Dongguan, train station.
Carrying his luggage on his shoulder, Cao Yang walked out of the station. Seeing the heavy traffic and the endless stream of people, he was momentarily dazed.
He walked to a newsstand, took out a slip of paper, and dialed the number written on it.
"Hello…" A pleasant voice came from the other end—sounding as if she had just woken up, a little lazy and drowsy.
"Sister Yan, it's me, Cao Yang. I've arrived in Dongguan."
"Mm-hmm… Got it. Wait for me, I'll come pick you up in a bit."
After hanging up, Cao Yang checked the time. Three in the afternoon. Why was Sister Yan still sleeping? Was she working night shifts at the factory?
In the scorching summer heat, Dongguan felt like it was melting. Cao Yang found a shaded spot to sit down, waiting quietly for Li Yan to pick him up.
Li Yan was his neighbor from back home—a very beautiful older sister, and the goddess of his childhood.
Two years ago, Li Yan came to Dongguan to work. Every year she managed to send a few thousand yuan back home, and the villagers often praised how capable she was.
Li Yan's mother was very close with Cao Yang's mother, so she suggested that Cao Yang go rely on Li Yan, earn a bit of money—maybe even a few thousand yuan—to bring home.
At first, Li Yan refused, saying their factory didn't hire men.
But her mother confidently promised she could still help Cao Yang find another factory.
…
About an hour later, Cao Yang saw a tall, fair-skinned beauty walking toward him—wearing a white dress and crystal high heels.
"Sister Yan!" Cao Yang waved, amazed at how she seemed even more beautiful than before.
Li Yan walked up to him, looking at his rustic, worn-out duffel bag, frowning in distaste.
"Haven't seen you in two years and you've grown taller again… but you still look so countryside." She compared their height difference with her hand—he was a full head taller than her.
"Come on, get in the car." Li Yan hailed a taxi.
Sitting together in the back seat, Cao Yang caught a whiff of her perfume and couldn't help but inhale a bit more.
He glanced at her—her white dress looked great, but it was thin, and up close it was slightly see-through. He could clearly make out the black underwear underneath.
"I heard you caused trouble back home?"
"Mm." Cao Yang nodded, admitting quietly.
Li Yan said, "Now that you're out, you'd better focus on making money. Don't go fighting with people anymore. Earning money is what matters."
"Mm." Cao Yang nodded, fully accepting her lecture.
"Since your mom asked you to come find me, then I'm responsible for you. But you have to listen to me. If you don't, then I'm not helping you."
"Mm." He nodded again.
"How much money did your mom give you when you left home?"
"Two hundred yuan. All borrowed from others," he answered truthfully.
"And the money?"
"In my bag."
"Give it to me." Li Yan reached directly into his pocket and pulled out 125 yuan.
Cao Yang felt something wasn't right. Who takes someone's money the moment they meet?
"When you're out here, everything costs money—standing costs money, sitting costs money. I'm afraid you'll spend recklessly, so I'll keep it for you. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"No." Cao Yang shook his head. Inside, he had plenty of complaints, but since he still needed her help to find a job, he kept quiet.
They were neighbors, and her mother was best friends with his. Surely she wouldn't harm him.
…
The taxi stopped at the entrance of a village-in-the-city in Chang'an. Li Yan paid the fare and led Cao Yang inside.
They arrived at a building, went up to the third floor, and she unlocked a small two-bedroom apartment.
Two-bedroom apartments in Dongguan's village areas were nothing like the ones people usually imagined. Here, everything was tiny—two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom, altogether barely forty square meters.
Cao Yang asked curiously, "Sister Yan, you live here? Don't factory workers all stay in dorms? Why are you renting a place?"
"Don't worry about that," Li Yan avoided the question.
She walked into the room, brought out a blanket, and pointed at the sofa. "A friend of mine said their electronics factory is hiring. I'll take you there tomorrow. Just make do on the sofa tonight."
Cao Yang nodded, then pointed at the other bedroom. "Isn't there another room?"
"That belongs to someone else."
"This damn weather… five minutes outside and you sweat for two hours," Li Yan complained as she headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
Through the frosted glass door, Cao Yang could see the vague outline of her figure.
He swallowed hard and quickly looked away.
A moment later, Li Yan came out, now wearing a black silky nightdress.
"Are you gonna wash up or not? Shampoo and stuff are all in there."
Cao Yang nodded, though his eyes were fixed on her chest.
"Keep staring and I'll dig your eyes out!" Li Yan covered her chest when she noticed him peeking.
Caught like a thief, Cao Yang lowered his head and slipped into the bathroom without a word.
He took off his sweat-soaked clothes. Certain parts were… difficult to hide. At his age, even a poster of a girl in a bikini would get a reaction—let alone the real thing, especially since the woman was his childhood goddess.
Only after a blast of cold water did the fire inside him begin to subside. He squeezed the shampoo and lathered his hair. Just as he was covered in foam, bang! the door swung open.
"What the—?! Who are you?!"
Cao Yang opened his eyes to see a girl staring wide-eyed at him—specifically at what was below his waist.
Embarrassed beyond belief, he used both hands to cover himself.
"Hey, hey, hey—he's a younger brother from my hometown!" Li Yan rushed over after hearing the commotion.
As she pulled the girl away, she subconsciously glanced at Cao Yang, but since he was covering himself, she saw nothing.
After that chaos, Cao Yang rinsed off the foam in record speed, got dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom.
"Let me introduce you. This is Zhou Qing—my colleague and roommate. Just call her Sister Qing."
"This is a younger brother from my hometown, Cao Yang. You can call him Xiao Cao or Xiao Yang," Li Yan added.
Cao Yang immediately smiled. "Hello, Sister Qing."
Zhou Qing nodded, wearing an expression that was half amused, half curious, her eyes darting around.
"Oh stop staring. Let's go eat—we need to get to work," Li Yan tugged Zhou Qing toward the door.
"Sister Yan, I haven't eaten either," Cao Yang reminded her, not wanting to be left behind.
"Go out and buy yourself some fried rice noodles."
"But I don't have money!"
Li Yan finally remembered she had taken all his cash.
"…Fine, come on then. We'll eat together."
The three went downstairs to a busy clay-pot-porridge food stall.
Business was booming—almost every table was full.
Two shirtless men with dragon and tiger tattoos on their arms—clearly local punks—saw Li Yan and waved at her.
Li Yan and Zhou Qing immediately headed over with big strides; they obviously knew the men.
"Who's this?" one of the guys pointed at Cao Yang.
"He's a younger brother from my hometown. Came to work. I'll find him a factory tomorrow," Li Yan replied casually.
The group began eating barbecue. Other than Li Yan occasionally telling Cao Yang to eat more, no one paid him any attention.