The June sun blazes fiercely, pedestrians sweat profusely. Mud swirls in the wind, sand billows. A bare face is painted with vibrant colors, temples frosted with autumn's chill. The Beijing sky is forever oppressively heavy, so Xiaoshan prefers the darkness of Beijing nights. The darkness conceals everything; in an instant, beauty and ugliness, good and evil, loneliness vanish, and most importantly, inferiority disappears.
Xiaoshan, a migrant worker from rural southern Sichuan, works in a cardboard box factory in Shunyi. He rises before dawn and retires under the moon. As usual, after work, Xiaoshan first goes to the night market's barbecue stall for a couple of beers to soothe his numb nerves, not only washing away the day's fatigue but also giving himself a slight smile.
Passing the bank, he deposits his newly received salary, casually checking his appearance in the reflective glass: 175 cm tall, sturdy build, regular features, flowing tousled hair, a wide grin revealing two shallow dimples, radiating boundless energy. Xiao Shan had never doubted his good looks; even in his old-fashioned work clothes, he always turned heads.
Feeling satisfied with his appearance, he pushed his three-year-old Phoenix bicycle and headed down the familiar street. Suddenly, a blinding light flashed in his face, accompanied by a screeching screech of brakes. Xiao Shan was thrown backward, the bicycle's two wheels flying in opposite directions. Xiao Shan struggled to his feet, heartbroken, touching the scattered parts of his bike, rubbing his head, even regretting that he hadn't abandoned the bicycle to save his life, so he wouldn't have to walk to work from now on. Gradually, Xiao Shan's anger turned to the silver BMW.
The middle-aged woman in the BMW was still shaken, staring blankly at Xiao Shan walking towards her. Suddenly, she screamed, "A ghost!" and then fainted.
Xiao Shan, initially furious, approached the car and found the woman inside unconscious. Xiao Shan turned and ran, ignoring the scattered bicycle. The recent traffic accidents frequently reported on TV and in newspapers have left many people with serious consequences, especially the headline news about the "Han Han incident"—these wealthy city dwellers are so inconsiderate. After running a few steps, he suddenly felt a guilty conscience, and couldn't help but look around to see if anyone was passing by. He glanced at the silver BMW, and it seemed as if the pale face inside was swaying before his eyes, faintly pitiful.
"I can't just leave like this, otherwise I'll be letting myself down!" Xiaoshan finally turned around, took a few steps forward, and forcefully pounded on the car window. The wealthy woman inside slowly opened her eyes amidst the swaying, weakly pressed a switch, and then fainted again. The car door instantly sprang open, and poor Xiaoshan clutched his forehead and fell backward again; this time, he was truly injured.
Xiaoshan dusted himself off, mustered his courage, approached the car door, and gently poked the wealthy woman, but there was no response; instead, her glittering jewelry seemed dazzling. Xiao Shan reached out to check the wealthy woman's breath, but the gold earrings on her earlobes were too tempting, and his trembling hand involuntarily touched them. Thankfully, the woman could still be saved; if money wasn't enough, the earrings could help. Thinking this, Xiao Shan grew bolder and made up his mind.
He carefully picked up the woman, kicked the car door shut, and hurried to his usual nearby clinic. He had been to this clinic before; the conditions were poor, but the fees weren't high. Xiao Shan was afraid the woman would try to take advantage of him, so he didn't dare call the police or dial 120. In short, even if the woman did try to take advantage of him, he could afford the clinic's fees, and besides, the woman's "jewelry" was probably worth a lot of money! With this in mind, Xiao Shan asked the doctor to examine her carefully and use the best IV fluids.
Fortunately, the woman was only drunk and shaken by the "hit-and-run" incident; the doctor said she would be fine after a night's rest. When it came time to pay, Xiaoshan was stunned: a night's stay in the hospital, including all the fees, would cost over 800 yuan. He had only kept 500 yuan for living expenses that month, and the clinic wouldn't let him stay without paying the full amount.
After Xiaoshan pleaded and explained the situation, the doctor wouldn't even give him a chance to go get the money immediately. The doctor said sternly, "If you leave, what if she wakes up and denies it? Besides, who knows if you'll run away? You'd better stay here and wait for her to wake up, or else we'll call the police!" The doctor pointed at the wealthy woman, warning Xiaoshan not to run away.
Xiaoshan helplessly stayed by the bedside, increasingly frustrated, his stomach rumbling in protest. But when he saw the pale face on the bed, his heart slowly softened. Xiao Shan went to the doctor again, pleading, "Doctor, I just got off work and haven't eaten yet. Please, have mercy and let me go out to get something to eat! Or, I can leave my ID card as collateral?"
The doctor, genuinely feeling sorry for Xiao Shan, made him hand over his ID card before agreeing to let him out for half an hour. Frustrated, Xiao Shan went to the bank, but the ATM was also locked with its shutters. Xiao Shan kicked it, yelling, "Even your damn door is bullying me!" He
returned to the small clinic dejectedly. The doctor nodded, "You're quite honest, aren't you? How come you ate so quickly?"
Xiao Shan ignored the doctor, sulking with his head down, muttering, "You city folks are all the same!"
"Hey, hey! What are you saying? Still angry? Take it out on her when she wakes up! Was I wrong to save her?" the doctor said, pointing at Xiao Shan with displeasure.
Seeing the finger on his nose, Xiaoshan got angry, slapped it away, and stared at the doctor, saying each word clearly, "I'm so annoyed, you need to show some respect, have some medical ethics, okay?"
"Hey! You look so handsome, but you're quite arrogant! Believe me or not, I'll make you get out of here!" The doctor looked at Xiaoshan with disdain.
"Fine! You win!" Under someone else's roof, one has to bow one's head, and Xiaoshan gave in.
"Trying to save people even when you have no money, what a country bumpkin!" the doctor continued to ramble on.
"You…" Xiaoshan stood up angrily, then sat down again.
"Am I wrong? If you had money, would I still be here with you? I would have closed the shop and gone home to sleep long ago!" The doctor said, shaking his head, and hurriedly packed his things, preparing to close the shop.
"Yeah! If I had money, I wouldn't be a bachelor at twenty-five or twenty-six! If I had money, would I be putting up with this humiliation? I'm still starving." Xiaoshan figured it out and felt a little better. He could just endure it for one more night.
"Buzz!" The phone in his pocket vibrated, waking Xiaoshan from his reverie. He took it out, saw it was a spam message, deleted it, and put the phone back in his pocket. Suddenly, Xiaoshan slapped his forehead and cursed loudly, "I'm such a pig-brain! I have a phone and I didn't even know to call!"
"Hello! Sister Liu, this is Wang Xiaoshan!" Xiaoshan dialed the number of Sister Liu, who was practically a fellow villager and the only friend of a friend at the cardboard factory.
"Xiaoshan, aren't you resting? What's up?" Sister Liu asked cheerfully.
"Sister, I wanted to borrow some money from you!" Xiaoshan said tentatively.
"Xiaoshan, didn't you just get paid? You've already spent it all? When you're away from home, be careful with your money. You're not a child anymore! How much do you need?" Sister Liu was straightforward, but she didn't forget to give Xiaoshan a few words of advice.
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