Chapter 0 wedge
Fiery clouds filled the gradually darkening sky, and the sun half-hidden behind the building, emitting a warm glow. The white pigeons on the square fluttered their wings, leisurely pecking at the grains scattered on the marble by the clear fountain pool, and in the distance, the towering clock tower, as tall as a building, rang out leisurely bells.
The wind chimes on the glass door made a ding-dong sound, and a girl in her early twenties walked out of a cutely decorated shop. A diamond hairpin was pinned in her hair, reflecting the bright light under the sunset. She casually took out a pocket-sized notebook from her khaki short coat, and wrote vigorously with a ballpoint pen, muttering to herself: "Five o'clock in the afternoon, the second job of the day is over!"
She counted on her fingers and smiled contentedly, "I've been working in this coffee shop for almost a month. I'll be paid in five days. I can finally relax for a while."
The girl's name is Qian Mengmeng. Although she has just entered college, she has more than five years of work experience. Qian Mengmeng was standing in the small square in front of Shengshi Building, preparing to go to her third job, when she saw a group of middle-aged women gathered in a circle on the side of the road, chattering.
"Is that young man sick? Why is his face so pale?"
"I think it's malnutrition and staying up late. Young people nowadays don't take care of their bodies and love to stay up late..."
"Is it okay? Nothing's going to happen, is it?"
She stood on tiptoe curiously and looked from a distance through the crowd, only to see a boy staggering into her field of vision. He was tall, wearing a black windbreaker, and his steps were unsteady on the marble tiles, swaying as if a gust of wind would blow him down, his face was as white as paper, without a trace of blood.
Suddenly, he stopped and fell backwards without warning with a muffled sound.
No way! It just falls down like that?
Qian Mengmeng was startled, and the crowd also cried out in surprise. She remembered that she knew some first aid knowledge, so she rushed over: "Hurry up and call 120, call an ambulance!"
The boy's face was pale, his eyes were closed, half of his face was pressed against the cold stone road, and cold sweat kept flowing from his forehead. Qian Mengmeng was thinking about saving people and didn't pay attention to his appearance. She carefully straightened his head to let him breathe smoothly, and then began to give first aid. Qian Mengmeng pressed his chest several times with her hands folded, and her forehead was sweating from nervousness. She didn't know how long it took, and a cold hand quietly rested on her hand. The boy's long and thick eyelashes moved, and his expression was painful.
Qian Mengmeng held his hand in surprise: "Are you awake?"
He half-closed his eyes, and could only see a slender shadow in a trance. The diamond hairpin on her head reflected the gentleness of the sunset. He asked with difficulty: "Who... are you?"
Qian Mengmeng was relieved to see that he could speak: "I'm just passing by. The ambulance will be here soon. I..."
Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by the buzzing sound of the phone in her pocket. She stood up and saw the words "Yu Zheng's mother" on the phone. She suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.
Wen Yu is her childhood sweetheart, and his mother and her mother used to be good friends. If it wasn't something important, Wen's mother would not call her.
Sure enough, as soon as she answered the phone, Wen's mother said anxiously: "Mengmeng, come back soon! Your dad is on the rooftop again and wants to jump off the building. No matter how I try to persuade him, it won't work!"
"Auntie, don't worry, I'll be back soon!" Qian Mengmeng calmed her down and ran home like a flash, not caring about the boy who was gradually regaining consciousness.
Qian Mengmeng's home is not far from Shengshi Building. It is an old seven-story building. As soon as she ran downstairs panting, her mother Wen came out with an anxious look on her face, "Mengmeng, you're back! Old Qian refused to come down from the rooftop. I was so worried!"
"Huh..." Qian Mengmeng exhaled , "Don't worry! Leave it to me."
Mother Wen sighed and warned, "You said there is a way to solve this big problem. What's the point of jumping off the building? What if you really fall? Your mother is gone, but he can't be gone too."
Hearing the word "mother", Qian Mengmeng's eyes slightly reddened. She nodded and ran up the stairs to the wide rooftop. The wind in early spring was still cold. The iron door leading to the rooftop was closed by the wind behind her, making a crisp "click" sound. Sitting on the railing in front, there was a middle-aged man in a suit who looked very down and out. He was looking at the sky blankly, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Dad." Qian Mengmeng called from behind him.
The man turned his head slowly, and when he saw Qian Mengmeng, he smiled bitterly: "Mengmeng, it's gone, all gone..."
This was not the first time that Qian's father wanted to jump off the building, and Qian Mengmeng could guess the reason why he wanted to jump off the building. She approached him as carefully as possible and asked in a low voice: "Did your business fail again?"
"It's not just the business failure..." Mr. Qian buried his face in his hands dejectedly. He moved his lips but still couldn't say anything. Then he put down his hands, grasped the railing and said, "I'd better jump down and put an end to it all!"
"Don't! Dad!" Qian Mengmeng didn't expect him to really jump down. She grabbed his arm in panic and said, "If there is anything, let's discuss it together as father and daughter! If you leave, I will be alone!"
Father Qian paused, clenched the railing with his fingers, and squatted down in pain: "Mengmeng, Dad borrowed high-interest loans for this business, but now the business is bankrupt and the interest of the loan sharks has increased several times. Those people warned me that I must pay it back within two days, otherwise... But I really don't have the money to pay it back, what should our family do..."
"Loan sharking?" Qian Mengmeng screamed in panic.
Although she had always known that her father had been obsessed with investment business since her mother passed away, and although several investments had failed, she had never thought that he had also borrowed money from loan sharks.
Father Qian said guiltily: "Two...two hundred thousand. Mengmeng, it's Daddy who is sorry for you..."
Two hundred thousand may not be a big deal in the eyes of others, but to the impoverished Qian family, it seems like an astronomical figure.
"No...it's okay...there will always be a way!" Qian Mengmeng was afraid that he would get stuck in a dead end and jump off the building again, so she pretended to be cheerful and said this to calm his emotions.
She wandered around the rooftop in a panic, paused for a moment, pulled out the diamond hairpin from her hair, glanced at it reluctantly, and said, "Dad, sell the diamond hairpin first to deal with the emergency, and we'll think of a way to deal with the rest."
Father Qian hurriedly shook his head: "How can this be possible! This is the only relic your mother left you!"
This is indeed the only thing her mother left her. No matter how poor her family was or how difficult life was, she never thought of selling the diamond hairpin. But the matter of loan sharking is imminent, and she doesn't know what those people will do to collect the debts. Now she can only sell it to save the day.
Qian Mengmeng gritted her teeth and said, "Things are dead, but people are alive. Dad, you are the most important to me. As for the other debts, I will find a way to pay them off."
She clenched the hairpin in her hand and said softly, "Shall we go home?"
