“Haa, another failure…” Chen Tianyi sighed as he looked at his resume with a dejected look on his face.

He had been rejected by yet another company, and they didn’t even give him the chance for an interview.

Although Chen Tianyi was feeling down, he didn’t find it that surprising.

It had been the 4th rejection since his last interview at a company.

Although, it wasn’t like anything would have changed if he attended the interview. Because, when an interviewer asked him why he was fired from his first company, he couldn’t even find any words for excuses.

Indeed, he couldn’t erase that ‘black stains’ on him even after everything.

Chen Tianyi, 21 years old, currently unemployed. He wasn’t any genius or very outstanding in any particular way but he was very proud of one thing.

When most other graduates from Universities run from one company to another for internship and waste some precious years from their lives while doing so, Chen Tianyi managed to get a decent job in a decent company with a decent payment.

He was absolutely thrilled.

But luck didn’t stay with him for long, as he soon found himself engulfed in a nasty mess.

***

It was a winter afternoon. The outside was gradually becoming colder but the bustling of the people denied the possibility of any kind of laziness.

Chen Tianyi put both of his hands into the pockets of the windbreaker and walked amidst the crowd aimlessly. Sometimes, he would even purposely blow out some steam from his mouth like a little child.

Suddenly, Chen Tianyi’s body eyes contracted and his body somewhat tensed up.

In the front, one buildings before him stood a woman in a fluffy sweater and a scarf hoodie. She just stood there and glared at Chen Tianyi angrily.

Chen Tianyi was flashbaggered and a little panicked. He didn’t know what to do. Just when he was about to open his mouth to say something, the woman suddenly turned back and ran into an alley.

Chen Tianyi was stunned for a moment. Then he also sped up and cashed after her into the alley.

“Hey, Stop! Don’t run!” Chen Tianyi shouted from behind, his voice echoing through the narrow alley, but the women didn’t stop.

“I just want to talk! Please, don’t run!” he called again, his breath a bit unnatural as he pushed himself to keep up.

Thud..thud..

The chase was relentless but the woman kept running, her hurried footsteps pounding against the ground, growing fainter with each step.

The dim alley stretching endlessly before him. Shadows danced on the walls under the flickering lights from the buildings, and the air grew colder but Chen Tianyi didn't seem to feel any of it.

After a while, the footsteps finally stopped. The woman had reached the end of the alley and a wall blocked her way.

“Huff..” Chen Tianyi balanced himself on his knees and took deep breaths to calm his pounding chest. He saw the woman turning towards him and, there were tears on her eyes and cheeks.

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“I’m sorry,” Chen Tianyi composed himself and apologized as he looked straight at her tear-strained face.

“What do you mean SORRY?!! Is your sorry going to bring back everything I’ve lost? Is your sorry going to bring back my previous life, my peace in life? Does your sorry even mean anything to me now? Tell me..tell me!!” The woman suddenly shouted back at Chen Tianyi.

Chen Tianyi felt guilty inside but he repeated the same line: “I’m sorry.”

“I know you’ve lost a lot and my sorry will never compensate for the things you’ve experienced but I still have to say it. Otherwise, I will never be able to face myself in the future.”

The woman sniffed for a while and wiped her face with her sleeves, “Well, then you don’t have to say it anymore.”

“Huh?!” Chen Tianyi didn’t understand what she meant but he suddenly turned his head around and saw a burly man in a black suit standing behind him for some unknown time.

Bang!

Pain…and shock overwhelmed him as Chen Tianyi stiffly moved his head back and looked at the gun in the woman’s hand, which still had some smoke coming out of its muzzle. His lips trembled but nothing came out of it.

Chen Tianyi shakily pressed his right hand on his abdomen and he felt some sticky liquid.

Blood!

“Y-you don’t have to say sorry anymore because once you die, everything will return back to normal. He said he would make everything normal again.” The woman held the gun unsteadily with both of her hands.

“Fuck!" 

Chen Tianyi suddenly pounced on her and snatched the gun from her hands. Holding the gun with one hand, he was about to shoot the man in black when the man landed a kick on his abdomen, on the same place where he got shot.

Chen Tianyi flew back and crashed on the woman. Both of them hit the wall behind them and stumbled to the ground.

Chen Tianyi grimched in pain. It was unbearable. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw the man put his hand into his shirt and took out a gun.

Horrified, Chen Tianyi pushed himself up and threw himself onto the man, almost crushing him on the side building of the alley.

But the burly man was too strong for the untrained Chen Tianyi. He held Chen Tianyi on his head and smashed it on the brick wall.

Chen Tianyi’s ear buzzed and he weakly fell on the ground again with his body facing down. Blood spilled from his head and blocked his vision.

“Ahhhhhh!" 

Bang!

Another gunshot sounded in the alley, ending the terrified scream.

Chen Tianyi, through his bloodsoaked eyes, saw the horror-filled face of the women as she looked at the burly man who had the gun pointed at her.

“Why? He obviously said he would make everything normal again?”

The woman said her last bits of words in pain. She had hundreds of why in her heart but everything was unanswered and unnecessary. She looked at the lying, wounded Chen Tianyi and finally closed her eyes and entered the eternal sleep reluctantly.

Chen Tianyi just looked blankly at the woman who died. He gritted his teeth and reached out with his hand and picked up a brick from the ground. With a strength coming from who knows where, he stood up resolutely, lunged towards the man with the brick.

The man in black also reacted fast. He was obviously a hired hitman and was a professional. He just stepped aside a bit to avoid the upcoming brick attack.

The brick missed the burly man and smashed into the wall, breaking into pieces.

“Shit!" Having missed the target, Chen Tianyi cursed through gritted teeth and suddenly used his left leg to hook, and tugged the other man’s whole body with the last bit of strength left in him, making the burly man’s balance unstable and made him fall down backwards.

The burly man fell down on his back, his head hitting the ground. But before he could do anything…a punch came straight down and smashed on his nose.

And then smashed again and again and again and again..his face had already become a bloody mess. The burly man gave an angry growl and tossed the almost dead Chen Tianyi to the side.

But just as he was about to get up and complete his mission, he saw the half-dead Chen Tianyi holding the woman’s gun, pointing the muzzle at him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Even with the big and strong body, the burly man couldn't win against four bullets. His body dropped down with a thud.

Watching the dead body on the ground, Chen Tianyi weakly leaned down against the wall holding his abdomen. He had lost too much blood.

His senses suddenly became very clear, he could perceive the surroundings more accurately. But he could also feel his consciousness gradually fading away.

Is this it?

Is this how I die?

But I'm unwilling..I have yet so much to do.

I have yet to prove my worth.. 

I haven't enjoyed my life fully yet.

I..I haven't even had a girlfriend yet!

As he heard the police sirens becoming more and more distinct, Chen Tianyi finally closed his eyes, his heart full of regrets.