Qi Zhenguo was left standing there clutching his head as the SUV sped off in a cloud of dust.
Nearby, a few youngsters stared at their phones excitedly. "Did you get it on video?"
"Got it, got it! This is going to be hugely popular online tomorrow!"
"Let's go interview that delivery guy..."
Qi Zhenguo glanced at them before riding away on his electric scooter.
Seeing him leave, the rookie paparazzi looked disappointed. But then they spotted Su He about to leave on his e-scooter.
"Hey buddy, we run a social media site and want to interview you about what just happened."
"Interview about what?" Su He was used to scenes like this. Nowadays delivery guys had become punching bags for some people.
Whether the drivers smiled politely or stooped low, they were still met with verbal abuse instead of understanding. Under the constraints of the platforms, drivers' dignity had gradually faded. Life wasn't like in the TV shows - trying to make an honest living while standing upright was truly difficult.
"What do you think about the SUV owner insulting the delivery guy earlier?"
"I watched it sitting on my e-scooter..."
Su He didn't think highly of these paparazzi either. Brandishing the banner of exposing ugliness, they were actually just trying to profit. If they were so righteous, why hadn't they spoken up earlier?
Su He rode off without another word.
...
Zhang Dada went viral!
He became the target of online outrage after paparazzi released a video of him insulting a delivery guy. The contrast was stark between Zhang Dada in his nice car and designer clothes and the humble, bloody-faced delivery man.
Qi Zhenguo was the epitome of countless delivery guys who swallowed their bitterness only to be met with curses, discrimination, and verbal abuse.
Yet Qi Zhenguo in the video didn't dare to fight back. It was heartbreaking to watch.
At the end, Su He sat alone on his e-scooter and glanced coldly at the camera before riding away solitary.
Viewers in the comments also recognized Su He as a supporting actor in the TV series "Night Walker." Discussion about Su He ensued.
As the parties involved, Qi Zhenguo and Su He carried on with their daily lives, shuttling around streets and alleyways delivering meals to thousands of households.
"Hello, Meituan delivery!"
Su He stood at the door. This was his first order of the day, placed by a Mr. Zhang at a luxury residential compound.
He waited a full three minutes before the door finally opened. A man with a face mask on complained, "Why are you rushing me? Can't you see I'm doing a face mask? The order clearly said to wait until I finish. Why do I keep getting dumb delivery guys like you? Are you looking for a bad rating?"
Facing the shrill scolding, Su He took a deep breath and handed over the breakfast bag, "Sorry Mr. Zhang, here is your delivery."
Zhang Dada rolled his eyes, grabbed the bag, and slammed the door shut.
Su He let out a sigh of relief. He didn't expect to run into someone like this so early in the morning. Not thinking much of it, he continued making his deliveries.
Inside, Zhang Dada sat on the sofa still cursing up a storm, "So unlucky. All I run into are crappy people. Now I can't even step outside my door."
Just then his phone rang.
After the call, Zhang Dada hurriedly changed clothes, put on a hat, headphones, glasses, and a face mask before rushing out.
In the garage he chose an ordinary sedan - his designated car for avoiding the paparazzi. While he could be fearless online, there were too many people wanting to hit him in real life.
Qi Zhenguo didn't work today because of his head injury. Unsurprisingly, Su He topped the leaderboard with 69 orders by 2 pm. The runner up had only 41.
Su He stopped accepting orders and rode towards the Capital Airport.
He didn't expect Ma Mingzhe and the other two to come for real. After waiting over 10 minutes, they emerged dragging their luggage.
Dong Yong sprinted the fastest and jumped straight onto the backseat.
Su He was surprised by their arrival, though they said it wasn't fair he got to act while they couldn't. Given the chance, they could do it too.
Ma Mingzhe and Pan Zhigang hailed a taxi to take their luggage to Su He's hostel. Su He had informed the owner to arrange a separate 4-person room for 200 yuan per night.
"Bro Dong, we ain't hugging waists, ya hear?"
"You've changed, Su He."
"Piss off, get your hands off me!"
"I won't..."
To welcome his friends, Su He didn't do any deliveries that night. Instead he treated them to hot pot at the same place Boss Fan had before.
As soon as they sat down, the three looked expectantly at Su He.
Su He turned to the owner, "Boss, the bill please!"
The owner was puzzled why they wanted the check when the dishes just arrived.
"Boss, two more cases of beer!" Ma Mingzhe shouted.
"Let's make a cheers first, brothers!" Dong Yong stood up with his glass.
Pan Zhigang sat there grinning foolishly as he raised his glass, "Thanks Su He for treating!"
After two bottles each, lively chatter ensued.
"Su He, when are we going to the set? I read online you've got connections. Put in a good word so we can get some decent roles..."
"Listen Su He, when I was little I could do backflips, ride a unicycle...I can even do handstands..."
"Everyone can handstand. Don't listen to their nonsense Su He. We ain't using backdoors. We'll make it on our own skills. Just point us in the right direction tomorrow and we'll take care of the rest!"
"You're really quitting delivery?" Su He asked in surprise.
"You ever see those delivery and rideshare guys get rich? Wang Baoqiang started out as an extra before becoming a huge celeb right? He's set for life. With our acting chops, it'd be a loss for Chinese TV and film if we don't get into the biz..."
"Damn right. It's just acting, could it be tougher than delivery? We ain't afraid of hardship. Don't blame us when we get more famous than you..."
"Come on, bottoms up!"
Apart from Boss Fan, Su He didn't have many friends in the capital, so he was happy to host Ma Mingzhe and the guys. As for their aspirations of acting, Boss Fan's situation showed just how difficult it was to go from extra to star.
They drank from 8 pm until 1 am, stumbling back to the hostel arm in arm.
"Bro Dong, you take the top bunk..."
"No Su He, I'm sleeping with you..."
"Piss off!"