New York, at the bar.

Arthur was trying his best to perform various funny performances with extremely exaggerated expressions.

His face was withered and sunken, with a simple clown makeup on it, and he pulled the corner of his mouth and barely made a cheerful expression. He tried hard to perform the funny and exaggerated clown's sense of comicality and exaggeration.

However, obviously, Arthur didn't have much talent in the performance of comedy.

On stage, he performed the comics with all his might.

The guests at the bar below the audience reacted coldly.

"Hey, get out, clown!"

Putting down the wine glass in his hand, a bearded man shouted at Arthur.

"You're wasting our time. I'm not here to watch your poor performance!"

The bearded man obviously expressed the thoughts of many guests in the bar.

"Go down, go down!"

"Go down, woo, go down..."

They all booed and blasted Arthur on the stage.

Facing the guests' booing, Arthur's funny movements became stiff. He pulled the corners of his mouth and tried to maintain a cheerful expression, but found that he could not do this at all.

"Your performance time is over, Arthur!"

Notice the reaction of the guests in the bar, the boss immediately shouted at Arthur on the stage.

"But, I..."

Hearing the bar owner's voice, Arthur looked backstage, with a pleading expression on his face.

He wanted to continue his performance.

"No, but, you'll get off the stage now."

However, without giving Arthur any explanation, the bar owner rudely interrupted the words in his mouth.

He waved his hand to the staff behind the stage and signaled it. With the intense music, a group of exposed-dressed dancers waited on the stage and began to provoke a tempting dance amid the whistles of the guests.

But Arthur was squeezed to the edge of the stage by the movements of these dancers.

It is incompatible with the fanatical atmosphere on the stage.

...

"This is the first time, Arthur."

Backstage, the boss looked at the laughing and cheerful performance atmosphere on the stage, turned his head and looked at Arthur's thin figure in front of him, and couldn't help but say.

"You've messed up again."

“I’m a bar, not a charity place.”

"I'm sorry."

Holding the performance props that had not been put down in his hand, Arthur begged: "Please give me another chance. I really need this job, please!"

Faced with Arthur's bitter begging, the bar owner had already said something to his mouth.

He learned about the situation at the other party's family and was poor and took care of his sick mother.

If you lose your job in the bar, you may indeed make the other person's already miserable life even more miserable.

“…”

Thinking of this, the boss sighed.

Looking at Arthur in front of him, he said, "Okay, I'll give you another last chance, Arthur, I hope you don't mess it up again this time."

"I promise."

Hearing the boss' softening, Arthur nodded quickly, and an ugly smile appeared on his haggard face.

"Perhaps, you should consider changing jobs, Arthur."

Looking at the man who was thin due to long-term malnutrition, the bar owner rarely made his own suggestions.

"There is still a shortage of cleaning people in the bar. If you want, I can give you a chance to give it a try."

"I promised my mother that she would become an excellent comic actor and bring her laughter."

Faced with the boss' proposal, Arthur fell into a long silence.

He knew very well that such days could not last long at all, but when he thought of his sick mother at home, he still gritted his teeth and shook his head and refused the proposal for this job.

"This is the last chance for Arthur. If you can't let the guests accept it tomorrow, I can only ask you to leave."

Seeing Arthur rejecting his proposal, the bar owner immediately lost his plan to communicate with him.

After giving the ultimatum, he turned around and did more important things.

Backstage, Arthur silently watched everything on the stage.

He saw the bearded guest who had spoken cursing himself before, and he was now showing an excited expression towards the performance on stage.

Those guests who yelled him out of the stage were reluctant to go back to the gaudy performances on the stage.

...

"Did you see that guy just now? His eyes have been on you and never left..."

"Maybe, you should try and ask him out. I think he will definitely be willing to spend money on you."

"I don't like that guy, he has too many beards on his face."

"Who took away my performance costume? I will use it tomorrow!"

"I don't know, maybe...I saw her..."

In the bar, the lights ended.

Backstage, everyone at the performance left the dressing room in groups of three or three.

Sitting in the very corner of the room, Arthur took off the clown makeup on his face in front of the broken mirror, revealing his withered and sad face.

He took off his colorful and spacious performance costumes, and his skinny body looked clear under the dim lights of the dressing room.

Put on his old old-fashioned shirt, Arthur stuffed the performance costume into the iron cabinet in the room and tore off the mockery stickers on the cabinet.

Bang!

Turn around and leave.

With the sound of closing the doors leaving, stickers slowly floated and fell in the trash can in the makeup room.

A line of crooked words revealed.

"You're not funny at all, Joker!"

...

"Is it because I'm thinking too much, or is the world too crazy?"

"You know, the environment is not good, Arthur."

"New York has always been one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States. People living here are more or less depressed. No one has been doing well these days."

Hospital, office.

The doctor answered Arthur's question using standard reactions.

This year, America elected an unprecedented black president.

However, the new president's appointment did not bring them much changes. After the election, life continued. Poor and destitute people would not become rich because of an election, and they were still poor.

"What about you, Arthur, what's going on recently? Will it help you with someone talking?"

"It's still the same as in the past."

Arthur faced with the doctor's inquiry.

"Maybe doctor, you should prescribe a heavier medicine to me."

Hearing Arthur's request, the doctor looked down at the medicine list in his hand.

"Arthur, you're already taking seven medicines. I think this will help you a little bit, and you can't pay more for better medicine."

“…”

The doctor's straightforward answer undoubtedly ended with Arthur's biggest dilemma.

He has no money anymore.

He lowered his head silently, looked at his thin hands, and said in a low voice: "I just don't want to be so sad all the time."
Chapter completed!