The Cruel Turns of Fate

May

Under a sky packed with dark clouds, the heavy, gloomy masses seemed like countless demonic claws, reaching straight into people's hearts and filling them with such oppression that they could hardly breathe.

Atop Luo Family Mountain in Beichuan, a tall, thin young man in gray stood.

His expression was blank, his eyes vacant. Even facing the cliff hundreds of meters below, he showed no fear. The anguished struggle on his face made it clear: he was thinking of jumping to his death.

"Heavens, why are you so unfair? Why give me life, only to be so cruel to me? I'm going to die sooner or later. Take me now..."

As the young man roared, a whirlwind suddenly swept across the mountaintop, making the rocks and plants around him rustle and hiss, as though they, too, were protesting on his behalf.

His surname was Luo, and his given name was Cheng. His childhood nickname was Sanbao. He came from Luo Family Village at the foot of the mountain. Since his parents' first two children had both been girls, they had finally managed to have a son, making him the family's treasured boy. And since he was the third child, they called him Sanbao.

Sanbao was already twenty-six. Three years earlier, he had graduated from the acupuncture department of a university of Chinese medicine. Since then, he had been trapped in a painful cycle of finding a job, losing it, finding another, and losing that one too.

These days, finding a suitable job was terribly difficult. He had studied an unpopular subject—acupuncture, which seemed to be needed only by a handful of medical institutions, such as hospitals specializing in traditional Chinese medicine. His family was in dire financial straits, and he had neither connections nor influential backing. All he could do was scrape by, never knowing what the next day would bring.

Before graduating, Sanbao's first choice had been to get a job at a provincial-level medical institution. If that didn't work out, a city hospital would do.

Though his family was very poor, Sanbao had earned excellent grades at university. He was cheerful and outgoing, and his diligence and reliability were widely recognized. He had also been a familiar face in the student union throughout his four years there. As he put it, "We may be poor, but we can't afford to be poor in spirit or ambition."

Sanbao figured that with good grades, a student-union position, and even membership in a certain political party, he should have no trouble finding suitable work. After all, the job prospects for graduates from the previous few classes had seemed fairly good.

Then he would finally be able to repay his parents and two older sisters back in the countryside.

His sisters had both dropped out of school early so he could continue his studies, and before long, each had married and moved away. His parents, who worked the land, had exhausted themselves paying for his education. Their hair had turned silver, their faces were lined, and they looked heartbreakingly old. Though they were only a little over fifty, they seemed more weathered than city folk in their sixties or seventies.

Even so, by the end of his four years at university, the family was still heavily in debt. There was no help for it. University cost far too much. No matter how frugal Sanbao was or how hard he worked part-time, he couldn't bridge the gap.

Whenever he thought of it, Sanbao's heart ached. At least he had finally made it through those four years.

But life was unpredictable. Only after he started looking for work did Sanbao discover how far reality strayed from what he had imagined.

With universities expanding enrollment at a dizzying pace and the economy in bad shape—the whole world was in the grip of a financial crisis—finding jobs had suddenly become extremely difficult for college graduates, especially those like Sanbao with an unpopular degree.

Forget provincial or city hospitals. Even getting into a county hospital required connections and payoffs. In the eyes of those hiring, all his knowledge and ability were worth less than dog shit.

With no other choice, Luo Cheng returned to the township health clinic in his hometown, only to be told that his specialty didn't match their needs and they weren't hiring anyway.

Only then did Sanbao truly feel how cruel society was. Without money or connections, there were so many things he couldn't even dream of. After two years of drifting aimlessly outside, an opportunity finally appeared.

The Eighth Hospital in a nearby city was hiring ten doctors, including someone trained in acupuncture. Unlike its previous recruitment drives, this one was open to the public and was being organized in partnership with a well-known local media outlet. They said the goal was to prevent backroom deals and connections from getting in the way, and to recruit genuine talent.

When he saw the announcement, Sanbao had nearly cried with gratitude. He knew that if the process truly judged people on merit, he had a real chance.

Just as he had hoped, Sanbao placed third overall in the written and oral examinations and was hired by the hospital.

Soon, Sanbao and the other nine lucky candidates began working there. They were only interns, but the internship lasted just one year. If their performance was satisfactory, they could become permanent employees afterward, opening up far better prospects. Even if nothing else came of it, as a full-fledged doctor he would have enough income to look after himself and his family. Doctors might not always have the best reputations these days, but they were never short of ways to make a living.

At the thought of this sudden stroke of good fortune, Sanbao could hardly keep from grinning as he walked down the road. It seemed Heaven treated everyone fairly after all. His days of hardship were finally about to end, and Sanbao threw himself into his work with hope and vigor.

Thanks to his diligence and dedication, along with his strong work and social skills, Sanbao gradually settled into his new job. Six months later, the first girlfriend of his life appeared.

At university, he had had no shortage of opportunities, but given his crushingly limited finances, Sanbao had always chosen to stay single.

She was a young woman in general surgery. She wasn't especially beautiful, but she was above average, with fair skin, a well-proportioned figure, and a fresh, graceful air. Sanbao quickly fell for her. Her father was also the director of a major department at the hospital. She told Sanbao that if he worked hard, he had a promising future.

Sanbao was so happy he could hardly believe it. Work, love, and a career had all come his way at almost the same time.

But what happened afterward showed that it had all been a beautiful lie, here one moment and gone the next.

One day, the girl happened to appear in front of Sanbao, arm in arm with a broad, heavyset young man with a big belly. His blood surged. Without hesitation, he punched the newcomer in the face.

"No wonder you've been so cold to me lately. You found someone new and forgot all about me, your old flame. Tell me, what does he have that I don't?" Sanbao shouted hoarsely, looking down at his own hand, smeared with the fat pig's nosebleed.

The girl supported the big-bellied young man and answered with a hint of shame, "His uncle is a deputy director of the health bureau. I don't want to get married only to become a worn-out housewife and spend my life paying off a mortgage, or..."

Thump.

After hearing those words, Luo Cheng crumpled to the ground. The big-bellied, pig-headed young man came to his senses and started kicking him with his fat legs.

Everyone had a most vulnerable spot in their heart. Without a doubt, poverty and humble origins were Sanbao's. The girl had struck right at his fatal weakness, and in that moment, his heart turned to ash.

"Poor, poor—am I going to be poor all my life? One day, I'll make something of myself..." Overcome with grief, Sanbao felt as if someone had kicked the most vulnerable nerve in his heart. The world spun around him, and with the big-bellied young man's punches and kicks raining down, he fainted.

Clearly, Sanbao had been dumped. Worse, the fallout soon caught up with him. Because of his "appalling" performance during his internship, the hospital fired him.

He knew that the hateful pighead had probably pulled strings behind the scenes, but there was nothing he could do. The world was simply that dark.

Sanbao was unemployed again.

And his misfortune was far from over. A month later, during a medical examination for a job at a new workplace, Sanbao—who had always been in robust health—was diagnosed with a rare form of septicemia. It was incurable, even with a bone marrow transplant. The doctor said that if he stayed in hospital and had regular blood transfusions, he might live another year or two. Without hospitalization, they could count his remaining days on their fingers.

When it rains, it pours. The news hit Sanbao like a bolt from the blue, and he was overcome with grief. He didn't have the money to be hospitalized, and even if he did, he would only be clinging to life. What would be the point?

All his dreams and hopes vanished in an instant. Exhausted and on the verge of collapse, Sanbao had no choice but to return to his old home in Beichuan.

Only then did Sanbao understand why old people wanted to return to their hometowns before they died, so they could fall like leaves at the roots of their tree.

Seeing his aging parents again made Sanbao feel as if his heart were bleeding.

"Dad, Mom, your son has failed you. I'm going ahead of you. In my next life, I'll repay your kindness properly."

Sanbao hadn't told his parents or the rest of his family what had happened. He was afraid the old couple couldn't bear the blow.

When you're prosperous, help the whole world; when you're poor, at least keep yourself pure. Since his life was almost over, he would bear everything alone.

"Enough, enough. I'm sorry, Dad and Mom. I won't be able to repay you for raising me. I'm sorry, Sisters. I've let you down. I'm leaving!" Gazing down at the tawny rocks and earth below the cliff, Sanbao felt he had nothing left to hold him back except the last remnants of family affection.

The mountain wind howled harder, as if it knew Luo Cheng intended to die. The whole earth began to tremble violently...

"An earthquake? That's impossible. It must be a hallucination before I die. Heaven is claiming me. So be it. I'll go with you..."

"Heavens, if you really have eyes, give me another chance at life. Give me a chance to become strong!"

With that thought, Luo Cheng closed his eyes and flung himself down the mountainside...

His body went weightless. Luo Cheng was now in midair.

"So dying isn't as frightening as I imagined. It's even kind of easy." At that moment, nothing mattered anymore. Floating in the air, Sanbao suddenly felt a sense of release. So death wasn't all that terrifying.

To be honest, Sanbao had always feared death and didn't want to die. But since fate had already ordained his tragic end, he might as well bring it to a close sooner.

After a long while, Luo Cheng still felt no pain.