Hermit Crab

Chapter 12: 012. Tragic past

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012. Tragic Past

Xie Xiaojiang huddled in a small corner of the Internet cafe, shivering. Today was the third day of his "escape."

In the early morning of the previous day, he walked several kilometers in a panic, carrying a large pile of luggage, and found a remote guesthouse.

However, in this land-scarce city of S, staying in such a shabby room with only a single bed would cost over a hundred yuan a night.

Xie Xiaojiang felt very uncomfortable living there, as one hundred yuan was the living expenses he set for himself for a week!

He checked out after one day, and then moved to places like KFC and McDonald's. Because he brought a large bag of luggage and didn't buy anything to eat, he was eventually kicked out by the staff as a homeless person.

Finally, Xie Xiaojiang came to the Internet cafe. He didn't go online, but just saw the sign hanging at the door that said "All night for 30" and thought it was cheaper than a guesthouse, so he decided to stay there for another night.

When paying, the Internet cafe owner looked suspiciously at the large snakeskin bag at his feet, and saw a pot handle sticking out of the bag. Xie Xiaojiang carefully blocked it with his body, but still received a sarcastic snort from the owner.

Xie Xiaojiang felt guilty and thought he had been seen through from the beginning to the end. He shrank his neck and dared not look up.

Fortunately, the Internet cafe owner did not chase him away. After collecting the money, he let him in and find a seat by himself.

Thinking of the experience of being almost caught by Boss Wei, Xie Xiaojiang still had lingering fears. No wonder he felt that Boss Wei's eyes were not right when he looked at him from the beginning. It turned out that he was after him. He said, there is no such good thing as pie in the sky in this world, with money and wine, but it turned out to be a trap to catch people!

Xie Xiaojiang hadn't turned on his phone for two days, as if he was afraid that the group would find him if he turned it on. He didn't know if the man surnamed Wei would call the police. It would be terrible if he did. I heard that the police could track the phone signal, as they always do in TV dramas.

The temperature has been getting lower and lower these past two days. Xie Xiaojiang curled himself up in the not-so-big chair in the internet cafe, worrying about what to do next.

He had been in S City for more than half a year and had few familiar friends. Now, not only had he been recognized by his "creditor", he had also lost his job and his future was bleak.

He ran away in such a hurry that he failed to take with him not only bedding and pillow, but also an induction cooker.

Thinking of this, Xie Xiaojiang regretted it bitterly. He could leave everything behind, but how could he leave the induction cooker behind? That was the most extravagant thing he had ever bought in his life, a 998 yuan stove imported from Germany, it was simply a fighter among induction cookers!

It's only been used for a few months, wuwuwu... Now that he runs away, I don't know if Manager Wang will hand over all the things he left behind. If not, the induction cooker will be useless for Xiao Ding who can't cook.

Xie Xiaojiang thought about it and finally couldn't bear to part with it, so he decided to take the risk and go back to get it.

But before going back, I have to contact Xiao Ding to ask about the situation to avoid missing him.

Xie Xiaojiang took out the black-screen cell phone from his trouser pocket and pressed the power button with gritted teeth.

After the boot screen appeared, the phone successfully searched for a signal and Xie Xiaojiang's heart was pounding with nervousness.

Two seconds later, the continuous vibrations almost knocked him unconscious—

More than fifty unread text messages, more than thirty missed calls... Oh my god!

Xie Xiaojiang stared at the missed calls. The one who called the most was Manager Wang, followed by Xiao Ding, then the "budding" Sister Ting, Xiao Tao, Xiao Mei, Xiao Fang... Was he going to be hunted down by his former colleagues

Xie Xiaojiang opened the text message interface with trembling hands—

Sister Ting: "Xiao Jiang, where have you been? Are you free to come out for dinner? Sister will treat you!"

Xiao Tao: "Xiao Jiang, the big boss you offended yesterday is here again today. They seem very angry. By the way, where are you now?"

Xiao Mei: "Xiao Jiang, you really don't want to kill yourself. You dare to offend such a big boss!"

Xiaofang: "Brother Xiaojiang, why did you leave without telling me? Do you still treat us as your sisters?"

The corners of Xie Xiaojiang's eyes twitched. Although these people sent a lot of caring words, why did he still have a strange sense of crisis

He continued reading and finally saw two messages from Xiao Ding. The first one asked him what happened and that his manager had been looking for him. The second one asked him where he had been and whether he still wanted the induction cooker in the dormitory.

As soon as Xie Xiaojiang saw the words "induction cooker", his eyes lit up and he quickly replied: "Yes, yes, yes! Please keep it for me!"

After receiving the message, Xiao Ding called Xie Xiaojiang back immediately: "You finally turned on your phone! Oh, I was scared to death the other day. Two big bosses were looking for you! How did you offend them?"

"Well, it's a long story..." Xie Xiaojiang frowned slightly. This experience not only offended the man surnamed Wei, but also involved a sad past of his. Xie Xiaojiang had never told anyone about it, and naturally did not want to tell Xiao Ding.

Xiao Ding asked again: "One of them also said that he had your nude photos and indecent videos. What's going on?"

"No way?" Xie Xiaojiang felt it was incredible, "Is it true?"

Xiao Ding: "That guy said it himself. He also asked me to tell you that you'd better take the initiative to find him, otherwise he will send those photos of yours to the budding girls. You don't know about the photos? Humph, I feel that the guy is not a good person, maybe he is just making it up!"

Xie Xiaojiang suddenly remembered that he had seen a secretly taken photo of himself in Chunjiang Huajing Garden before, but that photo was not a nude photo... Could it be that the man surnamed Wei took other photos

"Oh my god!" Xie Xiaojiang's face flushed, and he was angry and anxious, "Despicable, shameless, vulgar, and a big pervert!"

Xiao Ding: “…”

After Xie Xiaojiang finished cursing, he looked around cautiously and shrank back quietly, fearing that he would be discovered.

He said depressedly: "What else did that bastard say?"

Xiao Ding: "No, uh, what are you going to do?"

Xie Xiaojiang was struggling internally, he never expected that the well-dressed looking Boss Wei would actually threaten him with such dirty means!

He had never seen what kind of photos the other party took, but he guessed that they were probably pictures of himself taking a shower or something like that.

Xie Xiaojiang was so excited that his heart felt like it was on fire, and he pouted, wanting to compete with the other party.

Actually, if you think about it, he has a good figure and it's not something he can't see. Besides, he's neither a star nor a virgin. What's so scary about him being exposed? Even if he can't make it in this place, he can go to Beijing or Shenzhen. There are many places where he can make it. Who would recognize him if he moved to another city

Xie Xiaojiang quickly adjusted his mentality and said to Xiao Ding: "Let him do whatever he wants!"

He absolutely could not let himself be caught and go to jail. If he was caught, his sister would be finished.

Anyway, he who is barefoot is not afraid of those who wear shoes, so who is afraid of who

“… Brother, you are such a jerk!” Xiao Ding grumbled a few more words and then asked him when he would get the induction cooker.

Xie Xiaojiang thought of some of the experiences he had just had in S City, and he was also cautious: "Let's talk about it later. I'm not sure when I'll be free. Besides, that Wei guy is probably still waiting to catch me. I don't dare go back now. I feel relieved that you can help me look after the induction cooker. I'll go back and get it when I have the chance."

Xiao Ding: “…”

Xie Xiaojiang and Xiao Ding have known each other for about half a year. Although they are close friends on weekdays, for poor people like them, a little bit of temptation of benefit can make many things change.

It’s not that Xie Xiaojiang doesn’t believe in Xiao Ding, but that he doesn’t believe in this society.

After hanging up the phone, Xie Xiaojiang quickly found a few friends' phone numbers from his mobile phone and wrote them down, then he pulled the SIM card out of the phone and broke it.

He held the waste card in his hand, and the tragic incident he encountered when he first came to City S seemed to emerge in front of his eyes.

Eight months ago, Xie Xiaojiang came to S City to work at the instigation of a fellow villager from the same town. At that time, the fellow villager solemnly promised that he would introduce him to a large company as a security guard, which would not only provide food and accommodation, but also three insurances and five social insurances, and the salary would be comparable to that of a white-collar worker. Xie Xiaojiang was moved and followed.

After arriving in City S, Xie Xiaojiang first slept in a house rented by a fellow villager for a few days. The fellow villager ran around every day to help him with the formalities. After ten days of busy work, he told him that to become a security guard he had to pay a training fee of 4,000 yuan first, which would be returned in four installments of 1,000 yuan per month in his future work.

Xie Xiaojiang did not suspect anything and gave all his savings, 3,500 yuan, to his fellow villager.

There was still a shortfall of 500 yuan, so Xie Xiaojiang begged his fellow villager to help him pay the money. The fellow villager pretended to be hesitant before generously donating. Xie Xiaojiang was so grateful that he said he would definitely return it double in the future. However, the fellow villager disappeared without a trace after taking the money. Xie Xiaojiang couldn't get through to him on the phone, and was worried that something had happened to him, so he waited for him to come back in the rental house. It was not until the fourth day when the landlord with a fierce face suddenly came to Xie Xiaojiang's house to ask for the two months' rent owed by his fellow villager that Xie Xiaojiang realized that he had been cheated.

At that time, Xie Xiaojiang, who was only 21 years old, could never imagine that a person could be so despicable!

He escaped from the rental house and wandered on the busy streets like a beggar, secretly wiping away tears and cursing his fellow villagers in his heart.

When passers-by saw him, they would take a detour and look at him with contempt in their eyes.

Xie Xiaojiang had no relatives or money in City S and couldn't even afford a train ticket back home.

Strolling to the bank of Fengjiang River, he looked at the dark water and felt despair.

But looking at the brightly lit houses on the other side of the river, he felt unwilling. In such a big city with so many opportunities, is there really no place for him to settle down

There happened to be a young couple lying on the guardrail chatting nearby. The woman said, "It would be great if we could buy a house of our own across the street someday."

The man exclaimed: "A room with a river view? The price there is about 70,000 or 80,000 per square meter. I can't afford it in my lifetime!"

The woman said: "Well, I'm just talking. What if the house price drops one day, or we win the lottery?"

The man said, "You are just daydreaming! Let me tell you, this is the land of the rich. For ordinary working people like us, even if we can buy a second-hand or third-hand house in the city center, we will have to move to a remote place after the house is demolished in a few years!"

The woman pointed to the opposite side and said, "But you see there are a lot of dark windows over there, so they haven't been sold yet. If they can't be sold, why don't you lower the price?"

The man laughed at her: "Who said they haven't been sold? Those rich people buy so many houses each, how can they live in them? Some of them are just empty, waiting for the house price to go up before they can be resold."

The woman grumbled, "What a waste! It would be better to let us live there..."

Xie Xiaojiang looked at the apartment on the other side of the river. His cat-eye-like pupils were shining brightly under the street lights by the river. At that moment, he seemed to see hope.