Wandering in the vast darkness

033 friends

The woman grumbled and cursed the whole way, seemingly having nowhere to vent her frustrations. Yu Wenhao let her be, simply listening quietly and occasionally offering a few words of comfort.

When they arrived at Baima Apartments, the woman got out of the car. Yu Wenhao watched her retreating figure, shook his head, and felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He knew that the woman who had been cursing all the way would definitely be a completely different person at the client's home, with a sincere and kind attitude and a soft voice, just like how she had pleaded with the client in the car.

Yu Wenhao sighed. He thought about how many solitary figures like the woman were hidden behind the colorful, brightly lit city's prosperity. Wasn't he the same? Wasn't Lao Yao the same? For every light show in this city, there was a corresponding darkness; for every moment of high spirits, there was a corresponding moment of loneliness and desolation.

Many of the people rushing along this road are actually just struggling to move forward.

Hopefully, hopefully this woman's trip will convince the customer not to cancel the insurance, and hopefully the customer she visits will be able to resolve their problems. Yu Wenhao didn't know what problems they were facing, but he figured it was probably similar to Lao Yao's: a sharp drop in income and a sense of panic.

The woman was right. When they canceled their insurance, they were also canceling their beautiful aspirations for the future and their confident grasp of what lay ahead. They lived in the present, afraid to look up at the distance, for the distance sent chills down their spines.

An order came in, and Yu Wenhao quickly grabbed it. After taking a look, he couldn't help but laugh. He saw that the order he had just grabbed was actually a big one, for 6 a.m. tomorrow, from Baima Apartment to the airport. It must be one of the residents who needed to catch a flight tomorrow and wanted to park their car there for a few days because the airport parking fees were too expensive, so they called a car.

"This is too good of a luck story!" Yu Wenhao thought to himself, then thought of the woman from earlier, and wondered if his luck was built on the suffering of others. With that thought, he prayed even more that the woman would succeed tonight as well.

With a big order coming up tomorrow morning, Yu Wenhao felt a bit more relaxed. He also felt a little hungry, so he decided to find a place with free parking, park his car, and have dinner.

Yu Wenhao turned around at the entrance of the residential area, drove from Miduqiao Road to Hushu South Road, and saw a metered parking space on the side of the road. He quickly parked his car there. Parking here is free for the first fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is enough to have dinner.

He got out of the car, went to the trunk to get the food he'd brought from the company cafeteria, and opened it. The rice was already cold and hard, and the food in the lunchbox had a layer of white, frozen oil floating on top. Yu Wenhao didn't mind; he was used to it.

He then took out the braised beef that Meng Zhen had brought from the glove compartment. Because the car had the air conditioning on, the beef was still a little warm. Yu Wenhao picked up three slices and placed them on his rice, then put the lid back on. This beef was so delicious and kept well; he wanted to take it home, put it in the refrigerator, and leave it for Cao Fang to eat.

This full lunchbox is enough to feed her for several days.

Except for rest days, Yu Wenhao eats breakfast, lunch and dinner at the company. The food in the company cafeteria is good and the price is very cheap. In addition, the managers receive a meal allowance every month, which is deposited into their meal cards, so they basically don't have to spend any money.

Leukemia is caused by pathological changes in blood cells. Patients with leukemia consume far more protein than normal people, and therefore need to supplement their diet with large amounts of high-quality protein. To ensure that Qianqian has enough nutrition, Cao Fang makes sure she eats eggs and drinks milk every day, and that every meal includes fish, shrimp, pork liver, or pork rib soup.

To ensure the freshness and hygiene of the ingredients, Cao Fang not only prevents Qianqian from eating leftovers, but also avoids even leftovers from the previous meal, ensuring that every meal is fresh. If she buys two crucian carp, she will steam them for lunch and braise them for dinner. If she buys a pound of shrimp, she will blanch half a pound for lunch and use the remaining half pound to make stir-fried shrimp or salt and pepper shrimp for dinner.

Qianqian takes targeted drugs every day. Targeted drugs are essentially chemotherapy, but compared to regular chemotherapy, they are less painful and cause less damage to the patient's normal healthy cells. However, they can still cause electrolyte imbalances. In addition to taking vitamin C tablets and fresh vegetables every day, Qianqian also needs to eat fruit.

Yu Wenhao knew that their family's living expenses were basically spent on Qianqian. Cao Fang would even forgo eating the best food herself, trying her best to let Qianqian eat more. Since Qianqian had a poor appetite, she had to constantly change the dishes and tell Qianqian that she didn't like fish, meat, shrimp, or milk.

It wasn't that she didn't like it, but that she couldn't afford it, or rather, she couldn't bear to eat it. Cao Fang wanted to save money from her own meals so that Qianqian could eat more, or to save more money for Qianqian. After deciding to have a second child, Cao Fang felt she needed to save even more money. Besides paying for Qianqian's medical treatment, she couldn't let Qianqian's younger brother or sister suffer in the future. The cost of raising a child these days is really not low.

Cao Fang had experienced hardship herself, and she didn't want her child to suffer the same way.

Cao Fang's meticulous care for Qianqian was out of necessity. A cold or diarrhea might be a minor ailment for other children, but for Qianqian, it was a severe storm, a devastating blow to her body and immune system. She had to be careful.

Even when he wasn't home, Yu Wenhao was fully aware of all this, knowing exactly what kind of life Cao Fang led each day, though she never complained. Just like how no matter how tired or exhausted Yu Wenhao was, he had to pretend to be full of energy when he got home. When Cao Fang asked him, he always said he wasn't tired or sleepy.

Around 1 a.m., after dropping Qiqi off, Yu Wenhao finished work and went home. He put the box of braised beef in the refrigerator and then went to check on Qianqian's room. Before taking a shower, he didn't dare go in or get close to Qianqian; he could only stand at the door and look, then close the door.

After showering and returning to the bedroom, Cao Fang was already sitting up on the bed as usual. Yu Wenhao got into bed and said to Cao Fang:

"There's braised beef in the fridge, you can eat it tomorrow."

"Where did it come from?" Cao Fang asked.

"Meng Zhen gave it to me. She said she was off today and made it at home. I tried it, and it tasted good. By the way, she got a promotion."

"What a wonderful girl! Whoever marries her will be so lucky," Cao Fang said. "Hey, you men, are you blind? Nobody wants to find such a gem?"

"She already has a simp following her around," Yu Wen said with a laugh.

"Haha, that's good. Next time I come, I'll ask her about it properly."

"Oh right, it's the weekend tomorrow. Er Mao and San San want me to come over for a get-together, but I refused. What's the point of getting together? It'll just ruin a whole evening of business. They..."

"Go ahead, you should go. If you don't go soon, you'll have almost no friends left in Hangzhou," Cao Fang said. "Friends are made by gathering."

"You're one to criticize me, but what about you?" Yu asked.

"I'm different. I'm a woman, so it doesn't matter if I have friends or not, as long as I have a family. You're a man, and men need to have a few friends," Cao Fang said. "Otherwise, if something happens, you won't even have a brother who can lend a hand. Er Mao and San San, they both have their own circles, but they haven't forgotten you and always come to call you. That's because they value loyalty and friendship."

Yu Wenhao thought about Cao Fang's words and realized they were true. One of them was already a big boss, and the other was a deputy director. If it weren't for their close friendship back then, he and Cao Fang would never have been able to fit into the same circle.