by Ku Cha
Wen Qing ruffled Han Wei’s hair, “You silly girl. Christmas Eve should be spent with your boyfriend.”
Han Wei faintly blushed, “Why, is Wen Ge[1] bullying me for not having a boyfriend to keep me company?”
Wen Qing felt a bit helpless, “Then what about my blind date?”
“Blind date?!” Han Wei’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. Wen Ge is old now, I’m going to get married.”
The girl averted her gaze elsewhere and pretended to act casual as she said, “Why go on a blind date? It’s obvious that no one’s going to want an old man like you. Why don’t you consider me? I’ll bite the bullet and accept you.” Her words were laced in a witty manner.
“I prefer mature and modest ones. You’re still too young.” Wen Qing laughed.
Looking at the girl’s slightly dispirited eyes, he patted her head again, “Didn’t you say that you didn’t have anyone to watch a movie with? That’s perfect. You can stay back and keep an eye on the shop.”
Han Wei instantly pouted and shamelessly acted like a spoiled child.
Wen Qing squinted his eyes.
The landlady had constantly been wanting to introduce a girlfriend to him but he had originally brushed it aside. Wouldn’t it be a joke if someone with his sexuality went to find a girlfriend? However, recently Han Wei had been…. It was just a blind date anyways, such a covert rejection wouldn’t hurt the lady’s feelings too much.
—
*Ding-a-ling*
The wind chime sounded as the door was pushed open. Han Wei lifted her head up with a smile, “Welcome.”
Han Wei gazed at the handsome and taciturn man in front of him who was wearing a black suit. This man seemed to always come here every Saturday night when it was her shift. This had probably been going on for about half a year?
“Hello, is there anything I can help you with?”
The man pointed to the tiramisu, “Two serves.”
“Okay.”
When Han Wei was packing the dessert, she said, “You seem to get the tiramisu every time you come here.”
The man nodded his head, “There’s someone at home who likes to eat it.”
Han Wei handed the man the ready-packed tiramisu, “What a coincidence. Our boss’s favourite thing to eat is also tiramisu.”
The man paused for a moment. It looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he merely took the dessert and politely smiled before leaving.
Han Wei watched the man push open the door and get into the car that was parked just outside. It had a car plate that was from another city.
Han Wei thought, this man isn’t driving all the way from out of town to come here and buy tiramisu every week right?
The very next moment, she even thought that her own thought was too far fetched. Who would be so romantic?
He probably came from out of town to live here for a while.
* * *
[1] 文哥 (Wen Ge) Just a reminder, that 哥 (Ge) means older brother and is often used to call a guy who is slightly older than you.
Chapter 35
* * *
The man made his next visit on Christmas Eve.
Han Wei smiled towards the man, “Two serves of tiramisu?”
The man nodded his head before asking, “You’re working today too?”
“Yeah. Boss has gone on a blind date, yet he’s still not considerate enough to give me a break.”
“Blind date?” The man furrowed his brows.
“Yeah. Boss said he was getting old and that it was time to get married.” Han Wei packed the dessert and gave it to the other person along with the change.
The man’s expression was slightly unsightly as he grabbed his stuff and hurriedly left.
—
Wen Qing’s blind date wasn’t enjoyable.
The lady opposite him was indeed quite pretty. Her every move exuded the lingering charms of a woman. At the beginning, they chatted happily but when she heard that he didn’t own a house or a car, the air between them came to a stalemate. Beneath the lady’s eyes hid hints of mockery and disdain. She continually drank sips of her coffee before she took her bag and excused herself to the bathroom.
Wen Qing helplessly smiled. He waited for a while but the lady probably wasn’t going to come back. Just as he was about to wave his hand for the bill, another person sat in front of him.
It was Yan Han.
Wen Qing suddenly felt like a century had passed by, yet it also felt as if everything only just happened yesterday.
Wen Qing was dumbfounded for a moment and subconsciously lifted the corners of his mouth to form a polite smile.
The man furrowed his brows, “Blind date?”
Wen Qing nodded his head. The moment he did so, he instantly felt tyranny exuding from the man. He thought the other person would burst into anger and curse at him.
However, the man merely sighed before speaking in a voice that suddenly made Wen Qing have the urge to cry, “Wen Qing, come back.”
Wen Qing thought, did he want me to go back?
Wen Qing blinked his eyes. He thought he would cry, but he didn’t.
It was like as though his tear ducts had aged, and could no longer produce tears from being dried up due to the countless nights of insomnia.
And so Wen Qing shook his head, “There’s no need. Life is pretty good here.”
The other man lowered his head, “Come back. Wen Qing. It’s so tiring without you. I’m so tired. Come back Wen Qing.”
Wen Qing dumbfoundedly looked at the man in front of him who seemed to appear as though he had suddenly aged ten years.
“Three years? I thought you would have changed.”
It was hard to detect whether Wen Qing’s tone of speech was friendly or not. Yan Han didn’t dare speak.
“I thought you would have become less selfish.”
Yan Han straightened his figure, “I’m not selfish. I just want you to come back.”
“See? You’re the one who wants me to go back, not me. Yan Han, I don’t owe you anything from these past ten odd years. Can we part merrily?”
Wen Qing watched Yan Han who had his head lowered.
After a long time when Wen Qing had stood up and started to leave, Yan Han finally softly said, “No.”
Wen Qing didn’t even turn his head back. It was as though he heard nothing.
Chapter 36
Han Wei was still there when Wen Qing returned to the shop.
“Why are you still here?” The corners of Wen Qing’s lips formed a smile, looking as if he just had an enjoyable time at his blind date.
Han Wei pulled her lips into a thin line, “There’s no one home anyways.”
“Where’s your father?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t come home for three months.”
Wen Qing frowned and checked the time, “It’s already late, why don’t you spend the night here?”
“Okay~.” Han Wei nodded her head with a smile, “As per usual, you sleep on the sofa and I’ll sleep on the bed!”
Wen Qing consented with a laugh.
—
The sofa was a bit too short, leaving his feet hanging off the ledge.
Wen Qing couldn’t really fall asleep, so he flipped over and curled his body into a ball.
He liked Han Wei, but it wasn’t the kind of ‘love’ between a man and a woman. It was merely fondness, akin to that of the loving care and cherishment between brother and sister.
He still remembered the time when he was bedridden with a high fever. The fever had left him feeling delirious and too weak to make a phone call. It was that silly girl who found him when she had arrived to bring him dumplings. The girl was so flustered she even started crying. She stayed up all night to look after him, after sending him to the hospital. After he came around, he saw the silly girl with red puffy eyes and felt so sorry for her he didn’t even know what to say.
He had even once thought about just taking the silly girl as his partner.
He then cursed at himself for being so foolish. If he stayed together with her, then he would be wasting her entire lifetime. Plus, the girl didn’t really have such feelings for him anyways.
The silly girl didn’t know that herself, but he could tell.
The silly girl was just too used to treating him well, and she had also kept him company for a long time. Children were never able to figure out which category their fondness for someone belonged to.
Wen Qing flipped over to back face the sofa. He suddenly thought of Wen Bai.
Did that dumb kid still show now mercy when he spoke?
But he had probably grown up by now. It had been three years since they last met.
The other person had probably almost completely forgotten about him.
Children were always ever-changing.
However, that was good too.
It would be fine if everyone forgot about each other.
Wen Qing lifted the corners of his mouth pulled the blanket closer to himself.
Chapter 37
* * *
Han Wei didn’t show up these past few days.
She hadn’t picked up her calls either. Wen Qing was worried that something had happened to her while she was living alone. The more he thought about it, the more worried he became and so he hurriedly closed the shop that afternoon and decided to pay Han Wei a visit at home.
—
For a moment Wen Qing thought that no one would open the door. Wen Qing’s heart sunk as he hopelessly shouted, “Han Wei! Are you home?”.
Something seemed to stir behind the door. Wen Qing pressed against the door and listened carefully. It wasn’t until a while later that he heard Han Wei’s weak voice, “Is it Wen Ge?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
The door was opened the next moment and a girl with bloodshot eyes flung herself into Wen Qing’s arms.
Something definitely happened.
Wen Qing closed the door and gently patted Han Wei’s back, “Dear, what’s the matter?”
Han Wei furiously shook her head in Wen Qing’s embrace.
Wen Qing knitted his brows before he held onto Han Wei’s shoulders and made her look him in the eyes, “Tell me. What’s the matter?”
The girl sobbed for a long time. Wen Qing listened to her intermittent bits and pieces and came to a general understanding of what the problem was.
Han Wei’s father was an engineering entrepreneur who had accepted a project one and a half years ago. The assistant who was responsible for purchasing materials stole a portion of the money. Later on when something went wrong at the construction site, the assistant had already ran away. Thus, all of the responsibility and compensatory debt landed on her father’s head. The compensation of the partnering company could only be delayed over and over again, but the same could not be done with the emotions of the families who suffered a loss from the casualties. The compensatory insurance money of the workers were clearly just a drop in the bucket. Hence, Father Han went and borrowed an usurious loan, only so that he could beg the family members not to take it to court. He had planned to take on the project to pay back the loan, but before he had time to resume work, the loan sharks were already at his front door.
Two days ago, the front door of the house hadn’t been locked from the inside. When she came home she discovered that the house had been turned into a mess. Han Wei only dared to lock the door and hide at home right now.
“How much money does he owe?” Wen Qing asked.
Han Wei sniffled, “A total of three million if you include the compensation and interest.”
Wen Qing muttered to himself for a while. Three million dollars wasn’t a small sum for him given his current situation, or perhaps one could say that it was completely impossible.
“Don’t worry dear. I’ll resolve the money issue. It’s not safe here, you can come and live at my place.”
Han Wei shook her head with red, teary eyes, “I don’t want to trouble you Wen Ge. My dad should be able to find a few friends to get enough money, and there’s also a bit….” The more she spoke, the more despaired she felt. After all, she was still just a young girl and her eyes teared up once again.
Wen Qing patted Han Wei’s head and gently smiled as if the problem wasn’t a big deal at all, “Dear, Wen Ge has a very good friend. Three million dollars should be a small sum for him. Listen to me and go pack up your things so you can come stay at my place.”
“Really?” Han Wei’s eyes sparkled.
Wen Qing nodded his head, “Of course it’s real. It just so happens that Wen Ge is going to pay him a visit soon. I’ll ask the landlady to keep you company while I’m away for the next few days. Don’t randomly go out and remember to stay safe.”
Han Wei reached up and sloppily rubbed away her tears, “Thank you Wen Ge. My dad will pay you back in the future.”
Wen Qing patted her head again.
He cast down his eyes and silently sighed.
Chapter 38
* * *
It took Wen Bai a long time to process what had just happened when Wen Qing phoned him saying that he was going to come find him.
He was completely immersed in a half-awoken state. He was scared that this was all a dream, yet he was also frightful that he would soon wake up from it.
He continued to feel unsettled right up until Wen Qing sat in front of him.
—
Wen Qing clearly looked slightly exhausted after his trip.
“Wen Bai, I have a favour to ask.” Wen Qing pulled his lips into a thin line.
“What favour?”
“Lend me three million dollars and I’ll pay you back in the future.”
“Did something happen?” The were hints of worriedness beneath Wen Bai’s eyes.
“No, I’m helping a friend.”
Wen Bai lifted the corners of his lips and laughed as he wrote a cheque right then and there.
Wen Qing reached out to grab it only for Wen Bai to grab onto his hand, “What friend is so important that you’ve come to ask me for help?”
“An adopted sister.”
“Sister?” Wen Bai laughed in a joking manner, “Are you guys really close?”
Wen Qing felt slightly uncomfortable inside as he nodded his head with a frown.
“You don’t have to return the money. Let’s just say that it’s my thank you gift to them for helping me look after you for three years.”
Wen Qing remained silent as he waited for Wen Bai to continue.
“Wen Qing. Three years, it’s been long enough.” Wen Bai gazed at Wen Qing’s face and knitted his brows, “You can’t punish me with his mistakes.”
Wen Qing met Wen Bai’s gaze with a dull expression, “Then what do you want me to do?”
“Can’t you give me a chance?”
“Sure, why not.” Wen Qing faintly smiled, appearing to be indifferent, “I would never have imagined that I would be worth three million dollars. Why not?”
Wen Bai remained silent for a long time.
“Wen Qing, do you believe that my heart will soften if you degrade yourself like that? Wen Qing, it’s already been three years. I should’ve changed by now.” Wen Bai reached out and caressed Wen Qing’s face, full of sentimental affection, “Do you know? I wouldn’t even be content with just waiting. One must always create their own opportunities.”
Wen Qing’s body stiffened.
“Wen Qing, I sometimes feel tired too.”
Wen Qing felt sorrowful for some unknown reason.
He retrieved the piece of paper from Wen Bai’s hand. It was so heavy that Wen Qing didn’t dare lift his head up.
Chapter 39
* * *
Wen Qing returned to the hotel and lay down on the bed.
He blankly stared at the ceiling with his eyes wide open.
These things were were too heavy and he couldn’t carry the burden himself. Wen Qing turned his body over.
His phone ringed. It was a call from Han Wei.
; “Thank you Wen Ge! My dad just called me!”
“Called you for what?” Wen Qing felt somewhat confused.
“Huh? My dad told me that your friend has already helped and paid back the debt.”
Wen Qing glimpsed at the cheque on the bedside table, “My friend?”
“Yeah. They said that they were a good friend of yours for ten odd years.” Han Wei sensed that something was wrong with Wen Qing’s tone, and so continued on to ask, “Wen Ge? Is something wrong?”
Wen Qing frowned, “No. I just didn’t think he would be so quick.”
Han Wei laughed, “Wen Ge is such a nice person, even your friends are so loyal!”
Wen Qing remained silent for a while before saying, “Okay, the problem is solved now. I’ll be staying back to have some fun for a few more days.”
“Okay! But I need to get paid for overtime work if I help you keep an eye on the shop!”
“Okay, okay.” Wen Qing randomly said a few more words before ending the call.
—
A good friend of more than ten years?
Wen Qing lifted the corners of his lips. His ten odd years were all spent entangled together with Yan Han, so how could he possibly have any good hearted friends?
Haha. Friends. Wen Qing’s smile was full of self mockery.
—
Wen Qing found time to return the money to Wen Bai.
When faced with Wen Bai’s questions, Wen Qing merely said that the situation had been resolved and so the money was no longer needed.
Wen Bai didn’t inquire any further as he gazed at Wen Qing with a forced smile.
“That’s fine. Wen Qing, would you rather shut yourself off from others until you die than be willing to rely on someone else?”
Wen Qing’s eyes were slightly out of focus. He heard Wen Bai sigh.
“If you get tired of it all, then come and find me. I’ll wait for you.”
Wen Qing shook his head, “Your life belongs to you and you alone. I wouldn’t dare drag anyone else with me.”
