Chapter 22: My Eyes Can’t See
The fire grew smaller and smaller, finally being extinguished by a bucket of cold water, leaving behind only a ground mottled with scorched blackness and ash.
The youth, kneeling with his legs bent in the vast night, had his usually straight back hunched over. Finally, unable to bear the burden, he fainted directly onto the ground.
The paintings that had already burned to ash were caught by the wind, flying through the sky and drifting down to land softly on that face which had almost no trace of blood. It looked inexplicably beautiful and broken.
Seeing this, Yang Rui ran up in a panic and hurriedly called to the two bodyguards who were standing still as statues: “Don’t just stand there! Hurry and save him, take him to the hospital!”
To his surprise, the two bodyguards ignored him. One of them picked up the unconscious Jian An in a bridal carry, while the other pushed Yang Rui back and said sternly:
“Ji-zong only told us to bring Mr. Jian back to the villa.”
“Hey, hey, hey! You two idiots!”
Yang Rui jumped up and kicked the air twice, but he didn’t even reach the bodyguards’ shoulders.
The bodyguard who had spoken suddenly turned around with a fierce glint in his eyes, his knuckles cracking as he balled his fists.
Seeing this overwhelming and ferocious aura, Yang Rui, who had been indignant a second ago, immediately backed down. He retreated several steps in embarrassment and sighed:
“Sigh. Mr. Jian, youâll have to pray for your own blessings. This old man is also powerless. Who told that cold-blooded and heartless Ji-zong to be so untouchable? After all, my rice bowl is in his hands.”
Gradually regaining consciousness from his faint, Jian An pressed his hand against his splitting headache. Every inch of his body felt sore and aching, as if he had been brutally torn apart and pieced back together.
“Who turned off the light? It’s so dark…”
He slowly sat up and fumbled to turn on the desk lamp, but he didn’t receive a single shred of light.
What happened? Is the lamp broken?
Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The anxiety in his heart grew stronger and stronger, and even the last bit of calmness he struggled to maintain was completely swallowed by the darkness, leaving only boundless fear and despair.
It wasn’t that the lamp was broken; his eyes were blind!
Jian An rubbed his scorched eyes hard and fumbled to get eye drops from the drawer.
Fortunately, he usually categorized the medicine in the cabinet; otherwise, he really wouldn’t know what to do right now.
The cool liquid slid across his eyeball, but his blindness showed no sign of improvement.
He stumbled out of bed, grabbing onto anything around him using his memory and perception to reach the door.
However, the door was locked from the outside and couldn’t be opened at all. Even his phone, the only way to contact someone, was gone.
Was Ji Songting going to imprison him…?
Jian An pounded frantically on the door, his voice sounding as raspy as sandpaper:
“Is anyone there? Chen Ma, are you outside? I think… I think I can’t see…”
But there was no one outside the door, and no response came at all. The entire bedroom only echoed with his whimpering.
Until he was tired of shouting and his hands hurt from pounding, Jian An finally stopped. He slumped against the door and sat weakly on the floor, burying his face in his knees and murmuring in pain:
“Songting, my eyes can’t see… where are you? It’s so dark, I’m so scared…”
At this moment, he was as helpless as a wounded kitten, curled up in a corner. His long, trembling eyelashes looked as if they had been soaked in water.
In front of the closed door, a tall figure was reflectedâstature upright and straight.
Ji Songting stood at the door, one hand in his trouser pocket. His gaze was gloomy as he looked at the door, his profile as cold as frost and snow.
Eyes can’t see?
Wait until the last sob came to an abrupt end, his hand gripping the doorknob also let go.
That man must be making up some excuse for his goals again!
“Chen Ma, give him a bowl of white rice.”
With that, Ji Songting turned and left without hesitation.
The door suddenly “creaked” and revealed a crack, and then it was gently pushed open from the outside.
Hearing the movement, Jian An jerked upright from the floor, his hands reaching out into mid-air to feel around, saying in panic:
“Who is it? Songting, is it you…?”
Chen Ma froze at the door holding the food. She then placed the bowl and chopsticks gently on the floor and waved her hand in front of him.
The other person had no reaction, just staring blankly forward. He asked again:
“Who is it? Is it Chen Ma?”
“Mr. Jian, whatâs wrong with your eyes?”
Chen Ma asked him. Originally, she had no feelingsâor even held disdainâfor this submissive Young Master of the Jian family. But seeing him looking so battered and broken now, as a mother herself, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.
Jian An shook his head despondently and touched his eyes. “Perhaps… it was the blindness caused by the firelight.”
Chen Ma didn’t ask further and guessed the answer. She just pushed the two plates of warm, light food in front of him and said:
“Eat. Ji-zong ordered it.”
Jian An carefully placed his hand on the edge of the bowl. The warmth from the hot rice instantly warmed his cold palm.
The corner of his mouth curved into a bitter, faint smile.
Since that man was so heartless as to imprison him, why bother with the superfluous act of sending food?
Was he afraid Jian An would starve to death and leave no one for him to take revenge on…?
“Songting… where is he?”
The older woman’s voice rang out in the darkness again: “Ji-zong went back to the company. He told me to watch you.”
Jian An blindly grabbed onto someone’s trouser leg in the direction of the voice, begging through his tears:
“Chen Ma, can you take me to the hospital? My eyes can’t just go blind like this. My mother still needs me to take care of her. I will definitely repay your kindness!”
Chen Ma, suddenly grabbed, was clearly at a loss. She let out a helpless long sigh, her calloused hand gently patting the back of his hand, and advised in a low voice:
“Mr. Jian, I’m just a servant. I don’t have that much power. If I let you go without permission, I’m afraid this old woman would only be fired.”
Hearing these hopeless words, Jian An let go of her as if accepting his fate and climbed unsteadily onto the bed. He said:
“I understand. I can’t make things difficult for you.”
The oppressive atmosphere was silent for a while. Finally, the old woman standing by the bed couldn’t help but speak:
“But Mr. Jian, I don’t quite understand. Zhou Manxiang beats and scolds you, making you lose face in front of Ji-zong every time. We servants all know a bit about it. Why are you still so obedient to her?”
Hearing this, Jian An was dazed for a few seconds. He then said firmly:
“She is my mother. The person who brought me into this world, who gave birth to me and raised me. No matter how bad she is to me, blood ties cannot be changed. We are each other’s only family.”
“Fine. You are indeed a filial one.”
Chen Ma placed the rice and dishes on the table and gave one last instruction before leaving: “The food is on the table. Remember to eat.”
The bedroom door closed once again, and the person trapped in the darkness occasionally let out two or three moans of pain.
The setting sun outside tilted through the cracks in the window, but then the overwhelming darkness swallowed that bit of light.
In the evening, Chen Ma came to deliver food again. But this time, she had an extra black plastic bag in her hand.
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