Blinded chapter 54
In the evening, while Chang Xiaojia was taking a shower, Xie Li squatted on the balcony, smoking and searching for news about Hongji on his phone.
He remembered that when he first came to Harbor City, Hongji had made headlines due to the side effects of psychiatric medication. Now, searching online, he could only find information from that time, mainly about patients with depression experiencing hallucinations and committing suicide after using Hongji Pharmaceutical’s antidepressant.
The news was concentrated in that one or two months, and there were no relevant reports afterward. Xie Li wondered if Hongji had managed to suppress the matter by spending money.
Xie Li held the cigarette between his fingers, sliding his other hand on the phone screen. He scrolled down to the bottom of the article to check the name of the journalist who wrote the news, silently noting it in his mind.
At that moment, the phone screen suddenly switched, and it was a call from Ye Shaoyin.
Xie Li stood up slowly, walked to the railing, and answered the call, saying, “Hello? Brother Shaoyin?”
Ye Shaoyin smiled and said, “It’s me. Are you available to talk now?”
Xie Li replied, “yes.”
Ye Shaoyin continued, “I’m afraid Second Young Master will bother you to do something. Is it inconvenient for you?”
Xie Li dryly chuckled with a cold tone.
Ye Shaoyin’s voice came through, “Enough with the jokes. Let’s talk business. I heard that you had a race with Dai Hao on Qifeng Mountain last night, and you overturned Dai Hao’s car. Is that true?”
Xie Li responded, “It was an accident;”
Ye Shaoyin said, “Not bad, Xin told me earlier that you’re skilled, but I didn’t expect you to be into racing. How about it? Do you want to help me in a race? If we win, we’ll split the money.”
Before Xie Li could answer Ye Shaoyin, he heard Chang Xiaojia coming out of the bathroom.
Chang Xiaojia, in clean pajamas, with wet hair and a mist of water on his body, walked from the bathroom to the balcony and hugged Xie Li’s waist.
Xie Li stubbed out the cigarette on the railing, lowered his head to look at him. When he was about to speak, he used his index finger to press against Chang Xiaojia’s lips, shaking his head.
Ye Shaoyin didn’t hear a response and asked again, “So what do you say?”
Xie Li said, “Brother Shaoyin, you need to understand that this is a life-and-death situation.”
Ye Shaoyin chuckled, “You mean I’m not worth risking your life for, but Xiaojia is?”
Chang Xiaojia’s lips were soft, and Xie Li couldn’t help but use his fingers to pinch them. At the same time, he laughed, “Brother Shaoyin, isn’t that obvious? How much has Chang Xiaojia given me? How much can you give me? I think it’s not worth risking my life for that little money.”
Ye Shaoyin said, “What if I split a million with you when we win?”
Xie Li replied to Ye Shaoyin, “Do you know how much money I can make just by working for Young Master Jia? “
Ye Shaoyin smiled and said, “Don’t be foolish. If you really want to make money, you should work for me and Xin. Xiaojia has no influence in the Chang family? In the end, he might not get anything from his father.”
Chang Xiaojia was too close to Xie Li. He could hear what Ye Shaoyin was saying on the phone, and his face darkened.
Xie Li patted his back to comfort him, and remained silent for a while before saying, “They are both sons of Mr. Chang. I don’t think it will come to that.”
Ye Shaoyin sneered, “Think about it carefully. The race will be held the day after tomorrow. I’ll give you a few days to consider. Call me when you’ve made up your mind.” After speaking, he hung up the phone.
Xie Li moved the phone away from his ear, watching the screen gradually dim. He put the phone back into his pocket, held Chang Xiaojia’s arm, and said, “Don’t worry; I will take care of him for you.”
Chang Xiaojia’s face remained dark, and after a while, he said, “He’s right. You’d be better off with him than with me. Go join them.”
Xie Li looked at him, lowered his head, and kissed his lips.
Chang Xiaojia looked up at him.
Xie Li kissed him again.
By the third time Xie Li kissed him, Chang Xiaojia hugged Xie Li tightly, tilted his head up, and kissed him back. Xie Li was pushed back several steps until his back hit the wall. After holding him and kissing for a while, Xie Li stopped and asked, “Xiaojia, why did you suddenly mention Hongji tonight?”
Chang Xiaojia was stunned. He said, “I saw them talking about it.”
Xie Li wondered, “Can you understand what they’re saying by just reading their lips?”
Chang Xiaojia shook his head, “I just recognized the words ‘Hongji.'”
Xie Li didn’t say anything else, just ruffled his hair.
The next day in the morning, when Chang Xiaojia was taking a shower, Xie Li contacted Yu Zhengkun to inquire about the journalist who wrote the news. He wanted to check the specific situation of the depressed patient who jumped off the building. Since the person fell from the third floor to the rain shed on the first floor, they only broke their legs and didn’t lose their life. In the evening, Yu Zhengkun informed Xie Li that the person’s reaction to the side effects of medication was similar to the hallucinogenic reaction of the new drug Xie Li handed over to him last time.
During the phone call, Yu Zhengkun asked Xie Li, “Do you suspect that the source of this batch of new drugs is related to Hongji Pharmaceuticals?”
Xie Li said, “I’m starting to suspect that Hongji Pharmaceuticals is the base used by Mr. Chang and his son to research and produce drugs.”
Yu Zhengkun was silent for a moment, “It is possible, but we must investigate thoroughly; otherwise, it will be troublesome if we alert them.”
Xie Li said, “Ye Shaoyin is a breakthrough.” After that, he asked Yu Zhengkun, “Can you get the batch of antidepressants from Hongji and check the ingredients?”
Yu Zhengkun said to him, “Hongji has already recalled all those drugs. Even the patients who experienced side effects and sought compensation from them, after a substantial settlement, Hongji also took back the original drugs. I can only try.”
Xie Li estimated that Chang Xiaojia should be almost done with his shower. He hung up the phone, swiftly took out the SIM card from his phone, tucked it into the corner of Chang Xiaojia’s wardrobe, and replaced it with another SIM card.
When Chang Xiaojia came out of the bathroom, Xie Li sat on the edge of the bed, looked up at him, and said, “I promised Ye Shaoyin. I’ll go help him in the race tomorrow.”
Chang Xiaojia looked at him for a moment and simply said, “I’ll go with you.”