This is the last day of the discount event—on the eve of Double Eleven, an unexpected autumn rain arrives, and the weather is frightfully cold.
A little lychee selling gold notes wanders the streets, her work clothes wrinkled and dirty, wearing a pair of leather shoes that haven’t been polished in months. Her backpack is filled with many boxes of gold notes, and she keeps shouting, “Selling gold notes, selling gold notes!” People are busy preparing for Double Eleven shopping, who would pay her any attention? By noon, she hasn’t sold a single gold note, and no one has given her a kind look.
As she walks, she stops in front of a clothing store window, captivated by the scene inside. Oh, how beautiful the clothes are! Those two girls shopping look so pretty. Watching other girls happily shopping with friends, the little lychee thinks of her own friends. Since she started working at the bank, many friends have slowly drifted away, and she feels sad and cries. But what good is crying? The little girl wipes her tears and continues walking.
“Selling gold notes, selling gold notes! Uncle, aunt, please buy some gold notes!” But people buy a gram of gold for just over 300 yuan, while gold notes cost twice as much, and they hurriedly avoid her, no one responding to her calls. The rain falls on her long black hair, making it look so beautiful, yet no one notices her. As she walks, an electric motorcycle rushes by, and she quickly dodges in fright, losing one of her old shoes. After the motorcycle passes, she hurriedly looks for her shoe. However, one is missing, and the other is kicked away by a mischievous child. The little lychee has no choice but to walk barefoot, the cold rain making her small feet red and swollen.
As it gets darker, the number of pedestrians on the street decreases, and soon only the little lychee is left. The houses by the street light up, and laughter comes from the windows. The aroma of meat sandwiches wafts from a food stall, and the little lychee’s stomach growls with hunger. She longs to go home, but having not completed her gold note task, she can only use her savings to buy 20 sets of gold notes, which she can’t sell. She has no money for food and no money to pay her credit card.
The rain falls heavier, and after a whole day without food or drink, she can hardly walk anymore. She sits down in a corner. She rubs her red and swollen little feet with her small hands, but soon her hands become numb from the cold. It’s so cold; if only she could sell a gold note, she would get 592.2 yuan, enough to buy something to warm her up. She pulls out a gold note, and under the streetlight, the golden glow sparkles. The little lychee places her hand on the gold note; how beautiful and warm it is! She imagines sitting in a heated room, where the warmth is so abundant.
Just as the little girl wants to stretch out her feet to warm them, she suddenly thinks, how much heating fee would that cost? Suddenly, the heated room disappears, leaving only the cold gold note.
She takes out another one from the box, and under the light, the glow bursts forth again, shining brightly. The wall is illuminated, becoming transparent, and she seems to see the things inside the room. A bright bank lobby, where several elegantly behaving customers are seated.
A domineering CEO-like customer suddenly stands up from the waiting area, holding a private bank card, and walks towards her, designating her as a personal business consultant. Wu Yifan, Lu Han, and Hu Ge also stand up from their seats, lining up like soldiers to approach her. Just then, the light goes out again, and all that remains in front of her is a cold, dark wall. The little lychee is reluctant to open more gold notes, but she is shivering from the cold.
She opens another one, and wow! What a beautiful shopping cart! This is the largest and most beautiful shopping cart she has ever seen. The cart is filled with clothes and cosmetics she wants to buy. There are still dozens of discount coupons left in her account, sparkling like stars winking at her.
The little lychee reaches out her hand, but alas, the reflection goes out again, and everything around her is pitch black. The little lychee opens another gold note, and she sees a golden light rising, transforming into spotlights. One spotlight shines down on her, and all the lights follow, creating a rainbow that stretches from the sky to the ground. The little lychee opens another gold note, and the golden light illuminates the surroundings, revealing her ex-boyfriend appearing in the flames.
Her ex-boyfriend smiles at her, so gentle and caring. “Oppa—” the little lychee exclaims, tears of excitement welling up in her eyes as she rushes into her ex-boyfriend’s embrace. “Oppa, please take me away! I know that when the light goes out, you will disappear!” The little lychee keeps opening gold notes, desperately wanting to keep her ex-boyfriend around. These gold notes emit a strong light, shining brighter than daytime. Her boyfriend has never looked so handsome and tall. He lifts the little girl up and holds her in his arms. They both fly up in light and happiness. They fly higher and higher, to a paradise without gold notes and rehearsals, to be with the leaders. The light of the gold notes goes out, and everything around them is pitch black. The little lychee happily closes her eyes.
On Saturday morning, the rain has stopped, the wind has calmed, and the sun rises, shining golden light on the earth. The leaders arrive in the gold note work WeChat group, congratulating the record-breaking sales of gold notes. The branch managers pretend to be excited, liking and flooding the screen with flowers. At this moment, no one notices that a little lychee has frozen to death in the corner, her face glowing, a smile on her lips. Around her, gold note boxes are scattered everywhere, and she still clutches 20 gold notes in her small hands.
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This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental. Please do not take it personally.