CH 44

Back at Ning Junyan’s house alone, Chen Yuncheng sat on the bed and saw Long Zhanyu reply to him, “Will try my best to make them speak.”

He typed a few words, hesitatingly deleted and corrected them several times, but in the end, he still didn’t send them out and lay down on his back on the bed.

The next morning, Chen Yuncheng left before Ning Junyan returned from his night shift. He still went back to the kiosk to tidy up and went to the dry cleaners across the street to pick up Ning Junyan’s washed down-jacket and the scarf he later sent to the cleaners. Later, someone called him and wanted to see the kiosk. He waited for nearly an hour until the person who visited the kiosk came and he gave him a brief introduction of the surrounding environment.

When the man left, Chen Yuncheng felt that the man was not quite satisfied.

It was surrounded by old houses, with average foot traffic, but the environment of the kiosk was not good, they were cramped and crowded. There was a newly built commercial area less than a kilometre away, and the environment in that section was much better than in this section.

Before Chen Yuncheng left, he handed over the key to the next-door lottery shop owner. If someone came to visit the kiosk in a couple of days, he would ask him to open the door if anyone came to see the kiosk, and he began to think seriously about finding a new job.

In the past, when Chen Yuncheng still had some savings, he also thought about selling his kiosk and using the money to partner with others to start other businesses, but now that he had no savings in his hands. Even if he sublease the kiosk,  the rent would have to be paid to Ning Junyan to pay off his debts, so he had to find a job that he could do.

He looked for job advertisements on his mobile phone, choosing the ones that did not require academic qualifications, were a bit more tiring but paid more and could be done by himself.

For lunch, he bought two egg pancakes and squatted on the roadside to solve the problem.

Chen Yuncheng did not regret that he did not study properly before. In fact, his basis was too weak that he could not keep up with others and he did not have the financial conditions to support him, so working was an inevitable choice.

However, he used to think that he would be able to stabilise himself when he was about thirty years old and that he might not become a big boss, but he could at least start a small business and have a family, but he never thought that he would have to start from scratch now.

After two interviews in the afternoon, Chen Yuncheng felt that none of them was too reliable, and made an appointment with three companies to continue the interview tomorrow.

Later, when he received a call from Ning Junyan, asking him if he would go back for dinner, Chen Yuncheng responded, “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

When he got home, Ning Junyan was cooking dinner.

Chen Yuncheng washed his hands avoiding the wound and came back to the kitchen to help him.

Dinner consisted of two stir-fried vegetables and a bowl of soup. Chen Yuncheng and Ning Junyan sat down face to face and ate their food for a while. Chen Yuncheng raised his head and said to Ning Junyan, “I’m interviewing for a job.”

Ning Junyan asked him, “Is there anything suitable?”

Chen Yuncheng shook his head and said, “But I’m going to interview with a logistics company tomorrow, they run inter-city long-distance logistics transport.”

Ning Junyan looked at him and said nothing.

Chen Yuncheng said, “I have a B license, I can drive a large truck, so maybe I can give it a try.”

Ning Junyan asked him, “How long will it take to go out?”

“I don’t know yet,” Chen Yuncheng smiled, “I haven’t interviewed yet, and I don’t know if the company wants me.”

After dinner, Ning Junyan went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Chen Yuncheng felt that he was not too happy, so he followed in, leaned against the cabinet, and said to him, “I have to find a job, what else can I do?”

Ning Junyan asked him, “Do you want to go to school?”

Chen Yuncheng laughed when he heard the words, “From junior high school?”

Ning Junyan said, “There are training classes.”

The smile on Chen Yuncheng’s face did not fade away, “And then what? Take the college entrance examination or go abroad?”

Ning Junyan said, “Don’t go abroad.”

Chen Yuncheng looked at him, “If I study in a training course, my degree won’t be recognized by others, so what will I do then? Besides, I’m almost thirty and I still need you to pay for my education? When will I be able to earn enough money to pay you back?”

Ning Junyan wiped his hands and walked to Chen Yuncheng.

Chen Yuncheng subconsciously wanted to retreat, but there was nowhere to retreat. Ning Jun stretched his hand to brush his hair and said, “It can be cut.”

“Well,” Chen Yuncheng lowered his head slightly, “I’ll cut it tomorrow.”

Ning Junyan said to him, “I don’t want to interfere with your freedom, I hope you can do what you want to do.”

Chen Yuncheng raised his gaze and landed on his face.

Ning Junyan said, “But I can’t let you leave me. This makes me feel that there are two contradictory me tearing each other apart.”

“Junyan,” Chen Yuncheng couldn’t help but grabbed his wrist.

Ning Junyan said to him very gently, “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you, so there will only be one of me killing the other me first, guess which one will win?”

Chen Yuncheng felt that he was too nervous to say these words and tried to stop him from saying anything further, “Don’t say that.”

Ning Junyan said, “It must be the one who wants to protect you more.” After he said that, Ning Junyan turned and left the kitchen.

Because of Ning Junyan’s words, Chen Yuncheng was restless all night. In fact, he had always had a lot on his mind these days and hadn’t calmed down for a long time.

It was past eleven o’clock at night, and Chen Yuncheng was about to go to bed when he received an unfamiliar call on his mobile phone.

He stared at the phone number for a while, sat up from the bed and picked up the call.

Zhou Yan’s voice came from over there, “Cheng ge, can you come out and meet us? Can you come here alone?”

Chen Yuncheng immediately felt a sense of relief, he knew that Zhou Yan would not just leave without a care, he asked into the phone, “Where are you?”

About ten minutes later, Ning Junyan drove Chen Yuncheng out together.

Chen Yuncheng sat in the passenger side and said, “I’m sorry, I have to trouble you at such a late hour.”

Ning Junyan did not respond to his words.

The address Zhou Yan gave Chen Yuncheng was in a remote suburb. Chen Yuncheng originally wanted to borrow a car from Ning Junyan, but Ning Junyan insisted on going with him.

There were very few cars on the road, and the car drove smoothly. Ning Junyan only stopped occasionally to wait for the traffic lights.

When he parked the car, Ning Junyan asked Chen Yuncheng, “Do you think Zhou Yan will listen to your persuasion and turn himself in?”

Chen Yuncheng said, “Since he is willing to see me.”

Ning Junyan asked again, “What if he had killed someone?”

Chen Yuncheng did not answer this question for a long time.

After a while, Chen Yuncheng said to Ning Junyan, “Do you think I’m a loser?”

Ning Junyan said, “How so?”

“Self-righteous,” Chen Yuncheng said slowly, “I want to help Zhou Yan, but in fact, I can’t do much. I have no money, no ability, no connections;” when he was speaking, he leaned on the back of his chair and looked out of the car window with a somewhat despondent, “Just like Guan Anlin back then, I don’t know whether I’ve helped him or harmed him.”

Ning Junyan didn’t speak.

Chen Yuncheng continued,”You know that after I left school and came out to work, I met a lot of people, some of whom were lazy and just lazing around, playing online games every day, they had no plans or ideas for the future, and some of whom liked to brag at the wine table that they could do anything, boasting that they are omnipotent, and now they are on the low for a while, but they will always be able to make great achievements in the future, but I have never seen them really fly.”

Ning Junyan just glanced at him.

Chen Yuncheng said, “At first I felt like a bystander, but later I realized that I was just one of them. It’s not as if you’re sober enough to see what you’re getting into and you can get away with it, you still have to watch your friends either fall down or go down the evil path for money.”

Having said that, he was quiet for a moment, “People like us may have been doomed for the rest of our lives from the day we left school.”

“What kind of people are you?” Ning Junyan finally opened his mouth and asked calmly.

Chen Yuncheng looked at him.

Ning Junyan said, “You are not the same kind of person as anyone. Without you, I might have been buried alive by the old man when I was ten years old, and Zhou Yan’s son couldn’t have the operation and would have had to wait for death in a hospital bed.”

Chen Yuncheng couldn’t help but said, “That’s not because of me…”

“Who is that because of?” Ning Junyan asked him, “Because of me? I did it for you anyway.”

Their car stopped as they waited for the red light at the intersection. At the same time, an electric car was parked in the non-motorized1 lane next to them. A middle-aged man wearing a food delivery uniform was also waiting for the red light. While that man was waiting, he took off his helmet and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, the action looked like he was wiping sweat, but it was so cold, he shouldn’t be sweating.

Ning Junyan and Chen Yuncheng looked at him silently until the green light came on, and the middle-aged man hurried across the intersection on his electric scooter.

“You asked me today what you could do in the future,” Ning Junyan stepped on the accelerator and said as the car drove out, “I have no way to answer you because there’s something I am unable to say.”

Chen Yuncheng rested his head on the car window and said softly, “Say it, I’m willing to listen to you.”

Ning Junyan said, “I want to say that you can do whatever makes you happy, and I can support you.  But you don’t need to hear this sentence because you have your dignity, and you will be unhappy if I say it.”

Chen Yuncheng couldn’t help laughing, “You think I will be unhappy?”

Ning Junyan did not answer.

Chen Yuncheng turned to look at him, and asked, “So if I told you to stop doing your job, and I will deliver food to support you, will you agree?”

Ning Junyan replied without thinking, “I agree, are you serious?”

At that moment, Chen Yuncheng had the urge to cry and laugh at the same time. He wanted to ask Ning Junyan why he was so obsessed with him, but he didn’t ask and only let out a laugh and said, “I’m just kidding.”