Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

Jiang Zhiyu had only taken a few steps when the man who had pushed him seized the opportunity, broke free from the cashier who was redialing the police call, and instantly ran out.

As he passed Jiang Zhiyu, he felt that Jiang Zhiyu was walking too slowly and blocking his escape route, so he shoved him aside with his body, grazed Jiang Zhiyu's shoulder, and ran away, disappearing into the rain in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Zhiyu swayed for a moment, then leaned against the glass door of the convenience store to barely avoid falling.

"Holy crap, what is this thing?" The cashier chased to the door, staring dumbfounded at the street where no one had left.

He turned back and gently supported Jiang Zhiyu, who looked somewhat weak: "Are you alright?"

Jiang Zhiyu slowly shook his head, said nothing, and straightened up to leave.

But the cashier stopped him immediately: "Why don't you leave later? I'm calling the police. They'll be here soon, and you'll have to be a witness."

As he spoke, he closed the glass door, muttering, "Close it, the rain is blowing in."

The disheveled boy stood there silently, head down, until he suddenly spoke up: "We really don't have any money to compensate you..."

The cashier raised an eyebrow: "You and he are really together?"

The boy nodded: "He's my brother."

Hearing the boy's words, the cashier gradually became irritated: "No, you have to find a way to compensate me. If you don't, I'll have to. I'm just a lowly worker, please don't make things difficult for me, okay?"

He paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and continued, "Either you call your brother back, or you don't leave."

A brief silence fell over the convenience store; the sound of rain was blocked out by the glass door, creating a muffled and unreal atmosphere.

The rain grew heavier, with large raindrops falling rapidly and densely, each one exploding on the ground.

Jiang Zhiyu's mind was a bit muddled at the moment. He didn't even know why he was so obedient as to stand still and look at the dark sky outside through the glass.

The conversation behind them continued.

"I really have no money... please, bro."

"It's no use begging me. You're an adult and you have to be responsible for your actions."

"Why don't you call the police?"

"I already told you I called the police, but even if the police come, they will still make you pay compensation, so you will have to bear the loss."

At that moment, a thunderclap exploded in the thick clouds, causing even the glass door to tremble.

Jiang Zhiyu was startled and his eyes widened slightly. The discomfort emanating from his bones grew stronger, and he clearly realized that he could no longer stay where he was.

The glass door was right in front of him; he reached out and touched the doorknob.

But then, another hand appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

The cashier's voice sounded behind me: "Don't go! Here's what we'll do: I'll give you a tip later when things are settled. Just wait a little longer."

Jiang Zhiyu forced out a sound from his throat: "I'm not feeling well, I have to go now."

The other person looked Jiang Zhiyu up and down suspiciously, and apart from a little sweat on his forehead, didn't sense anything wrong.

Slowly, his face tightened: "You weren't with them, were you? You came in around the same time."

"I don't know them," Jiang Zhiyu replied through gritted teeth.

"No." The cashier remained blocking the exit. "You can't leave. We'll talk when the police arrive, otherwise I won't be able to explain myself."

Jiang Zhiyu felt the nerves in his brain throbbing one by one, each throbbing accompanied by intense pain.

He wanted to argue, but a sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him, and he lost the strength and patience to do so.

A low sob was heard, and the cashier, who was at a standoff with Jiang Zhiyu at the door, looked up.

The boy had squatted down on the ground at some point, blood still seeping from the wound on his arm. He hugged his arm tightly and cried bitterly in the sound of rain.

He cried and mumbled incoherently, "I...I really have no choice. I don't even have a hundred yuan on me. I can't come up with any money..."

Seeing the boy cry, the cashier said helplessly, "I can't help it if you cry. According to the rules, damaged goods must be compensated at the price. I'm not even asking you to compensate at the marked price, just compensate at our purchase price... I'm serious, you should call your lousy brother back."

"He can't come back..." The boy said in despair, his voice gradually lowering. "I'm going to participate in a show soon, and I'll have money after that. Can I pay you back then?"

"How much? I'll pay, and I'll leave after I pay." Jiang Zhiyu's words stunned the other two, who stared at him in disbelief.

Jiang Zhiyu's vision was a little blurry. He shook his head and urged, "Hurry up."

The cashier repeated, puzzled, "You'll pay for it?"

"Um."

In fact, Jiang Zhiyu didn't know why either. He could have just left, and all of this had nothing to do with him.

But in the pouring rain and the dark night, he chose to help a passerby he might never see again. It's unclear whether he was atoning for his past mistakes on the mountain road years ago, or simply wanted to end it all as soon as possible, because money was far less important to him than escaping the suffocating feeling he was in.

In fact, the cashier herself knew that Jiang Zhiyu clearly had no connection with those two people.

Jiang Zhiyu exuded an undeniable air of nobility, and the fabric of his clothes was clearly expensive, while the other two were dressed in simple shirts, looking like they came from completely different worlds from Jiang Zhiyu.

He stopped Jiang Zhiyu hoping that the other party would stay temporarily, but he did not expect that Jiang Zhiyu would directly offer to compensate on behalf of the other party.

"Thirty-nine thousand..." The cashier tentatively asked after checking the account book.

Jiang Zhiyu remained unfazed; this number was indeed insignificant to him.

He scanned the QR code on the table, and the next second, a mechanical female voice announced: "Payment received—39,000 yuan."

The cashier stared at him in shock, watching his back as he pushed open the glass door and walked out. This time, he had no right to stop him.

By this time, he could clearly see that Jiang Zhiyu was in poor spirits, so, almost without thinking, he picked up his phone and took several pictures of Jiang Zhiyu's back, then uploaded them to social media.

[Is this what rich people are like? Paying 40,000 yuan in compensation for a stranger without batting an eye. But they seem mentally unwell, looking rather dazed. Do rich people have worries too?]

Little did he know that his casual snapshot would soon climb to the top of the trending topics list.

For Jiang Zhiyu, he only spent 39,000 yuan to buy some peace and quiet, and he didn't even get a clear look at the other person's face.

But for the boy, Jiang Zhiyu was just a chance encounter who helped him out of a lifeline, spending 39,000 yuan to do so.

The boy chased after Jiang Zhiyu, who had already stepped into the rain with an umbrella, and shouted, "Can I have your contact information? I'll pay you back later!"

Jiang Zhiyu neither turned around nor answered.

Undeterred, the boy called out again, "My name is Chen Yue! You can find me at the dance studio on the 11th floor of Building 3 in the industrial park!"

What he didn't know was that at that moment, Jiang Zhiyu could only hear the buzzing and the sound of the rain, and everything else was shut out.

In fact, Chen Yue wasn't as innocent as he seemed.

This "accident" was a spur-of-the-moment, calculated scheme he devised to get rid of the other party, even though it might lead to his utter ruin. The thrill of revenge was too tempting for him to resist.

Most of his suffering was an act.

He knew that once the police investigated, they would determine that the person who pushed him was fully responsible, demand full compensation, and consider administratively detaining him because of his injuries and his attempt to flee. He himself would most likely escape unscathed, and even if he couldn't, he would be willing to accept it.

To his surprise, he saw the gods that night.

But later, the gods looked at him with unusual unfamiliarity, as if he were some insignificant passerby.

So he developed hatred.