Look at this face:

This is the guy who have renewed my faith in Taiwan and its people.

After having my backpack stolen less than three months ago, losing all my credit cards, ARC, my black qi pao which I only wore once and my other valuables, I had lost my faith on safety in Taiwan.

As they say, “Trust in God, but lock your door.” And stupidly, since Taiwan is way safer than the Philippines, I felt it was safe to leave your super heavy backpack on the floor and try shoes on.

WRONG decision.

Everything was gone, inclusive of NT$3,000 cash, and over NT$5,000 worth of Sogo vouchers (which btw, was given by my old company).

After that, I was still prone to lose things, but was more careful on where I place my stuff. Even when I go dancing, I either 1) put my bag in the locker or 2) carry it with me no matter how ma fan it gets.

So imagine my dismay when on my BIRTHDAY, after eating dinner and being treated by my close friends, I get home and discover that my wallet was gone.

Since I meant to treat my friends (yes, usually birthday girls take care of the bills back in Manila), I just withdrew NT$7,000 that day.

So, NT$7,000+ in cash, gone. Along with the ARC, ATM cards and credit card… I rushed home to cancel all my cards before moving on to Room 18 to continue the party.

Heck, if you’ve lost your wallet, what are the chances of finding it again? Sure, I did go back home to see whether I dropped it somewhere, to no avail. What’s the use of worrying about it if the chances of finding it are next to nil?

At the very least, I consoled myself, it was only the wallet that was lost this time and not the entire bag. Sure, the loss of cash AGAIN hurt my pockets badly, but it could’ve been worse.

Should just clock it down to experience… and get on with my life.

So imagine my surprise when this guy calls me up when I was dancing at 18. What’s more, because it was too loud, he instead sent me a text message saying to call him and find someone who can speak Chinese.

A glimmer of hope.

Maybe somebody found my wallet?

But heck, what are the chances that the money is still in the wallet? Who can resist the temptation of taking the money and run, merely throwing the wallet to the side?

So I called him up the next day.

And met him that same afternoon outside my office.

Imagine again my surprise when he said that he found the wallet on the dark corner of the street near my house (I must’ve dropped it after I got off the cab), discovering it after his feet accidentally kicked it.

I opened the wallet — EVERYTHING was still there.

My god.

The cash, the credit card, the ATM cards… ALL THERE.

Unbelievable.

When I asked him why he returned the wallet and the entire contents to me, he simply said, “Cause it’s not mine. I had to return it to the owner. Good thing, you had your identification cards inside.“

When I asked him what he did, the surprising thing was, he is currently unemployed. He used to be the personal driver of a high banking official but was laid-off.

Imagine, he was in between jobs and could’ve used the money for his own use. Instead, he returned it to me.

As he said, “It’s not mine.”

I urged him to get a reward. Heck, I was willing to pay him half of the contents of the wallet but he insistently declined.

Again, he said, “It’s not mine. It should be returned to the rightful owner.“

God gave me a guardian angel on my birthday.

He is my guardian angel.

If a lot of people are just like Mr. Yu, then yes, there’s hope for Taiwan yet.

Have a great weekend!