Chapter Two: Asking for Help

When I woke up the next day, my head felt like it was splitting open and my mouth was dry as sandpaper. At some point, I had made it back to my own bed, though I couldn’t recall how. I got up, poured myself a glass of hot water, and drank it in one go. Without bothering to wash my face or brush my teeth, I rummaged through a drawer, found a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and took a long drag.

Pulling open the curtains, I saw that the snow had stopped. Down in the courtyard, a few children were laughing and throwing snowballs at each other. As I smoked, I started to seriously consider my situation. Realistically, I knew there was no escaping this disaster: when the general manager returned and saw that I’d ranked dead last in performance for six months straight, what else could he do but fire me? He might toss me two months’ salary as severance, but what a humiliating end that would be! If I got fired, who would dare hire me again? But if I resigned first, that would be different. I’d get less compensation, true, but at least I’d be the one calling the shots, and could always come up with some plausible reasons for leaving when I looked for my next job. The initiative would be mine.

Regretting that I hadn’t submitted my resignation yesterday, clinging to some last shred of hope, I muttered to myself, “You’ve got to see things clearly.” I smoked another cigarette, thinking things over for a long time, and finally made up my mind to resign.

I found some paper and a pen and sat down to write. But I’d barely written the words “Letter of Resignation” when my mind went completely blank. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t write another word, so I just sat there, dazed. That was when I heard a commotion outside—the sound of my little sister coming home. She knocked on my door. “Hey, open up! I need to talk to you.”

I put away the paper and pen, opened the door, and asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance, “What is it?”

She put on her most ingratiating smile. “Didn’t you say once that you had a classmate who works at the Sports Arena?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, this Saturday Xu Shu is having a concert at the arena. You know I’m obsessed with her. I went to buy tickets first thing this morning, but even though it’s three days away, they were already sold out! Isn’t that ridiculous? But I know they always hold some tickets back for people with connections. Since you have a friend working there, could you ask if there’s any way to get tickets? Please, please!” She kept bowing and scraping, a silly smile plastered on her face.

I knew my little sister was Xu Shu’s most devoted fan—her room was plastered with Xu Shu posters, she owned every album, and could sing along to every song. She was the ultimate superfan. I wanted to help her, but I hesitated; asking favors from others was something I disliked intensely.

So I said, “I haven’t spoken to that classmate in two years. Who knows if she’d even be willing to help? And anyway, what makes you think there are any tickets left? Maybe they really are all gone. Better not to go around begging for things like this.”

My sister immediately clung to my sleeve and pleaded in her most childish voice, “No way! You haven’t even asked, so how do you know she won’t help? Please, big brother, just try for me! I know you always look out for me. Just ask, please…” She shook my hand so hard I could only laugh helplessly.

I was powerless against her wheedling, so I gave in. “Alright, alright, I’ll ask. Now let go of me, will you? Aren’t you tired?”

She released my hand and said, “Okay! You promised, so don’t back out. Call her right now.”

“Fine, I’ll call.” I couldn’t resist her, so I dug out my address book, searched for a while, and finally found my classmate’s work number.

I took out my phone and dialed.

“Hello, who’s this?”

“Is this the Sports Arena?”

“Yes.”

“Does Qiu Jieqin work there?”

“Hold on, I’ll transfer you.”

...

“Hello, who is this?”

“Jieqin? This is Tang Qian.”

“Tang Qian? Oh my, hello! Long time no see! I was starting to think you’d fallen off the face of the earth.”

“No, I’ve just been busy. You know how it is.”

“Hmph! So busy you couldn’t even call for years, huh?”

I could feel my face burning and gave a sheepish laugh. “Heh…”

“Oh please, I know you too well. Out with it—what do you need?”

I cleared my throat and said, “Well, I heard there’s a Xu Shu concert at the arena this Saturday. My sister is a huge fan and she’s desperate to go, but the tickets are all sold out. She’s been pestering me, so I thought of you and wanted to see if you might be able to help.”

“Hah! Just as I thought—knew you only called because you wanted something.”

“Alright, I admit it. I’ll keep in touch more from now on, okay?”

“So, it’s tickets you want? No problem. If Tang Qian asks, how could I possibly refuse? How many do you need?”

I turned to my sister, “She wants to know how many tickets you need.” My sister replied quickly, “Three, but five would be best.” I asked, “Five? Why so many?” She said, “My classmates are crazy about Xu Shu too! They gave me money yesterday and begged me to get tickets.”

So I told the phone, “She says five, but at least three would do. Is that possible?”

“Five is quite a lot. I can’t promise, but I’ll do my best. I’ll let you know tomorrow. What’s your phone number?”

I gave her my number. “Alright, got it. Wait for my news tomorrow. But if I pull this off, you have to treat me to dinner, deal?”

For my sister’s sake, I gritted my teeth and agreed. “No problem, it’s on me.”

She burst out laughing. “It’s a deal then. Bye!”

After I hung up, my sister immediately bombarded me with questions. “So? Did she agree?” I said, “She said she’d try, but it’s not guaranteed. We’ll know tomorrow.” My sister was already delighted. She handed me a wad of cash. “Thanks, big bro! I knew you could do it. I’ll leave the money with you. I’ll just wait for the good news. Bye!” With that, she was gone in a flash.

“Hey, you—!” Before I could finish, she’d vanished. I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or sigh. That girl was impossible. I put the money in my pocket, sat down again, and tried to continue my resignation letter. But with the interruption, my thoughts were scattered. I crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash, lit another cigarette, and stared blankly at the wall. After a while, I decided to leave the letter for another time. I turned on the TV and watched aimlessly as another day slipped by.

When my mom asked why I hadn’t gone to work, I didn’t dare tell her the truth. I mumbled something about the company giving me a couple of days off to rest, and she seemed satisfied with that.

The next day, I wandered the streets for a while. Unemployment was a strange, uncomfortable feeling. My colleague Li Xiaoling called again to offer a few words of comfort, which I deflected with some easy laughter.

It was around three in the afternoon when my phone rang again. I answered, “Hello?”

“Tang Qian, it’s Qiu Jieqin. Get ready to treat me to dinner.”

“Did you get the tickets? Thank you so much! How many?”

“All five!”

“Really? You’re amazing!”

“Of course—don’t you know who you’re dealing with? But don’t start praising me yet. Show your sincerity—dinner’s on you tonight.”

“Sure! That’ll be when you hand over the tickets. Where do you want to eat?”

“Don’t think you can get away with KFC or McDonald’s. I want a real meal, so you’d better prepare to splurge.”

I patted my not-so-thick wallet and could only groan inwardly. Still, I forced myself to agree. “No problem, just tell me where.”

“Hmm… Remember the restaurant where we had our farewell dinner after high school? Let’s go there. Meet me at six-thirty tonight.”

I recalled the place—it wasn’t too fancy, so I figured I could afford it. “Alright, six-thirty. I’ll be there.”

“Great! See you then. Bye!”

I put away my phone, cursing my little sister under my breath. This was all her doing—now I’d have to spend a small fortune. I swore I’d never take on such troublesome favors again.

With time to spare, I went to a bookstore, browsed a few novels, then headed to the restaurant as the hour approached.

I found a seat in the dining room. The waitress poured me some tea and asked if I needed anything. I said I’d wait for a friend.

Lighting a cigarette, I checked my watch—6:25, five minutes to go.

After two cigarettes, Qiu Jieqin still hadn’t shown up. I grew a little impatient, glancing at my watch repeatedly. It was already 6:45. She was supposed to be here at 6:30—what was keeping her?

Just as I reached for a third cigarette, a voice sounded beside me. “Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long, Tang Qian?”

I looked up and saw a stylish, charming woman smiling down at me. She’d clearly taken care with her appearance, wearing light makeup and freshly styled hair.

It was my high school classmate, Qiu Jieqin.