Chapter 62: Stay
I saw that the call on my phone was silent, so I hung up and called again. But I got the same old mechanical reminder from the mobile company: "Sorry! The user you dialed is turned off or cannot be reached at the moment. Please try again later..."
I hung up and called again, and it was still the same voice. I felt a little anxious. I could clearly hear Gu Ruoyan's scream on the phone just now, and then the phone was disconnected again. Could something have happened?
I thought about the fact that she might be alone in such a dirty place, and she might be drunk. If something happened to her or she ran into a bad person, I couldn't imagine the consequences. I thought about it for two seconds. It was very likely that I was the only one in the world who knew where Gu Ruoyan was now. Whether she was okay or not, if I didn't go to see her, I might regret it later! Besides, she was my old boss who had done me a favor. After making a decision, I dropped my phone and pushed the door open.
In the living room, my parents saw me coming back to the room and then hurried out again. They asked me curiously, "Xiao Qian, why are you leaving again after just coming back?"
I said, "Well, I have something urgent to do. I'm leaving now." I opened the door and walked out. I could still hear my mother saying to my father, "Hey! What's wrong with Xiaoqian recently? He's always so secretive. There's no need to be like this when dating, right?"
I was anxious, so I walked out of the community quickly, hailed a taxi on the street, and asked the taxi driver, "Do you know where the Austin Slow Rock Bar is?"
The driver asked, "Austin? It seems to be in the southern part of the city."
I said, "Then please drive faster, I have something urgent to do."
"OK!"
Austin Slow Rock Bar is actually very easy to find. Less than half an hour later, the car drove to Chengnan Xinjie. From a distance, I saw several huge neon advertising lights of Austin flashing in various colors, attracting people's attention. When the car arrived at the door, I could vaguely hear the loud music inside.
I paid and got off the bus, entering the Austin Slow Rock Bar. A staircase led to the basement. With every step I took, the music became louder. I turned a corner and came to a plastic curtain door. I reached out and opened the plastic curtain, and the already high-decibel sound immediately turned into a deafening roar. My ears buzzed, and I could hear nothing else except this loud noise.
Walking down a long corridor, I saw a huge T-shaped stage with two steel pipes on the left and right. On each side, a voluptuous girl wearing only a bikini was leaning against the steel pipes, twisting her body in various movements to the music. The lights on the stage flickered, but it was dark below. There was a circle of bars surrounding the T-shaped stage, with dozens of men and women swaying to the exciting music. Apart from the aisles, there were small wine seats. Almost no wine seat was empty. Men and women were sitting there, drinking various kinds of wine. At the edge were two-story private rooms, and the aisles of the private rooms were also crowded with young people shaking their heads.
I looked around for Gu Ruoyan, and just then a bartender came over. I went up to her and shouted, "Excuse me, may I ask, have you seen a woman wearing glasses, about 30 years old? She might be drunk!"
Even though I shouted so loudly, the waiter still couldn't hear me clearly, so he said even louder, "What did you say? Speak louder, I can't hear you clearly!"
I had no choice but to yell, "Have you seen a woman in her thirties wearing glasses? Did anything happen to anyone here just now?"
The waiter finally heard it and shouted, "I don't know. Go ask the foreman."
"Where is the foreman?"
"Over there at the bar."
When I found the bar, there was no need to ask the foreman, because I saw Gu Ruoyan sitting at the bar, drinking foreign wine.
Seeing that she seemed fine, I felt relieved. I walked over silently and sat next to her.
Gu Ruoyan had drunk an unknown amount of wine. Her expression and behavior showed that she was drunk, but she still pushed the empty glass and said to the bartender at the bar, "Give me another drink."
I looked at her face from the side. From her expression, I could tell that this woman was extremely lost and empty inside. With the help of alcohol, she was not so painful. I sighed in my heart. I understood her pain and loss, but I couldn't help her. It was really painful to watch. I decided that no matter what, I couldn't just ignore her. If I let her indulge herself every night like this, something bad would happen one day.
I don't know why, but I felt a pang in my heart. When I saw her taking the green liquid from the bartender and about to drink it, I reached out to stop her and said, "Don't drink it. I'll take you home."
Gu Ruoyan turned to look at me. After a long while, she smiled and said, "You're here? I, I'm not going... home. I want you to drink... two cups with me."
I saw that she didn't drink as much tonight. At least she still recognized me now. Sending her home shouldn't be more tiring than last time, right? I ignored her invitation and said to the bar, "Please pay the bill. I want to take her home."
I used a tone that left no room for doubt. The people at the bar thought I was someone related to Gu Ruoyan and didn't dare to doubt me at all. After a calculation, they told me: "This lady spent a total of 460 yuan. Thank you for your patronage!"
When I took out my wallet and prepared to pay the bill, Gu Ruoyan grabbed my hand and said sternly, "Tang Qian, what are you doing? If you don't want to drink with me, just leave first and leave me alone, okay?"
I was stunned for a moment, thinking she was sober, but when I looked closely, I saw that she was still drunk and staggering. It was just that she was not drunk in her mind, but in her body.
I said, "If you want to drink, I'll drink with you at home, but not here. It's too noisy. I have something to say to you, but I can't stand shouting here. Let's go. I'll take you home."
At this moment, Gu Ruoyan was as stubborn as a child, shaking her head and saying, "I don't want it! I want to drink it here. Come on, give me another glass... Green World."
The bartender looked at me in embarrassment. I shook my head at him and said to Gu Ruoyan, "Manager, I know you are unhappy, but no matter what, you drink like this all day and indulge yourself. It is not good for your body and mind. Go back. If you have anything to say, you can tell me. I know it is very uncomfortable to keep it in your heart."
I threw down 500 yuan and prepared to drag Gu Ruoyan away. But Gu Ruoyan refused to leave and stayed in her seat, insisting on drinking here. No matter how I persuaded her, it was useless. Finally, I started to get angry. I was angry at her for not fighting for a man who was not worthy of her love. She made herself look like neither a human nor a ghost. All she did all day was drink in pain. If this continued, a good person would be ruined.
I stopped trying to persuade her and yelled at her, "Gu Ruoyan! Have you had enough? You are not a child anymore, you have to be responsible for your actions! How long are you going to keep on destroying yourself like this? Are you going to spend your whole life drunken? Where is the serious and responsible manager you used to be? Please wake up! What's the difference between being alive and being dead?"
I scolded her, and sure enough, Gu Ruoyan was shocked and stopped making trouble. Her face was in pain, and soon two lines of tears slid down her cheeks. She immediately covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from crying.
Seeing her cry, I felt soft in my heart and said, "It's good to cry. At least it can vent, which is better than keeping it in your heart. But this is not the place. Let's go back and cry our hearts out!"
I held her hand and tried to pull her, but she still didn't move. I frowned and said, "Still refusing to leave? Is it true that nothing I say will work? If you continue like this, I won't care about you anymore!"
Gu Ruoyan cried and shouted, "Tang Qian! Please let me stay here! I can still drink and have fun here, but there is no one at home. I feel so lonely! So sad! I won't go back!"
I was stunned for a moment, thinking that she was alone at home in the long night, suffering from loneliness, pain and loss, which was really sad. But it was even more dangerous and harmful to her to get drunk in the bar all night long. No matter what, I took her out first.
I didn't answer, I squatted down, hugged her legs, put my shoulders on her belly, and lifted her up. Gu Ruoyan screamed and struggled desperately. I ignored her knocks and strode outside.
I put her down after we left Austin. Gu Ruoyan cried and hit me hard, saying, "Tang Qian! You are a bad person. I don't want to leave. I have nowhere to go..."
I let her fight, and then I hailed a taxi, half dragged and half forced her into the car, told the driver the address of Gu Ruoyan's home, and went back with her.
Gu Ruoyan cried for a long time, and gradually the alcohol took over, and she also consumed a lot of energy. She leaned weakly on my shoulder, still saying: "I don't want to go home, I don't want to go home..."
After the taxi arrived at Gu Ruoyan's house, I carried her on my back again like last time, and worked hard to carry her to the door of her house. The only difference this time was that Gu Ruoyan did not vomit, her speech was clearer, and she still recognized me.
I found the key in her pocket, opened the door, helped her to bed, and poured her a cup of water. Seeing that her expression gradually stabilized and she stopped crying, I said to her, "Manager, alcohol makes you more sad. It's not a good idea to drink all day to drown your sorrows. You drank too much tonight. Have a good sleep. Let's find time to talk tomorrow, okay? Drink the water and go to sleep. I'm leaving first."
Gu Ruoyan, who had been quiet, heard that I was leaving, immediately put down the cup and tightly grasped my arm. I looked at her in confusion.
Gu Ruoyan didn't know whether she was really drunk or sober. Her face was full of fear, and her eyes conveyed her emptiness through the lenses. She said, "Tang Qian, don't leave. I'm so lonely here. Stay and keep me company!"
