I always wonder how people will react if I want a total stranger for help in a busy place like a street corner or in a crowded station. I personally have always hurried past a stranger who tried to catch my attention in a busy place or when I am rushing around.
Yesterday I was stuck in such a hopeless situation where my only hope of help would have to come from a total stranger.
I was in a busy shopping mall (中心) buying a large piece of luggage. After the purchase in one of the large, fancy, expensive shops, I picked up my phone from my pocket to call my driver waiting in the parking lot and my phone was dead.
I then requested the shop assistant who had just sold me the luggage, which was not cheap at all, if she could help me telephone my driver. She replied, still all smiles, “I’m sorry, Sir, but it is the shop policy that we cannot use mobile phones while working in the shop.”
As I was wondering what kind of policy that was, I saw a nice-looking teenage boy coming toward me. Remembering my wife’s interesting theory (理论) that beautiful people are more likely to give you a hand when you’re in trouble, I thought I might have a chance. But before I could say a word, he walked past me. It turned out he simply didn’t see me.
I waited a bit longer in the mall but it seemed nobody bothered to look at me. Disappointed and tired, I got out of the shop on to the busy street in front. I stood there with people rushing by, looking at their faces to see if there was a sign of kindness on their face. I began wondering how many times I had reacted to strangers like the shop girl and the teenager.
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At that point I saw a young mother with her two kids.
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Finally a man wearing a cheap T-shirt and dirty jeans seemed to notice me.
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