Chapter 2 Asking for Help
The next day I woke up with a splitting headache and dry mouth, and found myself lying in my own bed without knowing when. I got up and poured a cup of water to drink, without washing my face or brushing my teeth, I found a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, took out a cigarette and lit it up.
I opened the curtains and found that the snow had stopped. In the community downstairs, several children were laughing and playing snowball fights. I smoked a cigarette and began to seriously think about my situation. According to normal analysis, I can't escape this time. When the general manager comes back and finds out that I, an employee, have been ranked last in performance for six consecutive months, what else can he consider? Of course, he will wave his hand and say: fire me! The worst that can happen is that I will be paid two months' salary more, but it's so ugly! If I am fired, what company will dare to hire me in the future? If I resign myself, the situation will be different. Although I will get less compensation, at least I fired them. I can stand up straighter and find all kinds of reasons when looking for a job in the future. In short, the initiative is in my hands.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but regret that I still had a little fantasy yesterday and didn't submit my resignation immediately. "I must recognize the situation!" I couldn't help but talk to myself. I smoked a cigarette to the end and lit another one. After a long period of consideration, I decided to take the initiative to resign.
I found a pen and paper and sat down. I had just written the word "resignation" when my mind went blank and I couldn't write any more. I just sat there in a daze. At this time, there was a commotion outside the door. My little sister came home and then she knocked on my door again, "Brother! Open the door, I have something to talk to you about."
I packed up my paper and pen, opened the door, and asked unhappily, "What's the matter?"
The younger sister said in a flattering manner: "Brother, didn't you say before that you have a classmate who works in the gymnasium?"
"Yeah! What's the matter?"
"Look, Xu Shu is going to hold a performance at the stadium this Saturday. You know I'm a huge fan of her, so I went to the stadium early this morning to buy tickets, but with three days left before Saturday, the tickets were already sold out. Isn't that infuriating? I know the organizer will always reserve some tickets for those with connections, so brother, you have some acquaintances at the stadium, can you help me ask? Thank you! Thank you!" As she spoke, she kept bowing and kowtowed, with an indescribably flattering smile on her face.
I know that my younger sister is a die-hard fan of Xu Shu. Her room is covered with Xu Shu's posters. She has bought every album of Xu Shu and can even sing every song Xu Shu has ever sung. To be a fan of her is the pinnacle. I wanted to help her, but I was a little hesitant. After all, asking for help is what I hate doing the most.
So I said, "I haven't contacted this classmate for two years. I don't know if he is willing to help me. Besides, how can you be sure that there are still tickets? Maybe they are really sold out. I think it's better to forget it. It's not a good idea to ask for help rashly like this."
My little sister was anxious. She grabbed my sleeve and started to act coquettishly: "No! You haven't even asked, so how do you know that others are unwilling to help? Brother, please, please ask for me. I know you love me the most. Please go and ask..." She shook my hand hard, making me laugh and cry.
I was really afraid of my little sister talking to me like this, so I had to surrender: "Okay, okay, I'll ask, I'll ask. Let go of my hand first, are you tired?"
My little sister let go of my hand and said, "Hey! You must keep your word and don't go back on your word. Call and ask now."
"Okay, okay, I'll call." I really couldn't stand her anymore, so I took out an address book from my pocket, flipped through it for a long time, and finally found the classmate's work phone number.
I took out my cell phone and made a call.
"Hello! Who are you looking for?"
"Excuse me, is this the gymnasium?"
"right!"
"Does Qiu Jieqin work here?"
"Wait a minute, Xiao Qiu is calling!"
…
"Hello! Who is this?"
"Qiu Jieqin? I'm Tang Qian."
"Tang Qian? Hello, how come you have time to call me today? We haven't contacted for such a long time, I thought you were missing!"
"No, I'm busy too. I don't have much time."
"Huh! You're really busy. You haven't even had time to make a phone call in years."
"Hehe..." My face was burning, so I could only smile awkwardly.
"Come on! We've been classmates for so many years, and I still don't know you? Tell me, what do you want from me?"
I pretended to cough and then said, "It's like this. I heard that there will be a Xu Shu solo concert in your stadium on Saturday. My sister is a big fan of Xu Shu and she must go to see it. But when she went to buy tickets this morning, she couldn't get any. She came back and made a scene with me, insisting that I find a way to get tickets. I really couldn't get her to do it, and then I remembered that you work at the stadium, so I called to ask if there was any way I could get tickets."
"Humph! Humph! Look, I was right. I was wondering why you suddenly thought of calling me. Turns out you have something to ask of me."
"Okay! I was wrong. I will definitely keep in touch with you in the future. That..."
"It's just tickets! No problem. Since you, Tang Qian, asked me for it, I have to give you face. Tell me, how many tickets do you want?"
I turned to my little sister and asked, "She asked you how many tickets do you want?" My little sister quickly said, "Three, five would be best." I said, "Five? Why do you need so many?" My little sister said, "I have several classmates who also want to watch it. They asked me to buy them yesterday and even gave me the money."
I had no choice but to say to the phone, "Qiu Jieqin, my sister wants five, or at least three, is that okay?"
"Five? That's a bit too much. I'm not sure I can get them. Anyway, I'll try my best. I'll give you an answer tomorrow. What's your phone number?"
I said: "139xxxxxxxx"
"Okay, I'll take note. I'll wait for news tomorrow. But if I help you get it, you have to treat me to a meal as a reward. How about that?"
For my little sister, I gritted my teeth and said, "No problem, I'll treat you!"
Qiu Jieqin giggled on the phone, "Okay, that's it, bye!"
After taking back the phone, my sister asked me anxiously, "How is it? Is it okay?"
I said, "I agreed, but there's no guarantee. I'll get news tomorrow. Just wait!" My younger sister was already very happy. She smiled and said, "Thank you, brother. I knew you were the most capable. Now I'll leave this matter to you. Here's the money. Leave it with you. I'm waiting for good news. Bye." She stuffed a stack of bills into my hand and left like a gust of wind again.
"Hey! You..." I didn't finish my words, she was gone. I was angry and amused, but there was nothing I could do about this little sister. I put the money in my pocket, sat back at the table, found a pen and paper, and was about to continue writing my resignation letter. But after being interrupted by my little sister, I had no idea what to do.
I crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the trash can. I lit another cigarette, took a deep breath, exhaled, and stared at the wall in a daze. After a long time, I decided not to write anymore, so I got up, turned on the TV, and watched it out of boredom...
The day passed by without doing anything. My mother asked me, "Why didn't you go to work today?" I didn't dare to tell her the truth, so I just vaguely said that the company gave me a day off for the past two days and I wanted to take a rest. My mother didn't get suspicious and didn't ask any more questions.
The next day I went out for a stroll on the street. It was really hard to be out of work. My colleague Li Xiaoling called me and continued to comfort me. I laughed it off.
Around 3:00 p.m., my cell phone rang again. I answered it and said, “Hello?”
"Tang Qian, I'm Qiu Jieqin, get ready to treat you."
I asked happily, "Did you get it? Thank you so much, how many do you have?"
"Five!"
"Really? You really have a way!"
"Of course, don't you see who is doing the work? Don't praise me first. Show your sincerity. Dinner is on you."
"Okay, it's just right that you give me the ticket. Tell me what you want to eat?"
"Don't think you can get rid of me by eating at KFC or McDonald's. I'm telling you, prepare to bleed. I want to have a big meal."
I couldn't help but touch my wallet, which wasn't too thick, and secretly groaned in my heart. I gritted my teeth and said, "No problem, where can I eat?"
"Well... do you remember that we had a farewell dinner in a hotel when we graduated from high school? Right there, at 6:30 in the evening, we met there."
I recalled that it was not a very high-end hotel, and I believed that the little money in my wallet was enough to cover the cost. So I agreed: "Okay, see you at 6:30."
"Haha! See you later! I'm hanging up now."
After putting the phone back, I couldn't help but scold my younger sister. It was all her fault. She made her brother bleed. Next time I will never help someone who does things at the expense of others.
Seeing that it was still early, I went to the bookstore and flipped through a few novels. When the time was almost up, I slowly walked to the hotel.
I found a seat in the restaurant, and the waitress came over to pour tea and asked me what I needed. I said wait a moment, because my friend hadn't arrived yet.
I lit a cigarette and looked at my watch. It was twenty-five past six, and there were still five minutes left.
But after I smoked two cigarettes in a row, Qiu Jieqin still hadn't come. I became a little impatient and kept looking at my watch. It was already 6:45. Didn't we agree to be here at 6:30? Why hasn't she come yet?
Just as I was about to take out my third cigarette, a voice rang out beside me: "Sorry, I'm late. Have you been waiting for a long time? Tang Qian."
I looked up and saw a pretty and charming woman standing in front of me with a big smile on her face. I could tell she had dressed up carefully, with light makeup on her face and her hair done.
She is my high school classmate: Qiu Jieqin.
