The Ex

An ensemble-cast story written in advance. I got most of it done, so I'm posting it.

Main couple: Tags: Parents who died of illness, a young sister, and a broken boy X a rebellious boy with an uncaring mother and father, and a scooter with ghost-fire lights (just kidding). Band vocalist X rebellious punk (an adult).

Side couple: Tag: Can a playboy really settle down and devote himself to just one person for love?

Qin Jian'an took a shortcut and happened to run into a group of people fighting. He lowered his baseball cap to cover most of his face and walked past them with a cold, indifferent expression, heading for his next part-time job. He didn't have time to play hero and break up a bunch of hormonally charged teenagers who could only fight.

Qin Jian'an pushed the door open just in time. His temples throbbed. Only then did he remember that he'd skipped dinner because he was in a hurry, but he calmly began to sing anyway.

The lights were dazzling enough to blind you, the sound waves nearly bursting through the speakers. Cheap and expensive perfumes mingled, creating a strange chemical reaction that kept stoking people's desires. As the men and women below the stage began kissing passionately, Qin Jian'an did the math: once this month's pay came in and he cleared his debts, he'd still have 200 yuan left. Not bad. He could even buy his little sister a Children's Day present. The poor kid had been stuck in the hospital for three months.

Living wasn't just a simple two-character word. It was a state of being, one that required Qin Jian'an to spend sixteen hours every day rushing between various part-time jobs. Of the remaining eight hours, he spent three getting to the hospital, going to work, and getting home, then spent four more lying awake with insomnia. But it was fine, wasn't it? At least he was still alive.

*

The rain was pouring, but Lu Shi saw that person again. This was the third time.

He thought the other person would pass by him with the same disgusted, cold look as last time.

But this time, the other person stopped, tugged at the guitar strap over his shoulder, and stood in front of him.

Theme: Keep striving to live