Blinded chapter 74
When Chang Xiaojia slapped him, Yao Wei was stunned. He didn’t say anything, but like the other people in Hongfang, he had always looked down on Chang Xiaojia. He didn’t expect him to be so fast and so painful when he hit someone.
When he reacted, the place on his face that had just been slapped by Chang Xiaojia suddenly swelled even more. In that instant, he felt embarrassed and angry. His right fist clenched, but he remembered that this was the Chang home. Chang Xiaojia was Chang Guanshan’s son, so he put his hand down, turned his head and looked at Chang Guanshan.
Chang Guanshan remained calm. He just waved his hand to Yao Wei and said, “You can go out first.”
Yao Wei was somewhat unwilling. He raised his voice, “Mr. Chang!”
Chang Guanshan’s face suddenly sank, and he said coldly, “Get out!”
Yao Wei had to walk out reluctantly.
Chang Xiaojia held the gun with one hand and looked at Xie Li with red eyes.
Xie Li subconsciously looked at the gun in his hand. Chang Xiaojia immediately pointed the gun at Xie Li’s forehead, and said fiercely, “What? Do you want to grab the gun?”
Chang Guanshan, who was leaning against the head of the bed, suddenly laughed. As he laughed, his trachea itched so much that he covered his lips and coughed low. He seemed to be laughing and coughing at the same time.
Shi Hongqian walked to the bedside and gave him a cup of warm water.
Chang Guanshan took it and drank, taking a breath before saying, “Xiaojia, have you figured out what kind of person he is?”
Chang Xiaojia looked at Xie Li and said, “I don’t understand.”
Chang Guanshan pointed at Xie Li with his finger, “The person you brought back, in all likelihood, is an undercover police officer. He started getting close to you in prison. Do you think he genuinely likes you? He used you to infiltrate Hongfang. Once he gets what he wants, he’ll kick you out without mercy.”
Chang Xiaojia’s eyes were red. He slowly bit his lips and said, “I don’t believe it.”
Chang Guanshan chuckled and said, “Ask him yourself.”
Xie Li spoke in a deep voice, “Xiaojia, I….”
Chang Xiaojia looked at him.
Chang Guanshan said, “He deceived us. If you shoot him, I won’t blame you for it.”
Chang Xiaojia did not make a move.
Suddenly, Xie Li reached out to Xiaojia. Seeing that Xiaojia didn’t avoid it, he gently held his hand, aimed at his own forehead, and looked at Xiaojia, saying, “If you believe I don’t love you, shoot.”
Xiaojia still did not shoot.
Chang Guanshan looked gentle but with a cold gaze as he silently waited for Xiaojia’s decision.
In the end, Xiaojia put down the gun. He turned to Chang Guanshan and said, “I want evidence.”
Chang Guanshan said, “Evidence? Do you think this is a courtroom? You’re actually asking me for evidence?!”
Xiaojia stood in front of Xie Li, resolute in his attitude. “Otherwise, I won’t kill him, and I won’t let others kill him either.”
Chang Guanshan sighed lightly. He said, “Xiaojia, you’ve disappointed me.”
Xiaojia’s face, under the room’s light, had a peculiar paleness. Xie Li stood next to him and could even see the faint purple veins under his transparent skin. He lifted his head, and the sharp curve of his jaw showed a stubbornness. He said to Chang Guanshan, “I can’t be without Xie Li. If he dies, I die too.”
Chang Guanshan’s face was dark and unclear. He lowered his eyelids and remained silent for a long time before asking Xiaojia, “If he’s a police officer and got close to you to infiltrate our family, you wouldn’t mind? You would keep him by your side until he harms all of us?”
Xiaojia said, “I would break his legs and lock him up, not letting him go anywhere or do anything, as long as he stays alive.”
Chang Guanshan, who had a gloomy expression, suddenly showed a strange smile on his face. He said, “Quite like my son.” He waved his hand at last. “Take him back, but remember, Xie Li is dead from now on. If he appears in front of me again, he can only be a dead man.”
Xiaojia said, “I understand.”
Xie Li was taken back to the small building where Xiaojia lived. He did have some room for resistance, but he knew that even if he escaped from Xiaojia, there was no way he could leave this house alive. He sensed a strict vigilance in the air. It was the scent of gunpowder hidden in the gun barrels, ready to be unleashed. In the dark corners, countless guns might already be aimed at his head.
He was handcuffed to the bathtub in Xiaojia’s room. Because the handcuffs were too low, he had to kneel inside the bathtub to prevent his hands from being pulled.
Since Chang Xiaojia left Chang Guanshan’s room, he had remained silent. He asked Shi Hongqian to leave first and then squatted at the edge of the bathtub, staring straight at Xie Li.
Xie Li didn’t feel pain in his knees against the hard bathtub. He was distressed about Chang Xiaojia. He said, “Xiaojia, I love you.” There were many things he needed to tell him, so even if he died, Chang Xiaojia wouldn’t think it was deception from beginning to end.
He thought Chang Xiaojia would continue to question whether he was an undercover cop, but Xiaojia didn’t say anything. He looked at him with lifeless eyes, as if waiting for some kind of result.
Xie Li always felt that Chang Guanshan wouldn’t just let him go like this. He even thought that he would be angry with Chang Xiaojia because of him. He said, “Don’t worry about me; leave this house.”
Chang Xiaojia blinked his eyes and suddenly asked Xie Li, “Want to smoke?”
Xie Li looked at him without answering.
Barefoot, Chang Xiaojia moved carefully along the edge of the bathtub, crouching down closer to Xie Li. He lit a cigarette, took a puff himself, and then pressed his lips against Xie Li’s, passing on the uninhaled smoke to him.
Xie Li said, “Your dad is the most terrible bastard in the world. Xiaojia, leave this place.”
Chang Xiaojia asked, “and where would I go?” After asking, he passed the smoke to him again.
Xie Li let the smoke circulate in his lungs before exhaling. Originally, he wanted to suggest that Xiaojia go to the police, but the words couldn’t come out. Instead, he said, “Go somewhere far away, where he can’t find you.”
Chang Xiaojia asked again, “What about you?”
Xie Li said, “Don’t worry about me.” Chang Xiaojia could leave the Chang family alone, but it would be too difficult to take him along. Moreover, even though Chang Guanshan temporarily let him go, once there was action from Yu Zhengkun tonight, Chang Guanshan would undoubtedly be the first one he’d want to kill.
With a cigarette in one hand, Chang Xiaojia leaned his head on Xie Li’s shoulder, his soft hair rubbing against his neck. He said, “I will die.”
Xie Li, with both hands immobilized, could only turn his head to kiss the top of his head and said, “I won’t let you die.”
Chang Xiaojia’s voice was soft and gentle. “If you die, I will die too.”
Xie Li’s heart suddenly twisted with pain. It took him a while to recover and reassure him, “No, you won’t. You’re still so young. Even if I die you will meet someone who treats you well. I’m not good for you, I can’t take care of you, I only made you suffer.”
Chang Xiaojia remained silent and motionless.
They stayed together quietly for a long time. Suddenly, Xiaojia got up, jumped down from the edge of the bathtub, and walked barefoot back into the room.
Xie Li couldn’t see what he was doing, but he could hear the sound of searching for something.
After a while, he returned. He stepped into the bathtub, knelt in front of Xie Li, and reached out to start unbuckling Xie Li’s belt.
“Xiaojia?” Xie Li didn’t understand what he was doing.
Chang Xiaojia kept his head down without looking at him. After undoing the belt, he also unfastened the button of Xie Li’s jeans and pulled down the zipper.