INTRODUCE

Ms. Hou sits by the window, the afternoon sun casting a soft glow on her profile. She came to Shenzhen at twenty-three with a journalist's dream, only to find herself awakened through layers of resumes and interviews. "I thought I'd be running around news scenes with a press pass," she reflects. "I didn't expect I’d end up weaving through streets and alleys on an electric bike."

She has been a food delivery rider for three years now.

"I also dreamed of living in a big house with a garden," she says, smiling as she glances outside. "But look—" She gestures toward a small succulent on her windowsill. "This room may be small, and this plant may seem insignificant, but they’re mine." The succulent stretches its plump, jade-green leaves within its limited space, forming a quiet landscape of its own.

Ms. Hou’s day starts at 6 a.m. Checking her battery, confirming orders, planning her route—these actions have become muscle memory. "On the delivery road, I’ve witnessed the wholesale markets at 4 a.m. and seen the last lights go out in the tech parks. I’m no longer a storyteller, but I’ve become a witness to the city."

That act of witnessing has given her a deeper understanding of Shenzhen. "I’ve delivered birthday cakes to crying children, brought coffee to programmers burning the midnight oil, and taken bowls of hot congee to elderly people living alone," she shares. "Every time I knock on a door, I get a glimpse of a life. This job has taught me that there’s never just one standard answer to what makes a life valuable."

The single room she rents now is less than 20 square meters, yet she keeps it tidy and warm. A hand-drawn map of Shenzhen hangs on the wall, marked with delivery tips for various neighborhoods. "At first, I felt lost—especially during class reunions, listening to others talk about respectable jobs and good salaries," she says calmly. "But now I understand: everyone grows in their own way. It’s like the backstreets of Shenzhen—they may look winding, but they all lead somewhere."

The succulent on her sill glimmers in the setting sun. It may not be a towering tree, but it has carved out its own way of being within its small world. Ms. Hou gently touches one of its leaves and smiles: "There’s more than one way to live a life. What matters is finding a direction that makes you feel at peace with yourself."

Here in Shenzhen—a land of opportunity and challenge—Ms. Hou may not have realized her original dream. But with every turn of her wheels, she has found a different kind of fulfillment, one uniquely her own.