บท 43: Chapter43

During the Chinese New Year, elders would give red envelopes to juniors according to custom. Hou's mother did this not only because she felt guilty about accepting Ding Qinan's expensive gifts but also because she liked him very much. But only Ding Qinan himself knew how uneasy he felt when receiving such kindness. Probably the only one in a good mood was Hou Jie. It seemed that he had never taken anything seriously. To put it simply, he was heartless. Ding Qinan sighed with an unclear meaning: "I should really learn from you." Hou Jie didn't understand what he was talking about, but it was okay to just go along: "Yes, there are so many things about me worthy of your learning." Ding Qinan gave him a faint sideways glance, thinking that this person couldn't tell good from bad, "Learn from you? Learn your thick - skinned? Learn your simple - mindedness?" Hou Jie thought that it was really a personal attack in this cold weather, and his heart felt half - cold. He narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, "Tsk, do I have to learn your narrow - mindedness and jealousy?" Every word hit Ding Qinan's weak point. But when facing Hou Jie, he was indeed narrow - minded and jealous, and he couldn't change this in his lifetime, nor did he want to change. When quarreling, if you can't win, just shut up, especially when quarreling with Hou Jie, to avoid getting angry to death. So Ding Qinan didn't open his mouth again for the rest of the journey. He was so quiet that Hou Jie thought he had given up and looked rather proud. It took them more than ten minutes to reach the station. They found their parked car and cleared the snow on the car body before preparing to set off back to Haicheng. However, just as Hou Jie sat in the driver's seat and hadn't had time to turn on the heater, he was suddenly pulled over by Ding Qinan. Immediately, a strong force came from the back of his head, and a warm touch covered his lips. Ding Qinan bit him hard. "Hiss - " Hou Jie really hadn't expected this. Otherwise, he could surely have dodged it. He pushed Ding Qinan away and subconsciously raised his hand to touch the corner of his mouth. It hurt like hell. He just felt that he hadn't figured out Ding Qinan's changeable mood all these years: "Are you crazy?" Sure enough, Ding Qinan lived up to his evaluation. He was extremely narrow - minded. Seeing this, he said insincerely, "Sorry, I couldn't control my strength." Hou Jie: "..." Seeing that he was at a loss, Ding Qinan leaned back into the seat. He thought that was right. There was no need to reason with a hooligan like Hou Jie. He should just use force directly. Why waste so many words? He closed his eyes calmly and said quite frankly, "You missed one point. I'm not only narrow - minded and jealous, but also very vengeful." Hou Jie thought to himself that he had seen it. You could remember even the tiniest things for a lifetime. While starting the car, he said lazily, "We have to go back to work in a couple of days." Hearing this, Ding Qinan opened his eyes and then closed them again. He asked leisurely, "Group Leader Hou doesn't seem very enthusiastic about this job?" Hou Jie raised his eyebrows: "Group leader? What do you mean?" Ding Qinan didn't explain much and just said, "Literally." At the end of the year when evaluating performance, apart from Hou Jie's small acts of slacking off at work, his performance was actually very high. Otherwise, when Lao Luo stepped down, he wouldn't have specifically mentioned it. Ding Qinan had this plan in mind long ago, but he had been too busy these days and forgot to mention it. Hou Jie gave him a half - smile and glanced at him: "Am I relying on a big shot now?" Ding Qinan said, "You deserve it yourself. When you become a manager one day, that would be really relying on a big shot." Hou Jie said, "If I become a manager, won't you have no place to go?" He was just joking, but unexpectedly, his joke became a prophecy. When the New Year's holiday ended, everyone gradually returned to the company to work. However, Ding Qinan suddenly received news that his father's condition had deteriorated and the doctor had already issued a critical illness notice. It would probably be a matter of these two days. For both emotional and rational reasons, he should go back to City A. During this period, someone had to take care of the company. The headquarters sent someone else to take over his work. This matter came suddenly, but it also seemed to be expected. After all, Ding's father's health had been deteriorating day by day. He could survive this long only by relying on expensive drugs to prolong his life. Ding's mother called. This time, she didn't say much. Probably knowing that Ding Qinan would surely go back, her tone was neither good nor bad: "Just book a flight ticket for tonight and come back quickly. You should always see him for the last time. I'll let the driver pick you up at the airport." There was a lot of noise on the other end. Obviously, it was very busy. After saying that, she hung up the phone, and there was a beeping busy tone. At that time, Ding Qinan had just finished work and was just getting in the car with Hou Jie to go home. A phone call disrupted his thoughts. Hou Jie noticed that Ding Qinan didn't look right and subconsciously glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong?" Ding Qinan paused for a while before saying, "... My father's health is not good. The doctor said it might be a matter of these two days. I have to rush back to City A tonight. I'll go home and pack my luggage and then set off." When he said the word referring to his father, his voice was indifferent and a bit difficult, making it hard to capture what kind of emotions were contained in it. Hou Jie never expected it to be such a thing. He was stunned for a moment. Without thinking much, he subconsciously sped up the car and asked, "Then... Have you booked the ticket?" Ding Qinan nodded: "I've booked the one at 8:30 p.m." Hou Jie looked at the time: "There's still time." At this time, his mind still hadn't fully reacted. Normally, when a person's parents are seriously ill at home, the first reaction should be sadness or anxiety. But Ding Qinan had a special growth environment. Even if he didn't say a word, Hou Jie could guess that it must not be harmonious at home. He actually didn't know how to comfort him. Seeing that he was rarely silent, not like before when he was joking around, Ding Qinan took out a pack of cigarettes from the car door compartment, smoked a cigarette rarely, lit it with a lighter, and lowered the car window to let the thin white smoke dissipate: "Actually, I can't remember what he looks like anymore..." The cold wind devoured the cigarette between Ding Qinan's fingertips, and the spark flickered: "He is called father, but he is more like a stranger. He only indulged in his own pleasures. Among his several sons and daughters, those raised at home and those outside, he couldn't even name them all." Ding Qinan lowered his eyes and flicked the cigarette ash. The magnificent sunset in the sky cast a not - so - bright halo on the road: "I'm not really sad. I'm just a bit emotional..." No one can deny that the family environment has a crucial impact on a person's growth. Everyone in the world wants to live a perfect life, acting as an elegant and popular princess or prince in the ivory tower. But in fact, they are often mired in the mud, struggling to climb out while being scratched by stones on their flesh and bones, and even worse, some may lose their arms or legs, and finally, all leave irreversible defects. There are never any beautiful words to describe Ding Qinan. Cold, stubborn, unlikable, possessive, or as Hou Jie said, narrow - minded and jealous, all doomed him to have a shadow in his heart and not be a sunny person. He also wanted to be a likable person, but every time he tried, he could only give up in vain. Hou Jie drove home a bit faster than usual. He thought that since such a thing had happened in Ding Qinan's family, even if the other person said he was not sad, he surely couldn't be happy. While helping to pack the luggage, he asked, "Shall I go with you?" Hearing this, Ding Qinan paused while packing his clothes. Then he looked at him and finally there was a bit of a smile in his eyes. He asked instead, "Are you going to give up your job?" Ding's father was also a somewhat well - known figure in City A. To put it bluntly, he probably only had a few days left to live. The funeral and the aftermath surely couldn't be finished in a day or two. At least half a month, and it could be as long as one or two months. Ding Qinan could suspend his work, but Hou Jie couldn't. And he didn't want to drag Hou Jie into this mess either. Hou Jie also looked at him and smiled: "In this day and age, can a person with hands and feet starve to death?" After saying that, he sat lazily on the floor and asked with a rare childishness, "You won't go there and not come back, will you?" Ding Qinan didn't even raise his head and asked faintly in return, "Do you think it's possible?" His father didn't love him, and his mother didn't care about him. He was no different from a lonely person. Now, the only person who could hold him back and influence his thoughts was Hou Jie. Hou Jie didn't say anything. He just pulled Ding Qinan into his arms and kissed him, then touched the back of his head and muttered, "You can't be sure." Because he had to catch the flight, there was no extra time to waste. After packing the luggage, Hou Jie drove Ding Qinan to the airport. He thought that he would be sleeping alone tonight and couldn't help but feel a bit strange. He couldn't help but ask, "When will you be back?" Ding Qinan really wanted to give him an exact time, but he couldn't. He changed his sitting position: "I'm not sure. It could be half a month, a month, or two months." Hou Jie: "Tsk." With his legs crossed, Ding Qinan glanced at him at his words and asked in Hou Jie's previous tone, "What? Are you reluctant?" Hou Jie didn't say anything. He thought that it was just one or two months. It should be okay. It was not far from here to the airport. They arrived in about twenty minutes. Probably because of the weather, there were not many passengers. Only the electronic billboards on the surrounding buildings were flashing lights in the dark, shining on each other. Hou Jie took the luggage out of the trunk. Seeing that there was still some time, he said to Ding Qinan, "Let's go. I'll see you into the public hall." Ding Qinan didn't move. He just kissed Hou Jie under the cover of the night. His lips were a bit cold, bringing an indescribable palpitation. It was not as fierce as usual, but very gentle. He said in a low voice, "Someone from the headquarters should come to temporarily take over my work tomorrow. Don't be lazy during work hours. I can see you from the office window at a glance." Hou Jie's mood was complicated: "..." After saying that, he kissed Hou Jie again. He couldn't help but want to leave another mark on Hou Jie's lips to claim his sovereignty, but seeing that the bite mark from this morning hadn't disappeared yet, he gave up. Ding Qinan said, "It's cold. Just see me off here. Go back early." Hou Jie was actually a bit reluctant, but he didn't like this sentimental and lingering feeling. Even if some emotions were rising up, he had forced them down before. But now he couldn't hold them back. He grabbed Ding Qinan's hand to prevent him from leaving and pouted, "Hey, remember to come back early." Ding Qinan was actually more reluctant than Hou Jie, but seeing his frowning face, he wanted to laugh a bit. He nodded and said with a half - smile, "It depends." He was slender and tall, and under the cover of the night, he looked even thinner. It seemed that he had never had a place to stay, always running around in different places. It was like this when he was a teenager, and it was still the same when he was in his twenties. Hou Jie reached out and pulled him into his arms, then slowly tightened his embrace and said, "Tell me if anything happens." Ding Qinan nodded. Hou Jie said, "I'm always here."