Chapter 1: The Good Person Who Loves to Meddle in Other People's Business!

  Looking at the person eating peaches in front of him, Zhang Ziheng swallowed his saliva and hugged the bag in his arms tightly. He glanced at the watch on his hand and smiled slightly. This watch was bought by his mother for him, it wasn't very expensive, but Zhang Ziheng treated it as a treasure.

  As the train slowly pulled into the station, Zhang Ziheng let out a deep breath, took down his luggage from the rack and got off the train with other passengers.

  B city, a metropolis that Zhang Ziheng had always yearned for, he finally arrived here. On the day before boarding the train, he hadn't thought about how big his future would be here, but only wanted to take home a large package of seemingly valuable things during holidays and festivals, just to make his parents happy.

  As soon as the train stopped, Zhang Ziheng pulled his luggage and rushed to the nearby toilet. He was a person who didn't like trouble, and for more than ten hours on the train, although he hadn't drunk a drop of water, he had only gone to the toilet once. This time he wanted to relieve himself properly, then turn on the faucet and take a refreshing drink.

  As soon as he came out of the toilet, he walked a few steps and saw his classmates coming to pick him up not far away. Zhang Ziheng smiled slightly and walked over, he didn't like shouting loudly in crowded places.

  "It is done."

  Seeing his good friend, Li Wencheng was taken aback at first, then smiled and walked up to Zhang Ziheng for a hug, saying: "Where did you go? Why didn't I see you come out?"

  "Went to the bathroom and was stifled all the way. Have you been waiting for a long time?"

  Li Wencheng took over the luggage and they walked while talking: "No, just arrived more than 20 minutes. How was it, tired on the way here?"

  "It's okay, just the car was too hot and I'm all sweaty now. It's much cooler now. By the way, have you inquired about the house for me?" Zhang Ziheng took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to Li Wencheng, and they both lit up.

  "I've inquired about it, and there are two options. One has a good location and environment, but the price is a bit expensive. The other one is cheaper, but both the environment and location are not ideal. If you want to find work in the city, you'll have to get up early every morning, because B City is notorious for its traffic congestion."

  Zhang Ziheng chuckled and said, "That's not a problem, as long as it's cheap."

  Although Zhang Ziheng is not a rural child, the family conditions are quite ordinary. His parents are workers, and their monthly salary is neither high nor low. This time coming to B city to find work, the money given to Zhang Ziheng was very little, and in the future he can only rely on himself.

  "Alas! I only got allocated to the company dormitory through a relative's connection, if it weren't for the small space, you could have stayed with me." As they walked outside, Li Wen Cheng put his luggage into a van.

  "It's okay, I can rent a house by myself. Oh, right, what are you doing now? Where did this car come from?"

  Two people got on the car, Li Wen-cheng started the engine and said: "This is a company car, I borrowed it temporarily. I'm still doing well now, in the maintenance department with one person. Usually nothing to do just go online, play games, whose computer is broken, we will go repair it, quite leisurely, just earn less."

  Zhang Ziheng and Li Wencheng were classmates in college, both majoring in computer science with a focus on graphic design. Due to family connections, Li Wencheng quickly found a job in City B.

  Arriving at the residence, Zhang Ziheng took a rough look around and thought it wasn't bad. There was one bedroom, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. What's more, there were several sets of old furniture, so they wouldn't need to buy any more.

  At this time, Li Wencheng was bargaining with the landlord, and Zhang Ziheng smiled slightly, thinking that this would be his place to live in the future.

  "Alright, it's settled then. Don't worry, my friend is very honest and won't cause you any trouble." After agreeing on the price, Li Wen Cheng walked over and said: "Originally, it was 800 yuan per month, but I'll give you a discount of 100 yuan, with a minimum rental period of one year. I promised the owner not to bring back any shady characters, of course, that doesn't apply to you. Even if there were, it would be my responsibility. I've checked and this place has everything: phone, water heater, fridge, air conditioner, and even a washing machine. You can also get broadband internet, very convenient. The bus station is just downstairs, so commuting to work will be easy too."

  "Uh-huh, thanks. By the way, when I just arrived, I saw that there seems to be a subway station nearby, is that more convenient?"

  "Forget about the subway, basically everyone in B city takes it to work every day. If you want to squeeze on, you'll be exhausted to death. Compared to that, buses are a bit better."

  After paying the rent, the two of them tidied up the house a bit, and it really did look like home.

  "Alright, that's about it. I have some business to attend to at my company, so I'll take a half-day leave and head out soon. There's a market not far from the left turn downstairs where you can buy some daily necessities." Li Wencheng said as he stood up.

  "When are you off work? At that time I'll invite you out for dinner, also to celebrate my new home."

  "Don't worry about dinner, of course I'll treat you. Leave your phone on, I'll call you after work. That's it, I'm leaving first, no need to see me off."

  After seeing off Li Wencheng, Zhang Ziheng made a phone call home to report his safety. Then he took a bath and lay on the bed in contemplation. This was his first day in B City. He looked at the money he had brought with him and found that nearly half of it had been spent. He knew he had to find work immediately, as living expenses in B City were much higher than back home.

  He took out his own diploma from the bag, opened it and looked at his own photo on it. Zhang Ziheng shook his head with a smile. Thinking that he was quite silly back then, maybe everyone would think so when looking at their own graduation photos.

  Looking back on the time I just graduated, my parents were busy running around for work, asking many people. Either spending too much money or not finding a suitable profession, it made Zhang Ziheng feel quite uncomfortable. On an impulse, he borrowed some money from his family and came here, telling them before leaving that he would definitely find a job. Now thinking about it, it seems that at the time I was indeed too impulsive. It's not easy to find work even at home, let alone coming all the way here. But since I've already come, I can only face it head-on.

  Everyone says it's hard to find a job in City B. At first, Zhang Ziheng didn't believe it. After all, he was a college graduate and his grades were good when he was in school, so it shouldn't be too difficult. But after a month, he realized he was wrong, and very wrong at that.

  In City B, university students are everywhere, and even some PhDs and masters can't find jobs. What's more, he is an outsider. Every time he goes for an interview, the interviewer tells him to go back and wait for news, and some don't even look at his resume. The resumes he posts online get no response at all. In the end, he really loses hope.

  Seeing his good friend depressed every day, Li Wencheng's heart was also uncomfortable. He had used many connections for this, but it still didn't work.

  That night, the two went out to dinner together. Watching his friend smoke one cigarette after another, Li Wencheng frowned and said: "Alright, stop smoking, look at yourself, you're almost being swallowed up by the smoke."

  "Alas! What else can I do if I don't smoke? I asked myself, my grades weren't bad when I was in school, they were even quite good, so why didn't any company want me?" Zhang Ziheng complained with a bad mood.

  "Who said that? Isn't there a family that wants you to go to work? Of course, although it's just sweeping toilets, it's still better than drifting around like you are now?" Li Wencheng laughed.

  Zhang Ziheng gave him a white eye and said, "Why? Why is it so hard to find a job now? I've already promised my family that I'll send money back every month. But in my current situation, it's not bad if they don't let me send any. Wencheng, do you think I'm living a particularly failed life?"

  "No, absolutely not. Do you still remember when we were in school? The teacher said that you are the best student he has ever seen, not only intelligent but also diligent, and everyone in our class envied you. Moreover, you won the scholarship every year, is this considered a failure?" Li Wen Cheng said sincerely.

  Zhang Ziheng smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "What's the use? What can be done? In the end, it still comes to nothing, not even a decent job can be found."

  "You can't say that, after all, you've been successful before. Come on, don't worry, let's drink, no matter what, as long as we drink, it'll be fine, and when we get drunk, we'll forget everything." Li Wencheng said, pouring a glass of wine for Zhang Ziheng.

  Zhang Ziheng hastily covered the cup and said seriously, "You didn't forget, did you? Or are you trying to take advantage of me when I'm not paying attention? If you want to drink, go ahead, I'll give up." After that, he poured himself a glass of cola.

  Li Wencheng shook his head helplessly, poured himself a drink and said: "It's been so long, how can you still not forget? Yu Jie has been gone for almost a year, what's the point of keeping this promise not to drink? Even if you don't drink, she won't know, and even if you do drink, she still won't know. Why bother struggling with yourself?"

  "I'm not competing with myself, I promised her that I wouldn't drink a single drop of wine, and I won't. Besides, I get drunk easily, aren't you afraid of carrying me back?" Zhang Ziheng smiled.

  "Huh? Really? Tell me, brother, in this whole year, you really haven't had a single drop of wine?"

  "Why did I cheat you?"

  "Alas! Another wounded heart, it seems I can only enjoy this bitter water by myself."

  After eating for a while, the two of them finished paying and were about to leave when a girl rushed down from upstairs in the restaurant, looking very flustered. A waiter was chasing after her, shouting "Miss, miss, you haven't paid your bill yet!"

  The girl said without looking back: "I've already said that I'll have the money sent over tomorrow, what's the hurry?" The girl ran very quickly, rushing straight ahead, and even the service staff on the first floor and at the entrance couldn't stop her.

  Just as the girl was about to run away, she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and pulled back. The girl slightly stunned, looked at the person holding her, with an unpleasant face said: "What are you doing? Let go, or I'll call for help."

  The one who caught her was Zhang Ziheng. "You want to leave without paying? That's clearly eating a free meal, you should pay."

  At this time, the waiter also caught up and handed the bill to the girl, saying: "Miss, you have eaten a total of 3,000 yuan. Would you like to pay in cash or by card?"

  The girl looked impatient, glanced at Zhang Ziheng and said: "Didn't I say I didn't bring my purse out?"

  "Then please call your friend or family and ask them to bring some money over."

  "My phone isn't with me, and I don't remember the number, it's all stored in my phone. I already said that I'll definitely have someone bring money tomorrow, can't you just keep track of the account for now? It's all because of you, why are you interfering with other people's business? I was about to get away." The girl said discontentedly to Zhang Ziheng.

  "You should pay after eating, rather than running away with the bill unpaid." Zhang Ziheng said.

  "You... are fine, just you wait, one day I will avenge myself." The girl pointed at Zhang Ziheng and said angrily. In the end, the girl was left behind and received the punishment she deserved.

  As they walked out of the restaurant, Li Wencheng shook his head helplessly and said, "What's it to you? What business is it of yours? That poor beautiful girl was left behind, and I'm not feeling right about it."

  "It's her fault for eating at a tyrannical restaurant anyway."

  "Whatever, I won't say anything more, you're still so stubborn and serious, nothing has changed."