LRAB 014 Lao Yao
014 Lao Yao
"That's not a long-term solution. What are you planning to do next?" Yu asked the man.
"Struggling, like today, I'm going to see all sorts of bastards, trying out all sorts of companies, just wanting to find a job before telling her that I've already switched jobs."
The man sneered, "Dreams are the most beautiful thing, haha, this might really just be a dream of mine, maybe even a nightmare."
"No, it will get better."
Yu Wenhao felt that besides offering such pale and powerless words of comfort, she had no other options. He used to earn two million a year, and his academic background was amazing. Did he really need her to be his life mentor? What a joke.
The man didn't say anything, he just smiled, but it was a rather awkward smile.
Yu Wenhao drove across the Qianjiang Third Bridge and arrived at the entrance of Hangzhou No. 1 residential community. Yu Wenhao asked:
"Do you need me to take you inside?"
"No, no, I'll get off here." The man waved his hand and greeted Yu Wenhao as he opened the car door.
"Remember to add me on WeChat. I really need to ask you for advice on driving for a ride-hailing service."
Yu said hello and agreed, and added me right away.
As he spoke, he picked up his phone, opened WeChat, and saw the man's request. He added him. The man's WeChat name was a character from a martial arts novel, which proved the rumors circulating that everyone in their workplace had a nickname.
"My surname is Yao," the man said to Yu.
Yu Wenhao quickly nodded: "Oh, it's President Yao."
"What 'President Yao'? He's already been beaten black and blue. Just call me Old Yao, I'm a few years older than you," the man said.
Yu said hello.
Yu Wenhao was thinking to himself that the first thing he would do tomorrow was to tell Lao Yao that driving for a ride-hailing service wouldn't be enough to pay off his monthly mortgage of over 30,000 yuan. He added that even the legendary monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan was just a myth these days. Driving for a ride-hailing service was really difficult, and he wanted to prepare Lao Yao mentally.
Old Yao opened the car door and got out. Standing outside the car, he swung his left hand down like a duck paddling in the water, as if to say goodbye to Yu Wenhao. Yu Wenhao also said goodbye to him.
Yu Wenhao stared at Lao Yao's back for a while, and seeing that he was walking without staggering, he started the car and drove away with peace of mind.
When he reached the intersection ahead and turned around to go back, he slowed down when he was almost at the entrance of Hangzhou No. 1 Community. He saw that Lao Yao was not going into the community, but sitting on the curb of the sidewalk next to the community gate, with his hands on his knees and his head hanging down.
Yu Wenhao hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to turn around and ask him if he was alright. But when they were almost at the intersection, she changed her mind. Yu Wenhao pressed the accelerator and drove straight across the intersection.
He knew that Lao Yao should be fine. He sat in the cold wind, just trying to calm himself down so that he could go back and face his wife.
Yu Wenhao has done similar things. Sometimes when he gets home, if he is feeling down or upset, he won't get out of the car immediately. Instead, he will sit in the car in the underground parking lot for a while until he calms down before going home.
No matter how late he got home, he knew his wife Cao Fang was waiting for him. If he didn't come home, his wife would worry and wouldn't sleep well. He couldn't let her see him looking dejected.
Yu checked the time; it was already past 12:30. He turned off the driver's app on his phone and sped up.
From Monday to Friday, every morning, Yu Wenhao's last customer is Diandian. And every evening, without a break all week, Yu Wenhao's last customer is Qiqi.
Qiqi is a hostess at NOC party KTV in Hangzhou. Yu Wenhao would wait for her at the entrance of NOC party KTV every night, pick her up, and then take her to her home in Tenglong Building.
Like Diandian, he also picks up and drops off Qiqi without using ride-hailing apps. This was at Qiqi's request; she said, "Why should we let the platform take advantage of us? We won't give them any."
Every week, Qiqi would transfer 300 yuan to Yu Wenhao, which was far more than her bus fare. Yu Wenhao told her it was too much. Qiqi said, "You're my brother, why are you being so polite with me?"
Qiqi calls Yu Wenhao "brother". They first met more than a year ago. That day, around 1 a.m., Qiqi got off work and called a car. Yu Wenhao drove to the entrance of NOC party KTV to wait for her.
Qiqi was forced to drink a lot of alcohol in the private room, and then she was hit by a cold wind when she came out. After getting on the bus, she sat in the back seat, and after a while, she said she was going to throw up.
Yu Wenhao quickly pulled the car over and gave her a trash bag, but it was too late. Qiqi vomited all over the car, making the car smell terrible and the back floor a mess. Yu Wenhao cursed her bad luck in her heart.
After vomiting, Qiqi slumped to the side and fell into a deep sleep.
When the car arrived at Tenglong Building, Yu Wenhao couldn't wake her up no matter how he called. He reached out and shook her, reminding her that she could get off the car, but she didn't even open her eyes. She mumbled something and fell asleep again.
Helpless, Yu Wenhao could only park his car in front of Tenglong Building, get out, run inside, and see a security guard. He told the guard that one of his residents was drunk in his car and asked him to go and check on him.
The security guard followed Yu Wenhao to the car, glanced at it, and said, "That's right, she lives here, Qiqi from 705."
It was impossible for Qiqi to even get out of the car, let alone go upstairs. If Yu Wenhao didn't want to wait there until dawn, until Qiqi woke up on her own, she would have no choice but to take her upstairs.
Yu Wenhao and the security guard helped Qiqi out of the car. The security guard helped her onto Yu Wenhao's back, and Yu Wenhao, carrying her, said to the security guard:
"You're coming up with me."
"What are you doing?" the security guard asked. "Do we have to carry it again?"
"You have to be my witness," Yu Wenhao said. "A young girl, so drunk, and I took her home. What am I supposed to do if she accuses me of doing something to her when she wakes up tomorrow? You have to prove it to me."
The security guard responded with "Oh, oh," picked up his phone, pointed it at them, and asked politely, "What are you doing?"
"The whole thing was recorded on video, that way you can get proof, right?" the security guard said.
Yu Wenhao glared at him and scolded, "If you don't want to be killed by her, you can record this girl's ugly behavior. Stop recording now."
Yu Wenhao was thinking that if the security guard recorded it and then, out of boredom, casually posted it online, not only would the girl be unlucky, but he himself would also be unlucky.
"Then how can I prove it to you?" the security guard asked.
"You just come along and act as a witness for me. She can't possibly accuse both of us of molesting her together, can she?"
The security guard said okay.
They took the elevator upstairs and arrived at the door of 705. Yu Wenhao asked the security guard to find the key in Qiqi's bag and open the door. Inside was a one-bedroom apartment. Yu Wenhao put Qiqi on the bed and saw that she was also covered in vomit. He then told the security guard to stand there and not leave, and to continue to testify for him.
He helped Qiqi take off her shoes and coat, covered her with a blanket, and noticed traces of vomit at the corner of her mouth. He then went to the bathroom to get a towel and wiped her face. Finally, he poured a glass of water and placed it on the bedside table before leaving Qiqi's room with the security guard and closing the door.
When the two got downstairs, the security guard stopped Yu Wenhao and asked to add him on WeChat. Yu Wenhao asked him why, and he said:
"If you leave, what if she wakes up tomorrow and slanders me? I'll vouch for you, and you'll vouch for me too."
Yu Wenhao thought it made sense, so he added the security guard on WeChat.