BFILWY CH 34

Chapter 34: Boyfriend

“Xiao An!” Ye Qinghe suddenly called out.

“…What?” An Yue was listening to the song, half-heartedly humming along with Yu Xian’s chorus. The sudden, affectionate call from Ye Qinghe interrupted him. He was surprised and confused, and after a brief silence, he asked, “Are you calling someone?” His voice didn’t sound too pleased.

“…”

Ye Qinghe knew he was in the wrong. He had suddenly remembered the nickname “Xiao An” for the little guy, and in the heat of the moment, he called out without thinking. He hadn’t expected to do so in front of An Yue. But then again, An Yue had the character “An” in his name as well…

“I’m calling you, Xiao An,” Ye Qinghe said, “You can sing ‘I Like You’ too?”

An Yue didn’t respond. He simply glared at him disapprovingly, and after a while, he spoke with a serious tone, “Don’t call me Xiao An.” His voice was very stern. Perhaps feeling that his tone was a bit too harsh, An Yue added, “Only my family can call me that.”

Ye Qinghe quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t really want to call An Yue “Xiao An.” An Yue was An Yue. He wasn’t that pitiable little “Xiao An” who had been heartbroken and unfortunate.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was lively, but a sudden chill seemed to settle between Ye Qinghe and An Yue. As he listened to Yu Xian’s standard Cantonese lyrics, Ye Qinghe picked up on the previous conversation again, “An Yue, you can sing this old song too?”

“I can’t,” An Yue replied stiffly. In a somewhat petulant tone, he added, “My voice isn’t good for singing.”

“Who said that?” Ye Qinghe laughed lightly. “Your voice is just a little hoarse, how can that stop you from singing? I have karaoke equipment at home. Next time, we can sing at my place.”

“I just hum a few lines,” An Yue casually replied, brushing off Ye Qinghe’s suggestion. “I’m tone-deaf, so I can’t sing.”

Ye Qinghe chuckled softly. He was about to try convincing him again when he suddenly heard An Yue give a soft “Ah.”

“…Hmm? The lights are on?” Ye Qinghe said, somewhat confused.

At this moment, the lights in the restaurant’s seating area indeed turned on. Yu Xian, on stage, mentioned wanting to see who was there to listen to him sing, so the stage manager turned on the lights. Yu Xian happily greeted a few familiar fans in the audience.

At this moment, An Yue didn’t pay attention to Yu Xian. He quickly reacted upon hearing Ye Qinghe’s comment about the lights.

“Can you see now?” An Yu asked, shocked, as he stared at Ye Qinghe’s eyes.

Ye Qinghe seemed surprised as well. After pausing for two seconds, he finally responded. He smiled in An Yue’s direction. Though he shook his head gently, his voice was full of surprised joy. “No, I didn’t see anything. But just now, I suddenly had a feeling, like a flash of light in front of me… It was just a brief flicker. This… this is…”

Ye Qinghe wasn’t daring to hope too much just yet.

“Is this seeing light?” An Yue quickly continued for Ye Qinghe. “It must be that. Next week, we have Director Yang and Director Zhong’s consultation. Let’s go back and confirm it then.”

“No need to rush…” Ye Qinghe started to say, but before he could finish, someone from the stage suddenly called out.

“Xiao An?” Yu Xian called from the stage, “Xiao An, is that you?”

An Yue helplessly smiled and rubbed his forehead. He’d been recognized. He waved to the stage and said, “Yu ge.”

“Hey, this guy is an old colleague and good friend of mine from the place I used to perform,” Yu Xian introduced his friend to the others, then turned to An Yu and said, “It’s been a while, don’t leave yet. I’ll buy you a drink later.”

An Yue smiled and nodded, raising his cocktail to toast toward the stage.

Yu Xian continued interacting with the audience. Five minutes later, the lights were dimmed again, and the third phase of the performance began.

“So, how do you feel? Do you notice any change in the light?” As the lights were dimmed, An Yue asked Ye Qinghe about his feelings. Ye Qinghe lowered his eyes, sipping his sweet orange soda with a half-smile on his lips, not saying a word.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” An Yue lightly kicked Ye Qinghe’s shoe. “I’m asking you, now that the lights have dimmed, do you feel anything?”

“That Yu Xian, is he your family?” Ye Qinghe suddenly blurted out a question that didn’t seem related at all, leaving An Yue confused.

“No,” An Yue replied, “Didn’t he just say? I’m his old colleague.”

“Then he calls you Xiao An?” Ye Qinghe put down his glass and asked, “You’re not tone-deaf. He’s performing at a restaurant, so how were you his colleague?”

An Yue was almost laughing in frustration. He was concerned about Ye Qinghe’s eyes, but what was Ye Qinghe focused on? “He performs at the restaurant, and I work there as a waiter, serving dishes. Isn’t that what colleagues do? Just because I’m tone-deaf doesn’t mean I can’t be a waiter,” An Yue replied, irritated.

“Then Xiao An…” Ye Qinghe asked again. Although he didn’t intend to call An Yue “Xiao An,” hearing someone else call him that, coupled with An Yue’s earlier serious refusal to allow him to call him by that name, made Ye Qinghe feel uncomfortable.

“Don’t call me that!” An Yue repeated his prohibition.

“But he can?” Taking advantage of the loud music, Ye Qinghe said plaintively.

An Yue sighed softly, muttering, “I didn’t say he could either, but if they insist on calling me that, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

His helpless complaint somehow brightened Ye Qinghe’s mood. An Yue didn’t like being called “Xiao An” by others, but he had no choice in the matter. However, when it came to him, An Yue could directly tell him not to call him that. Could this be a sign of the difference in their closeness? He was close to Ye Qinghe, distant from Yu Xian.

Ye Qinghe felt pleased again.

An Yu couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Ye Qinghe. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him—one moment he had a dark face, the next he was grinning ear to ear. He glanced at Ye Qinghe and felt that the man’s emotions weren’t very stable at the moment. Considering that his eyes had suddenly responded to the light earlier, An Yue decided it was better to take Ye Qinghe home to rest.

He urged Ye Qinghe to finish the snacks and drinks so they could go home. Ye Qinghe, though confused inside—wasn’t he supposed to drink with Yu Xian?—wasn’t foolish enough to ask about it. Not drinking was the best, after all. Anyone who wasn’t part of An Yue’s family but could call him “Xiao An” in such a familiar way couldn’t be trusted. He happily finished the last fried chicken wing, drank the last sip of his shandy, and then heard An Yue call over the waiter to settle the bill.

An Yue also had the waiter relay a message, saying that he wasn’t feeling well and would be heading home. He mentioned they could find another time to meet up with Yu Xian.

With that, Ye Qinghe hooked his arm around An Yue’s as they left the restaurant. They were waiting outside for a taxi, but unfortunately, it was rush hour, and no taxis were available for a while.

Just as An Yue was about to try calling a taxi on his phone again, the door of the tavern opened, and Yu Xian came running out.

“Hey, Xiao An, why are you leaving so soon?” Yu Xian grabbed An Yue’s hand and asked with concern. “I heard from the waiter that you’re not feeling well? What happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s nothing, I just suddenly feel like sleeping,” An Yue smiled and replied. “By the way, I haven’t congratulated you yet—your album’s out and doing really well. I heard you’re having a concert soon.”

“Small scale, small scale,” Yu Xian said with a big smile. “I’ll send you two front-row tickets when the time comes. You and your boyfriend…”

An Yue squeezed Yu Xian’s hand tightly, making him pull his hand out quickly and shake it in pain. He looked at An Yue with a questioning expression.

“This is my employer. His eyesight isn’t very good, so I’m helping him for now,” An Yue explained to Yu Xian.

“Oh, so you’re still volunteering in the ophthalmology department. Sorry, sorry…” Yu Xian had only seen their hands linked together earlier and had immediately assumed that An Yue had brought his boyfriend to listen to him sing. After hearing An Yue’s explanation, he finally noticed the way they were positioned—An Yue was simply helping a blind person. He looked at Ye Qinghe with surprise. “He… he is…?”

“Yes, he can’t see right now,” An Yu answered sharply, giving Yu Xian a warning look to stop making assumptions.

“Hello, I’m Ye Qinghe. I’m An Yue’s friend and also his admirer,” Ye Qinghe said with a smile, slightly tilting his head as he addressed Yu Xian. “Thank you for your well wishes. I hope I’ll be An Yu’s boyfriend soon.”

“Uh… Hello,” Yu Xian greeted, speechless as he observed the dominant aura emanating from the man in front of him. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows and glance at An Yue.

An Yue just lowered his head, remaining silent.

(To be continued…)