BFILWY CH 53

Chapter 53: He’s Doing Well Now, and That’s Enough.

An Yue had just finished dealing with the group of girls and was about to head back when he noticed several people gathered around the spot where Ye Qinghe had been standing. Unsure if something had happened, he quickly jogged over, pushing through the small crowd. As expected, he found Ye Qinghe standing by a pillar, pressing a tissue against his forehead.

“What happened?” An Yue asked in surprise, his eyes catching the faint red stain seeping through the edge of the tissue. “You’re bleeding? How did this happen?” His voice carried concern as his gaze swept cautiously over the others.

“I’m fine. I just accidentally bumped into something,” Ye Qinghe replied. Hearing An Yue’s distinct hoarse voice, he suddenly panicked. In the chaos just now, he had completely forgotten that An Yue was there. Now that he had come to his senses, he realized the gravity of the situation—he absolutely did not want An Yue to overhear his conversation with these people.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

An Yue had heard it. As he approached, he had vaguely caught someone rudely saying something about being blind.

His brows furrowed as he stared at the four people across from Ye Qinghe, particularly the man standing in front with an unpleasant expression. “So it was you guys who bumped into him, right? You hit someone, didn’t even apologize, and even called him a blind man? He has difficulty seeing, yet you’re bullying him like this—don’t you think that’s incredibly low?”

He assumed that the passerby who said “blind” was complaining that Ye Qinghe was in their way.

“N-No, we didn’t call him that,” Qi Shaobai explained, though his guilty tone betrayed him. While they hadn’t exactly insulted him in that way, their words had carried other implications. Trying to change the subject, he quickly added, “Um… Does Mr. Ye need to go to the hospital? I can cover the medical expenses.”

“No need, no need. It’s just a small wound. I’ll just go home and put a bandage on it,” Ye Qinghe insisted. More than anything, he just wanted to leave with An Yue as soon as possible before these people carelessly let something slip about the past. If they mentioned Little Blind, he wouldn’t be able to keep anything hidden anymore.

“You should still get it checked at the hospital,” Lu Qian, who had been silently listening to the back-and-forth conversation, finally remembered who this “Mr. Ye” was. Although he was still angry about Ye Qinghe’s past actions toward Qi Shaobai, the fact remained that they were the ones who had injured him this time. Unable to ignore the situation, he said, “Didn’t you hit the iron signboard earlier? I’d recommend getting a tetanus shot, just to be safe.”

“There’s no need,” Ye Qinghe insisted, tugging at An Yue’s sleeve. “I just want to go home.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” An Yue asked worriedly as he lifted the already damp and tattered tissue to check the wound. It wasn’t deep, and the bleeding had stopped.

He glanced at the signboard again. It was new and relatively clean, but this was still a night market—an open-air place with crowds coming and going. There was no telling what kind of bacteria might be lingering on it. Going to the hospital would be the safer choice.

“No need. I have iodine at home. Just help me disinfect it, and we’ll be fine,” Ye Qinghe insisted, pulling at An Yue, eager to leave.

Xu Yang, however, noticed that his boyfriend still looked uneasy. Annoyed, he scoffed, “It’s not like he’s going to die. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘troublemakers live a thousand years’?”

Qi Shaobai immediately nudged him, signaling him to lower his voice, but it was too late.

“What did you just say?” An Yue, who had already taken a couple of steps away with Ye Qinghe, turned back in anger. He marched over, glaring at Xu Yang. “What the h*lll is wrong with you? You were the one who knocked into him first. We didn’t even ask you for compensation, and yet here you are, running your mouth like that? If you can’t say anything decent, then just shut up!”

An Yue’s voice was naturally hoarse, and now that he was both agitated and furious, it sounded even rougher—like sandpaper scraping against his throat. Just listening to it made Jin Lang instinctively touch his own throat and swallow, feeling as if he could feel the pain himself.

The commotion drew the attention of passersby, who slowed their steps, curious about what was happening.

“It’s nothing, nothing! Just some drunk friends talking too loudly. Please, don’t block the way—people behind you need to pass,” Lu Qian quickly tried to disperse the growing crowd.

Xu Yang was startled by the fiery young man in front of him. He hadn’t expected someone to defend such a despicable person so fiercely. His temper flared up in response.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to talk nicely, but at least I don’t use sweet words to deceive people,” Xu Yang sneered, looking straight at Ye Qinghe. “Ye Qinghe, I don’t know what tricks you pulled this time to make this kid so devoted to you, but I remember warning you before—if you dare to lie to or hurt someone again, I won’t let you off. Have you already forgotten the harm you caused others in the past? That blind—”

“Xu Yang!” Ye Qinghe’s face went pale, then turned blue, then white again. He realized that Xu Yang was about to bring up Little Blind and panicked. Raising his voice, he shouted anxiously, “Mr. Xu, I know I’ve done many bad things in the past. I’ve paid the price for them—an enormous price. But now, I… I’m not like before anymore.”

Ye Qinghe took a few steps forward and grabbed Xu Yang by the collar, shoving him forcefully. Xu Yang stumbled back several steps, ending up on the other side of an empty food stall.

Xu Yang thought Ye Qinghe had finally shown his true colors and was about to retaliate when he suddenly heard him say in a low, urgent voice, “I have the right to correct my mistakes, don’t I? I’ve already lost everything. Can’t you at least give me this one chance to change?”

His eyes were almost red with desperation—like a wounded beast making its final struggle, or like a child pleading not to have his most treasured possession taken away.

Xu Yang was stunned by Ye Qinghe’s frantic, sorrowful appearance and, for a moment, was at a loss for words.

An Yue couldn’t stand seeing Ye Qinghe being humiliated like this. He pulled him back and lashed out at Xu Yang. “What the h*ll is wrong with you? Are you the village chief or something? Do you live by the sea? Why are you meddling so much in other people’s business? You’re so nosy, always digging up old wounds. Do you not have anything better to do? Or are you actually one of the people he hurt? Did he use you? Did he abandon you? And now you’re here looking for revenge?”

Xu Yang was completely thrown off by An Yue’s barrage of insults. He only caught the last few words and blurted out, “O-Of course not!”

“Then why are you spewing all this nonsense? Acting all righteous? You’re just taking advantage of the fact that there are more of you, that he’s in a vulnerable position, that he’s made mistakes in the past that have nothing to do with you. You think that makes you noble? That you’re somehow better than him?”

“I…” Xu Yang, completely overwhelmed by An Yue’s sharp tongue, was left speechless. He looked at the young man standing so confidently, puffing out his chest to defend that so-called scumbag, and felt both frustrated and amused. He even had a hint of sympathy for him. “You… You don’t know anything…”

“Xu Yang!” Ye Qinghe called out again, his voice still filled with sorrow and pleading.

“Fine, fine! I won’t say anything more. If you want to keep deceiving people, go ahead. And if they want to be deceived, that’s their problem. None of my business,” Xu Yang grumbled in resignation. “Somehow, the person in the wrong is him, yet now I’m the one being made out to be the villain.”

“That’s right—it’s none of your business. He’s not lying anymore, and I already know everything about his past. I don’t need an outsider like you butting in. Yes, he’s done bad things before. Yes, he’s been irresponsible in relationships. But that’s all in the past. Now, he’s doing his best to live properly every day, and that’s enough,” An Yue snapped back, still fuming. “What, are you saying you’re so perfect? That you’ve never made mistakes before? Who are you to act so high and mighty?”

By this point, An Yue’s already damaged throat was completely hoarse, barely able to produce sound.

Xu Yang stared at the trembling, furious young man in front of him and, surprisingly, found himself agreeing with his words. He fell silent for a moment, locked eyes with An Yue, and finally said, “If he really has changed, like you say, then I apologize.”

“N-No… No need to apologize,” Ye Qinghe stammered, completely flustered. He had never dared to hope that his past mistakes would be forgiven—let alone that Xu Yang would actually offer an apology. “It was my fault before. You weren’t wrong to blame me.”

“Don’t waste your breath on him. Let’s go home,” An Yue huffed, dragging Ye Qinghe away.

“That kid has a sharp tongue,” Qi Shaobai finally commented after a long pause.

“Let’s just hope Ye Qinghe really has changed for the better,” Xu Yang said, watching them disappear into the distance. “Otherwise, all his shouting will have been for nothing.”

“Yeah, and all the insults you just took would have been for nothing too,” Jin Lang teased.

Xu Yang turned to look at Jin Lang, noticing that his sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows—clear evidence that he had almost jumped into the argument himself.

Xu Yang scoffed, “What are you, a thug? Rolling up your sleeves like you were about to fight? Have some class, will you? We’re civilized people—we talk things out. There was no ‘getting scolded’ or ‘not getting scolded’—we were having a conversation.”

With that, he threw an arm around Qi Shaobai’s shoulders and walked ahead. “I swear, out of all of us, Lu Qian has the worst taste in people.”

If it weren’t for Lu Qian holding onto his hand so tightly, Jin Lang—renowned internationally and just moments ago ready to step in and teach a scumbag a lesson—would have already grabbed Xu Yang by the collar and beaten him to a pulp.

(To be continued…)