BFILWY CH 13

Chapter 13: Teacher An Must Not Be Offended

After the Yunni Sha incident, An Yue still carried out his professional duties diligently, taking care of Ye Qinghe’s daily life. He assigned fixed spots for everything in the house, put away unnecessary decorations, and specifically instructed Aunt Chen—who came over two or three times a week—that half-open doors were extremely dangerous. All doors had to remain either fully open or completely closed, and furniture placements must not be changed at will.

Aunt Chen did not disappoint. After Ye Qinghe bumped into or tripped over things for what felt like the eight-hundredth time, she finally remembered to close the doors properly after tidying up and to push chairs back under the table after using them.

With a fresh lump swelling on his forehead while the bruise on his calf had yet to fade, Second Young Master Ye was… quite comforted by the improvement.

An Yue handed Ye Qinghe a small bag of ice and commented coolly, “Haven’t I taught you facial protection?”

For the past few days, An Yue had been guiding Ye Qinghe through the house, letting him familiarize himself with the layout and distances while also treating it as rehabilitation. He taught Ye Qinghe how to count his steps and how to protect himself while walking—one hand guarding his face, palm outward, which was especially useful outdoors when navigating tree branches or bending down to pick something up. Alternatively, he could keep his hand in front of his abdomen, which was helpful for protecting his lower body and feeling for chairs.

Ye Qinghe understood all of it, in theory. But sometimes, he just forgot. At home, he still relied on a cane to move around, and whenever he practiced walking without it, he would flail his hands in front of him like a blindfolded nobleman in the garden trying to catch a maid. The result?

This morning, Ye Qinghe went back to his room to retrieve his forgotten phone. As he reached the doorway, his outstretched hand happened to pass through the open space of the half-open door—only for him to walk straight into the edge of it. The impact made him yelp in pain, while Aunt Chen nearly had a heart attack, both frightened and guilt-ridden.

An Yue had watched the entire thing unfold. He saw Ye Qinghe heading straight for the door but made no move to stop him. It wasn’t until after the inevitable collision that he simply handed over an ice pack and delivered his sarcastic remark. Once Ye Qinghe had rested enough, An Yue had him repeat the walk again.

This time, Ye Qinghe had learned his lesson. He carefully executed the facial protection technique, making sure his posture was flawless. Even when An Yue deliberately pulled out obstacles to test him, he managed to avoid them all.

Feeling rather pleased with himself as he retrieved his phone and exited the room, he suddenly heard An Yue call out, “Help me pick up the remote by your feet.”

Without thinking twice about why the remote was on the floor in the first place, Ye Qinghe instinctively bent down—only to smack his face into a semi-hard cushion. Most likely, the seat of a dining chair.

Caught off guard by the sudden impact, he lost his balance and fell straight onto the floor.

“Why is the chair here? Aunt Chen?!” Ye Qinghe yelled angrily.

The seat was made of foam padding covered in cowhide. It wasn’t exactly a hard object, but slamming his already swollen forehead against it still hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes.

The frantic shuffle of slippers echoed across the wooden floor as Aunt Chen rushed over, her voice flustered and confused. “Oh dear, Second Young Master! I don’t know! Did I move it again? I must be getting senile!” She hurriedly put the dining chair back in place.

“I put it there,” An Yue said calmly. “Facial protection technique!”

Ye Qinghe was livid. “Who the h*ll sets up traps to hurt people like this?” He rubbed his forehead and nose, letting Aunt Chen help him up. “Are you taking personal revenge on me?”

“What kind of grudge would I even have against you?” An Yue assisted Aunt Chen in getting Ye Qinghe to the sofa before signaling her to return to her work. “If you don’t experience pain like this, how else will you remember? You need to understand that if this had been something sharp and protruding, your face would be ruined.”

“…”

Ye Qinghe knew he had a point, but that didn’t make him any less frustrated. It hurt.

He thought back—An Yue hadn’t been this ruthless before. Back at the hospital, he would even help with massages. But ever since they came home, he’d turned completely cold. Despite that, An Yue still did everything he was supposed to. He never neglected any details—not even the shampoo and body wash in the bathroom, which he had labeled with tactile stickers: a raised circular marker for shampoo and a long rectangular one for body wash. Ye Qinghe memorized it instantly, making them incredibly convenient to use.

Someone this meticulous—yet he was just letting him run into walls one after another? Ye Qinghe seriously had no idea what he did to offend him.

Was it because of the Yunni Sha incident that day?

Sure, An Yue had mocked him for playing too big, but was that really enough to make him mad? Was it that slightly suggestive joke he made? Or was it because he mentioned two men together, and An Yue just couldn’t accept it?

Whichever reason it was, this handsome young man had way too big of a temper.

Ye Qinghe didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like he couldn’t sweet-talk someone—back in the day, he could woo a lover with endless honeyed words, never once at a loss for what to say. But it had been years since he spoke like that.

And An Yue wasn’t some random fling.

If he tried talking to him like that, he might actually piss him off enough to make him leave.

So, he decided not to coax him. Instead, the mature thing to do would be to clear things up and apologize sincerely.

“An Yue, I want to apologize,” Ye Qinghe suddenly said. “Did I make an inappropriate joke that day? I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time. Don’t stay mad, alright?” His tone was serious—he didn’t even playfully call him Teacher An this time.

An Yue stared at him quietly, unsure why he was suddenly bringing this up.

“…It’s fine. I’m not mad,” An Yue finally replied.

“Not mad? Then why are you so good at tormenting me?” Ye Qinghe shot back.

An Yue found it hard to explain himself. “I wasn’t trying to mess with you.”

“An Yue, you probably guessed something from that bottle of lube,” Ye Qinghe said frankly. “You’re not wrong—I’m gay. Are you scared… or do you hate homosexuals?”

“…No,” An Yue answered in a low voice. He really wasn’t afraid, but he also didn’t want to discuss something so personal with his employer—it was too private. “I’m not scared, and I wouldn’t say I hate it either. That’s your personal matter. It has nothing to do with my job.” He felt a bit awkward.

Ye Qinghe nodded. “That’s good. You’re right—there’s no need to worry. I won’t do anything to you, so you can work in peace.”

“What would I even be afraid of?” An Yu couldn’t help but retort. “If you did try something, you’d have to be able to beat me first!”

“Well, that’s true. A blind old monkey like me wouldn’t stand a chance against a young, handsome guy like you.” Ye Qinghe chuckled, using the visual app from the other day to poke fun at himself again.

An Yue sighed helplessly. He grabbed the half-melted bag of ice from the coffee table and resumed icing Ye Qinghe’s forehead.

“So, no more grudges? We’re good now?” Ye Qinghe slowly raised his hand and grasped An Yu’s slender wrist mid-air, tilting his face up as he asked.

“I told you—I was never mad,” An Yu muttered.

This time, Ye Qinghe wasn’t sitting against the light. The sunlight streamed in from the front and side, scattering a soft, golden glow over his smiling face. Under that warm light, the old monkey actually looked rather handsome.

“Then don’t set me up again. It really hurts.”

And it wasn’t just pain—it felt awful.

Ye Qinghe smiled, but there was a dull ache in his heart.

It reminded him of the past.

Back then, he had also stood by, watching indifferently as that little brat ran into walls over and over again.

That kid had cried out in pain, and all he had said was, How stupid.

(To be continued…)