CH 4

Ch. 04 Harness the runaway wild game.

Shi Qingning gained the main storyline of the novel after meeting the protagonist, but his own memory was still very hazy.

So now, Shi Qingning still didn’t know if the original young master could play the piano.

But when Shi Qingning heard Jian Ren playing the guitar before, he recognized the track immediately. Even in that noisy environment, he was able to easily recognize the beat and the melody.

That shows that there is indeed a solid foundation of music in his memory.

And when Shi Qingning pointed out that Jian Ren played the wrong note, he noticed that Sun Ming beside him didn’t show any surprised expression.

So, there is a high probability that the original young master has some music foundation.

Taking a step back, even if he doesn’t know music, Shi Qingning himself knows how limited the options of activities available to patients with congenital heart disease are.

Those slightly more intense exercises can’t be done, so it’s not too abrupt for the original young master to suddenly want to play the piano.

Shi Qingning is used to considering things from all directions, and now that he realised that the body that has undergone radical surgery is really different, the stagnation and pain that used to be there all the time have completely dissipated, and his body can finally support his continuous flow of thoughts.

Under the premise of no risk, Shi Qingning can extend a helping hand to the protagonist.

Let’s not care about that bloody plot for now.

Talented young musicians should play the piano!

Shi Qingning was very determined about this idea, because of which he didn’t know how bright his eyes were when he said that sentence.

Bai Yexi had been looking at him, his thin lips were pursed, his eyes flickered, and the dark green color of his pupils became more obvious.

A gust of cold wind hit, causing the fallen leaves to rustle on the ground. The young master couldn’t hold back, and sneezed in a muffled voice.

Sun Ming on the side frowned and couldn’t help but speak.

“Second Young Master, it’s too cold outside, why don’t you get inside the car and chat.”

Shi Qingning nodded and looked at Bai Yexi, “Is it okay?”

The other party did not refuse.

Shi Qingning walked towards the parking lot, but when he turned around, he heard a low and cold voice behind him.

“Bai Yexi.”

Shi Qingning turned around.

Bai Yexi was looking at him, his long hair was being blown by the evening wind, making it look as if ink was pouring down.

It made Shi Qingning feel itchy.

Want to touch.

“I’m Bai Yexi.” The boy whispered again.

Shi Qingning laughed, “Mint?” (The word ‘Yexi’ can also be interpreted as ‘Mint’.)

He had noticed the protagonist’s name before, which happened to be similar to his favorite mint flavor.

“A nice name.”

Bai Yexi didn’t speak again, and even looked away.

“My name is Shi Qingning,” Shi Qingning said with a smile, “‘Ning’ from ‘Lemon’.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“…”

In the cold winter wind, Shi Qingning heard the other party’s low and soft response.

“Um.”

*

The Shi family’s car was parked in a private parking lot not far away. This kind of parking lot charges a lot, but the conditions are very good. It will not be as damp and dull as ordinary parking lots, and the space is spacious and bright.

There were also tables and chairs in the room. Shi Qingning asked Bai Yexi to take a seat and asked.

“Are you here to help the band?”

In the novel, the protagonist is very talented in music, but his life is very difficult. After he escaped from the human traffickers, he has not been able to find his parents. After he was finally adopted, he was only treated as a servant.

He came to this kind of place, probably to work and earn money.

Bai Yexi looked at the other person, the car was warm and fragrant, much more comfortable than the outside. But after Shi Qingning, who was wrapped in a thick down jacket, came in, his complexion still looked pale.

Even the color of his lips seemed to be a little pale because of the cold wind just now.

Bai Yexi frowned slightly.

“Passing by.”

Just passing by?

Shi Qingning blinked, but didn’t ask any more questions.

One is that the protagonist has never been a gentle and amiable character. Furthermore, Bai Yexi looked at most sixteen years old now.

It is illegal to work in a bar at this age.

Although ‘The Player’ is famous for its bar, it is actually a chain of musical instrument stores on the surface, and also runs the business of a coffee shop. Shi Qingning checked it in the car before coming, and ‘The Player’ only operates the bar business after dark.

This situation shows that someone is taking care of the bar from above. Otherwise, just because of the reason of allowing customers like Shi Qingning who looked underage inside the bar, someone could directly report it to the police and give Jian Ren, a special birthday gift.

Probably because of this, Bai Yexi, who is not old enough, can work in this kind of place that doesn’t care about rules.

Thinking of this, Shi Qingning suddenly felt that the child in front of his was even more pitiful.

“It might not be safe here.” He gently reminded, and then without further ado, he switched the topic and started talking about his proposal, “About the piano partner, what do you think?”

“I can pay you at the market price. If you are not at ease, you can go to a piano store or something to check the price, and we can discuss it before confirming.”

Knowing that the protagonist won’t let go of his guard easily, Shi Qingning even took the initiative to give Bai Yexi his contact information.

“Don’t worry, you can think about it slowly, and come to me anytime when you have thought things through.”

Bai Yexi was still reticent, but luckily he didn’t refuse.

After the two chatted, the bodyguard at the side glanced at the watch, leaned over and said to Shi Qingning.

“Second Young Master, it’s almost time to take medicine, are you going to go back?”

Although the operation has been successful, it is a heart disease after all. Young Master Shi still needs to recuperate slowly, daily medication and rehabilitation are indispensable.

Shi Qingning nodded, “Okay.”

The opposite Bai Yexi looked over, and Shi Qingning explained, “I just finished the operation.”

He smiled and said, “I’m not in good health, so I don’t practice for too long each time.”

The intention of Shi Qingning’s words was to reassure Bai Yexi that he wouldn’t have to worry about being occupied for too long for each piano session.

But the bodyguard at the side saw that Bai Yexi’s eyebrows twitched slightly when he heard these words, and the hand hanging by his side slowly clenched, causing the blue tendons to stretch out on the back of his thin and white hand.

Sun Ming couldn’t help being more vigilant.

But Bai Yexi didn’t do anything.

The Shi family drove two cars to send the young master over, Shi Qingning asked Bai Yexi where he was going, and asked the bodyguard to drive a car to send him away.

A bodyguard got into the driver’s seat, started the ignition neatly, and was about to turn the car around when the car window was knocked suddenly.

It was Sun Ming.

“I’ll go.”

“Brother Sun?”

The bodyguard was puzzled, but subconsciously followed suit, and immediately got out of the car.

Sun Ming didn’t say much, but only said, “Take care of the young master.”

“Yes!”

The bodyguard subconsciously wanted to salute, but was stopped by a glance.

The bodyguard returned to Shi Qingning’s side, and Sun Ming stood alone beside the car, not at all in a hurry to get in the car.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the boy he was going to send.

Bai Yexi stood by the wall with one hand in his pocket. The parking lot was brightly lit, but he seemed to have his own shadow, exuding a heavy and gloomy sense of coldness.

Not a touch of vitality.

Just now, the young master seemed to be very interested in this person, and he even took the initiative to show kindness to him, without showing any kind of defense.

Sun Ming didn’t think so.

Sun Ming was very aware of the strength of his group of companions, and the Shi family hired them at an astonishingly high price. Sun Ming didn’t think that such an ordinary and harmless looking person could fight against three retired special forces officers alone.

Besides, this is just a minor.

Out of instinct and experience, Sun Ming has always been wary of this boy whose origin was still unknown. He deliberately replaced his companion to sent him back by himself, just wanting to check on this person’s situation more, for fear that the young master would be deceived again.

Sun Ming saw Bai Yexi looking sideways, towards the second young master who was not far away.

Shi Qingning was swallowing the pills, because he was worried that the young master would not want to go back tonight, the bodyguard brought the medicine with him. Some medicines can only be eaten an hour before dinner, so Shi Qingning ate them here first, so that he can have dinner early after returning home.

Shi Qingning was surrounded by several bodyguards. He was very skillful in taking medicine, as if he was used to taking medicine all year round.

But getting used to it doesn’t mean that he won’t feel uncomfortable. After eating, he covered his lips, shook his head and rejected the sugar and sweet water prepared by the bodyguard.

He was afraid that if he opened his mouth again, he would spit it out directly.

The medicine was so bitter that he burst into tears, and the corners of his eyes became even redder. Sun Ming saw Bai Yexi lowering his head, his eyes were downcast, and he didn’t know what he was thinking.

Then Bai Yexi raised his hand and untied the thing around his neck.

Sun Ming’s eyesight is excellent, and he can still see clearly what it was from a distance.

That appears to be a silver chain.

Bai Yexi lowered his head and put the long chain in his palm, then hooked the tail of the hanging chain with the fingertips of his other hand, and began to slowly wrap it around his wrist.

There were still blue veins jumping on the back of Bai Yexi’s hand, and the silver chain was wrapped around his thin right hand, around the palm, bounding the protruding wrist bone.

It seems to be restraining something, slowly gathering the scattered sharpness of the whole person.

Like a harness. (It might probably mean something like this:- Since harness is something used to restrict or stop someone’s movement (we are not considering the harness that are used to tie a horse to a cart here), it can be interpreted as, the silver chain does the work of restraining Bai Yexi or rather his emotions, so that he won’t end up doing something, that he would regret later. This is my interpretation, I may be wrong as I am a MTLr. If anyone has read the raws and know a better way to frame the sentence or if it’s meaning is different than what I wrote, do let me know in the comments.)

After the silver chain was wrapped around his wrist, it looked like handcuffs at a glance.

Bai Yexi remained calm from the beginning to the end. He lowered his right hand, and his sleeves slid down, covering the silver chain.

Making him look the same as before.

Except for Sun Ming, no one noticed Bai Yexi’s silent movements.

No one realised what he did until he wrapped himself up tightly and then turned his gaze back to that beautiful boy again.

After drinking the medicine, Shi Qingning left after the bitter feeling subsided a little. When he left, he lowered the car window and waved to Bai Yexi.

“Goodbye mint!”

Bai Yexi still had that cold and reticent appearance, and only replied with one word.

“Um.”

Bai Yexi didn’t look away until the car left and no one could be seen.

Sun Ming, who had been waiting, drove the car over.

“Get in the car.”

Bai Yexi didn’t look up, Sun Ming frowned, and was about to speak when his phone rang suddenly.

The call was from Shi family, so he had to answer it.

Sun Ming pressed to answer.

“Ma’am, um, Second Young Master left the banquet…”

Just as he replied, Sun Ming suddenly heard a low voice.

“Thank him for me.”

Sun Ming looked up.

The person who was in front of the car just now had already left.

Sun Ming was startled, and hurriedly got out of the car to chase after the person, but his phone was still connected, so he was distracted for a while, and only saw a figure leaving from behind.

When Sun Ming drove the car out, there was no trace of the boy outside.

*

In a cold and windy night, a tall and thin figure walked alone on the dim street.

The light from the street lamp outlined the man’s slender figure, and the long dark hair hanging down his wide and thin back. However, because of his cold and icy temperament, people could never mistake his gender.

The weather is too cold, few people will go out at this time, because of which there were no other pedestrians on this remote road. Except for the occasional sound of the wind, the surroundings were completely silent, which gave people even more chills.

The man walking on the road slowly stopped.

He heard other voices.

He didn’t stop for long, and the person who could no longer wait jumped out from the corner in front of him.

Not just one.

It was a group of people.

The crowd surrounded that person, forming a circle around him. It was very obvious that they were looking for trouble.

Bai Yexi turned around, and the leader he saw was the tall man he had met not long ago.

“It’s pretty fast.”

Jian Ren folded his arms and raised the corners of his mouth, his cold face looking more gloomy under the night.

“Such small guts, running away so quickly?”

Jian Ren snorted coldly, and the corners of his raised lips blurred into a distorted smile under the dim light.

“Try running again?”

Even his younger brothers, who had been with him for half a month, couldn’t help feeling chills when they saw it.

Young master Jian is really angry today.

The banquet ended hastily, and young master Jian seemed to have made up his mind to chase after the second young master Shi, but just as he caught up to them, he was blocked by a off-road vehicle.

Just as he was about to get angry, a man got out of the passenger seat of the off-road vehicle, wearing a black suit and sunglasses.

“Please don’t approach Second Young Master Shi anymore.” The man spoke politely, “Thank you.”

If only, his momentum was not so fierce and scary.

Young master Jian became even more angry… However, in the end, everyone persuaded him to change his mind.

His younger brothers thought that Young Master Jian was planning to go back, but they didn’t expect him to come here again after receiving a call from another of his younger brother.

Jian Ren had sent more than one person to stare at Bai Yexi, he was disgusted by this kind of long-haired man.

“Men with long hair are all bastards, you know that?” He slowed down his voice, even sounding a little hypocritically gentle, “They just deserve to be beaten.”

Jian Ren didn’t know Bai Yexi, and he hadn’t even seen him before today.

But the grandson of the Jian family who is the only one loved by the old man, the one because of whom his parents forced Jian Ren to imitate that person’s strengths and preferences, and have long hair.

So Jian Ren hates this kind of long-haired men, hating almost everything about them.

“You deserve it.” After Jian Ren finished speaking, he waved his hand.

“Yes!”

A circle of at least a dozen people with different hair colors surrounded him, and some even pulled out long steel rods, which shone coldly under the night.

There was no one around, not even a camera in this remote corner. The boy was surrounded like a caged animal.

But his expression didn’t change from the beginning to the end.

He didn’t even move his eyes away.

Bai Yexi’s eyes kept falling on Jian Ren’s side. To others it looked as if he was hanging his head down, as if he was very afraid.

No one saw how he moved at all.

The bystanders only heard a heart-piercing scream.

“Fuck, ahh—!!”

The person who screamed was Jian Ren.

Just as Jian Ren exhaled, and felt that the suffocation in his chest was finally given an outlet. He relaxed a little, but before he could finish breathing out, he was kicked in the chest and fell heavily to the ground!

His chest seemed to be hit by a boulder. Jian Ren even felt that several of his ribs were broken. He howled and wanted to hug his arms and curl up. The pain in his chest was so severe that it took him a couple of seconds to feel it. Then he realised that he couldn’t move his hands at all.

His hand was directly being stepped on.

Jian Ren raised his head in pain, and saw the boy looking down at him, his long black hair fell down, making him look like a murderous Shura in this cold night.

The weirdest thing was that Bai Yexi was clearly looking at him, but it wasn’t Jian Ren who he was looking at.

It was just Jian Ren’s two hands.

The younger brothers who were really frightened at the side remembered a little late to save their boss, and rushed over angrily.

Amid the approaching shouts of killing, the boy who was surrounded still did not look away.

He was still stepping on Jian Ren, the bones of his hands under his feet were so painful that he started trembling all over his body.

These are the hands.

Bai Yexi moved his right hand slightly, and the silver chain wrapped around his fingers fell down, like a falling meteor under the moonlight.

He raised his hand, gathered the black hair at the back of his neck, and bound his long hair with the silver chain.

This is something he did very seriously.

Bai Yexi looked at Jian Ren’s hand, thinking expressionlessly.

It was these hands that he praised for their beauty.

———————————————————

T/N: I was going through one of my most important and tough semester of my university because of which I couldn’t post any chapters. Although its still going on, I’ll try to post chapters as much as I can.