Price

In the evening, a girl dressed in gray came again to a quiet corner of the small park, sat down on a long chair and began to read. Her face looked pretty, but her clothes were ordinary. The young man knew that she had been like this every day for some time.

The young man slowly walked next to her, and just then, the book in the girl's hand slipped to the ground. The young man picked up the book obediently, handed it to her politely, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then stood quietly to the side.

The girl took a look at the young man, a frugal dress, an unimpressive face.

"Sit down, if you don't mind. The light is too dim to read, and I'd like to talk."

"You know," said the lad, "you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen, and I saw you yesterday."

"Whoever you are," said the girl, cold as ice, "must remember that I am well educated."

"I'm sorry," said the lad, "it's all my fault, I was too presumptuous, I mean, there are a lot of girls who come to the park, you know, of course, you don't know, but ......"

"Of course I know. Let's talk about something else, about all these tourists coming and going, where are they going? Why are they in such a hurry? Are they happy?"

The young man was confused for a moment, not knowing exactly what role he should play.

"The reason I come here so often is that I can get up close and personal with the tourists here. I am speaking to you because I want to talk to someone who is good-natured and has a low opinion of money. You don't know, I hate money too much and I hate those men around me who have a lot of money in their pockets. I don't like pearls and gems, and I'm not much interested in swimming in the mountains."

"But I always thought," said the lad, "that money was a good thing."

"When you have a million, you have to go for a ride, go to the theater, go dancing, go to a party. I don't want to live like that."

The young man looked at the girl wryly and said, "I enjoy studying and prying into the lives of your rich people."

"Sometimes," the girl continued, "I think if I'm going to fall in love, I'm going to love an ordinary chap - tell me, what do you do for a living?"

"I am an ordinary man, but I wish I could get ahead. Are you serious about what you just said? You would love an ordinary man?"

"Of course!" She replied.

"I work in a small restaurant." The boy said.

"You're not a waiter, are you?" The girl asked.

"Pretty much."

The girl immediately looked at her watch, then stood up and said, "Why don't you go to work?"

"It's still an hour before work time. Can we, can we meet next time?"

"I don't know ...... Oh, I have to go, I have a dinner and a concert to go to in the evening and my driver is waiting for me." Speaking of which, she pointed towards the small white car in front of the park, "That's my car."

"I saw it." The young man said enviously.

"Bye!"

"It's late," the lad said, "not very safe, why don't I give you a lift?"

"Thanks, you'd better sit down a little longer." After saying that, the girl walked towards the park gate. The young man watched the girl's figure and followed her unhurriedly.

When she reached the park gate, the girl walked past the small white car, crossed the street, walked into a small restaurant, punched her card, then changed into the waiter's uniform and started working.

The boy walked slowly down the street for a while, then, approaching the white sedan straight away, got in and said to the driver, "Go to the nightclub, Henry."