Chapter 7 — They Teach Me To Grow Up By Abandoning Me

I shouldn't make up stories.

"No no no, I was wrong. It wasn't stolen... but..."

What kind of explanation is this? That my parents left me at the hotel and ran away?

“Girl, what is your situation?”

The policeman's voice began to become more serious. I closed my eyes. If you lose face, you lose face.

"It's like this. I traveled with my parents, my ID and wallet were in my mother's pocket. This morning they had an emergency so they left, taking my ID with them. Now I need a temporary confirmation to buy a ticket home."

The policeman looked at me, the pen in his hand stopped.

“So it wasn't stolen?”

“No need to report a crime?”

"No need."

“So you only need a temporary ID card?”

"Okay. In this case, we can grant it. But you need to cooperate..."

He tapped on the keyboard.

“Online face verification. Look at the camera…”

A small camera with a light on. I leaned closer.

"Please look straight at the camera. Okay, recognizing..."

The screen showed my face. Messy hair, dark eye circles, dry, chapped lips. The police officer looked at the ID photo on the system, then looked at my current face.

“Erm… girl, your appearance has changed quite a bit.”

“My mental state is not very good these days.”

"The identification system failed. Can we try again?"

Still failed. My ID photo was taken four years ago. At that time, I had just graduated from university, full of vitality, fair skin, and weighed about sixty kilograms. And now— The shock of being fired, combined with a morning of constant beatings from life, made me look at least five years older, and my skin was two shades darker.

“Girl, still unrecognizable.”

The policeman was a bit awkward.

"In this case... do you have any other way to prove your identity? For example, let your family call to confirm..."

“I'll call you to see!”

I immediately dialed my mother's number.

“Your subscriber is currently unreachable.”

No need to shutdown anymore. It's uncontactable. I called my dad again. Call three times. None of the calls went through. The policeman looked at me, his eyes extremely magical.

“Girl, are you sure your family…”

“Is there no other way?”

I started to panic.

"Household registration information, date of birth, home address... I can answer whatever you ask."

"If the online verification does not pass, we need further confirmation. You can ask the police where your household registration is registered to coordinate the check... but this takes time. Usually about one to two working days."

One to two business days. I stood in front of the counter, my whole body turned to stone. One or two days. Sometimes I can't even hold out until then.

"Alright."

My voice is hoarse.

“So I registered first and asked you to help me with the procedures.”

"Okay. Please fill out this form."

I picked up a pen and filled out the form. Leave your phone number. The policeman tore an appointment paper for me:

“If I have the results, I will announce them.”

Leaving the police station, I lowered my head to look at my phone. 12 hours 47 minutes. The hotel has checked out a long time ago. I officially became a wanderer in this city. In hand, there was only a police appointment letter, 247.32 yuan, a dying phone and a tube of toothpaste. More than 1,200 km from home. I sit in a McDonald's. Spend 13 yuan to buy the cheapest hamburger, in exchange for an afternoon with air conditioning and an outlet charger. Remaining balance: After charging my phone, I started seriously planning the next days. First, the police station said it would take one to two working days. Today is Friday, the fastest result will be next Monday. In other words, I at least have to hold out for another two and a half days. Second, the cost for these two and a half days: Meals are calculated at the maximum savings rate, about 25 yuan a day. Two and a half days is 62.5 yuan. Third, after getting a temporary ID card, buy a train ticket home: Hard seat 285 yuan. 62.5 plus 285 equals 347.5 yuan. I only have 234 yuan left in my hand. Still missing 113.5 yuan. Plus phone bills, sometimes having to travel— At least about 150 yuan left. That means within two and a half days, I have to earn 150 yuan. No ID. No skills. Only seasonal work for a day or two. That culinary street seems to have reached a dead end. So what else? I looked it up:

“Seasonal jobs do not require identification.”

Search results are full of scam warnings and legal articles. Change direction of thinking. Part-time job search app? I downloaded three in a row. All require identity authentication. Search directly in real life?