My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

"I'm not lecturing you." Qiu Tong's tone softened. She reached out and ruffled Su Ming's hair like she did when they were children. "I'm just... worried you'll get hurt."

This action and this tone of voice brought tears to Su Ming's eyes.

He suddenly remembered when he was a child, his cousin's wife would always bring him candy when she visited his hometown, and she would pat his head and say, "Mingming has grown taller again." Back then, his cousin's wife was beautiful and gentle, like someone who had stepped out of a painting.

But now...

"Sister-in-law," he asked softly, his voice trembling slightly, "do you...do you often come to places like this?"

Qiu Tong paused, then withdrew her hand.

She didn't answer, but just took another sip of her drink.

The answer is self-evident.

Su Ming felt a lump in his throat, a suffocating tightness in his chest. Looking at Qiu Tong's profile in the dim light, he suddenly wanted to ask: "Sister-in-law, are you doing well? Are you happy? Is that man named Jiang Jian treating you well?"

But he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Some questions, once asked, only add to the sadness.

"Let's go!" Qiu Tong suddenly stood up, picked up her handbag, and said, "Let's go home."

"That money..." Su Ming thought of the eight hundred yuan.

"It's already settled," Qiu Tong said calmly. "I didn't really expect you to do anything anyway. I just wanted to teach you a lesson."

She walked to the door, then turned back to look at him: "Remember this, Su Ming. In this city, beautiful things are often the most dangerous. Watch your eyes, watch your hands, and more importantly..."

She paused, her gaze falling on Su Ming's lower abdomen.

"Got it!" Su Ming replied, blushing. "The key is to control your lower body, right?"

"Tch! Don't overthink it!" Qiu Tong rolled her eyes at Su Ming and said, "Keeping your mind in check is the best policy."

"Okay!" Su Ming looked at her and nodded emphatically.

The two walked out of the private room one after the other, through the quiet corridor, downstairs, and out of the "Golden Years" entrance.

The night breeze swept over me, carrying the city's unique hustle and bustle and dust.

The neon lights still flashed, and the traffic continued to flow.

Su Ming followed behind Qiu Tong, watching her back as her high heels stomped on the ground. He suddenly realized that this cousin-in-law, whom he had admired since childhood and who seemed like a fairy, had actually been walking in the mud all along.

But she never let anyone see her muddy feet.

On the way back to their rented apartment, neither of them spoke.

But something has quietly changed tonight.

Su Ming didn't know what the future held, but he knew that from today onward, he could no longer be a child.

This world does not welcome children.

Qiu Tong escorted Su Ming across the overpass and suddenly stopped at the intersection.

The streetlights cast long, thin shadows of the two figures, intertwining on the asphalt. A night breeze blew by, and Qiu Tong smoothed her ruffled hair, waving to Su Ming, "You should go back to your place first. I have some things to take care of, and I'll probably be back very late."

She paused, then softened her tone: "You go to sleep first, don't wait for me."

Su Ming's heart tightened, and he almost blurted out, "I'll go with you!"

Qiu Tong's face immediately darkened, and her tone was clearly impatient: "What are you going to do? It's inconvenient for the child."

"Sister-in-law, I'm not young anymore." Su Ming straightened his back, trying to appear more mature. "I'm eighteen already, I can help you..."

"Help me?" Qiu Tong interrupted him, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips as if she'd heard something amusing. "What can you do to help me?"

She looked Su Ming up and down, her gaze complex, before finally letting out a soft sigh: "I'm going to see one of my best friends. What are you going to do? Two women having a private chat, and you, a grown man, are just sitting there listening?"

That makes sense, and Su Ming was speechless for a moment.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Qiu Tong had already turned around: "That's it. You go back first, and remember to lock the door."

After saying that, she stopped looking at him, quickly walked across the street in her high heels, and her figure soon disappeared into the night.

Su Ming stood there, watching her figure disappear around the street corner, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. His cousin-in-law's expression and tone at "Golden Years" earlier, and the way she hurriedly left now, didn't seem like she was going to meet any close friends.

He hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and followed.

After passing through a small alley and around two residential buildings, Su Ming stopped at a street corner—he saw that Qiu Tong had indeed not gone far, but had turned into another street and returned to the road where "Golden Years" was located.

What made Su Ming's heart sink even more was that she didn't just pass by, but went straight to that magnificent building, paused briefly at the door, and then pushed it open and went inside.

The neon sign light shone on her face, and in that instant, Su Ming saw her expression—not the relaxed ease of meeting a friend, but an almost resolute calm.

Why does she want to go back?

Did she forget to pay? Or... is her "best friend" inside?

Or perhaps what she meant by "having something to deal with" was something else entirely?

Su Ming's mind was in complete turmoil. He wanted to rush in and get to the bottom of things, but then he remembered what his cousin's wife had said in the private room earlier—"Watch your eyes, watch your hands, and most importantly, watch your heart."

He ultimately did not move.

Forget it, my cousin-in-law probably isn't doing anything bad, so I'll just leave it at that!

He stood there for a long time, until the night wind made him shiver, before slowly turning around and walking towards the rented room.

As he reached the overpass, he suddenly remembered something and pulled the slip of paper with the phone number on it from his pocket. Right, he hadn't brought his identification! He had a warehouse worker interview tomorrow! He couldn't put off getting the fake ID any longer.

The public phone booth was still lit. Su Ming dialed the number, and the same hoarse male voice answered.

"Is the certificate ready?" Su Ming asked.

"Alright. Same place, fifteen minutes."

After hanging up the phone, Su Ming found a stone bench under the overpass and sat down. The overpass was still bustling with people at night; couples strolled by hand, drunkards swayed unsteadily, and vendors packed up their wares.

Fifteen minutes later, the slightly plump middle-aged woman appeared on time. She took a plastic bag out of her cloth bag, which contained a brand-new high school diploma.

Su Ming took it and examined it carefully—the photo was of him, the name was his, the school's official seal and the principal's signature were all there, and the texture of the paper and the font of the printing all looked exactly like a genuine certificate.

"You still need to give me thirty dollars." The woman held out her hand.

Su Ming counted out a thirty-yuan note and handed it over. The moment the money left his hand, he felt a mix of emotions. Including the deposit for the photo and the certificate, he had spent a total of sixty yuan. This was almost half of his savings, and all he got in return was a fake certificate.

But he had no choice. In this city, without this piece of paper, he couldn't even get through the factory gates.

"Thanks." The woman stuffed the money into her cloth bag and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Su Ming called out to her, "If...if someone checks later, will this certificate be enough?"

The woman glanced back at him and smiled: "Young man, it's just a piece of paper. If someone wants to check, a real certificate or a fake certificate makes no difference. The key isn't the certificate itself, but whether you have the ability to verify it."

She paused, then said meaningfully, "In this place, you don't survive on paper, you survive on people."

After saying that, she waved her hand and disappeared into the crowd.

Su Ming held the graduation certificate, standing there for a long time. The woman's last words pierced his heart like a needle.

Yes, it's not paper that matters, it's people.

But now, he has neither paper nor anyone.

All he had was this flimsy fake certificate and his cousin-in-law with a complicated attitude towards him.

Carefully putting away his graduation certificate, Su Ming wandered aimlessly through the streets. The night market was bustling with activity; barbecue stalls were shrouded in smoke, small commodity stalls were crowded with people, and in the distance, people were dancing in the square.

As he walked, he returned to the overpass.

This time, a small group of people gathered at the bridgehead, and the sounds of chess pieces hitting the chessboard and cheers could be heard from within.

Su Ming went over to take a look and saw it was a chessboard set up for an endgame game. The red and black sides had fought to the last few pieces, and a thin, middle-aged man wearing glasses was sitting on a small stool, playing against a young man.

"Checkmate!" The middle-aged man placed his piece.

The young man stared at the chessboard for a long time, then slapped his thigh in frustration: "I lost again!"

He pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and reluctantly handed it to the middle-aged man. The crowd booed and laughed.

"Anyone else want to try?" The middle-aged man stuffed the banknotes into his pocket, smiling as he scanned the crowd. "This game is called 'Seven Stars Gathering,' a classic game. I'll set a wager: one hundred dollars a game. If I can checkmate you within thirty moves, I win. If we can't determine a winner within thirty moves, I lose."

He added, "Of course, if you can beat me, you can keep the hundred dollars. If we draw, you win too."

These words drew even more onlookers. One hundred yuan was no small sum in 2003; it was equivalent to three or four days' wages for an average worker.

Su Ming stared at the chessboard for a while, then his eyes lit up—he had seen this endgame before. To be precise, he had seen it in a chess manual from his hometown. His grandfather was a chess enthusiast, and the family had a large collection of ancient manuals. Su Ming had studied them since he was a child and played with his grandfather many times. He had a good memory, and many classic endgames were imprinted in his mind.

In this "Seven Stars Gathering" game, on the surface, the red side is in a precarious situation, and the black side seems poised for a checkmate. However, in reality, if the moves are correct, the game will inevitably end in a draw where both red and black are left with only a rook.

Su Ming was secretly delighted, feeling that this was a good opportunity to make money.