Today's intel: He got divorced and doesn't have money to pay the lawyer's fee. A man named Sun Xingguo is wandering outside the store at 46 South Ring Street, Ning'an District, because he has nowhere to stay. If you go help him within an hour, you could receive a generous reward after he finishes his divorce case.
After today's bargain hunt intel was pushed out, Chen Yiyang was slightly surprised.
He originally thought this app would only send him info about various items. He didn't expect people could be part of the bargain hunts too.
What a shame, why isn't it a pigtail girl who's run away waiting for me to help?
But the e-sports hotel where he's staying just happens to have bunk beds, so letting a guy stay for a night is no big deal.
Moreover, since the system says helping this person is a bargain, it means his character shouldn't be a problem.
Thinking of this, Chen Yiyang got dressed and headed out. Then he rented a bike on the street and rode to the location indicated by the system.
"Brother, why haven't you gone home so late? What are you doing here?"
Sun Xingguo, looking dejected and only carrying a worn-out backpack, was sitting on a stone sphere barrier, hesitating about whether to find an ATM lobby to spend the night.
Then he heard a voice from nearby.
He turned his head and saw a young guy on a shared bike, looking at him with concern.
Must be a college student, right.
Sun Xingguo thought to himself, only college students with such clear eyes would randomly care about strangers on the street.
"I'm fine, just waiting for someone." Nearly forty, Sun Xingguo replied dryly.
He was a bit reluctant to embarrass himself in front of a young person.
"You don't look like you're waiting for someone." The person in front of Sun Xingguo was indeed Chen Yiyang who had hurried over.
Since the system said he can receive a generous reward after this person completes his divorce case, of course, Chen Yiyang wouldn't give up easily.
But inviting a stranger to the place you're staying the first time you meet?
Normally, people would suspect that this would turn into some kind of scene like 'Jie Ge, please no'.
So Chen Yiyang glanced at the street sides and noticed a 24-hour convenience store was still open.
He said to Sun Xingguo, "Do you want a late-night snack? We can buy some instant noodles over there and chat while eating."
It so happened Sun Xingguo hadn't eaten in over a day. He was extremely hungry at the moment.
Besides, a pack of instant noodles is indeed not worth much; letting this young guy treat him wouldn't be too embarrassing.
So after hesitating, Sun Xingguo replied, "Let's chat then."
After returning the shared bike, Sun Xingguo and Chen Yiyang walked into the convenience store.
At the moment, there was only a middle-aged man dozily watching the store.
Chen Yiyang paid for two bowls of instant noodles, two sausages, and two bottles of beer, then sat with Sun Xingguo at a table in the store, eating noodles while exchanging names.
"At your age, you must still be in college?" Sun Xingguo took the initiative to start the conversation.
"I've graduated for several years, just look young."
"Oh." For a moment, Sun Xingguo was unsure of what Chen Yiyang was up to.
If he were a college student, with no experience of life's battles, he truly might have an innocent, foolish nature.
But Chen Yiyang had graduated a few years ago, meaning he should have been working, so why would he suddenly be so nice to a stranger on the street?
Could it be?
Sun Xingguo immediately clamped his legs shut.
Though nearly a middle-aged man, he's heard of many devious southern men who watch for opportunities to pick up guys on the street.
"Don't overthink it."
Chen Yiyang preferred his instant noodles crispy, so he opened the lid before they were fully softened, added a sausage, and forked up the noodles to eat.
"My parents recently got seriously ill, and the family assets weren't enough to cover the costs. Luckily, we got a lot of help from people.
Now that my parents have recovered, I have some capacity left and want to pass on the kindness.
I just saw you wandering on the street so late by yourself and thought you might be in some trouble."
"I see." Chen Yiyang's reasoning dispelled some of Sun Xingguo's doubts.
After chatting a bit and finishing a beer, they had hit it off.
"I'm at a point where, after the divorce, I have nowhere to go." Sun Xingguo truthfully revealed.
"You left with nothing?" Chen Yiyang asked.
"Not yet, haven't officially divorced. But we've already torn each other's faces. My parents died early, and there's no family around. I've been working hard to do small businesses the past few years."
Sun Xingguo continued detailing his plight.
The kind of cliché that even a lawyer wouldn't want to take, a middle-aged man 'who doesn't have money to pay the lawyer's fee after the divorce'.
The house was in his wife's name for a sense of security, and all the money earned over the years was with his wife; he just received an allowance.
This year, because of the poor overall environment, his business went bankrupt.
However, even though he can't run the business anymore, he previously earned several million, but it's all in his wife's hands.
Who knew that as soon as he went bankrupt over here, his wife over there immediately changed the locks on the house and filed for divorce.
He was directly kicked out onto the street without a penny to his name.
Now, he either agrees to sign an agreement with his wife to take ten thousand cash and divorce, or they go to court on both sides.
The problem is, he can't even afford to hire a lawyer now.
"Aren't there lawyers who only charge if they win the case? Why not look for one of those?" Chen Yiyang asked, puzzled.
"Those lawyers are called contingency fee lawyers. You're right; they only charge if they win the case.
But I found out after consulting that for marriage or inheritance cases, claims for payment of wages, requests for support or child support, and similar cases are not allowed to implement contingency fees, meaning I have to have money to hire a lawyer first to get my money back."
"That's such a scam." Chen Yiyang had never heard of this before.
No wonder Sun Xingguo was forced to wander the streets now. This guy is worse off than me; if I hadn't shown up tonight, he might have had to find a factory that covers room and board to earn some living expenses by tomorrow morning.
Speaking of which, if it weren't for the golden finger given by God, I might be in a similar situation as Sun Xingguo.
Thinking of this, Chen Yiyang felt some sympathy for Sun Xingguo.
"If you really don't have a place to stay tonight, come to my place."
"Your home?" Sun Xingguo immediately became wary.
"No, an esports hotel, with bunk beds," Chen Yiyang said, "You can just get through tonight, and tomorrow figure out something else."
"Makes sense." Sun Xingguo hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
After finishing the instant noodles, Chen Yiyang bought some more snacks and bread to carry with them.
Since the hotel wasn't too far from there, the two just walked back.
"Is it okay if I sleep on the top bunk?" Sun Xingguo was still a bit uneasy about Chen Yiyang, thinking it safer to sleep on the top bunk.
"Whatever works." Chen Yiyang was already tired as a pig by this time. He had to sell a camera the next day, so he quickly lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
Watching that Chen Yiyang was completely asleep, Sun Xingguo finally felt at ease and went to sleep.
The next morning, they got up, finished eating their snacks and bread, and then exchanged WeChat contacts and phone numbers.
"I'm planning to rent a place recently. If you don't have anything to do today, you could help me contact an agent to see some places, and then take pictures and send them to me."
After eating, Chen Yiyang thought he could entrust the task of finding a place to Sun Xingguo.
"Do you have any specific requirements?" Sun Xingguo asked.
"Transportation must be convenient, preferably within walking distance to a subway station. A one-bedroom is fine, but it would be best if the living room doesn't have large furniture like sofas or cabinets, as I need space to put my own things."
"Sure." After carefully noting down Chen Yiyang's requirements, Sun Xingguo received a 500-yuan transfer from Chen Yiyang.
"Brother Sun, take this 500 as a running fee first. Once you find me a place, I'll give you more. Brother Sun can also see if there's work nearby that includes room and board."
"Thank you so much." Sun Xingguo expressed his gratitude quickly, and at the same time, his guard against Chen Yiyang was completely lowered.
After all, what Chen Yiyang had done so far was still within the realm of normal help to strangers.
If Chen Yiyang dared to suggest giving Sun Xingguo a room in a rented place, Sun Xingguo would definitely rush off to another city as soon as he left.
After checking out, Sun Xingguo went to find a rental agency for Chen Yiyang. Meanwhile, Chen Yiyang himself took the bus to Guihui Digital according to the address given by Zhang Guichen.
Guihui Digital was located in an old mall in the Guan City District.
Due to its age, the mall had very little foot traffic, but not many stores were vacant. Many electronic goods stores specializing in online business, tea shops, and antique shops took advantage of the low rent and set up their stores here.
"Hey, brother's here!" As soon as Chen Yiyang walked to the door, Zhang Guichen came out to welcome him in.
"This is the guy I told you about, the scavenger brother."
"Bro, although my online nickname is indeed that, introducing me like this is quite embarrassing," Chen Yiyang joked, then introduced himself.
At this time, there were two other people in Zhang Guichen's shop, one named Wang and the other named Liu, both about thirty years old.
Everyone sat down, had some tea, and quickly got familiar with each other.
Then Chen Yiyang took out the camera from his backpack for Wang and Liu.
"Bro, why do you carry your belongings with you everywhere?"
As Chen Yiyang opened his bag, Zhang Guichen noticed that Chen Yiyang also carried daily essentials with him.
"Ah, it's a long story." Chen Yiyang pretended to sigh.
"Let me guess." Zhang Guichen became interested.
"Just bought a watch and phone, selling them new, plus this camera. You didn't get kicked out of your house with nothing, did you?"
"You're not far off." Not wanting to reveal his real circumstances to these second-hand merchants, Chen Yiyang immediately adopted Sun Xingguo's scenario, telling Zhang Guichen he was kicked out by his ex-wife.