Blinded chapter 59

The afternoon sun illuminated a corner of the balcony, and when the wind blew in, the light curtains would sway gently.

Xie Li maintained his posture crouched by the bedside, reaching out to adjust the soft hair on Chang Xiaojia’s forehead, saying, “Where should I go?”

Chang Xiaojia’s eyes looked slightly swollen, he rarely appeared calm, and said in a flat tone, “Go wherever you want, just don’t appear in front of me.”

Xie Li withdrew his hand from his forehead, his arm leaning on the bedside. “What will you do if I leave?”

Chang Xiaojia said, “It will be fine in the future, just like you never appeared. I’ll gradually not need you.”

“But I can’t bear to leave you,” Xie Li said, feeling his throat tighten as he spoke.

Chang Xiaojia curled his legs even tighter, almost hugging them to his chest. He said, “I feel annoyed, don’t want to continue, don’t need you anymore.”

Xie Li didn’t say anything. In fact, he wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth, he felt his throat as if it were blocked, unable to produce any sound.

Chang Xiaojia’s face remained pale as usual, with no other expression. Even though he was facing Xie Li, his gaze seemed to drift somewhere else. He said, “You don’t want me, you just wanted to use the opportunity to get close to me and enter Hongfang, right? You’ve already succeeded; I don’t need you anymore.”

Xie Li’s voice was a bit hoarse. “Do you really see me that way?”

Chang Xiaojia blinked his eyes slowly. At that moment, a tear rolled down from the corner of his eye, but he quickly turned away from Xie Li. “How I see you is no longer important.”

He pulled the quilt on the bed, revealing a corner of a wooden frame from the edge. Xie Li reached over and took out a photo frame that Chang Xiaojia had placed on the bedside table, a picture of him and his mother.

While Xie Li was staring at the photo in a daze, Chang Xiaojia said, “Go work for my dad or Chang Xin, go wherever you want. Just don’t let me see you.”

“Xiaojia,” Xie Li called him, using his finger to touch the baby Chang Xiaojia in the photo.

Chang Xiaojia remained silent.

Xie Li took a deep breath, set the photo aside, and said, “Let’s get up and have lunch, okay? We can talk about other things later.”

Chang Xiaojia said, “You go, I’ll get up and eat later.”

Suddenly, Xie Li heard a firm tone in Chang Xiaojia’s voice. For the first time, he truly felt at a loss. He didn’t expect it to be like this. Chang Xiaojia was always angry, no matter what he did, but as long as he sincerely comforted him, Chang Xiaojia would quickly forgive him. Chang Xiaojia couldn’t do without him.

But this time seemed different from before.

“Xiaojia,” Xie Li called out. He stood up, kneeling on the bed with one leg, reaching out to support Chang Xiaojia’s shoulder, trying to make him turn around and look at him.

But Chang Xiaojia was unwilling. He stubbornly lay on his side, refusing to turn around.

At this moment, Chang Xin knocked on the door from outside and called, “Xie Li?”

Xie Li originally wanted to hug Chang Xiaojia, but he had to stop his actions temporarily and walked over to open the door for Chang Xin.

Chang Xin stood at the door, glanced at Chang Xiaojia lying on the bed, and asked Xie Li, “How is he?”

Before Xie Li could speak, Chang Xiaojia spoke first, “Tell Xie Li to get lost!”

Chang Xin looked at Xie Li, then smirked. He gestured for Xie Li to step aside, walked in, and sat down at the bedside, reaching out to touch Chang Xiaojia’s hair.

Chang Xiaojia remained wrapped in the quilt, unmoving.

Chang Xin, as if caressing a pet, gently touched him. After a while, he said, “You haven’t eaten all day. Aren’t you hungry?”

Chang Xiaojia didn’t speak.

Chang Xin reached out and lifted the duvet that Chang Xiaojia had with him, still wrapped around him. It was just like what Xie Li had wanted to do a moment ago.

Xie Li saw tears streaming down Chang Xiaojia’s face.

Chang Xin looked up at Xie Li, seeming a bit displeased. Then he used his fingers to wipe away the tears from Chang Xiaojia’s face and said, “Come with me to eat.”

Chang Xiaojia raised his arm to shield his face, still saying, “Make Xie Li leave.”

As if coaxing him, Chang Xin said, “Okay, I’ll make Xie Li leave. But you have to make it clear first. If he leaves this time, will you still insist on having him come back next time?”

Chang Xiaojia’s throat was hoarse, saying, “No.”

Chang Xin nodded, saying, “Alright, then let him pack up and leave.”

In Chang Xiaojia’s room, only Xie Li was left. Chang Xin accompanied Chang Xiaojia downstairs to eat, while he stayed behind to pack his belongings that were left in Chang Xiaojia’s room.

Xie Li retrieved his phone from Chang Xin’s room and, after changing the SIM card, called Yu Zhengkun to update him on Ruan Qiuyuan’s situation. He requested Yu Zhengkun to contact Ruan Qiuyuan and instruct her to withdraw from the operation.

After that, Xie Li took out the SIM card and tucked it into his pants pocket, then stared blankly at the open wardrobe.

In reality, he didn’t have much stuff. He never considered this place as his home, so he never bothered to acquire unnecessary items.

If there was anything he absolutely had to take from this room, it would be Chang Xiaojia, but Chang Xiaojia refused to go with him. From accepting this mission until now, this moment was the most bewildering and helpless for Xie Li. He felt like he couldn’t protect anyone, couldn’t save anyone.

In the afternoon, Chang Guanshan called Xie Li and asked him to accompany him on a trip to Southeast Asia.

“I heard about you and Xiaojia,” Chang Guanshan said to Xie Li.

Xie Li remained silent.

Chang Guanshan calmly stated, “As long as he doesn’t cause trouble and stays alive, I won’t interfere. Handle the matter yourself.”

Xie Li responded, “I understand.”

Regarding the incident of someone falling off the cliff on Qifeng Mountain, Xie Li only saw a brief report in the media that evening, stating that the person had fallen off after drinking too much. There was no mention of the Qifeng Mountain racing gang. It seemed like Huo Zhaoning had managed to suppress the matter.

Xie Li wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Huo Zhaoning. However, before that, he accompanied Chang Guanshan on a journey through several countries in Southeast Asia. It lasted for more than half a month, and before leaving, he didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to Chang Xiaojia.

Chang Guanshan’s trip was for business negotiations, and Xie Li played the role of his personal bodyguard throughout. Although Chang Guanshan didn’t inform Xie Li about the specifics of the business, Xie Li accompanied him to visit several local factories, gaining some understanding that Chang Guanshan was looking for contract manufacturers in Southeast Asia. During the trip, they also visited some pharmaceutical factories.

After over half a month, on the plane back to Harbor City, Chang Guanshan, leaning against the seat back with his eyes closed, said to Xie Li, “When we get back, go and check on Xiaojia.”

After such a long time without any contact between Xie Li and Chang Xiaojia, he replied, “Okay.”

Chang Guanshan continued, “If Xiaojia still refuses to see you, find another place to live.”

Xie Li said, “I understand.”