3. A free meal

Sitting on the bus heading to the suburbs, Terry quietly recalled the past. When Terry had just set foot in the city, there were things around him that he had never seen in his hometown. The streets were filled with pink, blue, yellow, purple, and other colors of light, but the only thing missing was perhaps human love.

The hospital where Terry's sister was being treated was located in the inner city of the city. But this place did not have many factories and enterprises, so Terry had to go to the suburbs, just hoping to get a job that included a place to eat and sleep.

However, from morning until that night, Terry could not find a suitable job. Some factories had enough people, some said Terry looked too weak, and some accepted Terry, but the salary they paid was too extremely low for even a poor person like Terry to accept it.

At that time, it was raining heavily. Terry only had time to stop at a stall to take shelter from the rain, but was chased out by the owner loudly: "Go away! This place is my business place, not a place for you to stand. A scumbag like you dare interrupt my place like that? Your sad face is like it's a funeral. Do you want to prevent the god of fortune from entering my stall? It was raining heavily and I met an unlucky child!"

Only heard a "bang" sound, a guest immediately threw the hotdog he bought into the steamer, and that act was performed in front of the stall owner. Looked at that, she was slightly startled, so she raised a sharp voice and scolded: "What the... are you doing?"

"I paid for this hotdog, so what I want to do with it is my business. Whether I put it back in the steamer, or throw it on the ground to feed the dogs, you have no right to have an opinion!" – The young boy there frowned and said.

The stall owner heard him say that and became even more furious: "Ahh... what an insolent child. It's okay! Anyway, since you paid for it but threw it back in the steamer, I'll sell it to others and earn more money! Hahaha"

The young boy there then curled his lips and smiled: "You should try to earn money and buy back your personality. Look! That dog doesn't even want to eat your hotdog! Just save it for yourself!"

After saying that, he took Terry's hand and crossed the rain, leaving behind the stall owner's obscene curses. The sound of rain mixed with the sound of traffic drowned out the bitter sound of the dumpling stall owner, making that teenager even more delighted.

After running for a while, he and Terry went to a small noodle restaurant. Both Terry and he now had a place to hide from the rain. Then, the young boy said to Terry: "That old woman is mean. I have just taken revenge on her like that for you. Do you like it?"

Terry also had to smile: "But you also lost the hotdog because of me!"

"It's okay! Anyway, I don't like to eat a hotdog from someone like her. Here's a small noodle restaurant, let's go inside and eat!" – the young boy there calmly said, then grabbed Terry's hand and pulled him inside, but Terry withdrew his hand: "I'm... not hungry!"

"Didn't your stomach just growl? Even though I stood a distance away, I could still hear it!" – asked the young boy there.

Terry shyly said: "I... don't have money!"

The teenager looked at Terry's appearance, finally realized what was going on, and said softly: "Don't worry! I'll pay!"

After saying that, he immediately took Terry's hand and walked into the noodle restaurant, quickly ordering two special bowls of pho. Seeing Terry's expression showing concern, the young boy replied: "Don't worry! Although I don't have much money, I can afford to invite you to eat this meal. Don't be shy! You look like one who has just come to this city. Are you looking for a job?"

Terry heard those sincere words of the young man, and immediately replied with joy: "Thank you very much! You're right! I really came here from the countryside to look for work. However, it has been from morning to now, but I still haven't found a suitable place!"

After hearing this, the young boy nodded slightly and said: "I'm Louis, what's your name?"

Terry said his name to Louis, only to see him ask softly: "How old are you?"

Terry replied: "Eighteen!"

Louis smiled: "Oh! Me too! But you look younger than our current age!"

Terry also smiled and nodded. In the meantime, the owner of the restaurant brought out two special bowls and carefully placed them in front of the two of them. Terry, who was hungry, heard the scent of the bowl of noodles and couldn't hold back his saliva. Seeing him swallow a mouthful down his neck, Louis laughed: "Let's eat!"

The taste of it was much better than Terry had imagined. Louis saw Terry eat so deliciously, and couldn't hide the joy in his heart. Terry once again thanked Louis. This was not the first time Terry bowed his head to thank him. Then the two also parted, and Terry was alone in the luxury city. The strange scene there made him feel quite lonely. But Terry knew he had to move on, and finally, he reached the bottom of the bridge. Seeing that a few people there were using newspapers to cover their beds, Terry also quietly laid down the paper, intending to sleep at the foot of this bridge tonight and continue to set out tomorrow to find work.

Who would have thought that before Terry decided to lie down, a voice shouted in his ear: "What the f*cking are you going to do?"

His face made others feel scared, and his arm was tattooed with many patterns. Obviously, Terry was so scared, and he could only slowly and politely say: "I... I plan to sleep here for a night.. ."

"Who are you to dare to plan like that? This place is for my juniors to sleep! Get the hell out of here!" - The dusty guy there shouted, making Terry's soul lose more than half.

Seeing his scary expression, Terry could only bow his head and say timidly: "Yes! I'm sorry..."

"F*ck off..."

"As Terry quickly turned to walk away, he saw a familiar figure. That person was none other than Louis, he was there gently smiling: "Follow me!"

It turned out that after saying goodbye to Terry, Louis remembered that Terry couldn't find a job right now, so there was no place to stay. Thinking that Louis immediately followed Terry, fortunately catching him at the foot of the bridge.

"Follow me!"

After saying that sentence, Louis led Terry into an alleyway, which led to a row of shabby motels. The last room of which was Louis's room.

At this time, although it was almost midnight, the other rooms were still open. On the contrary, they were especially bustling. Other people were adjusting their clothes, and it seemed that they had just started going out at this time.

Terry glanced around. That row of motels seemed to be full of boys. One of them saw Louis, then curled his lips mockingly: "Newbie?"

Louis just coldly replied: "No! This is my friend!"

After hearing that, the boy standing there laughed, and then, he pulled Louis's hand back to his room and lowered his voice: "Don't say he's ..."

"Why do you always guesswork like that, Kyle? This is a friend I just met. He has just come up from the countryside and is having a hard time finding a job! If you talk nonsense again, you know my hand!" - Louis said coldly.

Kyle heard that and smiled softly: "Don't be so angry! I was just joking!”

After saying that, he released Louis's hand, then waved goodbye to Terry. Terry also quietly smiled in response, then went back to his room with Louis.

When Terry entered Louis' room, it was a little messy. Louis also realized this. He was a little embarrassed, so he ran to clean it up, then shyly said: "The room is a bit messy, don't laugh at me!"

Terry immediately waved his hand and replied, "No! It's good to have a place to stay. You're so nice to me, I didn't mean anything!"

Louis nodded: "Seeing you understand things like that, I don't understand why no one accepts you to work!"

Terry replied, "Perhaps it's because I'm too skinny, so they think I can't do the job. But they are wrong. Although I don't have a big body, I'm very strong!"

Then Terry continued: "Actually, it's not like there isn't any place that would accept me, but that place has a very low salary, so I..."

Louis nodded: "It's okay, you can try harder tomorrow! But it's hard to find a job with a high salary these days. If you can find a job with a decent salary, you can also get a job as temporary work!"

Terry nodded: "Actually, I just want to make a lot of money for my sister's treatment. I don't dream of being rich!"

Louis was a little concerned: "Is that so? What's wrong with your sister's health? Is it serious?"

Terry thought of his sister's fate, and he sighed sadly before saying: "My sister is suffering from kidney disease, she has to go to the hospital for dialysis three times a week. The cost per month is very high!”

Louis had some sympathy: "What a pity for your situation! If so, stay here for a few days to find a job which is suitable for you! You can even stay here after you find the job!"

Terry immediately replied: "Thank you, Louis! It's lucky for me to meet you!"

Louis smiled: "Then you can sleep here tonight! I'll change and go to work!"

Terry frowned and asked: "It's almost eleven o'clock at night, and you've only just started working?"

Louis nodded: "Yes, my work starts at midnight like this..."

Terry replied, "You're so painstaking..."

Louis thought for a moment, then curled his lips and smiled: "It's okay! I'm used to it!"

After saying that, Louis went to the bathroom to change clothes to go to work. He quickly took off the tank top on his body, quietly looked at himself in the mirror, and unconsciously felt a little satisfied.

Louis is one meter and seventy meters tall, usually jogging and doing push-ups every day, so his body is very balanced and healthy. Although not as big and muscular as the athletes on TV, his chest and six-pack are extremely solid. They pop up in the middle of Louis's smooth white skin like tofu. But just by dressing discreetly and neatly, he can completely hide this healthy feature. Plus, his handsome and gentle face, like a kitten, makes Louis a bold scholar. Every movement has a strange charm.

After looking at himself for a while, Louis finally put on a shirt, tight jeans, and a pair of western shoes, not forgetting to spray a few lines of perfume, helping the body to exude a very light scent.

Finally, Louis reached for a small wax box to stroke his hair, making his handsome face even brighter. When Louis stepped out of the bathroom, Terry couldn't hide his admiration but rolled his eyes and praised.

Louis smiled slightly and then instructed Terry to lock the door carefully. After 6 am tomorrow, he will return. Terry watched Louis's shadow through the window, only to see that other people in this motel had also started to leave the room. Perhaps they were working in the same place.

Terry looked around the room, then cleaned up some messy things scattered on the ground. He did not want to touch Louis's private things, so he only arranged things outside.

Unknowingly, Louis saw two pictures hanging in the corner of the room. Those are quite old photos, probably taken many years ago. One photo is a portrait of an old man with a white beard, and the other is a picture of two boys, one of them being Louis when he was a child.

These two pictures are old and worn out, but wrapped in plastic and carefully hung like that, must be something that Louis appreciates.

After cleaning for a while, Terry also felt tired, quietly laid down on the bed there, and fell asleep, just wishing that tomorrow would be a good day!