Chapter 1: A Victim of the “Cheap Infrastructure Project”
Inside a drink shop by the roadside, a couple who once could talk about anything finally said everything they still had left to say during this conversation. They met during an early summer like this one, and now their relationship was ending in the same season, like a full cycle coming to an end.
After a long silence, the woman turned back to look at him. She sighed, took out a key, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward the man. It was clear she did not want to waste any more patience on him.
After the breakup was officially over, the woman stood up. The sound of her high heels echoed as she left without looking back.
The man quietly watched her walk out of the shop. Then he took a sip of the mango juice in front of him, trying to calm his restless heart.
Their three-year relationship had ended just like that. Saying he was not sad would only be lying to himself. But strangely, after it ended, he also felt a little relieved. They were both tired of hurting each other with cold words, so separating was not necessarily a bad thing.
Were they emotionally incompatible? Actually, it was not that complicated. It was simply the pressure of real life.
He wandered aimlessly through the streets. Looking at the couples around him holding hands tightly, Lu Wei’s mind filled with memories of their sweet moments together.
From their school days until now, everything had changed so quickly. It felt like just a moment ago they were deeply in love, but suddenly small everyday problems turned into cold arguments that hurt each other.
Or maybe everything started changing the moment they graduated.
He believed neither of them had truly wronged the other. Life’s pressure was simply too heavy, and he could not give her the kind of life she wanted.
Without realizing it, he arrived at the city center, standing in front of the Fengxiang shopping mall.
Behind the huge glass windows, plastic mannequins wore bright and fashionable clothes. They could not move and had no expressions, but it was easy to imagine how beautiful those clothes would look on an attractive woman.
A woman’s world was as hard to understand as fashion trends. Lu Wei turned around and walked into the supermarket beside the mall. Every month after getting paid, the first thing he did was restock his supplies.
Instant noodles, chili sauce, and sausages. Enough to survive for a month.
As the saying goes, bad luck can hide good fortune. The wisdom of old sayings was always surprisingly deep. The moment Lu Wei saw the “50% Off” sign, he immediately stuffed five whole boxes into his shopping cart without hesitation. They completely took up the space originally meant for the chili sauce and sausages. His crazy shopping even made some elderly people nearby click their tongues in surprise.
“Young people these days have no respect for the elderly!”
Lu Wei narrowed his eyes and looked at the mountains of instant noodles piled in front of them, so tall they almost seemed to reach the clouds. Sweat slowly ran down his forehead.
Did he dare disrespect them? Was he not respectful enough already?
Those old people might look weak because of their age, but in reality each one was like a battle god! Most of the noodles he managed to grab were mushroom chicken flavor. The single box of braised beef flavor he got was only found after digging through many strange flavors.
Please leave some hope for young people instead of wiping everything out!
Lu Wei silently complained in his heart. Seeing the fierce looks in their eyes, he got so scared that he quickly pushed his cart away.
After paying, his bank card, already close to empty, became even emptier. Lu Wei glanced at the remaining balance and unwillingly handed the card to the cashier.
On the counter nearby were some reward items for membership points. Lu Wei took the chance to ask,
“I have a membership card. Can I collect points with it?”
The cashier looked up and gave Lu Wei a slightly mocking look before lowering her head to continue scanning the items.
“Sorry, discounted products do not count for reward points.”
A grown man being so careful over small things always made people uncomfortable. Lu Wei understood how embarrassing it looked, but he had no choice if he wanted to survive. After taking back his card, he quickly left, leaving all the judging looks behind him.
Near the elevator on the third floor, the place was packed with people. Almost everyone had bought more things than he had. Lu Wei silently worried for their families.
With this much food, they could probably survive for quite a while. After some time, they would probably feel sick just looking at instant noodles...
The supermarket workers near the exit helped pack his things. As long as the cart stayed inside the shopping center, he could continue using it. Conveniently, the building next door where Lu Wei planned to eat was still within the same area, though he had to cross the skybridge between the two buildings.
Following behind the elderly people rushing for discounts, Lu Wei turned a corner and saw even more people ahead.
Anywhere with discounts would always attract them.
Lu Wei sighed as he watched the crowd slowly move forward. While waiting out of boredom, he suddenly noticed a woman walking toward him.
She was exactly the traditional type Lu Wei liked. Her figure and appearance were almost perfect! He could not stop himself from taking a few extra looks. As if she noticed, the woman turned around and gave Lu Wei a gentle smile.
Wow. She was even the elegant and gentle type. It was simply too deadly for him!
For a moment, Lu Wei felt completely happy. Being dumped earlier today and the embarrassment at the cashier counter were all blown away by that smile.
The crowd slowly moved forward little by little. The woman who had been ahead of him gradually ended up walking beside him. Lu Wei secretly felt lucky again. Because he had stared too openly earlier, he did not dare turn his head and look directly at her anymore. Instead, he pretended to look elsewhere while secretly glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
“Almost home now... I’m fine, I already feel much better. Mom and Dad are coming back tomorrow. What do you want to eat tonight? Okay! Don’t stay up too late, take care of yourself.”
Listening to her soft and gentle voice beside him, Lu Wei realized one thing, she was definitely married.
As a man, he could only feel regret.
After hanging up the phone, the happiness on the woman’s face quickly disappeared. A very soft sigh reached Lu Wei’s ears.
When he looked again, he saw the woman lowering her head and looking at something. She probably had not noticed while answering the phone, but the long hem of her dress had gotten caught in the wheel of the shopping cart. No matter how hard she pulled, she could not free it.
“Let me help.”
Lu Wei took out the multi-purpose folding knife he carried for self-defense and signaled that he wanted to help her. The woman had no other choice and could only nod while holding down her dress with both hands to avoid exposing herself.
Lu Wei bent down to cut the trapped part of the dress, but his attention was completely focused on the woman beside him. The pleasant fragrance from someone standing so close made it impossible to stay calm. Something that could have been solved in seconds was intentionally dragged out by him for much longer.
Click.
The problem was finally solved. The torn piece of the dress stayed behind, but suddenly the skybridge under their feet made a strange cracking sound.
Lu Wei felt the floor shake beneath him. The support structure of the bridge was clearly swaying, and everyone on the bridge cried out in fear. The bridge was hanging nearly eight meters above the ground, about the height of a two-story building. Anyone who said they were not afraid was either a professional diver or a paratrooper!
But divers jump into water, and paratroopers have parachutes!
If an ordinary person fell from this height without warning, they would be smashed flat for sure!
The shaking became stronger and stronger. The panicked crowd running wildly in both directions only made the bridge even more unstable.
Crack.
The already unstable structure finally broke apart as the bridge tilted violently. Screams spread everywhere...
At noon, the television suddenly interrupted regular programming with an emergency news report.
“A serious accident occurred today at the famous Fengxiang Shopping Center in the city center. An outdoor skybridge collapsed due to poor maintenance, resulting in one death and twelve injuries...”
That night, when Lu Wei woke up, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Surviving a fall from that height was already an incredible miracle.
But why did the fall ruin his manhood!?