07
From then on, Mom moved in with me. She grew lots of flowers on the balcony, decorating
the house and making it feel warm and beautiful. Maybe it was fate stepping in, but my
romantic disappointment was balanced by a career breakthrough. My outstanding performance led to a promotion and a significant raise.
Coming home from work each day, I was greeted with delicious meals cooked by my
mother. I even signed her up for a flower arranging class, which she attends three times a week.
The instructor encouraged them to share their creations on short–video platforms, and Mom’s
unique style quickly attracted a large following. Soon, she was receiving custom orders for her arrangements. She absolutely loved it, and her life became so much richer.
One day, I saw an invitation to a high school reunion in our class group chat. Figuring I had
nothing better to do, I RSVP’d. That weekend, I arrived at the restaurant we’d agreed on. I’d barely
sat down when I overheard some classmates chatting nearby.
“Did you hear? Someone from our class lost a ton of money stock trading. He owes so much,
he’s been begging for loans everywhere. If he can’t pay it back, they say he might jump.” A
classmate said in a hushed voice.
“Really? Who is it? That’s awful.” Another classmate asked, her voice full of curiosity.
Just then, the classmate across from me glanced my way and said, “I think his name is Leo.”
The classmate next to me nudged me in surprise: “Anna, isn’t Leo your boyfriend? What happened to him?”
Hearing that, the food I was holding slipped from my chopsticks and fell to the floor. I bent
to pick it up, overhearing other classmates gossiping: “I heard he borrowed money for stock
trading, but the market tanked, and he lost everything.”
I tossed the food in the trash, feeling surprisingly detached, just relieved I’d left him when I
did.
“We broke up a long time ago. What happens to him is no longer my concern.” I said flatly.
Suddenly, I felt a dizzy spell and found myself in a pitch–black space. The lights came
on, revealing a man in a black robe sitting high on a throne. Beside him knelt a disheveled,
miserable–looking man with a scruffy beard–it was Leo. His eyes were sunken, his clothes
tattered, and he was skin and bones.
Leo saw me and his eyes lit up. “Anna, where are we? How did you get here too?”
Disgusted, I pushed him away, catching a strong whiff of smoke and alcohol. Leo, desperate, grabbed me, crying, “Anna, please lend me some money. I lost so much in stock trading, and if I don’t pay it back, they’ll kill me. I helped you at the hospital before; please help me now.”
“What about your new girlfriend? Let her pay it back for you.” I said coldly.
Hearing this, Leo gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t even mention her. The moment she found out I was in debt, she ran off with the wedding money that very night, and her parents vanist –
without a trace.”
“Anna, you’re still the best. Please, for the sake of our past, save me.” Leo was crying, begging
20:16 Fri, 9 May
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I ignored him and looked at the man on the platform: “Who are you? And what is this place?” Suddenly, a woman in a red cheongsam appeared beside the man, smiling. “Welcome to the Divine Pawnshop. What do you wish to pawn? Trade something of value.”
This is actually the scene from my dream!
The moment Leo heard that, he perked up and said to me quickly, “Anna, pawn something to get money for me. I promise I’ll pay you back.”
I frowned, shocked by his audacity. I asked the man curiously, “Can *anything* be pawned
here?”
The man nodded. “That’s right, everything in the world can be pawned.”
Leo kept muttering beside me, “Anna, please pawn something to help me, or I’m finished. If you don’t help me, I’ll pester you forever.”
I shot him a disgusted look and said, “Fine, I’ll help you this once, but don’t bother me again.”
Then I turned to the man and said, “I want to pawn my love to get money to help him pay off
his debts.”
The woman in the cheongsam looked surprised. “Love? Are you sure you want to pawn that?”
I nodded firmly. “I’ve made my decision. You can handle the rest. Let me out; I have to go
back and cook for my mom.”
Hearing this, Leo’s face lit up with joy, and he quickly thanked me: Anna, trunk you so much. From now on, let’s just be strangers. I promise I won’t appear in front of you again.”
“That’s for the best,” I said.
