Chapter 8
After class, he would go to Ren Ningyuan’s apartment to clean up, then watch videotapes.
Ren Ningyuan gave him money to rent quite a few tapes, but after renting them, he didn’t really feel like watching; the braised snacks he bought also went mostly untouched. Not wanting to waste them, Qu Tongqiu watched each tape one by one before returning them, eating his favorite braised duck wings while watching feature films. He was quite happy, and it felt as if doing this allowed him to forget all the unpleasant things.
Ren Ningyuan sat on the sofa reading a magazine and suddenly asked, “Do you really want to get a girlfriend?”
Qu Tongqiu felt a bit embarrassed and answered with a soft “Mm.”
Ren Ningyuan seemed thoughtful. “What kind do you like?”
“Uh… gentle ones.”
“Mhm, what else?”
“Reasonable.”
“Mhm.”
“Mature…”
Ren Ningyuan laughed. “So you like the older-sister type. Do you want a pretty girlfriend?”
Qu Tongqiu’s face flushed at once. “That… as long as she looks pleasant enough. I think personality matters more.”
Ren Ningyuan gave a low “Mm,” nodded, and didn’t ask any more, returning to his magazine.
Once the conversation ended, Qu Tongqiu forgot about it entirely. In truth, staying by Ren Ningyuan’s side made him forget about looking for a girlfriend at all.
The next day, acting on Ren Ningyuan’s instructions, he went to a restaurant. As soon as he entered, he saw Ren Ningyuan seated facing the door. Ren Ningyuan looked up, waved him over, and said warmly, “Let me introduce a friend to you. This is Yang Miao.”
Sitting across from Ren Ningyuan was a woman with a very comfortable presence. She looked a little older than them, not stunningly beautiful, but with very smooth skin, a pair of phoenix eyes, and a face scarcely larger than a palm. Her curled hair was loosely pinned at the back of her head, giving her an elegant, distinctive charm.
She carried a kind of feminine allure that seeped into the bones. When she smiled faintly at Qu Tongqiu, his face immediately turned red.
Seeing how flushed he was, the woman looked a little surprised. “So delicate-looking, and so shy. I thought your friends would all be early-maturing types like you.”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “Aren’t you the one who likes taking care of younger boys the most?”
Qu Tongqiu sat down nervously. After they introduced themselves and got to know each other a bit, he learned that she was actually from the same hometown as him, already working, and several years older. Yet her gentle, sweet appearance didn’t reveal the real age difference at all.
He knew this must be the girlfriend Ren Ningyuan had introduced to him. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his throat. He wasn’t good at interacting with women and didn’t know what topics to bring up at first, afraid the conversation might fall flat.
Luckily, Ren Ningyuan helped from the side. Though he didn’t speak much, a few calm prompts were enough to keep the conversation flowing smoothly, and the meal passed quite pleasantly.
After the meal, Ren Ningyuan paid the bill and took his leave first. The important task of seeing the lady home naturally fell to Qu Tongqiu, who carefully accompanied Yang Miao into a taxi.
He already had a very good impression of her. Although they lived in quite different circumstances, they got along well. As they chatted along the way, he felt she was the type who made him comfortable and fond of her. He didn’t dare hope she would definitely like him back—being friends would already be nice.
When he walked her downstairs to her place and they were about to part, she said, “You’re almost at finals, right? Is your coursework heavy?”
“Not really. I’ve pretty much finished reviewing,” Qu Tongqiu replied. He was usually diligent, so he didn’t need to cram at the last minute.
“In that case,” she smiled, “do you have time to meet again tomorrow?”
Qu Tongqiu was so happy his heart thumped wildly. He nodded repeatedly, his face and ears burning red, which made her laugh. She reached out and tapped his forehead. “Kids are just so cute.”
Blessed with such good luck, Qu Tongqiu watched her go upstairs, then turned around and ran all the way back, eager to tell Ren Ningyuan immediately.
Ren Ningyuan really did have magic—like an all-powerful Aladdin’s lamp, granting every wish he made.
But Ren Ningyuan hadn’t returned to the apartment yet. Qu Tongqiu waited outside, unable to contain his excitement, for a long time. Even by midnight, Ren Ningyuan still hadn’t come back.
With no phone to call, and thinking of the dormitory curfew, he had no choice but to return to school first.
After that, Ren Ningyuan seemed to become busy. It was hard for Qu Tongqiu to catch him during his free time, and when he went to the apartment, more often than not he was met with a closed door.
On Yang Miao’s side, their relationship gradually warmed.
The feeling of an older-woman–younger-man romance wasn’t bad at all. Yang Miao was a very charming woman, and she liked his youthful awkwardness, honesty, and sincerity. Slowly, whenever Qu Tongqiu had free time, he would bring his books and go to her place.
Only after becoming closer did he learn that Yang Miao worked as a hostess at a nightclub. This surprised Qu Tongqiu at first. But when she smiled and calmly said, “A hostess isn’t a prostitute,” her frank composure put him at ease.
After all, she was someone Ren Ningyuan had introduced. Trusting Ren Ningyuan meant trusting Yang Miao. Besides, a woman like her made him feel that the job was far less lowly than his preconceived notions suggested.
She was understanding, knew how to live, had taste, could be sharp and capable, and also had a naïve, cute side. Having a girlfriend like her already made him lucky—what did her profession matter?
Listening to Yang Miao tell him anecdotes from the nightclub, teaching him how to talk cleverly to dodge drinks yet persuade others to drink more, or get customers to order expensive liquor, he even felt she understood life far better than he, a college student, ever could. There was no question of who was worthy of whom.
Though not much time had passed, Qu Tongqiu had already begun taking this relationship seriously. No matter how deep Yang Miao’s feelings for him actually were, first love always made the heart race, and the whole world seemed to turn bright and beautiful.
He couldn’t help wanting to share this happiness with Ren Ningyuan. Whenever Ren Ningyuan occasionally had time to spend with him, he would patiently listen to Qu Tongqiu ramble about little moments between the two of them, then smile and say, “As long as you like it.”
Qu Tongqiu would sit on a cushion by his feet, look up and talk to him, gazing at his calm, handsome face. At moments like that, he felt like the happiest person in the world.
Since starting to date Yang Miao, Qu Tongqiu began going to the nightclub late at night to wait for her to finish work, then escort her home.
In truth, Yang Miao was a seasoned hand. She moved smoothly, knew when to advance and retreat, far more worldly than he was. She often smiled and said she didn’t need him to rescue her at all, and worried even more about him coming to a place like this. But a young woman walking alone at night was always at risk, and he felt it was his duty to protect and take care of his girlfriend.
After going several times, he had become a familiar face. Seeing him stand there for so long, the security guards would sometimes let him in, allowing him to sit near the entrance and wait.
This time, Qu Tongqiu waited longer than usual. He checked his watch several times and craned his neck to look around before finally spotting the figure of a woman in an off-shoulder wine-red short dress, her hair beautifully styled. He happily went up to her.
“You’re off work later today. Everything okay?”
“It’s fine. Let’s go home.”
As he answered, he was just about to drape the jacket he’d brought over her shoulders when his own shoulder suddenly tightened. Before he could react, he was yanked violently backward, nearly flung away.
Qu Tongqiu crashed into a nearby table. The way he scrambled up afterward was so pitiful that the man who attacked him didn’t even bother to look at him.
With the obstacle cleared, the man, reeking of alcohol, grinned at Yang Miao. “Miss Yang…”
He was tall and burly, with a high nose and deep-set eyes—clearly foreign-looking, more than a head taller than Qu Tongqiu, with knotted muscles bulging on his arms.
Seeing him stretch out his big hands to grab Yang Miao’s slender shoulders like an eagle snatching a chick, Qu Tongqiu panicked and rushed forward, squeezing himself between them. “What are you doing?!”
The man found it amusing that he dared block the way. He chuckled twice and swatted Qu Tongqiu aside like brushing off a fly. “Get lost. Mind your own business.”
The slap left Qu Tongqiu dizzy. Unable to dodge, he took another hit amid Yang Miao’s cry, slapped from both sides, taking two solid blows to the face.
The onlookers had been tense at first, expecting to see a heroic rescue. Who would have thought he’d be so useless, even his beating looking ridiculous? Laughter broke out around them.
The man planned to deal with this overreaching kid in just a few moves. Qu Tongqiu had no strength to fight back, but he stubbornly refused to let the man free his hands to take advantage of Yang Miao. No matter what, the man couldn’t shake him off. Annoyed, he slapped him twice more and cursed, “Where did this clown come from? Looking to die?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
The speaker was Yang Miao.
Facing such a fierce-looking brute, the slender, delicate woman showed no fear at all. Like a mother hen protecting her chick, she wrapped an arm around Qu Tongqiu’s shoulders. All of this filled Qu Tongqiu with unbearable shame.
As if hearing the biggest joke in the world, the man threw his head back and laughed loudly, full of contempt, but didn’t pursue the matter further.
Supported by Yang Miao, Qu Tongqiu left the building amid suppressed laughter, his face burning red—whether from swelling or from shame, he couldn’t tell.
“Come in.”
Back home, Yang Miao fumbled for the switch on the wall and turned on the light, then took the hand of the young boy standing outside with his head lowered and pulled him inside.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
Asked like that, Qu Tongqiu shook his head, feeling even more ashamed.
Yang Miao gently cupped his face. “Come, let me see where you’re hurt.”
After examining him closely and finding nothing serious, she went to get some ice and pressed it against his swollen cheeks.
With the ice on his face, Qu Tongqiu thought of how embarrassing his performance had been and didn’t dare look up at her. He said softly, “I’ll become stronger in the future.”
Yang Miao laughed, blew lightly on his flushed cheek, then tapped his forehead. “You really are a gentle kid.”
After the ice packs had done their job, the suffocating feeling of inferiority eased a little. As she gently wiped his cheeks, she smiled and asked, “Do you want to stay tonight?”
Qu Tongqiu’s eyes flew open. Staring at the graceful, soft face before him, he was stunned by the meaning behind her words and couldn’t make a sound for a moment.
“Or is it that you don’t like this?”
She lightly pulled him closer. He was so shy that his palms started sweating, his face burning red, not daring to lift his eyes. Gradually, he brushed against the woman’s soft lips, and his heart immediately began pounding wildly.
It was his first awkward kiss with a woman. As he experienced it, nervous yet blissful, he thought this must be his official first kiss. Just as he had no idea what to do next, his hand was taken and lifted, then gently pressed against the woman’s full chest.
When he woke up, he naturally knew it was already morning. Qu Tongqiu poked his face out from under the quilt, and without realizing it, his whole face turned red. He turned his head toward the pillow beside him and saw Yang Miao smiling at him as well.
On the morning after their first night together, facing such an important woman in his life, he couldn’t think of any sweet words. After blushing for a while, he could only stammer, “I—I’ll take responsibility for you.”
Yang Miao froze for a moment, then laughed. There was surprise and amusement in her laughter, but no mockery. Gradually her eyes reddened a little, and she poked his forehead again. “You…”
All morning, Qu Tongqiu was inexplicably energetic, running around to buy groceries for Yang Miao, cleaning the room, even sweeping the apartment stairwell and helping throw out the trash for a few neighbors downstairs. That unfamiliar sweetness and sense of responsibility left him unable to calm down at all.
After leaving Yang Miao’s place, he went straight to look for Ren Ningyuan. His eagerness to share was so intense that even the few dozen seconds from ringing the doorbell to the door opening felt unbearably long.
Ren Ningyuan saw his still-swollen face through the crack in the door, took off the security chain, opened the door wide, and frowned slightly. “What happened to you again?”
Qu Tongqiu was already flustered. Nervously, he said, “I—I did that with my girlfriend.”
Ren Ningyuan let out a short “tch,” as if he’d been choked, coughed a few times, then said calmly, “That’s a good thing.”
“Mm. I’ll definitely take responsibility for her. If we can get married after graduation, that would be best.”
Ren Ningyuan nodded in agreement, but didn’t continue the topic as Qu Tongqiu had hoped. He only asked, “Anything else?”
“Ah…” There really wasn’t anything else important. But seeing Ren Ningyuan about to close the door, Qu Tongqiu forced himself to find another topic. “Um…”
“Hm?”
“Last night Yang Miao ran into a customer who wouldn’t leave her alone…”
“Isn’t that unavoidable in that line of work?”
The reply was a bit cold, but not wrong. Qu Tongqiu could only say, “I’m her boyfriend. I should at least try to protect her…”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “You want me to help you deal with it?”
“Boss…”
Ren Ningyuan replied gently, “Let’s talk about it when I have time.”
Then he closed the door.
Qu Tongqiu had no choice but to leave, thinking that Ren Ningyuan really did seem very busy lately. Maybe he should help out somehow—organizing a set of concise notes for this semester’s courses might be useful.
But in the end, Qu Tongqiu never managed to finish those notes. The foreign-looking man brought a few people to teach him a lesson. Beating him up was far too easy, especially now that he wasn’t following Ren Ningyuan around. He was basically a free punching bag.
Qu Tongqiu was hospitalized again. He’d lost count of how many times it was. Getting beaten and then checking into the hospital had become routine; he didn’t even feel sad about it anymore.
What did upset him was that one of his courses had an early final exam. He had prepared very seriously, but now lay in a hospital bed, unable to attend. He could only wait for a deferred or make-up exam, and no matter how hard he worked afterward, missing it meant missing it—there was no way he could get a scholarship.
Yang Miao stayed with him in the hospital the whole time. With her there, he was too embarrassed to complain of pain and could only endure it.
Ren Ningyuan also came by. After looking at him, he asked flatly, “Who did this?”
Qu Tongqiu knew he meant to stand up for him and felt grateful. He hurriedly said, “Boss, I’m fine. I can be discharged in a few days. That’s what the doctor said.”
Ren Ningyuan ignored him and looked at Yang Miao instead, very patiently. “Your customer did this?”
Yang Miao nodded, then shook her head. “Not someone easy to deal with. You’d better stay out of it.”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “Oh? How hard to deal with? Tell me.”
“Tongqiu is my boyfriend. He got hurt because of me. I’ll take care of him. They didn’t offend you—you don’t need to wade into this mess.”
Ren Ningyuan smiled. “You’re being too polite. How could this have nothing to do with me? Even beating a dog, you have to look at its owner first.”
Then he glanced at Qu Tongqiu. “Right?”
Qu Tongqiu froze. He’d always been a lowly lackey who followed Ren Ningyuan with total devotion, but being put that way still made him uncomfortable. He only mumbled an indistinct “Mm.”
He was overly attached to Ren Ningyuan—almost like a dog, with blind admiration and unwavering loyalty. Even getting kicked once or twice wouldn’t affect that loyalty. Among all those who followed Ren Ningyuan, he was just one unremarkable figure.
This time, Qu Tongqiu stayed in the hospital longer. Though he was used to getting beaten at school, the methods of people out in society were far harsher than student-style bullying.
Yang Miao was a considerate, good woman. Though her work was busy and tiring, she still came to see him every day. Since she wasn’t good at cooking, she handed the ingredients to a small restaurant, had them cooked, and brought the food to the hospital—very practical.
During the long hospital stay, after visiting once, Ren Ningyuan never came again. Qu Tongqiu waited day after day, but didn’t see him.
Still, he knew Ren Ningyuan was busy—always had many things to deal with. Even sitting quietly, his mind was running at high speed, thinking about problems Qu Tongqiu couldn’t imagine. Naturally, he wouldn’t have the energy for trivial matters like hospital visits, or for someone as insignificant as him. Thinking this way, Qu Tongqiu felt relieved.
By the time Qu Tongqiu was almost discharged, he still hadn’t seen Ren Ningyuan. He knew Ren Ningyuan had already forgotten about him, so he asked Yang Miao, “Is the boss doing okay lately?”
“You’re worried about him?” Yang Miao ladled soup for him. “Focus on getting yourself better first. Ren Ningyuan is the last person who needs worrying about. He had that group beaten so badly they were unrecognizable—made a real show of strength. He can even suppress the local big shots. What can’t he do?”
Qu Tongqiu asked in confusion, “Local big shots? Wasn’t that guy a foreigner?”
“The one who brought people to beat you was Nordic-looking, just arrived not long ago. But he was a guest of Fourth Master Qiao.”
“Who’s Fourth Master Qiao?”
“You,” Yang Miao laughed, tapping his head, “only read the sages’ books and know nothing of the outside world. Qiao Si is a powerful figure—not a good person. We can’t afford to offend him. Just remember that.”
Qu Tongqiu responded with an “Mm.” While lying in the hospital bed, he’d been worried that Ren Ningyuan might suffer a loss, but it seemed things had gone smoothly. Ren Ningyuan had already resolved everything perfectly.
Same age, both men—he only got beaten, while Ren Ningyuan could take it back tenfold. To Qu Tongqiu, Ren Ningyuan truly existed like an idol.
The more he thought about it, the more admiration filled his heart. “How did the boss beat them?”
Yang Miao smiled. “Ah, I won’t tell you. Bloody scenes can scare people.”
“I wouldn’t be scared.”
“But someone would.”
“Heh, so the one who got scared was you.”
“Not me.”
Qu Tongqiu was a little confused. Yang Miao didn’t speak anymore. She tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, then said, “My period didn’t come this month.”
Hearing such a private topic, Qu Tongqiu’s face turned red before his mind could react. “Uh…”
“I’m pregnant.”
