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On the twenty-third of the month, Chunming City subway line twenty-three, Xiaojiacun Station.
Sun Hang, Wang Xiyi, Zhong Ling, and Xue Yue sat eerily on the long bench at the waiting platform, silently watching the scattered handful of passengers getting off the subway.
It was 22:26, the second-to-last train at Xiaojiacun, with eight minutes remaining until the last train.
These passengers were mostly exhausted office workers who had just finished overtime—compared to the expensive rent in the city center, Xiaojiacun on the outskirts offered much cheaper rent, making it a common choice for many young people struggling financially as they try to make their way in Chunming City.
The biggest drawback of living here was having to wake up over an hour earlier than colleagues in the city center, switching through multiple subways to get to the company, but it seemed insignificant compared to the low rent.
