Gentlemen's Friends

Chapter 1 Part [-]: One
In the scorching summer, at the exit of the subway station in T City, the middle-aged man and girl carrying luggage were inconspicuous in the crowded crowd, just like when they got off the train.

"Dad, this is too heavy!"

"Is it heavy? Then I'll get it."

"That's not what it means!! Why don't we take the car? Isn't it convenient to take the luggage to the car?"

"I can carry this little thing. It's not far away. I've walked past it several times when I'm on a business trip. The bus won't drive directly to the door of our apartment, and I still have to walk by foot."

"Where is the taxi?"

"It's really not far away. We don't need to waste the starting price. Besides, it's so hot now that the taxis here won't even turn on the air conditioner. It's very stuffy inside. It's better to take a walk to cool off."

The girl went crazy: "Dad!!!"

The father hurriedly comforted: "Don't worry, don't talk about such a small amount of luggage, even if it is doubled, I can take it. Don't carry it, give it to me. Just take a walk with Dad, huh?"

The man tied the straps of two large plastic bags together, and put them on the shoulders one after the other, as if carrying a load, and carried a bag in each hand, which looked very funny.

The girl pouted, and snatched a dark luggage bag with the words "XX Company [-]th Anniversary" printed on it from the man's hand: "Forget it, you just love to hold on."

The man was very relieved to see her walking in front of him, with her long ponytail swinging back and forth angrily. The daughter looked thin and small, but she still had great strength.

The apartment as the destination finally appeared in front of him. The man wiped off his sweat and said with a smile, "Look, isn't it here?"

The girl muttered: "What do you mean 'this is not', we have been walking for a long time."

The man smiled and comforted her: "The starting fare for a taxi is 12 yuan. I've already saved it. Can I save it to buy cakes for you?"

The girl was still young, so when she heard this, she immediately cheered: "Good!"

Sweating profusely and climbing up to the fifth floor, when the man took out the key and opened the door, both of them heaved a sigh of relief.

The dormitory arranged by the head office in T City is specially reserved for the temporary residence of the employees of the out-of-town branch who come on business trips or advanced studies. Although the house is old and the decoration is simple, the location is good, the traffic is very convenient, and there is no problem with the orientation. .Best of all, you don't have to pay rent.

"Xiao Ke, you boil water first. Here, I brought the kettle, take it, the socket is over there, see? Then wash a cup and drink some water, and then you can rest. Don't worry about the luggage, I will organize it .”

"it is good."

Qu Ke ran to the kitchen to fill up water, plugged in the electric kettle, and started working with a slight "humming" sound.

Qu Tongqiu became a divorced man early on, with only one daughter.Qu Ke is also very competitive. She was admitted to T University at the age of 14, and she was still No. 1 in the city.The father is both happy and worried about this.Although my daughter is very sensible and is much more mature than her peers, she is only 14 years old after all, and it is hard not to worry about being thrown into a university far away in a foreign land.If it wasn't for his daughter's goal of T University, he would have preferred her to choose a university in her hometown.

After the divorce, Qu Tongqiu's life centered on his daughter, she was the sun, and his father was the earth.Since his daughter is going to stay in T city for a few years or even longer, of course he has to follow.It just so happened that the company had the opportunity for management employees to come to the head office in T City for training. He tried every means to get what he wanted to broaden his horizons and innovate ideas.

Qu Tongqiu roughly cleaned the room, sat down with his daughter to eat the dry food and water he had brought, and continued to tidy things up. The little girl didn't feel tired, and when she was full, she took a rag and wiped the entire room. .

"Fill your stomach first, and let's have a good meal in the evening," Qu Tongqiu patted Qu Ke's head, "Daughter, I have wronged you."

The one-bedroom apartment is almost tidied up. Although the sun is still in the sky, it is not too early, and the scorching heat outside has subsided a lot.

Qu Tongqiu thought about going out to buy a small bed at night. He brought all the fabric, clips and wire, and drew a thick curtain in the bedroom, so there would be room for Qu Ke to sleep.

It will be a few days before T University starts to register. Naturally, the father and daughter will spend this time and the weekends in the future together.

"Xiao Ke, go take a bath and take a rest. After we go out to eat, we will visit your Uncle Ren."

Cheering, Qu Ke found a new dress and went to the bathroom.

Qu Tongqiu sat for a while, then picked up the receiver of the living room phone.When pressing the numbers one by one, I couldn't help smiling, but also a little nervous.

All his relatives are in his hometown, and he doesn't have many friends from other places, but he happens to have a best friend in T city.

Of course, the so-called "best friend" is for him, but the other party may not think so.

But Ren Ningyuan really treated him very well and helped him a lot.

I won't mention the things about the student days, his later girlfriend was also introduced by Ren Ningyuan.

When he got married, he had just dropped out of college, and both parents disapproved and couldn't afford it financially.Ren Ningyuan even helped him book a hotel, arranged the entire wedding banquet, lent him all the expenses, and even included a large gift money to ease the urgent need. He was so grateful that he didn't know what to do.

It's just that the usual contacts are not salty, he doesn't belong to Ren Ningyuan's circle of friends.The two of them don't even have much daily contact. He often writes emails, sends greeting cards during New Years and holidays, and sends specialties from his hometown to eat. Ren Ningyuan usually doesn't reply, at most the word "received", and he doesn't bother to answer anything else.

Only when he was in trouble, Ren Ningyuan would show up, solve it quickly and cleanly, and then disappear, and the two continued to communicate as usual.

Qu Tongqiu waited for a while, and the line rang several times before getting connected. Ren Ningyuan was always very lazy when it comes to calls from unfamiliar numbers.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"it's me."

The man said "Oh": "Why don't you use your mobile phone?"

"Hey, I haven't bought a calling card here yet, using a mobile phone is long-distance plus roaming..."

As always, the man didn't appreciate his shabbiness, and interrupted him: "You're not in City C? Where is that?"

Qu Tongqiu was a little surprised at his slowness: "I'm in T city. Is there a number on it?"

It took a few seconds for the other party to question: "Why are you here?"

Qu Tongqiu has actually been here several times, but he came here in a hurry, did business in a hurry, and then went back in a hurry. The scope of activities was only the dormitory-the company-the client company. nonstop.

Besides, Ren Ningyuan seemed to be busy too.He didn't even know which company Ren Ningyuan was in, what job he was doing, and what his current situation was... There was no need for a hasty greeting.

Now it is time to live for two years, or strive for longer.Thinking of seeing Ren Ningyuan again after many years, and living in the same city with friends who have only been in touch by phone for a long time, I felt novelty and excitement, "I have a surprise for you."

But the man was shocked, but not happy at all.The voice on the other end of the phone was faint: "Are you on a business trip?"

Qu Tongqiu was used to nodding and bowing in front of him, and immediately felt guilty: "No, it's training, it will take two years."

Ren Ningyuan was quite reproachful: "Why didn't you even mention it to me first?"

Qu Tongqiu hurriedly apologized with a smile: "Actually, my daughter was admitted to T University and came to study. I also transferred to the head office here. I don't think it's a big deal. I will ask you out for dinner when I come here, and I will have dinner with you." Say it, too."

There was no more sound from the phone, and one could imagine Ren Ningyuan on the other end of the phone frowning heavily.

"You take Xiao Ke out at night, let's have a meal together. I should welcome you."

Qu Tongqiu hurriedly answered a series of "yes".

Ren Ningyuan was calm by nature, so he naturally didn't say anything, obviously very unwelcome.This was far from what he had imagined, and Qu Tongqiu felt a little nervous.

In the evening, Qu Tongqiu had planned to treat himself to a mid-range restaurant that he had accompanied clients to before, but in the end he went to the restaurant that Ren Ningyuan ordered.

Although Qu Tongqiu attaches great importance to this friend, he is actually a little afraid, or in awe of Ren Ningyuan.This kind of awe is already frozen three feet, not a day's cold, Ren Ningyuan says "yes" to everything, or "good", "right", "ok"... Coupled with the non-stop laughing, he spontaneously dropped two Wait, don't even dare to grab the order and pay the bill.

Qu Ke gets along with Ren Ningyuan more naturally, she is lively, smart, cute and well-behaved, she has always been liked by the elders, and she has the ability to make Ren Ningyuan smile frequently.

After a meal was almost finished, Ren Ningyuan said to Qu Ke: "By the way, uncle has a gift for you. It's not a good thing, but it's always useful in school. You study hard and don't worry your dad."

Generally speaking, if a child in the family is admitted to a good university, there will be such practical gifts among acquaintances and relatives.The elders gave a red envelope of 100 to [-], saying that it was for buying stationery, or a few books, or study-related supplies.

The female colleagues in the company even gave Qu Ke a dress, saying goodbye to the middle school student uniform, saying that she was going to be a big girl.

Qu Tongqiu naturally thanked Ren Ningyuan for his kindness, and then accepted it.

The gift was a big box that was carefully wrapped, a bit heavy to hold but not particularly heavy.With that weight, one can't help but wonder if it is some kind of solid pastry.Anyway, Ren Ningyuan will never give away weird things that make people laugh and cry.

When I got home, I opened the box, and Qu Tongqiu was startled by the contents, while Qu Ke happily yelled, "Ah, Xiaobai!"

Qu Tongqiu was at a loss.Received an Apple laptop as a school gift for a child, it was too heavy.

"Dad..."

Qu Ke guessed what he was thinking, and immediately rushed forward and hugged "Xiao Bai", for fear of being pushed back by him.

Qu Tongqiu is in a dilemma.No reward for no merit.But seeing his daughter so obediently staring at her, few fathers can pour cold water on her.

"Dad! Dad! I will definitely use this for drawing pictures in the future."

Qu Tongqiu let out an "ah".Qu Ke is sensible enough. She never acted like other children and said she wanted this or that. Even if she wanted to eat a popsicle snack, she would do housework first in exchange for pocket money.She really should have had a better equipped laptop in college.

And people with Ren Ningyuan's personality don't like others to go against his will.If it is sent out with good intentions, it is sent out, and the receiver just accepts it, saying polite words such as "I'm sorry", "It's too heavy", and returning it with a nod and bow, it will only get a contempt. cold face.

Qu Tongqiu thought about it, so he patted Qu Ke's head: "It's okay to keep the computer, but you have to remember Uncle Ren's kindness, and you have to honor him when you have a future, you know?"

"Of course I know!" Qu Ke hugged the white machine happily, "But it will take a few years for me to have a bright future, why don't you pay my respects first, Dad."

Qu Tongqiu was very emotional.I originally planned to buy a laptop for my daughter as a reward for being admitted to a prestigious school.But when he divorced, he gave his savings to his wife and started anew with nothing.Over the past few years, his income has been used to pay for one big and one small expenses, especially for children. He can't save money, so he can't save too much.

I have prepared college tuition and living expenses for one semester, and the rest is calculated. It is not enough to buy a good laptop. Let's talk about saving money.

But Ren Ningyuan bought the thing he lacked the most.Now he doesn't have to move his bulky desktop computer to the dormitory of T University for his daughter.

Ren Ningyuan has an indifferent attitude towards him, no appreciation, no enthusiasm, and little warmth, but he always helps him unload a big rock when he needs it most.

Qu Tongqiu didn't even know how to define this friend.He was afraid of Ren Ningyuan, because Ren Ningyuan was a very difficult person to please.

When he got married that year, Ren Ningyuan organized the wedding for him, and he was extremely grateful. After that, he would nod and bow to Ren Ningyuan for a whole month, doing everything he could to please him, and treating him as a reborn parent.

But Ren Ningyuan didn't like this flattery very much, and was extremely disgusted, so he ignored him for a long time.

Qu Tongqiu knew that Ren Ningyuan disliked him, and often couldn't stand his flattering and humble attitude.Before he became Ren Ningyuan's little follower in order to protect himself, he was even beaten by Ren Ningyuan's gang.

But what kind of power kept Ren Ningyuan from kicking him away, turning him into his protective umbrella, and patiently interacting with him, he couldn't figure it out.

It was late, Qu Tongqiu started to build the small bed he bought, hung up the curtains and mosquito nets, and then the father and daughter said good night and fell asleep through the curtains.

The night was still sweltering, and a standing fan was placed against the wall, turning its head from side to side.

Qu Tongqiu heard her daughter turning over from time to time through the small sound of the fan, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Is it hot?"

The daughter was bored for a while, and said aggrievedly: "I want to go home."

Qu Tongqiu laughed a little.This is the first time for Qu Ke to stay away from home. Although she is accompanied by her father, T City is different from C City.The temporarily cleaned-up apartment also smells different from my own home, and it is inevitable to feel homesick.

So she teased her: "I asked you to choose the university closest to our home, but you don't want to go to it."

"But I miss a good college." The one closest to home isn't even third-rate.

My father reassured me: "So if you want to be successful in your studies, you have to endure hardships. Only when you endure hardships can you be a master. Besides, this is just a trivial matter, don't worry, with Dad here, this is also home."

"But I'm not used to it. I don't know any friends, and I'm not used to drinking the water here."

"It's okay, you'll get used to it. Your dad went to study in other places. He was just like you at the beginning, but he got used to it very quickly. People have a lot of flexibility. After a while, you will find that the new life is very easy. Interesting."

"really?"

"real."

Coaxed his daughter to sleep, but Qu Tongqiu himself had difficulty falling asleep.

It was sixteen or seventeen years ago that he left home for the first day of college.

But in the dead of night, the sound of insects chirping outside the window, I closed my eyes and thought about it, but it seemed like it was right in front of me.

(End of this chapter)