Chapter 34
The two brothers never contacted each other privately. Even though it had been a long time since they last met, they only exchanged a glance and then looked away. Ye Zhi sat down in the corner of the sofa and asked, “Mom, why did you call me back?”
Even if Ye Wan had something to ask for his help, her attitude was not gentle. “You have a good relationship with Huo Youqiao’s daughter?”
Sensing that something was wrong, Ye Zhi immediately replied, “Not really. We just occasionally play together. She has classes every day, so we don’t have much time to meet.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Mu snorted and said, “I knew it would be like this. Mom, whatever he told you before must have been exaggerated. With his personality, who could like him?”
Ye Wan glared at him and then asked Ye Zhi, “What about your relationship with Huo Youqiao?”
Ye Zhi said, “Mr. Huo is very busy. We’ve only exchanged greetings, never really talked.”
A hint of disappointment flashed in Ye Wan’s eyes. “Oh, I see…” She recounted the difficulties An Yongnan was facing and said, “I’ve been thinking, we don’t have any connections with government officials, the only person we know is Mayor Huo. If we could get his help, the An family’s troubles could be resolved. So, Ye Zhi, is there any chance you could mention this to him?”
Ye Zhi’s expression stiffened, and he shook his head quickly, whispering, “I probably can’t help. Mom, you know, I have no status in the Huo family. Even if I speak up, it won’t make a difference. Besides, Mr. Huo is very principled. How could he possibly help in a matter related to criminal law?”
Ye Mu grew impatient and said, “Can’t you just ask him about it when you have the chance? Maybe he’s willing to help. Even if he isn’t, as long as he points us in the right direction, we’ll have somewhere to start. Right now, my husband is locked up, and we can’t even see him. We don’t even know what’s going on inside. Even if we wanted to find someone to bail him out, we wouldn’t know where to start.”
His gaze was intense, and Ye Wan’s eyes also carried a sense of pressure. Under normal circumstances, Ye Zhi might have reluctantly agreed to “give it a try,” but now that it involved Huo Youqiao, he firmly said, “I’m sorry, I can’t help.”
Ye Mu never liked him to begin with, and the pent-up frustration from these past few days made it impossible for him to contain his anger. Seeing Ye Zhi’s current state seemed like he had finally found a way to vent. He suddenly stood up and shouted, “Ye Zhi, are you doing this on purpose? Are you just waiting to see me fail?”
Ye Zhi opened his mouth, feeling startled. “I didn’t…”
“You’ve always been jealous of me, haven’t you? Jealous of my charming attributes, jealous of my appearance, jealous of everything about me! So now that you see me not doing well, you’re feeling pretty good inside, aren’t you?” His anger surged, his nature was not peaceful to begin with, and now he couldn’t contain it. Looking at Ye Zhi’s face, he suddenly saw the mocking faces that had ridiculed him before. He breathed heavily, his fingers trembling, then he saw the ashtray on the coffee table in front of him, and almost without thinking, he grabbed it and smashed it.
Even though Ye Zhi dodged when he saw him move, he was still hit on the forehead by the heavy ashtray. A buzzing sound rang in Ye Zhi’s head, and when the intense pain hit him, his vision darkened, and he fell into a brief dizziness.
It took a while for Ye Wan to stand up, and seeing the blood oozing from her eldest son’s forehead, she was clearly shocked. She screamed, calling out for the nanny’s name, scolded Ye Mu, “Are you crazy? How could you physically harm someone?”
Ye Mu snorted coldly, ignoring his brother who was lying on the sofa. He just ran upstairs, saying, “I’m going up.”
Ye Wan and the nanny were in a flurry, tearing tissue to stop the bleeding, finding the first aid kit, and even trying to make an emergency call. Just as they were about to dial, Ye Zhi regained consciousness. Seeing that he could speak, Ye Wan breathed a sigh of relief, but she frowned and said, “Why didn’t you dodge? And why can’t you be more careful about your brother? You didn’t even try and yet you refused. No wonder Mumu is so angry. He’s been under a lot of pressure lately, and you’re just provoking him. If he doesn’t hit you, who will he hit?”
Although she knew her mother was thoroughly biased, hearing such words still brought a hint of bitterness to Ye Zhi’s heart.
A lot of blood flowed from the wound, and his fingers were stained red. Finally, after applying some hemostatic gel and wrapping it in gauze, the bleeding slowly stopped. Seeing her son’s pale face, Ye Wan, unusually, felt a bit of motherly love and said, “Just sleep at home tonight. Take a few more days off from work, or else it’ll be hard to explain if someone sees it.”
“No need,” Ye Zhi stood up, “I’ll just say I bumped into something accidentally.”
He didn’t want to stay at the Ye family’s house. Compared to the atmosphere at the Huo family without Huo Youcheng, the atmosphere at the Ye family made him even more unable to relax.
Ye Wan didn’t force him to stay, she just said, “Tell me the days Huo Youqiao is at home, and I’ll visit him.” She was firm, “Don’t make excuses! I know Huo Youcheng is hardly ever home these days.”
Ye Zhi pursed his lips and softly replied, “Okay,” then slowly left the Ye family.
The pain in his forehead spread throughout his mind. Sitting on the Circular Line, Ye Zhi had to bite his lip to suppress it, but cold sweat still poured out, and there was even a sense of nausea.
AftSecond Brothertting off the train, it was already dark. He slowly made his way back to the Huo family. Checking the time, Huo Ran should have finished dinner and gone to his classes, and Huo Youqiao might be out socializing and not at home.
