Pity

"It's hard for Aunt Li to understand, I know many people can't accept it." Ye Jing'an said.

Aunt Li smiled bitterly and shook her head.

"It's okay, I understand the truth, and I don't need others to understand. I just want to find him." Ye Jingan said.

"Xiao Ye, would you like to hear my son's story? The black and white photo you've seen at the funeral is of him." Aunt Li said.

"Well, Aunt Li, you say." Ye Jing'an said.

"My son has a classmate who has been studying with him from elementary school to university. They have a very good relationship and often come to our house to play. After graduating from university, they signed to work for the same company far away from here. My son told me that they are together and will settle down there." Aunt Li frowned slightly and didn't continue.

"That's really a pity." Ye Jing'an lowered his eyes.

"Two men are together... If the neighbors and relatives knew about this, he would be looked down upon. How could I, as a mother, put my face aside? I didn't agree with them being together, so I lied to my son that I was sick and asked him to go home to take care of me... That's why the disaster happened to our family. They could have lived happily together, but I ruined him." Aunt Li burst into tears.

Ye Jing'an handed her a tissue. Aunt Li wiped her tears and continued, "Later, his friend often came to see me, comforting me not to be sad and telling me to just treat him as my own son. My son mentioned this to him when he was chatting and joking with him before he died, but I didn't expect it to come true. I told him that I had hurt them, and he didn't blame me, but just smiled bitterly, saying that we were not destined to be together."

"Then your son has met a very good person." Ye Jing'an sighed.

"Yes, the son next door was dating a girl. His mother loved him very much and often showed him off to me. But after his son died, the girl never came to see him once." Aunt Li smiled with relief. "To this day, I still don't understand why two boys would be together. But I've figured it out. When you live in this world, you never know when accidents will happen. Why bother with so many worldly opinions? As long as the child meets someone he likes and who truly treats him well and lives a happy life, that's all that matters. It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl."

"Auntie, you are right. We don't like men, it's just that the person we like is a man. No matter whether he is a man or a woman, a human or a ghost, I like him. I think your son is the same." Ye Jing'an smiled faintly.

"Yes, but I realized it too late. My son will hate me, right?" Aunt Li lowered her eyes silently.

"I'm sorry, I'm not him, so I can't say any words of forgiveness on his behalf." Ye Jing'an said.

"I know. It's just that you remind me of my son. He likes to nag as he gets older. I don't know what the conflict between you and Xiao Liu is about. If it's due to your personal reasons, just clarify the misunderstanding. If it's due to family reasons, have a good talk with your parents. As your parents, we hope that you live well and live a happy life. If your parents don't agree, I will go and talk to them!" said Aunt Li.

Ye Jingan smiled and held Aunt Li's hand, saying gratefully, "Thank you, Aunt Li, you are so kind!"

"Are you in a hurry to leave? Why don't you stay here for a few days? Auntie will cook for you." Aunt Li said.

"Okay, thank you for your help, Auntie." Ye Jing'an glanced at the second floor, "Auntie, is the room where Brother Liu lived at that time still vacant? Can I stay in that room?"

"It's empty, you can live anywhere you want!" Aunt Li said with a smile.

The meal at Aunt Li's house was still very sumptuous. Ye Jing'an recalled the scene of everyone laughing and talking happily on the day they left. At that time, Brother Liu agreed to go with them, and he was very happy...

Ye Jing'an came back to his senses and glanced at the empty seat. The only sounds in the huge living room were the sounds of chopsticks picking up food and knocking on bowls and dishes. The food also lacked some flavor.

"Xiao Ye, why are you daydreaming? Try the bacon that I smoked myself." Aunt Li picked up a piece of smoked pork ribs for him.

"Thank you, Auntie." Ye Jing'an put down his chopsticks. "I'm full and want to go out for a walk."

"Are you full after eating just a small bowl of rice? You used to eat three big bowls! Is it because the dishes I cooked today are not tasty?" asked Aunt Li.

"No, no, Auntie cooked it very deliciously. It's my own problem. I was in the hospital due to poor health a while ago, so I didn't have much appetite." Ye Jing'an said.

"Oh, no wonder you've lost a lot of weight and your face looks pale. Then go for a walk. Auntie will squeeze some corn juice for you. It's very delicious." Aunt Li said with a smile.

"Well, thank you, Auntie." Ye Jing'an walked out the door and came to the big tree where Brother Liu was sitting at that time. He wanted to climb up and take a look.

Ye Jing'an climbed the tree trunk with both hands and just as he tried to push up with his feet, he felt a piercing pain in his stomach and shoulders. He pulled open the collar of his clothes and saw that the wound was bleeding again.

Ye Jingan ignored him and stopped climbing, leaning against the tree. Just then, the weeping cat corpse pounced on him from the bushes over there, and Brother Liu pulled him into his arms to protect him, otherwise his intestines would have been pulled out by the weeping cat corpse. Ye Jingan huddled up in his arms, wishing he could hug Brother Liu again.

Ye Jing'an thought about asking Brother Liu before, how would he treat his ancestors if he recognized his feelings and started over again, Brother Liu said it would be the same as before.

Now it was his turn. What would he choose if he had the chance to do it all over again? Ye Jingan closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He would definitely still be unable to control his feelings, but he would definitely not make such a rash confession that day. He would be a lifelong friend with Brother Liu...

Ye Jing'an snorted in self-deprecating laughter. He had never failed to obtain anything he wanted since he was a child. No matter how difficult it was, he would fight for it with all his might.

Could he really be friends with Brother Liu for life, given his personality? Could he really resist the urge? Perhaps, as Brother Liu had said, it would be the same as before. No matter how many times he started over, the result would be the same as now, just a matter of sooner or later.

"But I won't give up..." Ye Jing'an stood up slowly. He wanted to drink some wine.

There were a few bottles of beer in the refrigerator at home. Ye Jing'an didn't like drinking that stuff; it made him bloat and astringe his mouth, and it smelled like horse urine. He asked Mother Li if she had any sweet wine like rice wine or fruit wine.

Aunt Li didn't like drinking, and the family didn't know how to make their own fruit wine, so she gave him a bottle of good baijiu. Ye Jing'an didn't really like pure baijiu either. He'd tried it once out of curiosity as a child, but it wasn't good at all, leaving him with a spicy taste in his mouth and stomach. But it was better than nothing, so he'd have to drink baijiu!

When he first met Brother Liu, Ye Jing'an often saw him sitting alone drinking. He didn't understand what was so good about it, but now he understood. When he was drunk, his mind was foggy and he didn't feel sad. Time passed quickly, and when he woke up again, a whole day had passed...

Aunt Li was cleaning the house downstairs when she heard Ye Jing'an crying and laughing. She didn't know what he was doing and was afraid that something might happen to him, so she quickly ran upstairs.

There was only half a bottle of white wine left on the table. Ye Jingan sat on the chair with his head tilted back, his face covered in tears, but he was still smiling foolishly. This scared Aunt Li, and she asked anxiously, "Xiao Ye, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Ah? Haha... It's okay, I just drank some wine." Ye Jingan sat up straight and wiped away his tears.

"I know, you can't drink alcohol, right? You drank so much, are you sick?" Aunt Li asked.

"It's really nothing. This is what happens when I drink. I can't help it." Ye Jingan rubbed his face and wiped away his tears. "Am I quite normal now?"

Aunt Li was stunned. This... doesn't seem normal, right?

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm fine! I'm a little sleepy, I'll go back to sleep for a while." Ye Jing'an picked up the remaining white wine, stood up and took two unsteady steps, then tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground.

He had just unzipped his jacket when he fell and the jacket collapsed completely, revealing several large bright red bloodstains on the white sweatshirt he was wearing underneath.

"Why are you bleeding?!" Aunt Li helped him back to his room, "Take off your clothes, I'll apply some medicine for you."

"No need, it's just a minor injury." Ye Jing'an breathed a sigh of relief as he lay on the bed.

"What minor injury? It's bleeding, and it's still a minor injury! I feel so sad just looking at it. What will happen if your parents find out?" Aunt Li said.

"My mother can't go out before Ghost Festival, she doesn't know." Ye Jing'an chuckled twice, and then began to cry again.

"Alas...you are such a poor child. Be obedient, auntie will apply the medicine for you, okay? Just apply the medicine." Aunt Li said softly.

Ye Jingan's mind was already hazy, and he couldn't stand hearing people whispering and asking if he was okay. Even when Liu Muze was coaxing him, he liked to ask if he was okay. Ye Jingan was easy to coax, as long as he was coaxed and asked if he was okay, then he was okay. He obediently took off his clothes, stopped making a fuss, and lay down on the bed.

Ye Jing'an had several large bandages wrapped around his waist and abdomen. The bandage on his shoulder was soaked with blood. There were also several bandages of varying sizes on his arms. There were countless bruises all over his body, as if he had just returned from a battle on the battlefield, or had just escaped from long-term abuse.

"Oh my god, such a severe wound... What happened to you?" Aunt Li frowned as she unwound the bandage on her shoulder, revealing a ten-centimeter-long wound. Over twenty tightly stitched stitches were used with long black thread. The flesh in the middle was turned outward, and traces of the flesh being torn and ripped could be seen. The skin around the wound was purple-red, swollen, and oozing pus, clearly inflamed.

Aunt Li looked at him with heartache, and gently applied the medicine to him with shaking hands. The wound alone was so hideous, what would it look like under the thick bandages on his stomach? Aunt Li blamed herself, "You had such a serious injury, and I didn't even notice it, and I even gave you alcohol. Are you feeling very uncomfortable? Let's go to the hospital."

"It doesn't hurt at all!" Ye Jing'an smiled and covered her with the quilt so that she wouldn't see it.

"How did you do this?" Aunt Li asked.

"I don't know." Ye Jing'an said.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Aunt Li didn't ask any further questions. She pressed the quilt and ran to the kitchen to make sobering soup for him. After Ye Jing'an fell into a deep sleep, she went to the pharmacy to buy anti-inflammatory drugs.