I made a mistake

This almost made him feel like he had a child. Only this child was a grown-up that did not know anything about the world she lived in. “You need a job, but I’m not sure if that is such a good idea. For now, at least.” She had nearly no knowledge and if she were to go work somewhere, she would do what he advised against. Drawing attention. At the same time she needed money which he could not provide her with>

Míngzé did not care which clothes he would give her, as long as she had some. The quicker the better. Come to think of it, this whole situation was wrong for so many reasons and he was one of them. “I didn’t think you’d been running around in my clothes this whole time,” he fired back immediately. It was extremely cold outside, even with a thick coat and scarf, he was cold. He went to the bathroom next, grabbing his bathrobe and immediately threw it over his shoulders. “And what? Let you live in my apartment naked? Not going to happen.” This whole revelation worked better than coffee ever could.

Míngzé couldn’t help but wonder what she had done these past few weeks after she ran away from him. There was nothing he could’ve done to prevent it, but that did not mean he did not feel guilty at all. Back then she did not trust him enough, which was why she ran. He could not blame her, but it meant there had been nothing he could’ve done.

She had nothing else. Fuck. “I thought that— nevermind.” It was not important. Míngzé shook his head. She was here now and that is the only thing that mattered right now. “A cell phone, which you probably don’t have. Maybe we can buy you a burner phone or something not too expensive.” She had no money, how could she if she did not even know what it was, and he had no job. Which was not an ideal situation.

With both of them clothed, Míngzé felt better about talking to her. He walked to his living room, gesturing for her to follow. “So uhm— you have nowhere to go then?” It is what she’d said when she appeared at his doorstep earlier. Míngzé sat down on his couch, leaving forward by placing his arms on his knees.

Money. More and more it was beginning to become a problem. It didn’t have to be, his parents were wealthy enough to support him when needed, but he did not want it. The whole reason he moved out was to show them he could do this alone. No matter the struggles that came with it. Up until recently it had gone just fine, until he decided to quit his job.

First things first. Míngzé needed to know if she had a place to stay or not. As expected, the answer was a ‘no’. Míngzé hummed softly. He only had a one-bedroom apartment, but it was big enough for people to live in. “For now you can stay here, if you want to.” It would not be too much of a problem. “I can’t let you sleep on the streets again and well— calling a shelter is also not a smart idea.” Those people might surely call the cops if they saw her.

“It will be temporary, but you’ll have a place to stay while we figure things out.” It was more than she had before, which had to count for something.  

For now she could stay here. It would not be easy, but that was a part she did not need to know right away. Míngzé would do what he could to help her and support her during her stay here. Already he could feel the worries about all this eat away at him, but he tried his best to ignore those, push them aside. He had to try and do something.

There appeared a smile on his lips when she showed her gratitude, yet it did not stay too long. “That might not be as easy as you think,” Míngzé said with a soft sigh. It was not that he wanted to crush her hopes of finding a new place immediately. Things were just not that simple. Not that he could expect anything else from her. She was still living in her little bubble. “You’ll need money first, a lot of it. Each month you’ll have to pay for the place you’ll be staying at. Not forgetting everything else you’ll need.” He was shaking his head, already understanding how impossible it all sounded.  She had to start from absolute zero and build her way up. Not an easy task at all.

“But don’t worry, we’ll figure it out,” Míngzé said with a small reassuring smile. How, he did not know. Not yet. The most important thing right now was that she no longer had to sleep on the streets.  

If only things were that simple. Sadly enough that was not the case, but for now she could stay here and even that was not exactly easy. Míngzé sighed softly and shook his head. “You’re not able to simply ‘get a place’, there is so much more you need to even be able to afford a place of your own.” It was rather depressing to think about. “It’s fine, for now you can stay here.” The only thing was that he had no idea how long she would be able to stay.

“Guess we’ll have to figure that out too,” Míngzé answered with a small smile. It was clear she lacked experience in just about anything, so it was difficult to immediately give her a task. “You might want to start with a shower while I see if I can put together some sort of breakfast.” If she’d lived on the streets until now, he did not want to know what she looked like exactly. The hot water might also be a welcome change. It was not exactly warm outside.