Chapter 6: Debt and more

Lin Wei muttered a curse as the light refused to switch on. The emergency bulb had been going on and off since last week, the faint yellow light doing unspeakable things to her eyes. And the landlady did nothing about it. She stepped inside the room, welcomed the musty smell of the rusting pipe, the smell of the dead raccoon that was stuck between the wall (the raccoon's halfway through its decaying process), and overall stuffiness. She took off her shoes and walked to the window with her socks. The floor was creaking under the feet, but it was no new thing. She was now familiar with the sturdy side and the creaky side. It only took a few weeks at most. She opened the window and leaned in, the warm rush of autumn air fanning her cheeks. Yes, this was her life. She sat on the bed with a sigh, glad to be back in her one-bedroom godforsaken apartment. This was better__nice even. She had been constantly checking her back in the alley, wondering if that guy from the hospital had his people follow her. Not that she was scared of what they'll do to her, but what if her insurance has issues and she couldn't afford to kick one of their shin? Today had been nothing short of exhilarating and humiliating, with a dollop of whipped anger and a drop of massive irritation. All in that order. First, she had learnt that she was involved in an accident. The accident in which, if she may add, she was the victim. And because the world was such a rotten place where everyone lick each other's asses (only rich people asses), the lanky police offer had deemed the guy right and Lin wei wrong. "If you were perfectly on the bike lane, the accident wouldn't have happened," he said with a forced air of politeness. He had been on the verge of snapping at Lin Wei, and asking her to shut her trap. While he had been showing all his teeth to the carer, who, of course, was purely dismissive and straight off rude! So you see? Ass licking. Lin Wei was sure that if she had the word "perfectly" or "bike lane" or something else regarding that, she would scream the whole station down. A few other people would have a good chuckle at her expense. All in all, she was in debt. A huge ass debt that's very much guaranteed to send her to jail. Well, it all happened when the "verdict" and the normal procedure had been stated. The guy (who is going to remain nameless because she doesn't care for his name) was asked to take care of her hospital bills. Which was good, because Lin Wei had only twenty dollars on her. And Lin Wei was going to pay for the damage done to his car. Three scratches on his black Ferrari were estimated to be more or less the cost of Lin Wei's existence. Her scooter, her dingy apartment, and her life. If she sells everything, including her sick mom, it still wouldn't be enough to pay for a quarter of the expense. Perhaps she can start working as a slave, or maybe she could sell one of her organs? One of those things has to work. She stood up grudgingly and trodded to the kitchen, careful to keep her steps light and her body lighter. It wasn't like she weighed anything enormous. She opened the cupboard and fetched some instant ramen noodles with a tin of tuna. The light meow that came from behind her made her turn her head, a soft smile forming on her lips. The can of tuna never fails to bring out the black stray cat that has been visiting for the last two weeks. The stray cat she had named Miss Meowgly. "Come here, you little tuna-obsessed fur ball," she beckoned to the ca,t who moved closer with a slight purr and a judgment. LinWeii rolled her eyes and stifled a laugh. Miss Meowgly was still suspicious of her. She couldn't blame her, though. She was sususpiciousverybody too. "What should I do?" She asked the cat while giving it an absent-minded rub. The cat looked up from the tin and meowed. "I know, right?" She nodded. The loud, blaring sound of her ringtone snapped her out of her miser,y and she hurriedly moved to the bd, before it woke up the whole neighborhood. "Weiwei! Did you die??" The person on the other end of the call screamed enthusiastically. Lin Wei rolled her eyes and smiled, already knowing what was coming next. "Well,l if you're able to pick up, that means you're not dead, right? But wait! What if you're dead and the call is picked up by the good Samaritan who saw your corpse by the roadside and wanted to save you from the afterlife humiliation of rotting? What if__" "I'm not dead," Lin Wei cut her off. Before she could go on with her nonsensical ranting. "Oh, good. You know I still need you, right?" The caller said with a sigh. LinWeii smiled and rubbed Miss Meowgly behind the ears. She was rewarded with a yawn and a go-on look. What an ingrate! She loves her. "Technically, I'm not dead yett" shbeganin slowly. "But?.." the caller added with a dramatic gasp. "But my life is over," she groaned into her palm. The force of her words almost made her stumble back; it was intense and most definitely real. Her life was nearly over. She had nothing left, not her dignity, not her money, which was close to nonexistent. "Let's have it then," Was the reply from the other line. LinWeii tried to keep her tone light and cheery, but she couldn't stop the light trembling that entered them. "Bai Yue, I'm in debt!" She whispers-yells. It was then, right at that moment, that she let herself go. She let herself think about how her deep-rooted misery had taken flight and brought all his family members for a visit. She was well and truly doomed.