Chapter 7
Qu Tongqiu staggered downstairs. A man was coming up toward him. When Qu Tongqiu saw his face, a sense of safety rose up from the bottom of his heart, and he said happily, “Boss.”
Ren Ningyuan lifted his eyes and saw his bruised and swollen face. He frowned slightly. “Got beaten again?” He glanced at the shoe print on Qu Tongqiu’s clothes. “So Chu Mo’s already here? How did you provoke him?”
Qu Tongqiu didn’t dare hide anything and honestly explained why he’d been beaten.
Ren Ningyuan listened carefully, then smiled faintly. “Don’t get involved in their business anymore. You’ll only invite trouble.” Qu Tongqiu agreed, feeling a little wronged. But when he thought that as soon as Ren Ningyuan went upstairs, he’d see those two tangled up in the room, he grew worried again and said awkwardly, “Boss, you came to see Zhuang Wei?”
Ren Ningyuan gave a low “Mm.” He looked at Qu Tongqiu but didn’t hurry upstairs. Instead, he lifted Qu Tongqiu’s chin and turned his face to the side, examining his swollen cheek and the big lump on the back of his head.
Then he had Qu Tongqiu lift his shirt and checked the bruises on his stomach. He reached out and lightly pressed a finger on the injured spot. Qu Tongqiu sucked in a sharp breath.
Ren Ningyuan withdrew his hand and frowned. “Go to the hospital.”
Qu Tongqiu nodded perfunctorily. If he went to the hospital every time he got beaten, he’d be going daily, and his meal money would all end up paying medical bills.
“Let’s go.” Ren Ningyuan turned and went down the stairs.
Qu Tongqiu hadn’t expected him to personally go along. He was immediately flustered and said again and again, “No need, no need.”
“If you don’t get checked, you won’t even know if something’s seriously damaged,” Ren Ningyuan said. Seeing his hesitation, he added, “Don’t worry about the cost.”
Qu Tongqiu was so moved he almost cried. “Boss…”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “I can’t let you call me boss for so long for nothing.”
Qu Tongqiu followed closely behind him, deeply touched.
The two went down the stairs one after the other. Ren Ningyuan asked, “Can you still walk?”
“Yes, yes, I can. I’m fine.”
“Mm. Chu Mo won’t hit you again in the future.”
When he was being beaten, Qu Tongqiu hadn’t felt much. Hearing this now, tears nearly fell from his eyes. Being Ren Ningyuan’s follower was the happiest thing that had happened to him since entering university.
From then on, besides single-mindedly following Ren Ningyuan and seriously dealing with his coursework, there was another thing that attracted a boy in his youth like Qu Tongqiu—getting a girlfriend.
Seeing classmates getting restless, each finding someone to date or to fawn over, no longer spending weekends holed up in the dorm playing cards, but instead acting more mature and putting on a “manly” air, made Qu Tongqiu very envious.
But where to find a girlfriend—that was a big problem.
He couldn’t boldly strike up conversations like some classmates, who could always find ways to get the phone number of the girl sitting opposite them in the library. His social circle was small; his friends were all guys. As for mixers—the so-called shortcut to dating—they often turned into group dinners. After paying several times just to eat and drink, he didn’t feel like going anymore.
Among the people in the dorm, everyone except him and Zhuang Wei had someone they were seeing. Zhuang Wei was a high, untouchable flower—plenty of people loved him, but no one could pluck him. Only he was truly alone.
At first he didn’t feel much about it. But one day, as usual, when he followed Ren Ningyuan out to eat, Chu Mo scolded him, “You stick to Ningyuan all day long. He doesn’t even have time to be alone with his girlfriend. Aren’t you annoying?”
Qu Tongqiu had never thought Ren Ningyuan would have a girlfriend, much less imagined that he himself, almost like a personal attendant, would be completely unaware. He froze like a wooden chicken for a long while before saying, “Ah… Boss has a girlfriend?”
Chu Mo snorted. “Girls who like Ningyuan are everywhere. Which girl in our school doesn’t like him? What’s so strange about him having a girlfriend?”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “Chu Mo, don’t talk nonsense.”
“You—going public wouldn’t kill you, but you insist on playing mysterious. If it weren’t for my sharp eyes, I almost would’ve been fooled.”
Ren Ningyuan smiled again. “Let’s order. How about scallion-fried lamb? Anyone not eating it?”
Qu Tongqiu picked a seat and sat down, occasionally glancing at Ren Ningyuan’s calm face. Did Ren Ningyuan like beautiful girls, or did he have feelings for Zhuang Wei? Or was he just broadly affectionate, or perhaps indifferent and without desire? Even following him this closely, Qu Tongqiu had never known. He was completely confused.
Chu Mo said, “Forget it. You look pitiful enough, fatty. I’ve got a ready-made one—I’ll introduce you to someone.”
Zhuang Wei sneered. “You’re really busybody. Do you know what kind of conditions he wants?”
“What conditions could he have? As long as it’s a woman, that’s enough.”
Qu Tongqiu didn’t dare speak. His face flushed slightly, even the tip of his nose sweating.
“I know one who’s urgently looking for a boyfriend—the one from the art department, Xiao Wei. You’ve seen her, right? Even if you haven’t, you must’ve heard of her.”
Qu Tongqiu froze. “That one… doesn’t seem very suitable…”
“How is she not suitable? She’s more than good enough for you. Big boobs. Don’t you like big ones?”
Qu Tongqiu was so anxious his face turned red. Big breasts were of course nice, but it wasn’t like having breasts was all that mattered. A girl whose romantic scandals were famous across the whole campus, who couldn’t go a day without a man—how could he possibly handle someone like that?
“Her personality might not really match…”
Chu Mo clicked his tongue. “You, of all people, still being picky. Then who’s going to help you?”
Qu Tongqiu was embarrassed and didn’t dare say a word.
You’re supposed to be grateful for other people’s help, but the way Chu Mo did it reminded him of a roommate who always stuffed him with nearly worn-out clothes, expired snacks he couldn’t bear to throw away, and old basins and jars that had been discarded, saying, “This is for you, pretty good, right? The bottom’s still there.” You should thank people for gifts, but he wasn’t a beggar. Holding that pile of useless junk, he sometimes couldn’t help wondering whether there was really any goodwill in it at all.
In the awkward silence, the dishes were brought out one by one.
Ren Ningyuan said gently, “No rush. These things depend on fate. When it’s time, it’ll come naturally. Forcing it is useless.”
“But if he doesn’t get a girlfriend soon, won’t he keep clinging to you every day? Can you stand that?”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “It’s not that exaggerated.”
“Hey, fatty, Ningyuan doesn’t mind, but you should have some self-awareness, right? What, when Ningyuan goes on a date or goes to bed, are you going to guard the door too? I’ve never seen someone so annoying.”
Ren Ningyuan tapped his chopsticks lightly, still speaking gently. “Stop it. Eat your food.”
Qu Tongqiu looked at Chu Mo, then at Ren Ningyuan, whose emotions never showed on his face. Suddenly, with fear, he realized that even his wish to be just a follower could no longer be fulfilled.
The more he worried, the more trouble came looking for him.
The next day, there was a large public lecture. Qu Tongqiu arrived late and slipped quietly into the tiered lecture hall through the back door. At a glance he spotted the eye-catching trio, but the seat beside Ren Ningyuan was taken by a girl.
Being able to sit next to Ren Ningyuan regularly was one of the “rewards” he had proudly earned from him. That seat was reserved for him, his loyal little follower, and ordinarily no one else was allowed to sit there.
Qu Tongqiu looked left and right and felt that the girl’s slender back looked unfamiliar. She wasn’t from their class—most likely someone who had slipped in to accompany Ren Ningyuan to the lecture. He immediately understood: this must be the current girlfriend.
With his old seat gone, Qu Tongqiu could only find a spot in the last row. He hurriedly flipped open his book to copy notes from the blackboard, all the while staring at the two figures in front of him.
The girl was lively and restless, often turning her head, lifting her chin to whisper to Ren Ningyuan. Ren Ningyuan was usually aloof and disliked being disturbed during lectures, but with her he was unexpectedly patient, lowering his head to listen, his expression gentle and soft.
After watching for a while, Qu Tongqiu felt a faint ache in his chest. Chu Mo had been right—Ren Ningyuan was in a relationship now, and he couldn’t follow him around like before.
A couple’s private world could occasionally be shared with friends, like Chu Mo or Zhuang Wei, but it couldn’t be intruded on by an underling. In the future, even helping the boss clean up, run errands, or buy meals probably wouldn’t be his turn anymore.
Feeling awkward about going up to greet them, and with his mood sinking, Qu Tongqiu packed up his books before Ren Ningyuan stood up and slipped out through the back door after class.
For the next two days, Qu Tongqiu behaved himself. After class he went straight back to the dorm, no longer trailing after Ren Ningyuan, nor running into him at all.
He missed Ren Ningyuan terribly and wanted to keep following behind him step by step—fetching tea, running errands, anything would do. But Ren Ningyuan had a girlfriend now and needed more personal space and privacy. His boss’s happiness was something he should consciously protect.
On the third day, however, they still happened to run into each other on the road.
Ren Ningyuan greeted him first, smiling, and didn’t even ask why he hadn’t seen him the past couple of days, as if his presence or absence didn’t really register. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he said:
“Oh right, I’m changing some furniture. If you’re free today, come help me tidy up.”
Hearing that he was still useful, Qu Tongqiu immediately perked up and hurried after him. Being personally assigned tasks by Ren Ningyuan made his heart pound with happiness.
Though it was just a rented apartment to live in temporarily until graduation, Ren Ningyuan was particular about things. He replaced the bed, sofa, and curtains left by the landlord, and added a few tasteful wall hangings.
The big items had already been arranged by the furniture store staff. Only the small cleaning jobs remained, which Qu Tongqiu finished quickly. Then he fetched a ladder to hang a glow-in-the-dark clock on the wall.
All his clothes were old and oversized. His pants were so loose that when they got caught on a nail on the ladder, he didn’t even notice. He pushed off with his foot and climbed up in a big step—only to feel a sudden chill at the back. With a “rip,” his pants were yanked halfway down.
Qu Tongqiu froze in shock. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. The weather was scorching hot, and he was wearing nothing but those old cotton pants—no underwear underneath. With that pull, most of his butt was exposed.
Thinking of Ren Ningyuan watching from behind, Qu Tongqiu was so mortified he went stiff all over. He hurried to climb down, only to hear another “rrrip”—the pants tore open with a huge rip.
Flustered, he struggled to free the fabric tangled on the nail. When he finally turned around, he was drenched in sweat. The embarrassment was overwhelming; even Ren Ningyuan’s expression looked a little unnatural. The two stood facing each other, stiffly silent for a couple of seconds.
Thankfully, Ren Ningyuan didn’t laugh at him. Seeing him clutching his pants at a loss, he instead said gently, “Don’t panic. I’ll find a smaller pair of pants for you to wear first.”
He soon pulled out a pair of lightweight, breathable trousers, along with underwear, and smiled. “You should remember to wear something underneath. There aren’t any new ones—do you mind?”
Qu Tongqiu looked ashamed and thanked him repeatedly, so grateful he was practically ready to kneel in thanks.
Wearing Ren Ningyuan’s clothes made him feel different all over, as if he’d been awarded a certificate of merit—so honored that his whole body felt warm.
“Then I’ll wear these back, wash them tonight, and bring them to you tomorrow.”
“It’s fine,” Ren Ningyuan said, sizing him up. “They actually fit you pretty well. Just keep them.”
Receiving such a heavy reward, Qu Tongqiu trembled. “Boss…”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “You tore your pants helping me. It’s only right I compensate you. Stop tidying up—take a break. Want something to drink?”
Qu Tongqiu’s chest felt hot with happiness, just about to float away, when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Ren Ningyuan put down the iced sour-plum drink in his hand and went to open the door. A curly-haired girl in a puff-sleeved princess dress came in.
At first Qu Tongqiu felt she looked unfamiliar. Then she grabbed Ren Ningyuan’s hand, her voice soft and sweet as she pouted, “Ningyuan-gege, come shopping with me…”
Only then did he remember—she was Ren Ningyuan’s current girlfriend.
Ren Ningyuan let her pull him along and smiled. “That won’t do. I have a guest.”
Qu Tongqiu uneasily wondered if he should make room for them to be alone, when the girl said, “Then the guest can come shopping with us too.”
Ren Ningyuan gently soothed her, then turned to introduce them. “This is Chu Qian, Chu Mo’s younger sister. Qian, this is Qu Tongqiu.”
Qu Tongqiu nervously greeted her, thinking she was truly sweet and cute—no wonder Ren Ningyuan spoiled her so much. If he kept standing there, he’d just be in the way.
“Boss, then I’ll head off…”
Ren Ningyuan looked at him. “You’ve got something to do?”
“No,” Qu Tongqiu chuckled foolishly. “You two… you two…”
Ren Ningyuan gave a small “oh.” “It’s fine. I still have things to handle anyway, so I can’t go out with her.”
Chu Qian put on a wronged expression. “My brother’s busy, and you’re busy too. I came all this way and no one’s playing with me. Then I’ll just go by myself.”
“No,” Ren Ningyuan said. “Girls shouldn’t wander around alone at night. Be good and go back, hmm?”
Chu Qian pouted and pointed at Qu Tongqiu. “Then he can go with me.”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “Don’t fool around.” But he still looked at Qu Tongqiu. “Are you free?”
How could Qu Tongqiu refuse anything that helped Ren Ningyuan? “Free, free. I’m always free.”
Chu Qian immediately cheered up. Ren Ningyuan smiled again. “Alright then. Take her out for a bit. Don’t stay out too late.”
Qu Tongqiu accepted the task and headed out, busily thinking about where to take this obviously well-to-do young lady for something a bit more cultured. Before he could decide, Chu Qian happily waved down a passing taxi, leaned in, and said to the driver, “Driver, Huajie.”
Qu Tongqiu was startled. That whole street was lined with bars—bright and flashy, sure, but once you went deeper into the alleys, things got chaotic. Rumor had it that flesh trade existed there too.
He tried to stop Chu Qian, but she deftly slipped into the car. With no choice, Qu Tongqiu followed her in, anxiously saying, “We can’t go there. Do you know what kind of place that is?”
“Of course I do—that’s why I want to go.”
“No, that won’t do. Ren Ningyuan would never agree. I can’t take you to that kind of place!”
Chu Qian was unconcerned. “It’s fine if you don’t go. I can go in by myself anyway—I’m already an adult. I just want to see the excitement. If you don’t want to play, go home. I won’t tell Ningyuan-gege.”
How could Qu Tongqiu possibly leave her alone? Ren Ningyuan had entrusted her to him—he had to return her without even a single hair missing. All he could do was stay extra alert and keep close to Chu Qian.
Chu Qian’s looks and outfit were far too eye-catching. From the moment they stepped into the underground bar, many eyes were fixed on her. With the innocence of a girl raised in doting affection, she only felt proud and shy, completely unaware of any danger. It was Qu Tongqiu, at her side, who was so nervous he broke out in a full back of sweat.
“The wine that person is holding looks so pretty. I want to drink that too.”
Qu Tongqiu didn’t dare go far, but he couldn’t argue with her. He asked around for the name of the drink, squeezed his way to the bar, and bought her a glass. When he came back, he saw several men with grinning faces gathered around her.
Just what he was afraid of. With no other choice, Qu Tongqiu steeled himself, holding the wine as he squeezed forward and blocked her in front, forcing out his courage. “What do you want to do?”
“Who are you? None of your business. Get lost.”
Seeing their ferocious looks, Qu Tongqiu felt scared, but since this was what Ren Ningyuan had entrusted to him, he had to see it through no matter what. He gathered his nerve and said, “She came here with me. What do you want with her?”
The men didn’t take his forced bravado seriously at all.
“We’re just inviting a beauty to have a drink. Why so nervous?”
“Beauty, why are you hanging out with someone like this? If you want a knight in shining armor, it should be someone like me. It’ll be much more fun with us. How about it? Drink this first.”
“What, you don’t want to drink the wine we bought?”
“Don’t be shameless when you’re being given face.”
Chu Qian was getting scared too and slowly hid behind Qu Tongqiu. Qu Tongqiu was weak and outnumbered—if it really came to blows, one slap would send him flying. He had no choice but to shout, “Do you know who her brother is? Chu Mo from S University—have you heard of him?”
Like a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse, Chu Mo’s bad reputation was well known. The men actually hesitated, exchanging looks, clearly thinking of backing off, though unwilling.
They stood in a standoff for a while. One of the men laughed and said, “Fine, we’ll give Chu Mo some face. But you should also give us some face. This drink was specially bought to make friends. If nobody drinks it, that’s really not decent.”
From behind him, Qu Tongqiu heard Chu Qian whisper, “I don’t want to drink.”
His own alcohol tolerance was terrible—one glass and he’d be down. And this drink just looked malicious. If Zhuang Wei were here, he would probably fight them head-on, even just to vent some anger. But if things turned ugly and she suffered a real loss, even if Chu Mo took revenge ten times over later, what a girl lost could never be made up for. Even beating them to a pulp would be meaningless.
After thinking it over, Qu Tongqiu decided to smooth things over. He took the drink, held his breath, and drank it down mouthful by mouthful.
By the time he set the glass down, dizziness had already set in. He swayed, his vision turning strange. The bar seemed hotter and hotter, making him unbearably restless. Sounds from outside came and went, near and far.
After drifting in a daze for a while, he heard his heart pounding wildly. Suddenly everything went black, and he collapsed headfirst.
What followed was his consciousness being swallowed by chaotic, distorted dreams.
Beautiful dreams and nightmares tangled together, overwhelming him. At times it felt like being in heaven—peaceful and sweet. At others it was like hell—painful beyond endurance. Then it was as if he were burning in raging fire, helplessly tormented again and again, on the verge of bursting apart.
When he finally jolted awake from that vast, restful darkness after the chaos, the first thing he saw was a glaring white expanse.
The sharp contrast left Qu Tongqiu stunned for a long while before he finally realized he was in a hospital.
“He’s awake.”
Hearing this, Qu Tongqiu rolled his eyes around the room and saw Ren Ningyuan, then Zhuang Wei and Chu Mo.
“Boss…”
As soon as he spoke, he felt pain in his throat, his voice hoarse. Qu Tongqiu had no idea what had happened. His memory stopped at drinking in the bar—he knew nothing after that.
Vaguely, he felt pain all over and strong discomfort. Being in a hospital, he asked, “Did I get beaten up?”
All three of them looked strange and awkward. For a moment, no one answered.
After a brief silence, Chu Mo spoke first, coughing lightly. “You ran into some trouble at the bar. What happened after that, I’m not sure. But Chu Qian is fine now. She’s doing well. She asked me to thank you for her.”
Hearing this, Qu Tongqiu felt relieved. At least he could give Ren Ningyuan an explanation. He said happily, “As long as she’s fine. Was I beaten by the people at the bar?”
Ren Ningyuan stayed silent.
Zhuang Wei’s face was extremely ugly, almost green. After a long while, he ground out through clenched teeth, “Not beaten! You idiot!”
Qu Tongqiu froze, full of confusion, trying hard to recall and guess what had really happened.
The pain in his body was indeed different from ordinary beatings. His arms and legs didn’t seem injured. His stomach felt a bit uncomfortable, and further down… his lower body felt like it was being torn apart. Even the burning pain after the worst constipation couldn’t compare to even one-tenth of this.
After staring blankly for a while and looking at their expressions, Qu Tongqiu suddenly understood something.
First came disbelief. He had never imagined such a thing could exist in this world, or that men and men would do it this way—let alone that it would happen to him. He felt it couldn’t be real, like being asked to believe ghosts existed.
Then came chaos. He couldn’t speak. The muscles in his face wouldn’t move. He didn’t know what he was thinking, couldn’t even hear what they were saying, just sat there blankly.
Fortunately, he didn’t remember anything.
The three of them stayed in the ward for a while. Ren Ningyuan got him some juice to drink, brought in outside food instead of hospital meals, left some magazines for him, and asked if there was anything he wanted to eat or play with, saying he’d bring it later.
Everyone avoided mentioning it, to spare the awkwardness and avoid stimulating him, pretending nothing had happened.
If something had happened to Chu Qian, the bar would probably have been turned upside down by Chu Mo and the others, with bloodshed unavoidable. But he was different. The matter passed vaguely in deliberate avoidance and neglect. He himself was willing to accept this tacit silence. After all, he couldn’t remember anything—if nobody said it, it was as if nobody had done it.
The three visitors left together, and he stayed behind in the hospital. He didn’t want to know the specific reason. When the doctor spoke, he hurriedly held his breath so his ears wouldn’t hear.
Anyway, it was probably just “injury.” Being punched and kicked was also called “injury.” “Injury” wasn’t a big deal—just pain.
He wasn’t like Chu Qian, a delicate girl. He was a man, and unlucky at that, often suffering physical hardships. One stroke of bad luck could be much worse than this level of “injury,” and he might not even get this kind of patient treatment.
At least the fresh fish soup Ren Ningyuan brought him was very tasty.
It was just that even the pants Ren Ningyuan gave him were ruined. Thinking of that made him very sad.
That night he flipped through magazines for a while, but for some reason couldn’t read a single story. So Qu Tongqiu turned off the light and closed his eyes. He lay there for who knows how long, still wide awake, without any sleepiness. He vaguely heard some movement at the door. He opened his eyes a crack and looked toward the faint light.
At the door was a familiar tall figure. Qu Tongqiu felt stifled inside, but seeing him now, he was also a bit happy. “Boss.”
Ren Ningyuan walked in quietly, didn’t turn on the light, and sat by his bed in the dimness, saying gently, “Did I wake you?”
“No, I was awake.”
“Can’t sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Is your body uncomfortable?”
Faced with such concern, Qu Tongqiu didn’t know how to answer, so he changed the topic. “Boss, aren’t you staying with Chu Qian?”
“She’s fine, and Chu Mo is with her. What about you? Feeling any better now?”
Ren Ningyuan’s gentleness made him feel deeply grateful, his heart soft and sour. “I’m fine now. Boss, when you have time, you should spend more time with your girlfriend.”
“Hm?” Ren Ningyuan seemed stunned for a moment, then smiled. “You mean Chu Qian? She’s not my girlfriend. She’s like a little sister.”
Only then did Qu Tongqiu realize he’d misunderstood, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Ren Ningyuan continued, “She’s very grateful to you. If it weren’t for you, with her temperament, she would’ve suffered a big loss.”
Being praised by Ren Ningyuan was a great joy, but thinking the whole thing over again, he couldn’t feel happy at all. They sat facing each other for a while, then Ren Ningyuan suddenly said, “You’ve been wronged.”
Qu Tongqiu had been holding it in all day. Now he finally couldn’t help it and burst into tears.
Ren Ningyuan patted his back. Qu Tongqiu only felt that his palm was very warm.
“Boss, will you look down on me?”
He had always been more useless than a useless person. After something like this, he didn’t even count as a man anymore.
Ren Ningyuan said softly, “How could I?”
After sobbing for a while, Qu Tongqiu asked with red eyes, “Boss, can you help me with something?”
“Mm, just say it.”
“Who was that person?”
“…”
“Boss, you can definitely find out, right?” Qu Tongqiu sniffed, clenching his fists. “I…”
Ren Ningyuan looked at him. “It’s better if you don’t know. Because you can’t do anything to him. Instead of suffering over it, it’s better not to know at all.”
“But…”
Ren Ningyuan reached out a finger and lightly touched his hair, soothing him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll punish him for you.”
After he was discharged, Qu Tongqiu stopped thinking about it.
Ren Ningyuan was a man of his word. Since he said he would take revenge for him, it was worth trusting him completely. This unbearable shadow would be carried by Ren Ningyuan for him from then on. He was deeply grateful.
Ren Ningyuan treated him very well. It wasn’t the kind of “good” that came with tangible benefits, but rather small traces of sympathy and gentleness hidden in the corners of his eyes and brows, or the occasional piece of food picked up for him during meals.
For Qu Tongqiu, that was already more than enough. Ren Ningyuan seemed to carry a kind of magic about him—just a light touch on his wounds, and it felt as if all the pain would simply vanish.
