You sit down on a bridge on a crowded tourist street in YANGSHUO, CHINA.
A beggar approaches you. His eyes are locked on yours. They are hard and cold; it is as if they do not know laughter. He is silent and walks with a cane. His feet are in bad shape. His fly is unzipped, and his face wears a few days' black hair.
He motions with his hands for you to give him money. Do you comply? (Y/N)
N: Do you speak to him? (Y/N)
Y: You walk with him down the street. His pace is slow. Chinese tourists give you dirty looks and Western tourists are bewildered.
A Chinese restauranteur gets your attention. "Don't help him," he says. He sits in front of a restaurant with the gaudy title: WESTERN STEAKHOUSE. He wears decent clothes.
"He does this every day. I think he makes more than you or I."
Respond? (Y/N)
Y: "Not as much as you or I."
"Well, maybe not as much as you," he says.
Your ANNOYANCE rises. (30/100). Respond? (Y/N)
Y: "What do you do to deserve more than him? You sit out here watching the street. You do the books at night. At least he walks around. His feet are bad, he can't walk. He doesn't speak. Perhaps he performs, but is that a sin? Does he not deserve to live in this world like us?
"Anyway, probably he's lonely more than anything."
%
You sit at a cafe, writing. You hear a shout: "GOOD MORNING!". It is the silent beggar from before.
Respond? (Y/N)
Y: "So you can speak."
He laughs. "我要钱 [I want money]," he says. Respond? (Y/N).
Y: "嗯。 你饿不饿？[Oh, are you hungry?]."
"嗯 [Yes]," he says.
He motions for you to walk with him. (Y/N).
Y: You walk further down the street. He stops at a stand selling stick-on tattoos. He looks at you and at the tattoos, a smile on his face.
Suddenly he is an ugly, goofy joker involving you in a conspiracy.
Do you go along with it? (Y/N)
Y: You reach for your wallet. The proprietor of the tattoo stand looks at you, exasperated. While thumbing past the hundreds and fifties to find a five, you make conversation with the beggar.
"你有家人吗？ [Do you have a family?]"
He nods, the goofy smile still on his face.
"那你为什么不... [Then why don't you...]" you say.
You find the five, and you hand it to him. His face bursts into glee. You wend through the crowd, shamefaced, shoving your wallet back into your pants.