Appendix III to Chapter 40
Qi Liang was cleaning the bar and collecting the empty glasses of wine from the customers.
He was already busy enough, but he could still occasionally see Meng Jining's afterimage in the corner of his eyes.
It was probably because my workstation was too bad, facing the stage, and there was nowhere to hide even if I wanted to.
When he wiped a seat, Qi Liang suddenly had a thought: the elegant young man brought by Meng Jining was sitting here yesterday.
The man listened to the entire performance attentively. When Meng Jining stepped down from the stage, he ran over to hug him, his eyes filled with tears of excitement.
Thinking of this, Qi Liang glanced at the empty seats.
That person didn't come today.
On the stage, Meng Jining's last piece of music was coming to an end. Qi Liang turned around and sorted the wine cabinet with his back to the stage.
"A glass of bourbon."
Qi Liang saw the other person's reflection in the wine bottle - holding his chin and smiling at him, as if nothing had happened last night.
Qi Liang put the wine glass on the table and poured wine into it. Meng Jining was not looking at the wine glass, but his hand.
Halfway through pouring, Meng Jining suddenly asked: "Why didn't you call me?"
Qi Liang put down the bottle and said calmly, "Not interested."
Meng Jining drooped his eyelids, sighed, and looked depressed: "I thought I found someone to feed the cat with."
Qi Liang glanced at him and said, "You remember clearly what happened after you got drunk."
Meng Jining picked up the wine glass, looked at it carefully, and drank it all in one gulp.
"I can actually drink quite well," he said.
Qi Liang stared at him, and he met his gaze and smiled, his eyes clear and without any sign of drunkenness.
Qi Liang didn't know whether he was angry or nervous. "Why are you targeting me?" he asked. "That guy couldn't remember the number yesterday?"
Hearing this, a hint of understanding flashed across Meng Jining's face. This expression at that moment made Qi Liang regret it, but he had already said it.
"You don't need to remember him," Meng Jining said, "He is my brother."
Qi Liang reminded himself in his heart: This has nothing to do with me.
"Let's have a meal together when you are free," said Meng Jining.
“No time.”
"So what do you do during the day?"
"There's another job."
"What about the weekend? Don't you have a day off on the weekend?"
"No rest."
"Non-stop work?" Meng Jining took a breath of cold air, "How many hours of sleep can you get in a day?"
To be honest, Qi Liang couldn't remember the last time he had a good night's sleep. As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt endless fatigue and sleepiness. Even in sleep, he never had sweet dreams.
He was really too tired, so tired that he didn't want to devote his attention to another person. Even now, just sometimes, Meng Jining's face and the words Meng Jining said flashed through his mind, and he felt exhausted.
He is not suitable for dating, and it is best not to have any feelings for him.
"It's none of your business," he said.
Meng Jining frowned, as if thinking. After a while, he asked, "Where do you usually work during the day?"
Qi Liang glanced at him warily.
"No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat at noon," Meng Jining said, "I'll come find you and we'll eat together."
"No."
Meng Jining stared at him: "This is not a date."
Qi Liang frowned.
"It's a dinner date," Meng Jining said. "I like to eat with others. The food tastes better when there are more people. It's okay on weekdays, but on weekends, everyone comes out for dinner. The circle of friends is full of group photos, but I'm the only one all alone. It's too lonely."
"Don't you have any other friends?"
"I used to have him, but not now," Meng Jining said with a somewhat desolate look in his eyes. "I guess he's not a true friend either."
His pitiful look was all fake, Qi Liang reminded himself in his heart, just like when he was drunk that night.
"After I resigned, some people blocked me and others pretended to be dead," Meng Jining said. "If you are free at noon this weekend, can you have a meal with me..."
He looked at Qi Liang with pleading eyes.
Before biting off his tongue, Qi Liang said, "There is a Sinopec gas station at the intersection of Youyi Road and Changqing Road."
Meng Jining's eyes suddenly lit up. Under such an offensive look, Qi Liang had no choice but to continue: "I usually park the trailer there. If it's not there, it means I've received an order."
Meng Jining smiled: "Then I'll come to see you around 12 o'clock."
Even with all his self-control, Qi Liang couldn't stop thinking about Meng Jining and thinking about him coming to have lunch with him.
What’s annoying is that before 12 o’clock, a new order came in, an Audi crashed into the green belt. The car owner was sitting in the passenger seat, cursing and nagging, but Qi Liang realized he wasn't listening at all.
What’s even more terrifying is that the other party chose a repair shop that was far away, and he was actually dissatisfied with it.
After rushing back, it was almost 1 o'clock.
He stopped next to the gas station and carefully searched the nearby vehicles and pedestrians. Not here.
Maybe he couldn't wait and left first.
Meng Jining did not come to disturb him, and might even withdraw from his life because of this incident. He should be happy.
But whatever emotion was coming to my mind right now, it had nothing to do with happiness.
He pulled the handbrake and prepared to go eat something nearby. Normally he would bring some dry food with him, but because Meng Jining said she was coming, he didn't bring anything today.
He had just unbuckled his seatbelt when the car window rang.
Looking outside, Meng Jining waved at him and shook the Subway takeout box.
He didn't know, at that moment, he showed such a moving expression that even Meng Jining was stunned, but he didn't notice.
He unlocked the car, and Meng Jining climbed into the passenger seat. His expression as he looked around was very similar to that brother's.
"Do you want thick-cut steak or tuna?" Meng Jining asked him.
"steak."
Meng Jining handed him the sandwich and he took it and took a bite. Never had Subway before, it tasted a bit bland.
"I thought you were busy," Meng Jining said. "Since you weren't here, I bought lunch and brought it here. This way, you can leave at any time with a new list." He tilted his head and smiled at him. "When the time comes, just kick me out of the car."
There was a little mayonnaise on the corner of his mouth. Qi Liang took out a napkin from the takeout bag, handed it to him, and pointed at his face.
Meng Jining showed a confused look and then moved towards the driver's seat. Qi Liang moved back suddenly.
He stopped very close and looked in the rearview mirror. "Oh," he said, "here it is."
Qi Liang watched him wipe the corners of his mouth. The whole thing was infuriatingly considerate.
"How much is this one?" he said, "I'll transfer it to you."
"No."
"I don't need your treat."
"This is for me," Meng Jining returned to his seat, "so that you can treat me to dinner next time."
Qi Liang stared at Meng Jining. The way he ate calmly also made people angry: "You think everyone in the world likes you, right?"
Meng Jining glanced at him, and he felt as if he had been seen through.
"Why are you pestering me?" Qi Liang continued, "Do I make you feel new?"
After a long time, Meng Jining finally spoke. His voice was not hurt, but rather full of regret: "Why do you think so?"
Qi Liang was silent for a while, then asked, "What did you do before?"
“Private equity is to help wealthy people invest.”
“Sounds like a lot of money.”
"It's very profitable," Meng Jining said, "Every day, dazzling coins pass through my hands, although they are not yours."
Qi Liang didn't know what that felt like.
"What about you?" Meng Jining asked, "Have you always been working as a bartender and trailer driver?"
"I used to sort goods in a farmers' market and worked as a worker in a mobile phone factory," said Qi Liang.
The moment these words were spoken, the production lines flashed by like ribbons.
Two hundred thousand people go to and from that factory every day. At 6 o'clock in the morning, he got up to catch the bus and lined up at the factory gate. Strip lights illuminated the densely packed heads that were bent over.
The assembly line started, and he brought a two-pound metal block and let the machine mill the material. Milky white cutting fluid continuously flows out of the pipe. The smell is very strong and can be smelled even with a mask on. It makes people dizzy.
For nine whole hours, they repeat this endless process. They have to punch in when leaving the production line, and they are only given five minutes to go to the toilet each time.
According to regulations, he should take a break at 5 pm, but he always works overtime, especially before a new model is launched. The music for the end of get off work only plays symbolically, and soon the production line will be restarted and everyone will return to their posts.
However, without overtime pay, he might not be able to survive at all, as the factory's basic salary is only 1,800.
One year, there were 13 consecutive suicides in the factory. Afterwards, all the windows were sealed and the lights in the factory were kept on 24 hours a day, all night long.
After staying there for more than a year, he began to feel dazed and often could not tell the difference between day and night.
He had to resign because, on the one hand, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and on the other hand, it was difficult for him to continue his second job at night due to such high-intensity work during the day.
So he got a Class A driver's license and started working as a tow truck driver. In between taking orders, he can also relax for a while, which is a benefit that mobile phone manufacturers cannot enjoy.
"We are not from the same world," Qi Liang said, "I don't know if you are an elite who came down to earth and want to experience the life of the poor, or what. Don't bother, there is nothing worth being curious about."
Meng Jining was silent for a long time and then smiled. Qi Liang rarely saw him looking so lonely.
"You have a lot of misunderstandings about me." Meng Jining said.
"What?"
"You think I'm rich?" Meng Jining said, "We are a single-parent family, and my father is also a worker."
Qi Liang paused.
“Also, I never felt like everyone liked me,” he said. “My brother didn’t.”
Qi Liang fell silent. Given their level of familiarity, this topic was a bit too complicated. However, he couldn't help but respond when the other party confessed his true feelings like this.
"How could that be," Qi Liang said, "He even came to watch your performance."
Meng Jining smiled and said, "That's just because he's nice."
Just like when we were kids.
He still remembers that weekend, Mengchu went to school to attend the free Mathematical Olympiad class. He was at home with nothing to do, and then his father said to him: "Let's go shopping in the mall."
The mall is full of things to buy, including an ice rink, a trampoline, and a small castle connected by ropes.
His father took him to a toy store and asked him what he wanted.
He asked, "What about my brother?"
The father thought for a moment and said, "We only have enough money to buy one. If your brother wants to play with it, just give it to him."
The store has the latest Transformers, Gundams and Ultraman, each of which is exciting. He picked one, took it home, and then—thinking about it now, he still felt extremely stupid—actually told his brother: "If you want to play with it, you can take it anytime."
The elder brother took the toy from him, lowered his head and looked at it carefully, and said inaudibly: "So you went to the toy store."
Then, his brother gave the toy back to him and said, "Okay."
However, he didn't see his brother touch the toy for a long time afterwards.
He thought his brother was probably embarrassed.
So he did something even more stupid. One day, he handed the toy to his brother and said casually, "I don't want to play with this anymore. I'll give it to you."
His brother looked at him for a while, an expression he couldn't read. After hesitating for a long time, my brother reached out his hand and took it: "Thank you."
However, my brother put it away immediately and still never played with it.
He thought maybe his brother didn't like this toy. The next time, he told his father that he wanted to go shopping in the mall with his brother.
When we go to the toy store, he likes whatever his brother likes, so that’s the problem.
In his father's silence, he pulled his brother into the store. However, his brother took a look at his father's face and finally said, "I don't really like toys."
He didn't buy anything.
Later, he realized how much of a shadow his perfect, colorful life had cast on another person. But... it's too late.
The damage had been done, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the rift.
"When I was in middle school, I used my New Year's money to buy him books and snacks," Meng Jining said, "but..."
But my brother was so smart that he could figure out based on these gifts alone that the amount of red envelopes given to Meng Jining by the elders was different from his own.
"I was worried that he would feel that there was a gap when it came to his birthday, so I told my dad privately that since things were tight at home, we might as well not celebrate his birthday at all."
In fact, my brother often says thank you to him, but every time he says thank you, he feels a little sad.
Meng Jining discovered that his efforts only seemed to make the gap between their situations more and more obvious. Just like for Meng Chu, the birthday party that he had longed for could be thrown away at will.
Because he has no shortage of such loving moments.
He lowered his head and clenched the packaging bag in his hand. After a while, he asked, "Do I give you the same feeling?"
Qi Liang's heart suddenly felt empty.
“Is this lunch like the Gundam I gave away back then?” he said. “If so, I apologize to you.”
Qi Liang looked at him and was about to say something when a notification popped up on his phone.
"It seems you have a new order," Meng Jining said, "I won't bother you anymore."
He put the leftover packaging into a bag and went out. Qi Liang watched him walk further and further away, then suddenly opened the car door and shouted, "Wait."
Meng Jining turned around.
"I still owe you a meal," Qi Liang asked, "Are you free tomorrow night? After dinner we can go to the bar to work together."
Meng Jining was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the leaves swirling beneath his feet.
"OK."
The author has something to say:
The one with a salary dozens of times higher really hurt me. I remember having dinner with a classmate from an investment bank, and I found out that the tax she paid was higher than my salary ()
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