"I feel it was all worth it to save Tang En. I sincerely hope he recovers and that the three of them can reintegrate into society and fulfill their dreams."

"But what truly confuses me is my future."

"My friend said that someone like me doesn't seem like a homeless person at all, spending a lot of money on someone I don't even know well. He said I have a kind of condescending pity."

"I can understand his thoughts, and perhaps subconsciously I do think that way too. But simply put, I didn't think that much about it. I was just moved by their friendship and wanted to help them out."

"However, what I saw and heard today makes me uneasy. I've saved one, Ton, but what about later? What if one day Raul, old James, or someone else I know gets into trouble? With my current abilities, I can't possibly save them all."

"There might even be a day when I encounter problems I can't solve, and then I might not be able to save myself."

"That's what's making me feel lost. Maybe I should save this money for a rainy day? But watching Gleason and the others fall into such a state makes my conscience uneasy."

"That's why I'm questioning whether my decision today was the right one."

After sending the message, Chen Yumo did not reply for a long time, and the message "The other party is typing..." kept popping up on the chat software.

Just as Lin Qi thought his words were too convoluted and pretentious, putting Chen Yumo in a difficult position, her message finally popped up on the screen:

"I think your friend is wrong."

The phone screen glowed with a warm light in the darkness.

"This is not condescending pity. The fact that you are still worried about Raul and old James shows that you have never considered yourself an outsider."

"But you don't need to feel uneasy. You've done everything you could, even beyond your capabilities. Your actions have genuinely helped others, just like how you helped me that night."

The message was interrupted for a brief second, and then a new message arrived:

"Even though he was in danger himself, he still remembered to help others. I think Mr. Lin is really cool."

"Besides, money doesn't generate more money just by being in your possession. Although you spent money, you also gained friendship, didn't you?"

"So just follow your heart."

"As for your concern about whether you'll be able to save yourself if you encounter trouble in the future..."

With a crisp "ding" sound, a new message arrived:

"If you really encounter such trouble, then I'll come to your rescue."

"Just like that night when you saved me."