Blinded chapter 26

Xie Li came up to the second floor from the stairs and saw Chang Xiaojia already waiting for him at the stairwell. Seeing Chang Xiaojia’s posture, his heart suddenly tightened, and he hurriedly said, “Don’t jump!”

But before the words could fully leave his mouth, Chang Xiaojia had already opened his arms and pounced towards him. Xie Li, standing on the stairs, afraid that he might be pushed down along with Chang Xiaojia, quickly changed direction, leaning against the wall, and hugged the jumping Chang Xiaojia.

Xie Li’s back hit the wall hard, and although he stepped back a bit, his heart was pounding. After embracing Chang Xiaojia, he fiercely smacked his ass, scolding, “Are you crazy? If you want to die, go die by yourself!”

Chang Xiaojia remained silent, wrapped his arms around Xie Li’s shoulders, and buried his head on his shoulder.

The tightness in Xie Li’s chest persisted.

Chang Xiaojia lifted his head, looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head and bit his shoulder.

Xie Li winced in pain.

He didn’t know that when Chang Xiaojia lifted his head, he had intended to kiss him. However, he suddenly became timid, afraid of being pushed away just like before in the bathtub, so he vented his frustration by biting Xie Li’s shoulder.

At this point, Chang Xiaojia pushed away from Xie Li and turned, heading upstairs.

Watching his back, Xie Li suddenly remembered what Chang Xin had said earlier. About Chang Xiaojia being openly interested in men, so he became sure he wouldn’t violate and kill a woman.

Thinking of this, he felt a sudden discomfort in his heart. He couldn’t determine if it was for Chang Xiaojia, for the deceased police officer, or for himself.

Xie Li returned to Chang Xiaojia’s room on the second floor and got in as he asked, “Have you had breakfast yet?”

Chang Xiaojia picked up his phone, stood near the glass door leading to the balcony, looked down, and shook his head.

Xie Li said, “Want to go out for breakfast?”

After a while, Chang Xiaojia raised his head and said, “He Chuanyun invited me to meet tonight.”

Xie Li didn’t find it particularly surprising and just asked, “Do you want me to go with you?”

Chang Xiaojia said, “Of course.”

However, before they met He Chuanyun that night, Xie Li encountered an old acquaintance that afternoon.

At that time, Chang Xiaojia insisted on eating dessert at a dirty and dimly lit shop. Xie Li waited for him outside, leaning against the wall. Suddenly, he saw Hu Minxin wearing a baseball cap and a denim jacket picking fruits in front of a fruit shop across the street.

After being released from prison, Xie Li had lost contact with Hu Minxin, not knowing when he was released.

Just as he hesitated about whether to greet Hu Minxin, Hu Minxin suddenly stood upright and looked around. In that instant, even across the street, Xie Li saw Hu Minxin’s eyes light up. He raised his hand and waved loudly, shouting, “Xie Li!”

Xie Li also stood up straight, smiling at him.

In a hurry to settle the bill with the shop owner, Hu Minxin, carrying a bag of fruits, crossed the narrow street, jogged to Xie Li’s side, and stopped. He smiled and said, “Damn! It really is you!”

“When did you get out?” Xie Li asked with a smile.

“Just a couple of days ago,” Hu Minxin replied. After saying that, he paused, and Xie Li also didn’t continue the conversation. A brief silence made Hu Minxin look a bit awkward and forced a smile.

Xie Li smiled and patted his shoulder, asking, “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine; everything’s the same. How about you? You’re still in Harbor City and still with Chang Xiaojia?” Hu Minxin asked.

Xie Li nodded calmly. “Yes.”

Hu Minxin instantly revealed an indescribable expression. He clicked his tongue, then hesitated for a moment, then asked “What’s going on with following Chang Xiaojia?”

Xie Li didn’t know why Hu Minxin found the way he and Chang Xiaojia interacted strange. He just asked in a low voice, “What do you mean?”

Hu Minxin hesitated to express his thoughts, so he lowered his voice and said, “do you plan on sticking with Chang Xiaojia all the time?”

Xie Li made a vague sound of agreement.

Hu Minxin lifted the brim of his hat, took it off after a while, and put it back on. He seemed hesitant about what to say. Xie Li guessed what he wanted to say but couldn’t honestly explain his current situation. So, he changed the topic and asked, “Why did you buy so many fruits?”

Hu Minxin raised two plastic bags filled with pears and oranges. He looked down and said, “Oh, just visiting a friend.”

Xie Li casually asked, “Is your friend sick?”

Hu Minxin tapped his head with his fingers. “Problems from drug abuse.”

At this moment, Chang Xiaojia, hands in his upper jacket pockets, walked out of the dessert shop with his phone. Hearing Hu Minxin’s words, he asked, “Skating?”

Hu Minxin shook his head. He looked around and said, “It seems to be some new type. They call it an elixir outside. It can make you ascend like an immortal.”

Xie Li suddenly became alert, but he didn’t want to interrogate Hu Minxin in front of Chang Xiaojia. He remained expressionless and asked Chang Xiaojia, “Are you full? Shall we go now?”

Chang Xiaojia seemed not to have heard his words and continued asking Hu Minxin, “What elixir? Where did your friend get it?”

So, Xie Li stayed silent, waiting for Hu Minxin’s answer.

Hu Minxin said, “I don’t know about this.”

Chang Xiaojia said, “Oh okay, Xie Li, let’s go.”

Xie Li took out his phone and said to Hu Minxin, “Leave your contact information.”

They exchanged numbers.

Chang Xiaojia had already started walking ahead towards the front. After a while, he stopped and turned around, impatiently saying, “Xie Li.”

Hu Minxin was inputting Xie Li’s name into his contacts, looking a bit awkward.

Xie Li’s face remained expressionless.

Hu Minxin lowered his voice and said, “Why is Chang Xiaojia more annoying than a woman?”

Upon hearing this, Xie Li, with lowered eyes, surprisingly chuckled. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and said in a low voice, “Ask your friend where he bought the drugs. I’ll contact you later.” After saying that, he patted Hu Minxin’s shoulder and turned, taking big steps toward Chang Xiaojia.

In the evening, while Chang Xiaojia was taking a shower in the bathroom, Xie Li stood on the balcony and made a call to Hu Minxin.

They had come back quite late, and Xie Li stood on the balcony, seeing that Chang Xin’s room next door was still pitch black. Although he knew it was unlikely for Chang Xin to come over to stay, he instinctively lowered his voice.

Once the call was connected, he didn’t exchange any pleasantries. He just asked, “How is it going?”

Hu Minxin was still somewhat puzzled but followed Xie Li’s instructions from the afternoon, saying, “It’s said that he bought it at a bar called Night Sun while partying. And his friend also bought it there.”

Leaning against the balcony railing, Xie Li supported his chin with one hand and asked in a low voice, “What was his reaction?”

Hu Minxin said, “Initially, after taking the drug, he was just getting high. But he mentioned that gradually, he felt it was too intense, and started panicking, thinking someone was trying to harm him. He took a knife and started slashing around, ending up injuring himself.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Li simply said, “Hmm.”

On Hu Minxin’s end, he also lowered his voice and asked, “What’s really going on?”

Xie Li replied, “It’s nothing. We’ll talk more when we have the chance.” With that, he hung up the phone.

Night Sun Bar was the bar under Chang Xiaojia’s control at Hongfang, the one where Xie Li had taken a bottle of drugs from a dealer, delivering it to Yu Zhengkun for confirmation that it was a new type of drug.

Most likely, the drug dealer was someone under the command of one of the big shots at Hongfang.

Tonight, He Chuanyun invited Chang Xiaojia to meet and discuss the business he was doing in several bars at Hongfang. This didn’t include Night Sun or drug dealing. In Xie Li’s mind, He Chuanyun, for the time being, could be excluded.

The remaining few people all had the potential. The flood action was supposed to topple not only the family with the surname Chang but the entire Hongfang. These drug dealers, who hadn’t used the Hongfang name, would be dealt with ineffectively even if caught. Ideally, they would trace back to find the source of these new drugs, capturing both the people and the goods, leaving them no room for excuses.

At this moment, Chang Xiaojia, having finished his shower, came out. He only wore a bathrobe, not coming to the balcony but lying on the bed. He asked Xie Li, “Who did you call?”

Xie Li said, “Hu Minxin.”

He asked again, “So late, why did you call Hu Minxin?”

Xie Li walked to the bedside, sat down; he didn’t want to continue this conversation, so he reached out to touch Chang Xiaojia’s nape, then slipped his hand inside the bathrobe to feel his back.

Chang Xiaojia, seemingly uninterested in the topic, stopped asking questions. After a while, he propped up his upper body and leaned over, kissing Xie Li’s cheek and jawline.

Xie Li withdrew his hand from his back and reached for his chest. Over the bathrobe, he pinched Chang Xiaojia’s flat chest.

Chang Xiaojia asked, “What are you doing?”

Xie Li said, “Checking if your chest has grown.”

Chang Xiaojia, bewildered, asked, “Why?”

Xie Li looked into his eyes, smiling, “Didn’t you eat papaya today?”

At his words, Chang Xiaojia kneeled, straightening his waist, grabbed the bathrobe from both shoulders, and pushed it down on both sides, exposing his chest to Xie Li. “See if it’s bigger now?”

Xie Li continued to smile, patting his own thigh, “Come here.”

Chang Xiaojia looked him in the eyes, then slowly crossed over to sit on his lap, facing him.

Xie Li played with his hair and asked, “Xiaojia, have you ever slept with a woman?”