BFILWY CH 36

Chapter 36: The Heart on the ‘An’ Charm

In the following days, the atmosphere between them became somewhat peculiar. Ye Qinghe remained the same, completely ignoring An Yue’s hesitation and attempts to avoid him. Of course, in reality, he truly couldn’t see anything—he had no idea about An Yue’s furrowed brows, absentmindedness, or the turmoil brewing inside him. Ye Qinghe simply continued his usual way of interacting with him, showering him with attention as always.

As for An Yue, his avoidance now carried a hint of hesitation and confusion. Instinctively, he wanted to run, but his sense of responsibility toward Ye Qinghe prevented him from leaving. At least for now, he couldn’t just abandon him and walk away.

An Yue was deeply frustrated. This situation was completely contrary to his original intention when accepting this job—he had never planned on getting romantically involved with his employer. But now, he had no idea what he had done to make Ye Qinghe develop feelings for him, let alone why his once-calm heart had been thrown into such chaos. He had been dragged into this awkward predicament, leaving him with no choice but to sit by the bay window, gazing gloomily outside.

In the study, Aunt Chen was busy with her routine cleaning. Since the end of the year was approaching, she treated it as part of the big annual cleanup, slowly tidying up every corner. She was meticulous in her work, making sure not to miss a single spot on the bookshelves or desk. As she moved a small bookshelf, a crisp jingling sound rang out, followed by something falling to the floor.

Aunt Chen picked it up and, upon seeing what it was, couldn’t help but chuckle.

This Second Young Master, honestly. Trying to court Teacher An, yet acting as bashful as a teenager. He couldn’t even see, so who knew how he had managed to get this little thing in the first place? But after going through all that trouble to obtain it, he ended up hiding it in the study, too embarrassed to give it away. Looks like I’ll have to lend a helping hand.

With that thought, Aunt Chen carried the object and headed toward the bay window in the living room. “Teacher An, look what I found in the study. This should be yours, right?”

“My what?” An Yue looked puzzled. “I rarely go into Chairman Ye’s study. There shouldn’t be anything of mine in there.”

Handing him the object, Aunt Chen smiled. “It’s meant for you. I’d say someone was too shy to give it to you himself, so I’ll have to step in and help.”

The item Aunt Chen passed to him was a wooden pendant in the shape of a Chinese character, adorned with a golden bell and a red tassel. And that character—was a bright red ‘An’ (安).

An Yu held the wooden pendant with a complicated expression, awkwardly saying, “T-This… it might not necessarily be for me, right?”

He examined the wooden piece, noticing that it was slightly damp—probably because Aunt Chen had wiped it down just now. However, the corners still had a grainy texture from accumulated dust, and the red dye on the wood had already faded. Although the pendant appeared new at first glance, it had clearly been left forgotten for a long time. Aunt Chen, being older with declining eyesight, hadn’t noticed these details. Plus, she was too eager to play matchmaker for her Second Young Master, which explained why she had overlooked them.

Just as she failed to notice An Yue’s awkwardness now.

“It must be for you, Teacher An! Look, it has the character ‘An’ on it—that’s your name!”

“It could also be a gift someone gave Chairman Ye,” An Yue hesitated. “Maybe to wish him peace and safety?”

“Pfft, his friends are all wealthy big shots. Who among them would give him something this small and simple?” Aunt Chen scoffed before turning back to the study to continue cleaning.

“…” That… actually made sense. An Yue forced a wry smile as he looked at the pendant.

“What are you two talking about?” Ye Qinghe’s voice suddenly came from behind them as he stepped out of his room. He had overheard their conversation just now.

“Aunt Chen found a pendant in the study and thought it was mine,” An Yue explained.

Ye Qinghe looked puzzled. “A pendant?”

“This,” An Yue handed the wooden pendant back to Ye Qinghe. “It should be yours, right? It looks a little old.”

Ye Qinghe held the small pendant, tilting his head slightly as he tried to recall. “Is it mine? I don’t really remember…”

“It’s a red pendant shaped like the character ‘An,’ similar to an omamori charm^[1]—meant to bless someone with safe travels and family peace,” An Yu said awkwardly. “Aunt Chen saw the ‘An’ character and thought it belonged to me.” He chuckled lightly.

“…”

Ye Qinghe absentmindedly ran his fingers over the engraved “An” character, and suddenly, a memory resurfaced.

It wasn’t the “An” for safety and peace.
It wasn’t the “An” from An Yue’s name either.

It was the ‘An’ from Qin Sian—Little Dirtball, Little Blind Boy.

Ye Qinghe’s expression instantly changed.

“What’s wrong?” An Yue noticed the sudden stiffness in Ye Qinghe’s face. His previously gentle smile slowly faded as confusion filled his eyes.

“I’m fine.” Ye Qinghe forced a smile.

“This must be a gift from an old lover, right?” An Yue said as he awkwardly traced the clumsy heart-shaped engraving on the wooden pendant. “I just noticed that one of the legs of the ‘An’ character has a tiny heart carved into it. You wouldn’t see it unless you looked closely. You should keep it safe—it seems like a heartfelt gift…”

“No,” Ye Qinghe denied it immediately. He had also just felt the small heart-shaped indentation. Thinking back to when he received it years ago, he had casually tossed it into the depths of a drawer, never bothering to take a closer look. He had no idea that the little dirtball had even carved something on it.

And now, years later, this thing had somehow resurfaced… and ended up in An Yue’s hands.

“I really don’t remember where this came from,” Ye Qinghe said quickly. “It’s probably something a friend left behind while visiting.”

“Oh,” An Yue replied, unconvinced. “Well, if it’s not yours, just throw it away. The tassel is covered in dust anyway.” He reached out to take it, but Ye Qinghe refused to let go.

“Well… you said it has a heart on it, and that it seems like a meaningful gift,” Ye Qinghe hesitated. “I should check with my friends—see if anyone lost it.”

Holding the pendant, he slowly walked back to the study.

An Yue remained seated by the bay window, listening as Ye Qinghe spoke to Aunt Chen.

“Aunt Chen, from now on, don’t touch anything in my study. And don’t go rummaging through my drawers. I’ll take care of my things myself,” Ye Qinghe’s displeased voice drifted out.

“Oh, alright. But I didn’t go through your drawers,” Aunt Chen said blankly. “That pendant just fell from the edge of the bookshelf.”

“So it really wasn’t meant for Teacher An?” Aunt Chen asked worriedly. “Ah, did I mess things up for you? Should I go explain to Teacher An?”

Explain what?

Ye Qinghe had already denied that the pendant belonged to him—what was there to explain?

An Yue suddenly felt a pang of sorrow for the person who had given this gift.

He could only hope that person never found out.

(To be continued…)