Chapter 6 — They Teach Me To Grow Up By Abandoning Me

The hotel checks out at twelve o'clock, it's almost eleven o'clock now. In just an hour, I won't have anywhere to go. Not having ID means not being able to rent any formal accommodation. So there are only two options left: Find a place that operates 24/24 to stay overnight. Sleeping on the street. Second thing: How will you live in the next few days? In tourist cities, if you eat sparingly, about 30 yuan a day, you can last eight days. But what about the money coming home? If you don't have an ID card, you can't take the train or fly. So long-distance passenger cars? I took out my phone to check. Long-distance passenger cars also need identification. I tried searching for "parachute car to XX" - No results like that. It's all a scam warning and reporting to the police. My mind was spinning continuously. If all normal roads are impassable... Then I can only wait. Waiting for my mother to awaken her conscience and then send her ID back. Or wait for my dad to finish cycling and come back. According to Ms. Vuong's calculations, it would take at least three to five days. That meant— I had to spend 247.32 yuan to live in this strange city for at least three days. Moreover, it is also in the "homeless" mode. I took a deep breath. Twenty-six years old, "optimized" twice and still alive. So whatever way there is, there will be a way. I stood up, brushed the dust off my pants. First have to go back to the hotel. I need to take advantage of it before twelve o'clock to pack up the last few items in the room— A charger. A face towel. A tube of toothpaste. This is my entire current inheritance. Returning to the hotel lobby, Tieu Luu was still sitting at the reception desk. As soon as he saw me, the corner of his mouth twitched.

“Girl, there are forty minutes left until check-out time…”

“I know.”

I walked over, trying my best to look a little nicer.

"Let's put it this way, right now I can't pay for the room. I'll leave my phone number and wait until I get home..."

I don't know when the manager appeared.

"We just finished discussing. Considering your situation is quite special, today's room fee can be temporarily debited. But you need to leave your phone number and family address, then we will contact you to make payment."

"Really?"

“But…” the manager added another sentence, “if within one month there is still no payment, my side will proceed according to legal procedures.”

“It doesn't take a month.”

I said quickly.

“When I get home, I move right away.”

I finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least it doesn't have the reputation of cheating on rooms. After filling out the information, returning the room card, I took my few possessions and walked out of the hotel. The steps in front of the hotel were brightly sunny. I stood there, holding a charger in one hand and a convenience store nylon bag containing facial towels and toothpaste in the other. Life is no different from someone who picks up scraps and bottles. Three days ago I was sitting in front of the computer editing code. At this moment, I stand in the middle of a city more than 1,200 km from home, I don't even know where I will sleep tonight. The absurdity of life... Has gone beyond my imagination. The phone vibrates. A WeChat news. Luc Vien sent it.

"Sisters, don't panic. I've figured out a way - go to the police station to report your ID lost and ask them to issue a temporary confirmation. With the confirmation, you can buy a train ticket."

My eyes immediately lit up. The police station can issue a temporary identity card. As long as I have that paper... I will be able to buy a ticket train home. Although there is still a bit of money missing, at least the problem of "whether you are eligible to buy a ticket or not" has been resolved. As for money... Slowly think about how to proceed. I immediately checked the nearest police station. Walk twenty minutes. Twenty minutes later, I stood in front of a local police station. I walked in. At the duty counter was a young policeman with his head bowed, filling out some form.

“Hello, I want to make a temporary identity card.”

The policeman raised his head:

“Lost your ID?”

"It's not that it's lost... it's... well, it's not at my place right now. I need a temporary document to buy a ticket home."

"Okay. Please provide your ID number first."

“320XXXXXXXXXXXXX.”

The police officer entered information into the computer and looked at the screen for a while.

“To Van, born in 1998, from XX city, XX province?”

“Yes, yes, it's me.”

"We need to verify your identity a little more. Do you have any other documents? Driver's license, social insurance card, passport..."

"No. Everyone is at home. I went on a trip and got sick..."

I stopped. The phrase "left behind by my parents" sounds so humiliating. I changed the way I said it:

"It's been stolen. Everything I brought with me has been taken."

The policeman's eyes immediately changed.

"Theft? When did it happen? Have you reported the crime yet?"