BFILWY CH 10

Chapter 10: Discharge

In the days that followed, An Yue visited Ye Qinghe a few times, reluctantly fostering some semblance of rapport with his employer. Along the way, he also learned a bit about how to care for a patient who was both blind and had a crippled leg.

Today, October 5th, marked the day Ye Qinghe was finally being discharged after a full four months in the hospital. It had already been agreed that An Yue would pick him up and accompany him home. When An Yue arrived, he happened to encounter Ye Qinghe’s personal assistant, Zhang Yongfeng, reporting work matters to him.

“Brother Zhang,” An Yue greeted as he entered the room.

Zhang Yongfeng politely responded, “Hello, Mr. An.”

“Just call me An Yue,” An Yu replied, feeling somewhat uneasy with Zhang’s overly formal demeanor.

“You’re here, An Yue. Just give me a moment,” Ye Qinghe complained, “This guy forgot I’m being discharged today and came to bother me instead.”

“This contract is urgent. I need your confirmation right now so I can send it immediately to Chairman Li,” Zhang Yongfeng explained, visibly exasperated.

“No rush, Mr. Ye. Take your time,” An Yue said as he noticed Ye Qinghe’s belongings were already packed and the discharge procedures had been completed. He found a spot in the room to sit and wait.

With nothing to do, An Yue watched Ye Qinghe sitting in his wheelchair, listening intently to Zhang Yongfeng’s report. Ye Qinghe occasionally gave instructions or nodded in agreement. If it weren’t for his unfocused gaze, you wouldn’t even think anything was wrong with him.

From the car accident in early June, during which Ye Qinghe had fallen into a coma, to waking up and discovering his blindness, only six or seven weeks had passed since his recovery—excluding the two months he spent unconscious. In this short period, Ye Qinghe had not only quickly accepted his blindness but had also thrown himself back into life and work with remarkable vigor. His mental resilience was extraordinary.

If An Yue had been more familiar with him, he would’ve suggested that Ye Qinghe see a psychiatrist just to confirm whether this so-called mental strength was healthy or not!

Who acts like this? Even the doctors said his chances of regaining his sight were high, yet Ye Qinghe was already eagerly adapting to a life as a blind person. His level of enthusiasm could only be described as “itching to try.”^[1] Just a few days ago, he had even asked how to use Braille^[2].

“You don’t need Braille for now,” An Yue had replied irritably. At that time, he was assisting the nurse in massaging Ye Qinghe’s legs. Ye Qinghe’s injury was on his left thigh, but because he had been bedridden for so long, his right leg also had some muscle stiffness and weakness. The diligent nurse, whenever they had time she would help massage Ye Qinghe’s stiff muscles to provide some relief. When An Yue visited, he’d often be roped into helping as well.

“Oh, right, that makes sense,” Ye Qinghe said, unfazed by An Yue’s bluntness. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “So I should start using a white cane now?”

An Yue couldn’t help but admire him—this man was truly resilient. With a shake of his head, An Yue pressed firmly into Ye Qinghe’s thigh muscles, eliciting a grimace from the latter before he added, “You should focus on being able to walk first!”

As An Yue zoned out, Ye Qinghe had already finished discussing work with Zhang Yongfeng. Zhang Yongfeng, who had been with Ye Qinghe for quite some time, treated his boss with casual familiarity. It was clear their work relationship lacked rigid formalities. At the moment, Zhang Yongfeng was grumbling, “Boss, your phone’s always off, and Mr. Wu has already complained multiple times. He says calling the hospital to be transferred to your room is too troublesome. Besides, every time he does, the nurse says you’re in therapy. He’s starting to wonder if you’re deliberately avoiding his calls.”

This “Mr. Wu” was none other than Director Yang’s old acquaintance, an old friend of the Ye family, and one of the major shareholders of Yongchang Zipper Company. He was also in charge of the southern factory. When the Ye family faced its crisis, many assumed Mr. Wu would seize the opportunity to buy out all of Yongchang’s shares for his own benefit. Even Ye Qinghe had considered selling off his shares to wash his hands of the business. However, Wu Jinchun had staunchly supported and mentored Ye Qinghe, transforming the once underappreciated scion of the Ye family into the capable young chairman he was today.

Ye Qinghe was undeniably grateful to Uncle Jinchun, though there were times when dealing with him was quite the headache—like now.

“There’s no point in turning it on. I can’t see the screen, so I wouldn’t even know where to swipe. By the time I figure it out, the call’s already disconnected,” Ye Qinghe explained with resignation. “Besides, he only ever calls to scold me. I think keeping my phone off for now is a better idea.”

“Mr. Wu is just concerned about you,” Zhang Yongfeng replied. “When he found out about your car accident, he was so anxious on the phone that he rushed here to visit you. He didn’t leave until he knew you were stable.” As Zhang Yongfeng spoke, he motioned to An Yue that they were ready to leave.

“Of course, I know that,” Ye Qinghe said, sighing softly. “I’ve caused Uncle Wu so much trouble again.”

Zhang Yongfeng pushed Ye Qinghe’s wheelchair as they headed out, with An Yue trailing behind, carrying the luggage. Listening to their conversation, An Yue picked up on one key detail—Ye Qinghe didn’t know how to use his smartphone.

Well, that made sense. Modern smartphones were essentially sleek glass panels, simple enough for sighted people to tap, swipe, and navigate with ease. But for someone who was blind, it was an entirely different story. However, this small problem was nothing An Yue couldn’t solve.

“Once Chairman Li signs this contract, there won’t be much to worry about for a while. Mr. Wu has also said not to take on any new orders for the time being. The factory has enough backlogged orders to keep it busy through the middle of next year. These are all regular clients, so there shouldn’t be any issues. If anything comes up, Mr. Wu will handle it,” Zhang Yongfeng assured. “Chairman Ye, take good care of yourself and recover quickly. Everyone’s waiting for your return. The office staff keeps clamoring to visit you, and if you hadn’t told them to focus on their work and forbade them from coming, I bet there’d be a whole crowd here today to see you discharged.”

The mention of this made Ye Qinghe’s head throb. “Who would dare let them come? The last time I woke up, they were all gathered around my bed, bawling their eyes out. I honestly thought I’d crossed over to the afterlife. Especially that one person… Never mind, it scared me to death.”

“You’re talking about Wang Xuan, right? That day, he cried the loudest,” Zhang Yongfeng reminisced about the scene, recalling a young man sobbing uncontrollably in the hospital room. In the end, the weak patient had to console the visitor instead. He couldn’t help but laugh. “You were in a coma for so long, and when you woke up, you said you couldn’t see. Of course, everyone was worried. And Xiao Xuan… you know how he feels about you…” Wang Xuan was the youngest assistant in the office, a very adorable young man. The other women in the office affectionately called him Xiao Xuan, and Zhang Yongfeng followed suit.

Upon hearing that name, Ye Qinghe shook his head resolutely. “I’d rather not know.”

It wasn’t hard for a seasoned player like Ye Qinghe to notice the boy’s unspoken feelings. However, for the past few years, Ye Qinghe had lived a life of restraint and had no desire to provoke anyone. He always kept his distance. Thankfully, the kid was sharp enough to notice Ye Qinghe’s disinterest and didn’t cling to him unnecessarily.

Xiao Xuan? It seemed Ye Qinghe was quite popular. An Yue silently observed him.

An Yue escorted Ye Qinghe to the parking space, helping him into the car. Zhang Yongfeng folded the wheelchair and stored it in the trunk before saying goodbye to An Yue and reminding him to drive carefully.

It wasn’t until they were on the road that Ye Qinghe realized how overly cautious An Yue was behind the wheel.

An Yue carefully started his second-hand, gray Xingcan Yaris^[3] and slowly exited the hospital parking lot. Even though Ye Qinghe couldn’t see, he could sense An Yue’s nervousness. The car moved at a snail’s pace, hesitating and unsure. All around them, car horns blared incessantly, the noise making Ye Qinghe frown.

“What’s going on? Is there an accident?” Ye Qinghe asked.

“No, don’t talk. I’m nervous,” An Yue replied stiffly. Turns out, he was a novice driver.

“Do you even know how to drive?” A voice shouted angrily from outside the car, followed by a motorcyclist aggressively banging on the car window as they passed. It was truly obnoxious.

“I don’t know how to drive. Mind your own business!” An Yue retorted quietly, his voice laced with a mix of fear and anger.

Well then, the flustered novice driver resembled a cat with tape stuck to its head—on edge and overly sensitive^[4]. Ye Qinghe pressed a fist against his lips, lowering his head to stifle a laugh at the “frazzled cat.”

After navigating cautiously for some time, they finally left the chaotic hospital area. The traffic towards the outskirts of the city became smoother, and An Yue let out a small sigh of relief. He glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Ye Qinghe sitting quietly in the back with his eyes closed, thoughtfully refraining from speaking. Unlike his brother, An Heng, who, with his perpetually cold expression, would transform into a raging maniac the moment he got into the passenger seat:

“Drive faster! Come on, faster! Slow down—brake! Are you even looking at the road? Did you bribe someone to get your license? Right turn! Hey, right turn! Why are you turning on the wipers? You missed the turn! Forget it, take the next one. Why are you stopping now?!”

“Get out of my car!”

Goddammit, the guy was like a lunatic.

Of course, Ye Qinghe’s silence and thoughtfulness were mainly because he couldn’t see. Even if he wanted to act like a lunatic, he couldn’t.

“Uh, I just got my license and don’t drive much,” An Yue explained.

“It’s fine. The more you drive, the better you’ll get. When I first got my license, I was the same way,” Ye Qinghe said.

“Really?” An Yue’s voice carried a trace of joy at finding a kindred spirit.

“…Not really.” Ye Qinghe’s hesitant tone betrayed a hint of amusement. “I was stealing my dad’s car and driving up the mountains for joyrides when I was sixteen.”

“Oh,” An Yue replied, keeping his eyes on the road as he pursed his lips. “Aren’t you just so impressive.”

Breaking news: the cat was frazzled again.

Ye Qinghe’s soft laughter echoed from the back seat.

(To be continued…)