Xia Xia found a part-time job.

Handing out flyers for a beauty salon, with a daily pay of 100 yuan.

In the first semester of college, coursework was heavy, so she could only work weekends. Given her financial situation, she needed daily payment, and after searching around, distributing flyers was the most suitable option available.

On Saturday morning, Xia Xia woke up early and took the subway to the city center.

The work location was in the bustling commercial district downtown. A middle-aged woman led five girls distributing flyers on the street.

The woman, called Sister Yan, was in her early forties and was cold and quiet. She wasn’t an employee of the beauty salon but worked as a middleman between the salon and the girls. The salon gave her flyers and agreed on a price, then she found people to distribute them, making an unknown profit margin that neither side knew about.

Lunch wasn’t provided during work. The other four girls made plans to eat hotpot at a popular restaurant nearby.

Xia Xia sat alone at a street food stall, ordering a basket of xiaolongbao and a bowl of plain congee. As she was eating, someone sat down across from her.

She looked up to see Sister Yan.

Sister Yan ordered two baskets of xiaolongbao and looked at Xia Xia: “Why aren’t you going for hotpot?”

Xia Xia swallowed her dumpling skin and said quietly: “Too expensive.”

After finishing her meal, Xia Xia checked the time, nodded to Sister Yan, and left with her bag of flyers.

Sister Yan didn’t rush to leave, staying to play with her phone.

Work was supposed to start at 1 PM, but Xia Xia was already on the street by 12:50. The other girls dawdled until 1:30, and seeing Sister Yan wasn’t on the street, they gathered on a bench under a tree to gossip.

Sister Yan watched them for a while before going to the counter to pay.

The owner pointed at Xia Xia standing by the road: “That young lady already paid for you.”

Sister Yan said nothing.

As soon as she stepped out, the four lazy girls spotted her and quickly scattered, pretending to distribute flyers.

The afternoon sun was scorching. Xia Xia hadn’t brought any sun protection, only borrowing a hat from Zhu Ziyu. Her face was flushed red from the heat.

Sister Yan walked over and said coldly: “I never said you had to stand in the sun constantly. Take breaks when you’re tired – people will think I’m mistreating you.”

Xia Xia wiped her sweat: “I used to do promotions at supermarkets. I’m used to standing.”

Sister Yan: “College student?”

Xia Xia answered obediently: “Freshman.”

Sister Yan suddenly reached into a nearby trash bin and pulled out a stack of pristine flyers: “Those other girls are college students too. They’ve worked for me several times, and they slack off every time.”

The girls had secretly stuffed flyers into the trash bin while Sister Yan’s back was turned – she shouldn’t have seen it.

Xia Xia had seen it but said nothing.

Sister Yan: “They don’t hand out many flyers but are full of tricks. They threw the flyers in the trash bin next to you – I know it was them, but others might think it was you.”

“Next time you see something like this, tell me directly. They have no shame, why are you covering for them?”

She tucked away the flyers and left.

Evening.

The 5 PM sky showed no signs of dusk or sunset glow, just layered clouds covering the deep blue sky.

Cars flowed endlessly on the road, pedestrians hurried past, and the smell of roast chicken and rice wine drifted from the small streets.

Sister Yan stood at the street corner, smoking a cigarette.

The girls stood awkwardly in the acrid smoke, stealing glances at her but not daring to speak.

After finishing her cigarette, Sister Yan slowly took out her wallet.

She pulled out a 100-yuan note for Xia Xia, then four 50-yuan notes for the other girls.

One girl protested: “Yesterday you said it was 100 yuan per day. How come the four of us only get 200 total?”

Sister Yan pulled out a stack of flyers and threw them at the girl: “It’s 100 for a day’s work – did you work a full day? Don’t think I don’t know how many you threw away. If you want to be shameless about it, I can count them out for you one by one.”

The girl’s face darkened. The flyers Sister Yan threw were exactly the ones they had secretly discarded in different trash bins, yet somehow she had found them all.

Sister Yan was tall and imposing. She had been smoking all afternoon, and the sharp tobacco smell added to her intimidating presence.

The girls looked angry but didn’t dare argue.

Xia Xia was about to leave when Sister Yan called out: “Can you still distribute more?”

She handed her the unfinished flyers from the other girls: “There are still plenty of people here at night. If you have the energy to finish these, the 200 yuan they won’t get can be yours.”

Hearing this, Xia Xia stayed, taking off her backpack: “I can do it.”

Xia Xia distributed flyers until 10 PM. Nan City was lively at night, full of bright lights and flowing traffic, with streets still crowded even late at night.

After standing all day, Xia Xia’s heels hurt too much to stand on, and her knees were shaking.

Sister Yan was drinking tea at a nearby teahouse. Xia Xia carried her backpack up to find her.

Sister Yan wasn’t in her seat; instead, a small boy sat at the table. He looked elementary school age, with a bowl cut and round glasses, frowning at his homework.

Xia Xia asked: “Are you solving equations?”

The boy looked glum: “I can’t solve this problem, and neither can my mom.”

Xia Xia rested her chin on her palm: “I know how. Call me big sister, and I’ll teach you.”

The boy put down his pen and also rested his chin on his palm: “How about I call you big sister twice, and instead of teaching me, you just write the answer?”

Xia Xia failed to charm the little boy and got outsmarted instead.

Sister Yan came back from the bathroom and twisted the boy’s ear: “Jun Jun, say that again?”

Jun Jun grimaced in pain. Xia Xia laughed and took his pen to explain the problem on scratch paper.

She happened to glance outside and realized the teahouse window overlooked the entire plaza below.

She asked Jun Jun: “How long have you been here?”

Jun Jun hunched over his homework, mumbling: “I’ve been here all day.”

Sister Yan sat nearby drinking tea: “Figured it out? I don’t have eyes in the back of my head – Jun Jun saw them throwing away the flyers.”

“Who doesn’t want to make easy money? If it were that simple, I wouldn’t need to hire them – I could just throw everything in the trash and report back. But if I did that, would anyone use my services again? There are rules to every job.”

“Being a good person comes before doing good work, don’t you agree?”

Xia Xia said: “Yes.”

Sister Yan paid Xia Xia, giving her 220 yuan instead of the promised 200.

“You’re young but know how to conduct yourself.” She looked at Xia Xia. “But at my age, I can’t accept food from a young girl like you. Hurry back to school – the subway stops running at 10:30.”

Xia Xia thanked her, said goodbye to Jun Jun, and rushed out.

She ran all the way, barely catching the last subway.

The subway car was empty, with no one in the nearest few carriages. Xia Xia was exhausted and dozed off against the seat.

She hadn’t slept long when her phone rang and woke her.

It was Xie Huai calling.

It was already 11 PM, and Xia Xia’s drowsiness vanished instantly.

She helped record Xie Huai’s delivery orders and was supposed to send them to him before 11 PM each night. She was so late today that he was calling to question her.

Before Xie Huai could speak, Xia Xia admitted her fault: “I was out doing something today, I’ll do it right away.”

Xie Huai asked: “Where are you?”

Xia Xia took out her pen and notebook, spreading them on the seat: “On the subway.”

She hung up and knelt on the floor, recording orders from scattered group messages.

The subway emerged from underground, speeding along elevated tracks.

Nan City had reached its quiet hours. Buildings and shadowy tree silhouettes flashed past on both sides of the street. Looking into the distance, the city that was hidden behind tall buildings during the day now appeared deep and dark, seemingly endless.

At 11:30, the subway reached University Town station. Xia Xia had only finished half the orders.

From the subway station exit, it was still several kilometers to school, and buses had stopped running.

Xia Xia tried hailing a taxi, but after waiting fifteen minutes, only a few private cars passed. An unlicensed taxi driver tried to get her business, but she waved him away.

In Changping District, with few people and cars, students often took unlicensed taxis when they couldn’t find suitable buses. Xia Xia had taken one with Zhu Ziyu to the shopping street a few days ago, but she was reluctant to ride alone so late at night.

“Are you from Nan University?” the driver said. “The dorms close at midnight – if you don’t leave now, you won’t make it.”

He smiled: “No regular taxis at this hour – you could wait until tomorrow morning and still not find one. Take my car, I’ll take you for ten yuan.”

Xia Xia studied the man. He looked in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. His dark lips parted in a smile to reveal white teeth – an honest, simple face.

His car was a white Volkswagen with clear windows that showed the interior.

Xia Xia checked the time – the dorms were about to close, and she couldn’t afford to wait. She took out her phone, waved it in front of the driver, then walked to the front of the car and openly took a photo of the license plate.

The man just smiled and opened the back door for her.

Xia Xia got in and rolled down the window.

It was a ten-minute drive to Nan University. She took out her notebook and continued recording orders under the dim streetlights.

The man drove very slowly. The night wind was cool and humid against her face.

Near the university gate, instead of stopping, the man turned right onto a side road. The doors locked with a click, and the windows started rolling up.

Xia Xia immediately looked up, meeting the man’s gaze in the mirror.

The man smiled shyly at her: “I changed my mind. You’re so pretty – I don’t want to take you back to school. Come meet my grandmother first.”

Xie Huai closed his stall and stored the box in a corner of the supermarket’s back room.

He rented the five-square-meter space from the supermarket for 200 yuan per month.

He bought a box of milk from the supermarket, heated it in the front counter’s microwave, and got some Oden skewers for a late-night snack.

The supermarket cashier, whom he knew from work, chatted with him.

Cashier: “Was that girl who left with you the other day your girlfriend?”

Xie Huai had oden sauce at the corner of his mouth and mumbled: “She’s my little brother.”

The cashier didn’t believe him: “School just started – you already have a little brother?”

“Call me Brother Huai, and I’ll take you as my little brother too.” Xie Huai joked with him, expounding on the ways of being a big brother. “Don’t think being a big brother is easy. First, you need to be magnanimous, and able to forgive those who offend you. Second, you need compassion, to stand up for justice…”

His phone buzzed twice. Xia Xia had sent him four characters: [Brother Huai, are you busy?]

Xie Huai was enjoying his chat with the cashier and just glanced at it without replying.

The moon hung in the indigo sky, its clear light shining through the supermarket’s skylight onto Xie Huai’s face.

He finished his oden and tossed the container in the trash behind the counter: “Most importantly, you need to be prepared to be a big brother.”

“If your little brother has no food, you give them work opportunities. If they’re bullied, you’re responsible for protecting them. If someone has designs on your little brother…” Xie Huai lazily leaned against the counter, playing with his prayer beads. “You have to step in and settle scores for them.”

The cashier said: “Being a big brother sounds exhausting.”

Xie Huai said: “It’s not bad. You’ve seen Xia Xia – timid and obedient, never causes trouble. Never needs me to step in.”

Xie Huai finished chatting and casually replied to Xia Xia: [What’s up?]

The next second, Xia Xia shared her location with him on WeChat.

It was almost midnight, and she wasn’t in the dorm but wandering around the shopping street area.

Just as he was about to ask what she was doing, Xia Xia sent him a photo of a license plate, followed by a message:

[Brother Huai, the unlicensed taxi driver locked me in his car. I’m afraid to call in case I anger him. I sent you my location – please call the police for me.]

The cashier glimpsed the message on his phone and after a moment of silence said: “Never needs you to step in… not quite true, is it?”

“Your little brother is quite something – rarely causes trouble, but when they do, it’s a big one.”

Xie Huai: “…”