Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow

Chapter 54

Xiaobao had been unconscious for two full days before he finally woke up.

Opening his sore and swollen eyes, he saw Zhao Cai and Jin Bao staring at him with red-rimmed eyes, their faces as bruised and swollen as his, hardly looking any better.

As consciousness returned, so did sensation, and the excruciating, embarrassing pain in his lower body shot straight to his brain, triggering a flood of memories of similar past events.

Feeling a twinge in his nose, at this heart-wrenching moment, not crying would mean he wasn't Xiaobao. Tears streamed down his face as he felt so wronged he wanted to bash his head against the wall.

Zhao Cai hurriedly wiped his tears, "Young Master, Young Master, don't cry, don't cry. Ah, no, actually, go ahead and cry, it'll make you feel better. Ah, cry out loud, there's no one else here, rest assured, we will avenge you. We have everything arranged, just give the order, and the gang from the west courtyard of the Jin residence along with the over six hundred patrons from the east courtyard will rush to tear that bastard to pieces!!"

Hearing this, Xiaobao cried even harder, mumbling through his sobs, "Nonsense... if he dies... what am I going to do... I... I must be cursed... Why did I fall for... fall for him... He's just a lunatic... a madman... Wuuu wuuu wuuu what kind of curse have I fallen under..."

"You must be cursed, sir, what's so good about him, right? I heard there's this Poye Cult in Miaojiang that has many ways to bewitch men. He must have used a Gu spell on you, or poisoned you."

"Bullshit... that cult... it's all women..."

"Ah, Young Master, if there's money, they'll do it for you, it's so wicked. You've definitely fallen for his tricks, don't worry, we'll find someone capable to break the spell, and then we'll stop thinking about him, alright?"

Zhao Cai was trying his best to comfort him, clearly talking nonsense. He knew exactly what kind of person his young master was, having been by his side for over a decade. It wasn't hard to see through him; he was hopelessly in love, and no amount of persuasion would help. If that bastard had been good to his young master, it might have been bearable, but he was shockingly cruel and vicious. Who knows, maybe one day it could even cost Xiaobao his life.

Xiaobao sniffed, tears brimming in his eyes as he stared at Zhao Cai. "Is it really... that thing... really effective?"

"Effective, effective, I guarantee the young master will recover, the world is full of beauties, all yours for the taking, how could one be enough? Let's deal with this disaster first, then move on to others."

Xiaobao glared at him. "Who's asking you about this? Go fetch that... the teacher... it doesn't matter how many, they need to make Huai en fall for me, completely devoted."

Zhao Cai rolled his eyes so hard he almost fainted.

Jinbao couldn't hold back any longer. "Young master, are you out of your mind? After how he treated you, you still want to be with him? Do you have a death wish? We dare not let the old master know, if he finds out, he would kill him and then kill you."

Hearing this, Xiaobao's eyes grew even wetter as he sobbed. "I don't care, I like him. It's not all his fault, I shouldn't have gone to the brothel... but he shouldn't be so cruel..."

As Xiaobao thought of the painful memories, he burst into tears, overwhelmed by grief and injustice.

He felt that people are truly different. If Huai'en were in his place, even if he destroyed the entire brothel, Xiaobao wouldn't lay a finger on him. Yet, Huai en could treat him so coldly, ignoring his pleas and cries in front of so many, not listening to any explanations. Even if he was wrong, that didn't justify such harsh treatment. He was in so much pain, but it seemed Huai'en didn't care at all.

Waking up this morning, it was so reminiscent of their first time. His sadness wasn't just physical pain, but more of a heartache, as if after a long journey of suffering and effort, they were back to square one. The sweetness seemed to fade away, slipping through his fingers no matter how tight he held on. He had thought their love was mutual, but it turned out to be just his wishful thinking. For a moment, he felt like waking up from a dream that had started in his residence in Wujiang County, all just his imagination.

The part that pained him the most was that at the slightest displeasure, Huai En could easily demean him without treating him as a human, and he couldn't even bring himself to hate Huai En. Instead, he had to comfort himself by finding his own faults.

He was handled so roughly that he couldn't even leave the bed, and perhaps his story had already spread throughout Suzhou by now. He was left with no dignity, yet he couldn't help but like Huai En. How could he degrade himself to this extent?

Like now, what worried him the most wasn't when his lower body would recover, how people outside would view him, or what his parents would think upon finding out, but whether Huai En would pay him any more attention.

Thus, he felt as if he were possessed, his spirit of becoming more resilient with each setback, which he had always taken pride in, now seemed utterly shameless. But what could he do? He just liked that person, losing him was far more painful than any humiliation.

After lying in bed for two more days, he finally felt well enough to get up. During this time, Huai En hadn't visited him once, though Xiao Bao knew he was just next door. This slim hope was still comforting to him.

Hesitating over and over again and dawdling for a couple more days, Xiao Bao felt that his legs were nimble, his mind clear, and his tongue straightened out. He should apologize to Huai En before he chickened out.

He knew Huai En would never like him the way he liked Huai En. Huai En's anger over him visiting a brothel was probably not out of jealousy but rather disdain. If he couldn't expect retreat or understanding from the other party, then he could only advance and strive. This was how they had come all this way. If it wasn't for him shamelessly drawing closer to Huai En all along, they wouldn't have had anything happen between them at all. Having finally achieved some results, he couldn't, and didn't want to give up. He could only continue to chase after him as always.

Xiao Bao deliberately waited until late at night before hesitantly making his way to Huai En's separate residence, fearful of being seen by others, especially Zhao Cai and Jin Bao. His heart was pounding like a drum, filled with nervousness, fear, and a faint sense of anticipation.

Perhaps Huai En had regrets, maybe he was too embarrassed to come to him. After all, he hadn't left. Maybe he was also thinking of him, maybe he was just waiting for him, unable to lower his face.

Unfortunately, reality always disappointed him.

As he turned into the yard, he immediately saw Huai En standing in front of a window, his back to him, with Zuo Ying speaking to him on the opposite side.

Zuo Ying caught sight of him and signaled to Huai En, who merely tilted his head slightly but did not turn around.

Then Zuo Ying came out, giving him a meaningful glance after opening the door, before turning and walking away.

After a mental struggle, Xiao Bao finally mustered the courage to enter.

Huai En turned around, and under the dim candlelight, his face was hidden in the shadows, expression indiscernible. Only his eyes were as dark as midnight yet as bright as the stars in the sky.