Gentlemen's Friends

Chapter 38 Part 2: Part [-] ([-])
"How old is he? Where is he from?"

"Uh, I don't know..."

"Then what do you know?"

Le Xiao was a little confused: "The fat man doesn't like to talk, how much can I know. What's wrong?"

Ren Ningyuan thought for a while, then shook his head: "It's nothing."

I can't tell the specifics, but I just think of something, and I feel a little uneasy.

When Ren Ningyuan went out to do errands the next day, he stopped by that street again, but the fat man no longer set up a stall there. He asked the nearby vendor, and the other party replied: "It seems to be sick? It rained yesterday. If the stall is confiscated, I won’t come today.”

"Do you know where he lives?"

"I don't know that either. What can I do with him?"

"It's nothing." Ren Ningyuan paused, "Thank you."

Presumably it was a family of three, and the person he was thinking of, even if he really came back from the soil, would be alone.

Ren Ningyuan soon forgot about this matter. The first 72 hours of the new entertainment city opened without sleep, the crowds were crowded, there were too many people to entertain, everyone was inevitably very busy.

Of course, the more dignitaries who came to support him, the higher he stood.For this kind of business, his contacts are enough for him to easily get everything he wants.

There was a lot of noise downstairs, Ren Ningyuan stood in the high-rise room, looking at the city through the floor-to-ceiling glass.The pedestrians below are just like ants.In this overriding feeling, he always felt that something was missing.Vaguely heard that person calling him again, admired, trusted - "Boss."

Ren Ningyuan groped and sat down on a chair.

In fact, it has been a year, and it should have been accepted long ago. Relatives or Yu Bei, others have already sang.What's more, when that man was alive, he was never even someone to him.

He had no position to grieve for too long.So he looked as calm as ever, as usual.

Yes, that person is nothing, it is too small.Compared with him, it may only be as big as a screw.

But the parts in his heart were loose.

He still works, but it's not stable anymore, without the screw, there is always a noise in the chest.Over a long period of time, it gradually seemed to be falling apart, unable to even stand up.

"Mr. Ren, I'm still waiting for you..."

Ren Ningyuan waved his back to the visitor.

After a few minutes, he stood up, adjusted his clothes, and his face was already calm: "Let them prepare the wine."

Tonight, Ren Ningyuan's condition is not very good, and he feels uncomfortable after drinking a little too much, so Ye Xiutuo went out with him to change the air.The car drove for a while, and Ren Ningyuan, who was leaning on the back of the chair, straightened up suddenly: "Stop."

The car stopped quickly, and Ren Ningyuan opened the door forcefully: "I saw him just now."

Ye Xiutuo knew what he was talking about and grabbed his arm: "Ning Yuan, don't do this, Qu Tongqiu is already dead."

In the first month after the man's funeral, Ren Ningyuan often did this. He didn't believe that the man was dead. In his eyes, there always seemed to be the shadow of that man among the passers-by.Indeed, there are too many skinny men on the road, and everyone looks familiar.

Ren Ningyuan stubbornly said, "No, I really saw him."

However, there was nothing outside the car, and the convenience store next to it was about to close. At this late night, the pedestrians on the street did not include the kind of middle-aged men who lived at home.

The car stopped for a while, and finally drove away.

The fat man came out of the convenience store with a bag of oden in his hand.Convenience stores are closing, and unsold oden will be disposed of, so it is easy to get a smiley face.

He changed a place to set up a stall, and in this line of work, he would have no income for a day if he didn't start working. He had rested for a few days before, which was already the limit.He doesn't try to solicit business with sweet tongues, and he can make some money because he is more diligent and able to endure than others.On a winter night like this, when there is no business, everyone can't help but go back to get under the covers. There are not many people on the street, and he is the only one who can sit there patiently.

When everyone wants to go home, only he can hold on. Selling one more piece is one piece. He relies on this doubled patience and persistence to make ends meet.

It was very cold tonight, there were not many people setting up stalls, and there were few customers. The fat man ate some overcooked meatballs to satisfy his hunger, and sat for a while, but nothing was sold, and he didn't even stop to look at it.

Finally someone came towards him. The fat man lowered his head to look at his stall. The legs in his vision slowly approached, and finally stopped less than one meter away from him.

The fat man didn't move, he just froze and waited.

The legs bent down, squatted down, and then picked up a decently made lighter on the stall with one hand: "How much is this?"

"15 yuan……"

The pronunciation was a bit vague, but the customer understood it and took out his wallet to pay.The fat man looked down and returned the change, and then the legs walked away again.

The fat man continued to sit, slightly relaxed and distracted.

No wonder the old man didn't recognize him.

He has become old and fat, even fatter than when he was studying, and his whole body is gray and bloated, beyond recognition.There was a street stall on the side of the road, and even his former colleagues passed by him without thinking of taking a look at him.

There was really no waiting for business, and it was time to close the stall. The fat man packed up his things and walked back with them on his shoulders.On such a cold night, he only missed a bowl of hot soup that he could cook for himself when he returned to his residence.

He lived on the first floor, strictly speaking, it was a semi-basement, except for the light and humidity, there was nothing wrong with it.While taking out the keys at the door, I suddenly heard someone behind me say, "Qu Tongqiu."

The fat man turned his head instinctively, and when he really came to his senses, goose bumps all over his body instantly.

Before he had time to react, the man was already in front of him, and the aura made the fat man panic.

The wrist was grabbed, his hand was cold, and the other's was hot, as if handcuffs made of iron were put on his hand.

"Is that you? Qu Tongqiu."

The fat man was in severe pain from being caught, he couldn't help but trembled and said: "You, you have admitted the wrong person..."

The man was still grabbing him so hard that his wrist bones cracked and almost broke.

The light cast by the street lamps was not bright enough, but it was barely enough for them to see each other's faces clearly.

The man still has a well-groomed appearance that makes people feel pressured.

Ren Ningyuan is Ren Ningyuan, except for a little subtle trace of time, nothing has changed.

And a fat man is just a fat man, nothing more than ordinary, fat to this extent, his face is blurred, just like many other fat men, there is no difference at all.

"Qu Tongqiu." The man said in a firm but trembling tone.

"Sir, you have the wrong person."

The two were in a tense stalemate, Ren Ningyuan suddenly let go of one hand, and forcibly touched his face, neck, and chest.

The heart was beating "plopppppp" under the palm, clear and real.

"You live."

The fat man could feel the man trembling, which made him tremble too.

The expression on the man's face was indescribable, as if he had caught a wandering soul in an alley late at night.

"Qu Tongqiu."

Fatty didn't know where the strength came from, he broke free from the man's hand and ran wildly.He couldn't run fast, and the man wanted to catch him again, so he threw the bag on his shoulders on the man, and then fled, into the labyrinth-like alley in the night.

These alleys are winding and winding, and even experienced taxi drivers may not be able to get around clearly.The fat man scrambled from side to side for a while, sweating profusely and out of breath, finally stopped running, put his hands on his knees and panted for a long time.

No one followed behind, he knew that he had already left Ren Ningyuan behind.

However, I also felt that the man seemed to be behind him.

He knew his peaceful life was over.He has to start a new round of escape.

A year ago, he ran away overnight. In fact, he didn't know where he was going to escape at that time. Anyway, he hadn't escaped very far before he was followed and blocked in an alley for robbery.

The other party looked like a fugitive, and he was probably in a hurry to hide. When he was caught alone, he was beaten and kicked until he couldn't move, and then he was robbed from head to toe, even his coat and shoes were gone. Picked up.

Later, he saw the TV news on the side of the road. Below it was a scrolling text reminder of the death row prisoner escaping from prison. On the top was the report of the highway accident, the victim vehicle and the description of the characteristics of the victim.

There was a flash of lightning in his mind, and he suddenly understood what happened in an instant.

He realized that "self" had disappeared from this world.

The prisoner will be buried as if he were "dead".

And from then on, he could live again anonymously, and no one forced him this time.He was completely, free of the past, and those people.

It is not so easy to live again.He was robbed, his identity was lost, and he was beaten badly. Now that he was "dead", he didn't dare to hang out in crowded places, didn't dare to deal with people, and just hid during the day.

He began to make a living in the area at night by rummaging through junk, looking for something to eat and something to sell.This industry is filthy and smelly, and there are many hardships. It is necessary to abide by the rules and be angry everywhere, but the income is slightly better than he imagined.

He rummaged through garbage a lot, picked up scraps and sold them every day, and gradually saved some money in addition to food and clothing.With some savings, he learned from others to wholesale some goods and set up a street stall.

In such a difficult life, he gained weight like breathing.

He doesn't think about anything, he just eats, works, eats, and works.Life is tiring, but it is very simple, he does not need to burden too much.

Everyone thought that "Qu Tongqiu" was dead.

He also really felt that he was dead.

Those people and things in the past seemed to be from the previous life, and he had already crossed the Naihe Bridge and drank Mengpo soup.The past life is stuffed in a jar, thrown out, and he can live as a whole new person.

Although this new life is more humble and difficult than before, and he is tired and hard, but he finally has a moment of peace.

And now he couldn't even have that kind of peace.

The fat man knocked on the door three or four times, and the woman inside came to open the door. Beibei was also very happy to see him, and ran over to be hugged by him.

The woman saw that he was in a state of embarrassment and that he had lost everything, so she hurriedly asked, "What's the matter? Did you meet a robber?"

The fat man was still panting: "Can I... borrow from you for a while?"

The woman poured him a cup of hot water: "Drink some water first. Don't be polite to me, you can stay as long as you want."

She knew that the fat man had no evil intentions, and she had seen a lot of her husband's appearance when he was avoiding debts, so she was very familiar with this fearful expression of avoiding something.

The fat man was nestled on the old sofa in the living room, the sky went from dark to extremely dark, and then lightened up a little, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.The part of his life that he wanted to abandon is now chasing him, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

Ren Ningyuan hadn't seen the fat man again for several days. Ren Ningyuan almost felt that he was drunk that night, and then had a dream. In the dream, he tentatively bought that person's things, followed that person, and then only Just barely caught him.

However, Fatty's bag had already been picked up by him, and those things were all real.

Ye Xiutuo and Rong Liu still didn't believe him, they just thought that some unlucky passerby was being harassed again.But Ren Ningyuan never doubted himself.

If there is only one person in this world who can recognize that man, it must be him.

The fat man didn't dare to go home, and he didn't dare to set up a stall again, not to mention that he had nothing left.He applied for a temporary job as a cleaner.

The resume verification for short-term work is not very strict, the fake identity can get through, and he is hard-working, so he was hired.

This largest entertainment city in T City has just opened. There are so many novelties and too many customers. Before coming here, I didn't know that there are so many rich and leisure people in the world.A cleaner like him has to work from morning to night, and he can't let the guests bump into him, and he is so tired that he can't straighten up.

The work is endless moving, cleaning, scrubbing and disinfecting.When he was resting, he couldn't eat and couldn't sleep.Even though I knew that T City was so big, and it was really small to bump into Ren Ningyuan again, I still couldn't feel at ease. I felt uneasy and anxious every day, and lost a lot of weight in a few days.

After work this day, the fat man bought some vegetables and went to the woman's house.He lives there temporarily and will take the initiative to make some meals every day.When I walked to the door, I bumped into a man. I didn't pay much attention in the night, and the man walked away cursing.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw that the room was in a mess as if it had been burglarized. The woman was sitting on the ground with disheveled hair and tears on her face.

The fat man was startled, and hurried to help her: "What's the matter?"

"Ah Chao came back just now and came to get money again, he still wants to gamble..."

"Take the money? Where do you have money for him?"

"I saved a little, but that money is for Beibei to study in the future, she should go to kindergarten..."

The fat man put the things on the table: "How can this work! Did he just leave? I'll go after him."

"Fat..."

Regardless of the woman calling him from behind, the fat man turned around and went out.After not chasing very far, he caught up with the man named A Chao, and the fat man grabbed him from behind: "Stop."

The man turned his head angrily: "What are you doing?"

"You returned the money to Amei, and you emptied it all. How can their mother and daughter live? How can you be such a husband?"

Ah Chao is not soft on beating up his wife, but with a big man like Fatty around, he also felt worried, so he just pushed Fatty first, and cursed: "None of your business!"

Fatty's feet were unsteady, and he staggered two steps back.Ah Chao saw that this person was not material for a fight, so he emboldened: "Fatty man, he doesn't even stand like a human being, so he's too lenient."

The woman also came after her, and said hastily, "Fatty, stop arguing with him..."

The man took a look and said "Yo": "I still said, it's none of his business, it turns out you have an affair."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

The man salivated, and approached the fat man: "Oh, to be honest, that little money is not enough for me to play two games, and I am worried about not having enough money. My wife has no money, you adulterer must be rich?"

The woman begged: "Don't make trouble..."

"Am I making a mistake? I'm causing trouble? It's only natural to pay off debts."

The fat man was puzzled: "What debt do I owe you?"

"What debt? Don't play tricks, how can a man's wife not give money after playing around?"

The fat man's face was flushed red: "You, you bastard, you are not human, you..."

This time, before Ah Chao could make a move, the fat man punched the man in the face first.

"Bastard, give her back the money!"

The two wrestled together, no matter how dull the fat man was, his strength was not inferior to this skinny monkey-like man... After both of them had bruised noses and swollen faces, he finally sat down on Ah Chao's back and twisted one of the other's arms on his back. Behind his back, he gasped and said, "Take out the money!"

The man screamed in pain, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

The fat man took the money and returned it to the woman, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and didn't care about Ah Chao still cursing behind his back, he gave the woman a hand: "Go back."

The woman was sobbing as she walked, and the fat man comforted her: "It's okay. Anyway, no matter how much trouble he makes, he won't give you money. With me here, you don't have to be afraid of him beating you."

As before, he is not good at fighting.But compared to his previous self, he was more likely to feel righteous indignation in his cowardice.

Probably because he already understood that there is no savior in this world, and the little people can only rely on the hands of the little people.Reality sometimes forces people to be brave.

He wiped some iodine on the place where he was beaten, and the next day the fat man went to work in the entertainment city as usual, cleaned up as scheduled, and picked up some things.The waste products can still be sold, and he is very pleased to get more harvest every day.

Fatty finished the final disinfection of the bathroom and was about to go out when a visitor happened to come in.Usually, this kind of situation means that he didn't grasp the time well, so he just bent down and bowed his head to get out. He just got back to the door, but he heard the visitor say: "Wait a minute."

Fatty knew it was going to be bad as soon as he heard the voice, and sure enough, that person's face was still swollen, and it was A Chao who had just beaten each other yesterday.

"Brother Gao, it's him," Ah Chao said to the man next to him like a dog, "He took my money and caused me to miss that scene last night, which missed our fortune."

(End of this chapter)