ATM Adventure

Xiaoming, clutching a thick stack of New Year's money, excitedly arrived at the bank entrance. Today was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, a day of good luck for starting work, and also the day he could "liberate" his New Year's money from his parents' "safekeeping."

There was a long queue in front of the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM), mostly children like him, all holding bulging red envelopes. Xiaoming stood on his tiptoes, watching the adults skillfully operate the ATM, his heart filled with anticipation.

Finally, it was his turn. He carefully inserted his card, entered his PIN, and selected deposit. The ATM whirred, prompting him to insert the bills. Xiaoming inserted them one by one, feeling delighted.

Suddenly, a red message box popped up on the ATM screen: "Deposit box is full, please try again later."

Xiaoming was stunned. The deposit box was full? Could ATMs also get "full"? He scratched his head, feeling a bit lost.

The children behind him started to urge him: "Hurry up, are you depositing or not?"

Xiaoming helplessly exited the deposit screen, holding the stack of money, unsure of what to do. He looked up at the bank's main door, which was tightly closed, with a notice posted on it: "Closed for the Spring Festival holiday."

He sighed and walked to another ATM next to the bank. The result was the same: the deposit box was full!

Xiaoming didn't give up and ran to another bank nearby. The third and fourth ATMs, without exception, all displayed "Deposit box is full."

Xiaoming completely collapsed. Were ATMs even this "capricious" these days?

He sat on the steps in front of the bank, counting the money in his hand boredly. Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a suit walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Kid, having trouble?"

Xiaoming looked up, feeling aggrieved, and said: "I want to deposit money, but the ATMs are all full."

The middle-aged man smiled and took out a business card from his briefcase: "I'm the manager of XX Investment Company. I see you have so much money, why not consider investment and financial management? Our company currently has a very good project with an annual return rate of up to 20%!"

Xiaoming shook his head: "I still want to deposit it in the bank."

The middle-aged man didn't give up and continued to persuade him: "Kid, bank interest rates are so low now, the money will only depreciate if you deposit it. Why not invest with me? I guarantee you can double your money in a year!"

Just then, a security guard in uniform walked over and looked at the middle-aged man warily: "What are you doing? Don't harass the child!"

The middle-aged man sheepishly put away his business card and slunk away.

The security guard walked to Xiaoming's side and said earnestly: "Kid, there are a lot of scammers out there, be careful. Especially during the New Year, you need to watch your money even more."

Xiaoming nodded, thanking the security guard.

The security guard thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, I'll help you out. Give me the money, and I'll deposit it for you in the bank's vault."

Xiaoming hesitated for a moment, looking at the security guard's honest face, but still felt a little uneasy.

The security guard saw his hesitation and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I won't cheat you. I'm the security guard here, I can't run away."

Xiaoming gritted his teeth and handed the money to the security guard. The security guard took the money and turned to walk into the bank.

Xiaoming waited and waited at the bank entrance, but the security guard didn't come out for a long time. He began to feel uneasy, had he really been cheated?

Just as he was about to despair, the security guard finally came out. He was holding a bank card, which he handed to Xiaoming: "Kid, the money has been deposited, this is your bank card, the PIN is your birthday."

Xiaoming took the bank card and looked at the security guard gratefully: "Thank you, Uncle!"

The security guard waved his hand: "You're welcome, it's what I should do. Remember, be careful of strangers in the future."

Xiaoming happily took the bank card home. He told his parents about it. His parents, after first praising his quick wit and bravery, thought something was off.

"How did you know the bank vault could be used to deposit money so easily?" Dad asked doubtfully.

Xiaoming scratched his head: "The security guard told me."

Mom and Dad looked at each other, their faces changing. They quickly opened their mobile banking app and checked Xiaoming's bank card balance.

The screen displayed: 0.00 yuan.

Xiaoming's family was immediately dumbfounded. They hurried to the bank to report the incident. The police retrieved the surveillance footage and found that the security guard had long since changed into plain clothes and slipped out of the bank's back door.

The festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival was instantly washed away.

Years later, Xiaoming grew up and became a bank clerk. He worked diligently every day, treating every customer with care.

One day, he encountered a special customer. The customer was dressed plainly, holding a stack of crumpled New Year's money, wanting to deposit it into the ATM.

Xiaoming looked at the customer and seemed to see himself from years ago. He walked up to the customer and said with a smile: "Hello, the ATMs might be a bit 'full' today, how about I help you with a manual deposit?"

The customer looked up at Xiaoming, a grateful smile appearing on his face.

At that moment, Xiaoming felt as if he had completed some kind of redemption. He finally understood that some things, no matter how long ago they happened, could never truly be let go. And what he could do was to try his best to prevent the same tragedy from happening again.