ATIBESLM 17

Following the last accident, the school administration upgraded the facilities and medical standards of the infirmary. The presiding doctor was an elderly specialist retired from a hospital, who had come here to enjoy a quiet semi-retirement.

When Ye Lingwei woke up, the old school doctor was holding a cup of tea in his hand, sipping it in a leisurely manner.

“Awake?” He said, “Your condition is fair; basic daily life isn’t affected. However, as for those sports, don’t even think about it. Even if you have surgery, it will still depend on the outcome.”

“Thank you,” Ye Lingwei said.

He was lying in the inner ward. The sound of conversation drifted in from the outer room. Ye Lingwei attempted to get out of bed to look, but the old school doctor scolded him, “Lie down! Where are you running off to? Are you not afraid of dying?”

Ye Lingwei shuddered at the old school doctor’s earth-shattering roar and immediately pulled the covers up and lay down. The air conditioner was blowing cold air vigorously, and as the room fell completely silent, Ye Lingwei could faintly make out who was speaking outside.

“I understand your desire to make a mark, but you have to at least understand the students’ conditions first! You just graduated. Having a fighting spirit is good, but you can’t let your good intentions lead to bad outcomes!” The principal’s voice sounded like he was suffering a major headache. “Don’t be fooled just because he looks like a normal person. If you aren’t paying attention, he could be gone just like that.”

“Principal, it was my oversight. I will definitely be careful in the future.” Yi Nan felt nothing but lingering fear and guilt. Heaven knows that when he saw the boy collapse on the ground like that, in that instant, his own breathing had stopped.

“I’ve already called his parents. It’s just this final year; getting the students to graduation in one piece is enough,” the principal earnestly said.

It has only been a month since the semester started, and Ye Lingwei has already had two episodes. If it happens two more times, the Education Bureau will send people down to investigate.

The principal left with his hands clasped behind his back. Yi Nan hesitated repeatedly at the door before pushing open the door to the ward. The old school doctor rolled his eyes but didn’t stop him.

Yi Nan didn’t dare to look directly into Ye Lingwei’s eyes. He walked over, looking completely at a loss, and asked, “How are you feeling now?”

Half of Ye Lingwei’s face was buried in the quilt, leaving only his eyes exposed. He looked fragile and breakable. When Yi Nan thought about how his brain had short-circuited today to actually make him run with the rest of the class, he wanted to slap himself a couple of times.

“I’m okay. Thank you for your concern, teacher.” Ye Lingwei said in a small voice, “Teacher, don’t be scared.”

Yi Nan froze.

“I knew I was going to faint. Teacher, don’t be scared,” Ye Lingwei explained gently.

Yi Nan was dazed for a moment, not quite understanding what Ye Lingwei meant or what he was trying to express.

“Teacher, don’t be so reckless in the future. Something bad will happen.” The boy sighed softly, looking very helpless.

Yi Nan slowly came back to his senses, only to feel a chill instantly sweep from the soles of his feet through his entire body. He was embarrassed, and at a loss, he nodded frantically a few times before fleeing the room in a wretched state.

People drifted in one after another. As soon as Yi Nan left, Gao Linhao arrived.

He was holding Ye Lingwei’s cup; he had filled it with hot water for him. He placed it on the bedside table and resentfully said, “I saw Yi Nan running out. What did you say to him? He was scared witless?”

Ye Lingwei weakly replied, “It was nothing.”

“Pokémon said your ge will come pick you up later to take you home. Come back to class once you’ve rested up,” Gao Linhao said.

“Mm.” Ye Lingwei’s eyes were already drifting shut.

Gao Linhao had wanted to chat with Ye Lingwei a bit longer, but seeing that he seemed really tired, he stood up to leave. Ye Lingwei had only closed his eyes. He wasn’t asleep yet so he heard Gao Linhao shouting from the hallway outside.

“Lan-ge, let’s go. Ye Lingwei is fine.”

Ye Lingwei turned his head and saw the hem of Fei Lan’s white jacket flash past the doorway.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, Ye Lingwei was patted awake by someone—woken up by pats on his face.

“Get up, let’s go home.” Ye Xuan was concise. He was carrying Ye Lingwei’s schoolbag in his hand; he had gone to the classroom to get it while Ye Lingwei was sleeping just now. Not knowing what the homework was, he had just randomly stuffed two books inside, looking extremely impatient.

Ye Lingwei sat up sluggishly. He was wearing short sleeves, so the moment he threw off the covers, a fine and thin layer of goosebumps densely rose on his arms.

Suddenly, his vision went completely black.

“Put it on.” Ye Xuan liked car racing, and his aesthetic was also extremely bold and flashy. In this weather, he wore a base T-shirt underneath with a bright red outdoor windbreaker jacket layered over it.

Ye Lingwei obediently put on the jacket then Ye Xuan handed the schoolbag over. Ye Lingwei lowered his head and glanced at it, but he didn’t take it.

The two faced each other in silence.

“…”

“…”

Ye Xuan didn’t speak. He just furrowed his brows. Carrying Ye Lingwei’s schoolbag in one hand and with the other hand in his pocket, he walked ahead.

Ye Xuan’s clothes were obviously a bit too big for Ye Lingwei. The shoulder seams dropped low; he looked like he was shrouded in a magnificent red robe. 

His countenance suddenly became vibrant and bright.

As they went down the stairs, flight by flight, Ye Xuan suddenly stopped in his tracks up ahead. Ye Lingwei stopped as well, looking toward the person who made Ye Xuan stop.

Ye Xuan’s eyes turned stone cold. The air pressure around him instantly dropped.

Fei Lan had just returned from the supermarket while holding a plastic bag in his hand, flanked by several other boys. Fei Lan stopped in his tracks, and they looked up the stairs in confusion.

“Wow, that guy is handsome!”

“Lan-ge, do you know him?”

Compared to their wretched and messy state just after P.E. class, Ye Xuan looked fresh and clean. Handsome and cold—he was exactly the type that people their age worshipped the most.

“Long time no see.” The hostility Ye Xuan held toward Fei Lan was palpable. Even the slow-witted guys standing next to Fei Lan sensed it.

Fei Lan smiled, as nonchalant as a light breeze. “Long time no see, Xuan-ge.”

The look in Ye Xuan’s eyes changed slightly. He then let out a scoff and went downstairs.

Ye Lingwei followed him, but Gao Linhao called out to stop him, “Hey, wait…”

“Haozi¹Adding “Zi” to the end of a character from someone’s name is a very common way to create a nickname for close male friends (e.g., Linhao becomes Haozi).…” Fei Lan’s voice was indifferent, but it made Gao Linhao shut his mouth immediately. As if he had been choked by the neck, the sound came to an abrupt halt.

Gao Linhao met Ye Lingwei’s puzzled gaze. He stiffly swerved the conversation. “You wearing red… looks pretty good.”

Ye Lingwei looked at them suspiciously for a moment. “It’s alright,” he answered.

“…”

Seeing Ye Lingwei follow Ye Xuan out of the teaching building, Gao Linhao breathed a sigh of relief. He was just about to ask Fei Lan something when he was left dazed by a bag thrown right at his face.

Gao Linhao lowered his head and pulled the bag open, freezing for a moment. He ran to catch up with Fei Lan. “Lan-ge, didn’t we buy this for Ye Lingwei? Why are you giving it to me?”

“He doesn’t need it.” Fei Lan said, “You guys split it amongst yourselves.”

Why does he suddenly not need it? Wasn’t he pretty happy when buying it just now?

—

Ye Xuan slowing down to wait for Ye Lingwei was not because he was being considerate of his younger brother’s physical condition. He walked beside Ye Lingwei and demanded, “Do you know Fei Lan?”

Just looking at Fei Lan, Ye Xuan couldn’t tell. However, those friends around Fei Lan, especially that tall guy who looked like a silly dog—the moment he saw Ye Lingwei behind him, his eyes instantly lit up.

If they didn’t know each other, it wouldn’t have gone that far.

Wasn’t it said that he had no friends? That he was socially isolated?

Ye Lingwei knew what Ye Xuan wanted to ask. He nodded and then watched as Ye Xuan’s expression darkened almost instantly.

“Stay away from him.” Ye Xuan said, “You two are not in a position to be friends—you know this just as well as I do.”

The reason, of course, was clear to both of them.

It was because their mother, Jiang Hui, was Fei Qiang’s mistress. She had abandoned them to become the mistress of another man.

Ye Xuan hadn’t seen Fei Lan in years. At that moment, he had barely even recognized him. The last time he saw Fei Lan, he was still an exemplary child. Wearing a blue-and-white middle school uniform, his hair was cut to a standard length and his gaze was clean and determined.

Compared to now, he was a completely different person.

No wonder the elders who knew him all said that the Fei Lan had changed.

Ye Lingwei nodded. Seeing Ye Lingwei so obedient, Ye Xuan felt a rare sense of gratification. However, Ye Lingwei threw out a question that made his head feel like it was going to explode immediately after.

“What does Mom doing something wrong have to do with us?” Ye Lingwei opened his eyes wide and asked with a touch of curiosity, “Isn’t Mom the one who did something wrong? Er-ge, you act like you’re still blaming Fei Lan…”

Ye Xuan’s gaze landed on Ye Lingwei like a knife, but Ye Lingwei continued, unruffled.

“What do you know?”

“Do you know any better, Er-ge?”

“Fei Lan is Fei Qiang’s son.”

“So what? Did Fei Lan steal Mom away? Besides, anything that can be stolen away is cheap—I wouldn’t want it even if you gave it to me.” Ye Lingwei lowered his eyes and softly said, “Mom is just cheap…”

“Ye Lingwei!” Ye Xuan scolded, “You don’t have to carry the Ye surname; no one is forcing you.”

Ye Lingwei looked up and smiled. “My ‘Ye’ comes from Dad’s surname, not yours. Who asked you… to care?”

Ye Xuan felt like his head was going to explode from anger, but unlike Ye Cen, he wasn’t born with the ability to scream and curse. His chest felt tight with rage, yet he couldn’t find a way to refute Ye Lingwei’s words.

“Er-ge.” Ye Lingwei tilted his head slightly. “Perhaps you could follow Mom and take the surname Jiang. I’m sure that with the Fei family’s immense wealth and influence, they would be more than happy to accept a piece of extra baggage²This is a derogatory colloquialism referring to children from a previous marriage that a woman brings into her new marriage. like you.”

Ye Xuan was no good at arguing. He left Ye Lingwei behind and stormed off. He was driving the family car today, so there was no ear-piercing engine roar, but as he sped away, he still kicked up a cloud of dust that filled half the sky. One could only imagine just how furious the driver was right now.

In Ye Lingwei’s eyes, Ye Xuan’s departure was nothing short of pure escapism. Ye Xuan knew perfectly well he couldn’t go with Jiang Hui; he simply couldn’t accept the fact that she had abandoned them to become another man’s mistress. However, no matter what, Jiang Hui was the one who gave birth to him. He couldn’t bring himself to blame her so he could only displace his wrath onto Fei Qiang and Fei Lan.

In itself, this logic held up and was within the realm of reason.

However, he had become almost twisted—ordering everyone around him not to have any contact with the Fei family, as if he had been brainwashed.

He was even more obsessed than Ye Cen.

The afternoon sun was far more blinding and scorching than in the morning. Ye Lingwei took off Ye Xuan’s jacket. He draped it over his head and called Ye Cen.

Dump him here and try to run? Who taught him that?

“Hello.” Ye Cen’s voice was cool, deep, and magnetic. Setting aside his actions toward the original host in the book, he was truly a high-quality man.

A pity he wasn’t a good big brother.

“Da-ge…”

The youth’s aggrieved voice came through the receiver, causing Ye Cen to pause for a moment. Realizing it was Ye Lingwei, Ye Cen cleared his throat. “What is it?”

He didn’t even realize it himself, but his tone had already softened involuntarily.

“Er-ge ran away.” Ye Lingwei touched his face, trying to make his voice sound as pitiful as possible. “He thought I was walking too slowly, so he ditched me and ran off.”

Ye Cen: “…”

Ye Cen had never heard Ye Lingwei speak to him in such a tone. Ye Lingwei had been a late talker and was never close to him growing up. As he got older, his personality proved to be poles apart from the rest of the family—silent and reticent—and he gradually became the ignored one. Ye Cen admitted that he felt no sense of closeness with this younger brother.

However, now that Ye Lingwei was taking the initiative to get close to him, the pen in Ye Cen’s hand slowly came to a stop.

Even though his tone still lacked warmth.

“I’ll give Ye Xuan a call and ask.”

“Don’t go wandering off,” Ye Cen couldn’t help but add.

“Okay.” Ye Lingwei curled his lips into a smile.

Ye Lingwei didn’t know what Ye Cen had said to Ye Xuan, but soon enough, Ye Xuan drove back. His face was thunderous. He honked the horn twice. He thought Ye Lingwei would take the passenger seat, but who would have guessed that the boy would pull open the back door instead? The moment he got in, he tossed the jacket aside, closed his eyes, and stretched out his legs.

In all his twenty-one years of life, Ye Lingwei was the only person who had ever treated Ye Xuan like a chauffeur.

Ye Lingwei was dropped off at the apartment near the school. No one volunteered to take him back to the family home—not Ye Cen, and not Ye Xuan.

The book on the bedside table was still there. For the past few days, it had remained stuck on the same section. Ye Lingwei flipped through it once a day as was his routine, but this time, he discovered some new content he hadn’t seen before.

So far, the content of the final chapter remained stuck at the point where the original host passed away. The added sections were merely details predating that event—things Ye Lingwei hadn’t known. As for the full scope of the story, Ye Lingwei was currently completely in the dark.

He had only skimmed through it roughly before, which resulted in him having no clear idea of the specific plot points. In fact, regarding Fei Lan’s attitude toward him sometimes, it seemed it wasn’t complete loathing.

This was inconsistent with what Ye Yuan had said about him wanting him dead.

Ye Lingwei found the newly appeared content; it was right in the first few pages.

Fei Qiang and Ye Fengmian—the original host’s father—shared a very good relationship as a junior and senior. Fei Qiang was thirteen years younger than Ye Fengmian, and the two families didn’t actually share any blood relations, distant or close.

To his face, he politely called Ye Fengmian ‘Uncle Mian,’ but behind his back, it was Ye Fengmian this and Ye Fengmian that. After Fei Qiang graduated, he went into business with Ye Fengmian and their bond became even tighter. Don’t be fooled by the current Fei Qiang, whose emotions never show on his face. In his youth, he was impulsive and volatile. It was often his Uncle Mian who had to stand by his side, advising him and holding him back.

Speaking for himself, Ye Lingwei couldn’t quite wrap his head around it either. Fei Qiang had never lacked for women. Why? Why did he have to be with the wife of his senior?

With the older generation on such good terms, the younger generation naturally became close as well.

Ye Xuan was only three years older than the original host, and he was older than Fei Lan too. Due to the fact that the original host had been in poor health, Fei Lan and Ye Xuan were actually closer to each other than either was to the original host.

For the first two years Jiang Hui was with Fei Qiang, the Ye family was in the dark, and the Fei family gave no indication of it either. The affair was finally exposed when the original host was about to graduate from elementary school. The Ye family nearly went mad. They could have accepted Jiang Hui leaving the Ye family, but they couldn’t accept that she had been with someone else just over a year after giving birth to Ye Lingwei—and that someone else was Fei Qiang.

Ye Zumin hesitated for a long time between saving face and preserving his interests. In the end, he chose a compromise. He would deal in business, but not in sentiment.

To everyone in the Ye family, this was tantamount to the ultimate humiliation.

Fei Lan never set foot in the Ye home again.

He read up to this point, and then… that was it?

Ye Lingwei flipped back and forth a few times to confirm, but it really was gone. Was this just meant to be a crash course for Ye Lingwei on the history of bad blood between the two families?

So, was the reason Fei Lan hadn’t been completely ruthless simply because they had known each other since childhood and he couldn’t bring himself to do it?

Ye Lingwei didn’t buy it.

Fei Lan wasn’t that kind of person.

Ye Lingwei vaguely recalled that afternoon in P.E. class. When Fei Lan gripped his hand, he knew he had lost control and called ‘Gege,’ but the other’s response was merely indifferent.

“Ye Lingwei, don’t call people random things.”

“I am not your gege.”

At the very least, childhood sentiments carried absolutely no weight with Fei Lan. Ye Lingwei sighed; he still had work to do. Actually, Fei Lan was probably the most difficult one to handle.

It wasn’t that he needed Fei Lan, but seeing him act like this… he really was asking to be taught a lesson.

• 1
  Adding “Zi” to the end of a character from someone’s name is a very common way to create a nickname for close male friends (e.g., Linhao becomes Haozi).
• 2
  This is a derogatory colloquialism referring to children from a previous marriage that a woman brings into her new marriage.