Chapter 71: Family Love and Gratitude
After seeing Xu Jian and the others off, I returned home and prepared to wash up and go to bed. When I went to the bathroom to wash my face, I ran into my little sister who was brushing her teeth. I reminded her, "Xiao Ying, if the girl wakes up before her brother comes tomorrow morning, I think it's better not to tell her that her brother has come, lest she try to escape again. After her brother comes to pick her up, she will be caught by her brother no matter how she wants to run away, and it's not our responsibility."
Tang Ying brushed her teeth and said "hmm", I didn't know whether she agreed or not. After she finished brushing, I went to get my own toothbrush. Suddenly I remembered that my cell phone was still in the little witch's pocket, so I said to Tang Ying who was washing her face: "By the way, go into the room later and find my cell phone from the girl's clothes and give it to me. Also, remember not to wrap yourself in the quilt when you sleep at night, be careful not to freeze the person next to you."
Tang Ying was applying a towel to her face and didn't respond. I added, "Hey! Did you hear me?"
Tang Ying replied impatiently: "I heard it, I heard it. Brother, I find that you are becoming more and more like a woman. Are you annoyed by this nonsense?"
I reached out and gently hit her scalp, scolding her with a smile: "What did you say? How dare you be so disrespectful to your brother? You are a rebel!"
Tang Ying touched her head, made a vicious face at me, and then poured water to wash her feet. I started brushing my teeth. Not long after, I heard her ask me, "Brother, how did your soldier friend find our house? He must be very powerful."
I spit out the toothpaste foam in my mouth, rinsed my mouth with water, and briefly recounted the process of Xu Jian's search for her sister. After listening to it, Tang Ying was very moved and said, "This brother is so good to his sister! I wish I had a brother like this."
I pretended to be angry and said, "What do you mean? Are you saying that I'm not good enough to you?"
Tang Yingge smiled and said, "Hey! Don't take it personally. I didn't say you're bad!"
I snorted and took a towel to wash my face. Tang Ying thought for a moment and asked me again: "Brother, if I also ran away from home, would you look for me all over the world like that girl's brother did?"
I was stunned for a moment, then turned around and said to her seriously, "Xiaoying, you are imagining nonsense again. Don't learn from that naughty girl and run away from home! Otherwise, Dad and Mom will get sick with worry. Even if I have to travel thousands of miles, I will definitely bring you back."
Tang Ying sneered and said, "Why are you taking it so seriously? I was just joking with you." Then she wiped her feet, poured out the foot washing water, made a face at me and ran out.
I shook my head helplessly, took the footbath, poured water and washed my feet. A minute later, the little sister came in again, handed me the phone and said, "Here, your phone!"
I took it and said, "Thanks!"
Tang Ying's face softened, and she suddenly walked behind me and lifted my shoulders. She said, "Actually, I don't envy that girl at all, because my brother is the best brother in the world!"
I felt a warm feeling in my heart. I smiled and enjoyed the massage service my sister gave me. I said with a smile, "You little devil, do you know that I am a good brother?"
Tang Ying leaned over and whispered in my ear, "No way!" Then she ran away with a giggle. I was angry and amused, but I felt warm inside.
After washing up, I went back to bed and turned on my phone to see if anyone had called me. Sure enough, I started to receive text messages. I counted them and there were five in total.
I opened the first message, which was from Qiu Jieqin. It said: Although the girl is bad, she is really pretty. You are not allowed to have any sexual thoughts towards her! A good meal was ruined by her like this. I don’t care, you have to compensate me!
I shook my head and smiled bitterly, then read the second message, which was from the mobile company, telling me who called me at what time. I looked at the number and it was Gu Ruoyan's cell phone number. I was stunned for a moment, wondering what Manager Gu wanted to talk to me about again?
I looked at the third message, which was exactly the same as the second one, with only two minutes between them. It seemed that Manager Gu had something urgent to talk to me about! I wanted to call Gu Ruoyan right away, but I pressed it a little more and the fourth message came out, saying: I feel so empty and scared. Where are you? Can you come over and talk to me?
It was from Gu Ruoyan, and the time was half an hour ago. Then I found that the last message was also from Gu Ruoyan. I opened it and saw that it said: If you don’t come, I can only go out to drink again. There is no other way. I don’t want this to happen.
This message was sent just five minutes ago, and I hurriedly called Manager Gu. After three rings, the call was connected. I said, "Hello! Manager, this is Tang Qian."
"Well, I was looking for you at night, but your phone was not on."
"I saw the text message you sent. You can't go drinking anymore!"
"I'm still at home. I haven't gone yet! But if you don't come to accompany me, I can't fall asleep, so I have to go. You can't let me sit there until dawn, right?"
I sighed and thought: This poor woman, has she become so depressed that she can only rely on alcohol without me? I couldn't bear it, but I had no choice but to say, "Well, stay home and don't go anywhere. I'll be there soon."
I hung up the phone and put on my shoes and socks again. At this time, everyone in the family had turned off the lights and gone to bed. I tiptoed through the living room, opened the door, and quickly left.
Not long after, I took a taxi to Gu Ruoyan's house and rang the doorbell. A second later, the door opened. Gu Ruoyan, who was wearing pajamas, opened the door and said happily, "Are you here? Come in!"
I nodded and walked in. Gu Ruoyan was quite excited. After closing the door, she said, "Please sit down. I'll make you a cup of tea. By the way, I bought your favorite things today to treat you so that you can come in the evening."
I sat on the sofa and said confusedly, "My favorite? What is it?"
Gu Ruoyan put tea leaves in the pot and poured boiling water at the same time, saying with a smile: "You'll know soon, come and have some tea first." Then she handed over the teacup.
I thanked him and took it. Gu Ruoyan turned around and opened a bag on the dining table. Then she came back with a brand new crystal ashtray in one hand and a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes in the other, and shook them in front of me with a smile, asking, "Look, is this your favorite?"
I said helplessly, "Cigarettes? I have my own. Why did you waste money buying them? And you bought such an expensive one!"
Gu Ruoyan didn't care. She put down the crystal ashtray and started to unpack the cigarette. She said, "That's different. I may need you to accompany me every day in the near future. How can I not show some appreciation for taking up so much of your time? Come on, smoke when I ask you to. Don't be polite to me!"
I was surprised and asked, "What? Every...day?"
Gu Ruoyan took out two packs of cigarettes and noticed my surprised and embarrassed expression. Her smile froze on her face. She said sadly, "You... don't want to? Do you think I'm annoying?"
I remembered that this woman in front of me was really kind to me, so I hurriedly said, "No! No! I... I mean, I... a man, this... come to accompany you every night. If others know, they will gossip. This is... not good for you!"
Gu Ruoyan was extremely disappointed and sat on the sofa, her face pale, and she didn't say a word for a long time. I was also in a dilemma. Although I really wanted to help her, I also knew that people's gossip was scary! If I haunted Gu Ruoyan's house late at night for a long time, I would always be seen by others. When the rumors started, I would be fine, but Manager Gu was a woman who had just divorced. It was conceivable that other people's gossip would be unpleasant. How could she live her life in the future?
Gu Ruoyan finally smiled sadly and said, "So that's how it is. I am... such an annoying woman. No wonder no one likes me, even you... Forget it, go away. I won't bother you anymore."
My face immediately turned red when I heard that, because I knew that Manager Gu was extremely disappointed in me. She had been drinking all day in despair and depression, and now she finally met someone who cared about her, comforted her, and could stop her from panicking and having trouble sleeping in loneliness. You can imagine how relieved and at ease she felt. I was her lifeline during this period, and nothing could be more important than me. Now that I rejected her like this, it’s no wonder that she was disappointed and sad, thinking that no one in the world would care about her. Without support and support, how could a woman as fragile as her have the courage to live? She would either be unhappy all day and lonely, or spend her days drinking and degenerate. In short, there is no way she can be happy!
In comparison, rumors may cause less harm to her.
Facing my former boss, I felt obliged to cheer her up and turn her back into the , or at least not let her fall any further. Seeing how lonely she was, without even a family member or friend, if I stopped helping her, who else in this world could help her out of this predicament?
I thought about it several times and finally made up my mind that I would help Gu Ruoyan regain the courage to live and do my best to help her wholeheartedly!
I smiled, took a pack of cigarettes from Gu Ruoyan, and said as I opened it, "You misunderstood. What I meant was that I'm a normal man. I come to accompany you every night, alone with you, and I'm afraid I can't control myself. If you don't mind, then there's nothing I can do. Don't regret it if something happens! Haha!"
Gu Ruoyan raised her head and said happily, "So, you agree?"
I nodded and said, "That's right. You women don't care, so why should I, a man, be afraid?" Then I took out a cigarette, lit it and smoked it.
Gu Ruoyan was both shy and happy. She reached out and hit me, saying angrily, "I've known you for so long, and I always thought you were an honest person! I didn't expect you to be so slick. I'm warning you! Don't think that just because I asked you to accompany me, you can...can..."
Her face looked shy and she looked very cute, and for a sad and depressed woman in her thirties to have such an expression showed that the joy in her heart made her much happier, and she could finally forget the pain temporarily and be happy again!
