01

The screeching of cars could be heard in the distance as Tom leapt from the bushes onto the shoulder of the road. His uncontrollable speed caused him to trip over his feet, and he could not stand up in time for the luxury car to pass by.

Pete quickly hit the brake pedal when he saw someone bounce a long way forward. He quickly got off after being cursed at.

"Can't you do your job properly, huh?"

Tom's bouncing body immediately got up, albeit with difficulty, when he saw Pete get out of the car he was driving. Although his legs were still sore, he was still thinking about the right time to go to work.

But before Tom could actually leave, he first bowed before the old man, who approached anxiously.

"S-sorry about me."

"Are you alright? Sorry, I can't control the car because I haven't mastered the terrain. Should we go to the nearest clinic?"

"It's my fault, sir. It really is. I was in a hurry to catch the bus so I wouldn't get left behind. But where are you going? I don't think I've seen you before."

Pete, the old man with completely grey hair, showed him an address on a worn-out paper. A paper that was more than two decades old.

"I want to come here. Do you know the place?"

Tom nodded. "This is where I live. Lemme take you—"

Before Tom could finish his sentence, someone got out of the car Pete was driving earlier.

"Hey, damn man! Just tell me what you want quickly! We need to find a trace of the missing son as soon as possible!"

Tom blinked. He turned to Pete, who was just looking down at a middle-aged woman with quite a lot of make-up on.

"I'll drop you off, Ma'am."

Jill quickly got back into the car in annoyance as Tom approached, while Pete quickly ran towards the back car door. But just as Pete opened the car door, Jill shouted loudly.

"What are you going to do, Pete? You're going to let this fucking man in the car? He doesn't even have the right to sit with me, let alone look at me up close!"

"It's okay, sir. I can walk you guys. It's not far from here."

Tom glanced briefly at Jill before turning and starting to walk away.

"Do you really mind?" asked Pete once again. His face looked worried. Occasionally, his eyes would look at Tom's leg that he had bumped into.

Hearing Pete's question, Jill squinted, then looked at him sharply. "Who do you think you are? I'm the person Mr James fully trusts to find his son. And you just have to drive me! Why do you insist on taking him in the car? You have no right to make decisions, Pete! Do you got it?"

"Don't mind me, sir. Get in and drive the car. I'll walk in front of you."

Pete immediately nodded slowly. He circled the car, returning to sit behind the wheel when Tom got going again.

Just as Tom passed the door of the car where Jill was, he heard Jill's own loud, post-window remark.

"Poor man's mentality! Just because there's a nice foreign car, he pretends to run after the bus. When, in fact, he deliberately wanted to crash himself for profit under the pretext of compensation. What the fuck with it?"

Tom was reluctant to comment. This was not the first time he had been humiliated just because of his recklessness in chasing a bus to work at a pig slaughterhouse on the outskirts of town.

It was already 7:57 AM when Tom arrived at the gate of the orphanage. He opened the gate for the luxury car to enter the orphanage.

"Thank you, sir. Next time, I'll repay your kindness to me today," Pete said as he got out of the car.

"It is you who has been kind to me, even though I am not a rich man. I should thank you, Mr—"

"Don't call me like that, sir. I'm Pete Cameron. Just call me Pete."

Jill chuckled in annoyance as Tom walked past and greeted her with a bowed head. The next second, she turned her head and hissed at Tom.

"Shh!"

"Sir," Pete called.

Tom twisted his head. "Yes, Mr Pete?"

Instead of getting an answer, Tom winced as he saw Jill throw a few bucks right in front of his face.

"Just take the change! Get yourself checked out at the nearest hospital. I think that's more than enough to get you treated for the next week. Or at least to stop you from crashing into any passing luxury car."

Tom clenched his fists lightly, but then loosened them as he realised that he was also guilty of running around the streets.

"Sorry for inconveniencing you."

Unfortunately, Jill did not leave Tom's presence as he knelt down to pick up the scattered bucks. Instead, she stomped on one buck, grinning.

Pete swallowed. He closed his eyes briefly, unable to bear the humiliation he had never imagined.

Tom tried to ignore it. Although he was starting to get angry at being insulted so much, he had no choice. His tardiness in going to work would have a big impact. At least with the bucks he collected today, it would keep him afloat for the next few days, in case he was unilaterally sacked.

Tom had collected all the money Jill had thrown at him. There was only a piece of money left that had been deliberately stepped on with Jill's shiny shoes.

"Excuse me, mam. You stepped on the bucks," Tom said bitterly after swallowing.

Jill grinned. She pulled her shoe closer, putting the money out of Tom's reach.

"This is how damn a person like you get the money, isn't it? Anything will do, even worship. Then why don't you kiss my shoe first to get this hundred bucks?"

"It's not nice to insult the others like this, Maam—"

Pete was interrupted. Jill raised her right hand without looking back. This gesture left Pete defenceless in the face of his future employer's insults.

"I deserve what I want after spending so much money, Pete."

Tom pursed his lips tightly. He imagined the many humiliations he had been subjected to. No one, and there had never been anyone as horrible as Jill had ever insulted him so deeply.

But Tom thought about the necessities of life that he had to fulfil over the next few days. He glanced at the orphanage's worn sign.

"If that's what you want," Tom paused. He started to bow, then blinked rapidly to block the view. "Then I'll do it."

Jill was getting cocky. She stared as she continued to savour how Tom would kiss her shoes. Meanwhile, Pete's old hands began to clench into tight fists as Tom's head and Jill's feet got closer. In the next second, Tom coughed softly from choking. Unfortunately, Jill's response is unexpected. With her high heels, Jill kicked Tom hard in the face. "What are you doing?"

"Sir!"

Spontaneously, Pete helped Tom, who had fallen over. His old eyes stared at Jill in disbelief, but she was helpless.

Helped by an old man as good as Pete, Tom quickly got up. He tidied himself up before finally venturing out after picking up the remaining bills that Jill had stepped on.

"What do you want, exactly?"

Tom's question made Jill look annoyed. She huffed, then snorted and spat.

"I forgot that the virus of yours might stain my shoes, and infect me with the same damn fated."

Jill quickly moved on, leaving Tom to burn with rage, clenching his hands into tight fists. Pete's grip on his shoulders, however, made Tom's anger subside a little.

"If you think my poverty is a virus that can infect others, it's only fitting that I should be infected with the wealth you've brought today."

"Don't dare you to dream so high, fucking man! Who will give you wealth for free, huh?"