BFILWY CH 17

Chapter 17: What Is Bound to Come, Will Come

The weather was clear on this day. Although the morning temperature was a bit chilly, the sky was blue, and the sunlight was bright. Ye Qinghe got up and went out of his room to have breakfast, while An Yue took the blankets from both rooms outside to air.

“Chairman Ye, I need to go out for a while,” An Yue said as he walked back into the living room after hanging the blankets.

“Where to?” Ye Qinghe asked. With Aunt Chen gone for the past few days, and An Yue saying he was going out, Ye Qinghe didn’t want to be left alone.

“I’m just going home to grab a few things,” An Yue quickly came up with an excuse. “Last time, didn’t you say you wanted to go swimming? My swim trunks are at home, so I need to go get them.”

“Should I come with you?” Ye Qinghe asked casually, but An Yue could detect a slight hint of hope and maybe even a little fear of being rejected in his voice.

Just as An Yue was pondering whether or not to bring Ye Qinghe along to pick up the pork trotter, the doorbell rang.

“Surprise!” The moment An Yue opened the door, he heard someone shout. A bouquet of bright red roses flashed before his eyes, and then he was suddenly embraced.

“Ugh…” An Yue’s mouth and nose were covered, and he could only let out muffled struggles. The person who had hugged him had initially been enthusiastic, but after a few seconds, they realized something was wrong. First, the height of the person in his arms was wrong. Ye Qinghe was about the same height as him, but this person was a whole head shorter. Secondly, the person who should have been in his arms, Ye Qinghe, was sitting on the living room sofa, looking confused as he stared toward the door. Who was this person in his arms?

He Zhifan froze for a moment, instinctively loosening his hold around An Yue’s neck. An Yue pushed the person away with force.

“Who are you?” An Yue shouted angrily at the stranger who had just embraced him.

“Sorry, sorry,” He Zhifan quickly apologized, embarrassed. “I’m He Zhifan, a friend of Ye Zi. Who are you?” He looked at An Yue with a puzzled expression.

“Zhifan?” Ye Qinghe stood up in surprise and slowly walked toward the door. “What are you doing here?” He blocked the door with one hand and extended the other to greet his friend.

He Zhifan turned his head to look behind An Yue, his smile wide at first, but when he saw Ye Qinghe walking toward him with a strange gesture and his steps light and cautious, as if walking on thin ice, his smile froze. The bouquet in his hands dropped to the ground as he pushed An Yue aside and quickly ran to Ye Qinghe, catching him before he could fall.

“What happened to you?” He Zhifan asked, his disbelief evident as he stared into Ye Qinghe’s unfocused eyes. “What’s going on with your eyes? Are you blind?” In his shock, He Zhifan couldn’t help but wave his hand in front of Ye Qinghe’s face.

“Don’t do that, it’s impolite.” An Yue raised his hand, pushing down on He Zhifan’s hand that was waving in front of Ye Qinghe’s face, his tone unintentionally stern. He then turned to close the door but stopped when he noticed a silver RIMOWA suitcase and a large, flamboyant red suitcase with a shiny surface standing next to the wall outside.

“Is this huge guitar yours?” An Yue stared at the ridiculously extravagant suitcase.

“That’s—” He Zhifan hesitated. “A cello.”

An Yue grumpily dragged the two suitcases inside and closed the door.

He Zhifan, still worried, patted Ye Qinghe on the back. “Ye Zi, what’s really going on? Why didn’t you tell me anything?” He Zhifan had spoken to Ye Qinghe over the phone two weeks ago and knew that he had temporarily moved back to Lujing Mountain Forest, but he hadn’t realized it was due to something serious.

The initial shock faded from Ye Qinghe’s face, and he smiled. “Come on, have a seat.” He Zhifan helped him walk a few steps, guiding him to the sofa. Meanwhile, An Yue picked up the flowers from the floor, took them into the kitchen, and placed them in a large glass vase. After tossing the outer packaging, he arranged the bouquet and then placed it on the dining table. He returned to the kitchen, grabbed a cleaning cloth, and went to the entryway, wiping up the rose water that had spilled on the floor. Finally, he made two cups of Darjeeling tea^[1].

“Here’s some tea,” An Yue said.

As An Yue moved around between the kitchen and living room, He Zhifan’s eyes followed him, and the atmosphere in the room grew a bit strange with the three of them sitting in silence.

“This is An Yue, Mr. An,” Ye Qinghe introduced He Zhifan, “Mr. An is here to assist me in adapting to life as a blind person.” He then turned to An Yue. “An Yue, this is He Zhifan, a good friend who grew up with me.”

“Hello, Mr. An.” He Zhifan, still unable to accept the news of Ye Qinghe’s blindness, looked shocked and dazed.

“Hello, Mr. He.” An Yue greeted the guest coldly.

He Zhifan, still in a daze, was snapped out of his stupor by An Yue’s hoarse voice. “Mr. An, are you sick? Your voice sounds hoarse. It seems really serious.”

“I’m not sick, my voice just sounds like this,” An Yue replied coldly. “I’ll put your luggage and cello in the study for now so they don’t block Chairman Ye’s walking path.”

“Oh, oh, okay, okay, sorry,” He Zhifan apologized, “Sorry to trouble you, Mr. An.”

“Did He Zhifan bring his cello? We’re in for a treat. He’s a very famous cellist. Later, let’s have him play for us…” An Yue interrupted Ye Qinghe. “Chairman Ye, you two talk. I’ll step out for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

“Are you driving yourself?” Ye Qinghe asked.

“Huh? Um…” An Yue’s face reddened slightly. “Yes, I’m driving myself.”

“It’s good to practice more, don’t rush, don’t be afraid. Drive slowly,” Ye Qinghe thought for a moment, then added, “But don’t drive too slowly, or you’ll block traffic, and people will honk at you. That’ll make you more nervous.”

He Zhifan, still confused, asked, “Mr. An’s going to practice driving? You’re busy, I’ll stay with Ye Zi. It’s no problem, no rush.”

An Yue glanced at He Zhifan and quickly left.

“Why the sudden visit? Is your tour over?” Ye Qinghe asked with a smile. He sniffed the air, catching the faint, moist fragrance. “And you brought roses? Was it a fan who gave them to you at the airport?”

“Yeah!” He Zhifan, slightly embarrassed from being guessed right, but then quickly became angry and anxious, “What’s going on? If I hadn’t come, you weren’t planning to tell me, right? Something this big happened, and you’re still acting so indifferent?”

“Indifferent or not, what does it matter?” Ye Qinghe shrugged. “I think this is good. What’s meant to happen will come eventually.”

(To be continued…)