?Chapter 1062:


    Passersby cast judgmental nces their way, painting Rnd as the heartless viin in their private drama. Even without meeting their eyes, he could feel their usations boring into him.


    “Hey, why are you crying?”


    Despite her attempts to maintainposure, Amanda’s resolve shattered. “My father was framed, my clinic was forcibly closed, I’m jobless, homeless…” Her body shook with sobs as she struggled to form coherent words between sharp intakes of breath.


    “Nasir, that monster, is trying to force me back to him. He’s blocked every friend from helping me. I’ve spent two nights sleeping under an overpass. During the day, I stand for twelve hours making coffee…”


    Her beauty, juxtaposed with such raw misery, created a haunting tableau. An elderly woman nearby offered sympathetic words. “Don’t cry, dear. This too shall pass.”


    The woman’s daughter-inw nudged Rnd. “Your girlfriend’s falling apart. Comfort her!”


    “She’s not my girlfriend,” Rnd protested. “We really aren’t in that kind of rtionship.”


    “Ah, young people these days…”


    The bus’s arrival broke the tension. Amanda’s tears vanished as quickly as summer rain, and her voice suddenly turned businesslike. “I didn’t want anything from you. My shift’s starting. I need to go.”


    Though she kept her head bowed, the image of her beautiful eyes—red and swollen from tears—seared itself into Rnd’s memory.


    Boarding the bus, he spotted Amanda sitting beside an elderly gentleman by the window. She gazed out at the passing world, exhaustion etched across her features, deliberately avoiding his gaze.


    An ufortable weight settled in Rnd’s chest.


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    That evening, he left work earlier than usual and traced her usual bus route. As anticipated, he found Amanda at a café, masked and uniformed, her slender arms working tirelessly through a queue that stretched beyond the door.


    When her shift finally ended, Rnd discreetly followed her to the overpass, where she retreated to a makeshift home—a simple tent.


    Her story rang true after all. The memory of his harsh attitude earlier that morning washed over him in a wave of guilt.


    As night descended, only a dim light flickered from within the tent beneath the overpass. The gentle sound of flowing water provided a peaceful backdrop as the city’s daytime mor faded to whispers.


    His shoes crunched against the loose stones as he approached. Just as he stooped to announce his presence, a pair of pink slippers came flying out of the tent’s entrance. “Get out of here, you creep! Don’t think you can take advantage of me!”


    One of the slippers left a perfect impression across Rnd’s face.


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