Blinded chapter 15
Chang Xiaojia stared at the train ticket in Xie Li’s hand for a while, suddenly reached out, snatched the ticket, and tore it without saying a word.
Xie Li sat up straight, the blanket slipping down from his chest, revealing a perfectly proportioned upper body. The scar on his waist was clearly visible, and there were bite marks left by Chang Xiaojia from last night on his chest.
Chang Xiaojia said, “I don’t want to travel so far to find you to sleep. Just stay here.”
Xie Li turned his head to look at him, “You never need me for anything important.”
Chang Xiaojia said, “I always support you.”
After a moment of silence, Xie Li lifted the blanket and got out of bed. He said, “If it’s just supporting me in bed, it’s unnecessary.” After that, he walked barefoot to the bathroom.
In the budget hotel, the bathroom had no bathtub, only an uncovered showerhead, and a large mirror in front.
Xie Li turned on the water to take a shower, looking at his body with broad shoulders and long legs in the mirror, sneering, then closed his eyes and buried his head under the hot water.
After a while, Chang Xiaojia also came in and squeezed under the showerhead with him, making the space suddenly narrow.
Xie Li took the showerhead down and aimed it at Chang Xiaojia’s body. After a short while, Chang Xiaojia leaned in to hug him and wanted to kiss him. Xie Li embraced Chang Xiaojia’s waist, and their lips and tongues met for a while. He let go and turned off the water.
While Xie Li was using the towel hanging next to the mirror to wipe the water off Chang Xiaojia’s body, Chang Xiaojia frowned and said, “this towel is not clean.”
Xie Li said, “I brought my own towel.”
Chang Xiaojia had no objections then.
After the two finished showering, when Xie Li returned to the room wearing only pants, he heard a knock on the door. He grabbed a T-shirt, put it over his head, and looked at Chang Xiaojia, who was still wearing only underwear.
Chang Xiaojia said, “Go and open the door.”
Xie Li walked to the door, opened it, and saw the young man from last night standing outside.
The young man was carrying a bag and nodded slightly to Xie Li. He walked in directly, saying to Chang Xiaojia sitting on the bed, “Second Young Master, I brought the clothes for you.” After a pause, he added, “This morning, Eldest Young Master asked about you.”
Xie Li heard Chang Xiaojia sneer.
Chang Xiaojia put on a loose hoodie with jeans, looking like a college student. The shirt and trousers he wore last night were thrown on the ground. The young man squatted down to tidy them up, and a few dry tissues were scattered not far away, already dried up.
Chang Xiaojia put on sneakers, turned around to look at Xie Li, and said, “Come with me.”
Xie Li leaned against the wall, watching him.
Chang Xiaojia’s tone was a bit impatient, “You can do whatever you want, I won’t stop you.”
Xie Li crossed his arms and said, “What do you think I want to do?”
Chang Xiaojia sneered, “Besides making money, what else do you want?”
Xie Li extended a hand to him, “Come here.”
The young man who was still helping Chang Xiaojia tidy up his clothes looked up at Xie Li and then lowered his head to continue what he was doing.
Chang Xiaojia raised his chin slightly, looking at him with a cold and arrogant expression.
Xie Li maintained his posture, repeated in a strong tone, “Come here.”
In the end, Chang Xiaojia walked over slowly.
Xie Li hugged him, tightly gripping his waist, and said, “I’m not living off you.”
Chang Xiaojia sneered in Xie Li’s arms, mocking the same posture as when he heard Chang Xin looking for him just now. However, he still obediently stayed in Xie Li’s arms and said, “I’ll give you a bowl; as for the meal, you can decide how to eat it yourself.”
In the end, Xie Li packed his bags and followed Chang Xiaojia.
In the narrow alley in front of the hotel, there was a black car parked. Chang Xiaojia and Xie Li sat in the back seat, and the young man sat in the front passenger seat. As soon as they got in the car, he told the driver to go.
Chang Xiaojia introduced the young man to Xie Li, “Shi Hongqing, my good brother who grew up with me since childhood.” When introducing Xie Li, he was much more concise, only saying two words, “Xie Li.”
Xie Li could only see the side profile of Shi Hongqing’s left ear behind him from his seat, and he still felt that he resembled Chang Xiaojia to some extent after staring at him for too long.
Perhaps he had stared at Shi Hongqing for too long, Chang Xiaojia kicked him in the leg.
Xie Li turned his head.
Chang Xiaojia leaned against the seat, his thin back poorly postured, and his expression was cold. He often had a listless appearance, preferring to sit rather than stand, lie down rather than sit, and rarely sat properly when he did.
Xie Li, with a background in the police force, always emphasized etiquette. He had been disapproving of Chang Xiaojia for a long time, but he never directly intervened when he was in prison. At this moment, he just turned his head to look out the car window silently.
The car had already turned out of the back alleys and entered the wide, smooth streets of the city center. On one side of the road was the Harbor city municipal government. At this time, there were many people gathered in front of the government gate, in conflict with security and police.
The car passed by in a flash, and Xie Li only saw people holding banners. On one of them, it was written “Hongji Pharmaceutical.” Since the banner was hanging loosely, Xie Li couldn’t read the other words clearly.
Hongji Pharmaceutical was an industry under the Chang family. Xie Li had just been released from prison for only two days, and he didn’t know what had happened.
He turned to look at Chang Xiaojia, who had no expression on his face, but was also looking out the car window, evidently having seen the scene that flashed by just now.
Chang Xiaojia’s gaze shifted to Xie Li’s face and then turned forward again.
Xie Li asked him, “Where are we going?”
Chang Xiaojia said, “To visit my mom.”
Xie Li was stunned for a moment, and there was a moment of doubt in his heart, thinking that Chang Xiaojia’s biological mother might still be alive. Later, he learned that Chang Xiaojia did not mean that.
The driver took them to the Yunqing Mountain Cemetery on the outskirts of Harbor City.
On the way, Chang Xiaojia bought a large bouquet of flowers, costing more than three hundred yuan. When he sat back in the car holding the flowers, he was completely blocked by them.
After arriving at the cemetery, Xie Li and Shi Hongqing accompanied him for a while. Later, Chang Xiaojia went alone to visit his mother, holding the flowers.
Xie Li watched him climb the mountain, step by step on the stairs. The large bouquet of flowers in front of him must have blocked his view of the path, and Xie Li worried that he might stumble.
In the end, Chang Xiaojia successfully reached the top. His mother’s grave was an independent one, with a tall and majestic tombstone. He placed the flowers in front of the tombstone, squatted down, and seemed to be speaking to the tombstone.
Xie Li stared at his back for a while, then turned his head and saw Shi Hongqing standing upright with a clear face. So, he looked into the distance again, feeling a little absent-minded.
They waited in place for more than twenty minutes before Chang Xiaojia slowly walked back with his hands in his jacket pockets.
Shi Hongqing asked him, “Shall we go home, Second Young Master?”
Chang Xiaojia shook his head, “Tonight, I want to visit Fengling.”
Fengling was the name of a bar. Initially, Chang Xiaojia had brought that policewoman home from Fengling Bar.
As Chang Xiaojia and Shi Hongqing turned to leave, Xie Li’s face turned cold.
It took about two hours to drive from the city center to Yunqing Mountain. When they returned to the city, it was almost noon.
After Chang Xiaojia got in the car, he remained very quiet. After sitting for a while, he tilted his head and lay down, resting on Xie Li’s thigh.
Xie Li thought he wanted to sleep, but Chang Xiaojia’s eyes were open, staring at him all the time. After a long time, Xie Li felt a bit uncomfortable and reached out to cover Chang Xiaojia’s eyes.
Chang Xiaojia blinked, and his eyelashes swept across Xie Li’s palm.
Xie Li turned his head to look out the car window.
After a while, Chang Xiaojia grabbed his hand and pushed it away, turned over and lay on his side, leaving the back of his head to Xie Li, seemingly asleep.
With plenty of afternoon time left, Chang Xiaojia insisted on going to the arcade to catch dolls. He exchanged a large pile of game coins and played with great seriousness and focus alongside Shi Hongqing, who was wearing a suit.
Xie Li sat in the corner of the rest area, using his phone to search for news about Hongji Pharmaceutical. He found out that a serious side effect occurred in users of a newly launched antipsychotic drug by the company. The families of patients suspected foul play in the drug’s approval process, leading to protests in front of the government and demands for compensation.
The news was brief, and after reading it for a while, Xie Li put down his phone. He noticed that Chang Xiaojia was no longer in front of the doll-catching machine. He stood up and looked for Chang Xiaojia’s figure in the arcade, only to find him playing a shooting game.
The shooting game was highly realistic, even simulating the recoil of the firearms. Chang Xiaojia stood in front of the screen, holding the gun with one hand. Each shot he fired caused the gun to lift slightly due to the recoil.
He hit a bullseye with the first shot, and the second shot was also a bullseye.
Xie Li stood beside him, observing. Being professionally trained, Xie Li could tell that Chang Xiaojia’s gun posture was very standard, and his aim was also professional. In each round of the game, he consistently hit bullseyes. Eventually, the game machine spat out numerous small cards for prize redemption.
Chang Xiaojia didn’t rush to collect the cards. Holding the gun, he turned around and saw Xie Li. Suddenly, he aimed the gun at Xie Li’s head.
Seeing the cold gaze in Chang Xiaojia’s eyes, Xie Li felt as if he was holding a real gun in his hand. It seemed that if Chang Xiaojia fired, the bullet would pierce through his skull, causing his brain to splatter.
Chang Xiaojia mimicked pulling the trigger, producing a light clicking sound. Naturally, nothing happened. Then, he tossed the gun back onto the game machine, ran towards Xie Li with a smile, and cupped his face with both hands, forcefully kissing him on the lips.