Chapter 77 Cover Your Ears and Don't Listen

"Xiaoman... Xiaoman..."

Xu Huaiting couldn't say much, he just called Ye Man's name over and over again, each word more affectionate and nostalgic than the previous one.

Chi Yan, who was driving back in a hurry, saw through the car window the people hugging each other at the door. They were too close, hugging each other too hard, as if they were hugging each other's whole world.

He looked at it quietly for a long time, and finally lowered his eyes, backed out, and left the space for the two of them.

Xu Huaiting seemed to remember something, stood up, rummaged in his pocket, and finally took out an old bronze pendant.

The pendant was stained by the blood on his hand. He quickly wiped it on his clothes, then carefully used his clean hand to take Ye Man's hand to touch the pendant.

"I found this among my mother's belongings. Touch here. When you open it, there is a photo inside." He touched the old item with his fingers. "It's a photo of me when I was a child."

The oval pendant was not a valuable item. When it was opened, it contained a yellowed photo of the young Xu Huaiting.

Because of his living conditions as a child, this is the only photo of him left from his youth.

Xu Huaiting said softly, "Xiao Man, have you heard that in the past, soldiers would put their photos in pendants before going to the battlefield and give them to their loved ones to carry with them. It is said that this will guide their souls back to their loved ones after death."

He paused, then smiled and said, "I guess it's probably a kind of psychological comfort. After all, most of the people who went to the battlefield at that time would never come back. Saying this might give people at home some hope. That was how it was in the era of our ancestors. My mother heard this from her grandfather since she was a child and believed it without a doubt. So she carried photos of my sister and me with her, saying that when we meet the lover we want to spend our lives with in the future, we will give this to each other to wear."

The pendant that belonged to Viola was given to her when she got married, and later it was naturally given to Meng Chu.

Only Xu Huaiting's was taken away as a relic when his mother passed away.

"You may not believe it, but I didn't believe these things at first, but now I really hope it's true." Xu Huaiting said as he closed the pendant, clasped Ye Man's hand in his palm, and leaned over to kiss his hand.

"I wish I could stay with you forever."

Whether it is life or death.

He hung the pendant around his neck. They had exchanged childhood photos, which would become the resting place of each other's souls in the future. Although it was a bit superstitious, Xu Huaiting felt very good, and it couldn't be better.

"I'll keep it well." Ye Man promised seriously.

I didn't insist on asking him what he did tonight.

He held his injured hand with heartache, and at the same time said with some relief: "You are okay, it's really great, Ricardo."

Just like that night in Longyearbyen, no one around him questioned the cause of his strange behavior.

"But you haven't been honest with me, so I'm going to make a note of this." Ye Man pulled him into the house. He had become so familiar with this road in the past few days that he could even walk in front without using a cane.

But more likely, it was because I knew there were people around me that I became less careful and more reckless.

This thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before Ye Man forgot about it. He refused to admit that he acted recklessly because he thought that someone would catch him if he fell.

Doesn't that make him seem too willful?

Xu Huaiting obediently let him drag him, and only when he made a mistake or was about to fall would he quickly grab him, saying nonchalantly, "Then how do you want to punish me?"

This question really stumped Ye Man.

He thought for a long time and replied, "I won't kiss you tomorrow morning."

You never expected that your good morning kiss is gone! Haha!

Xu Huaiting frowned immediately and said distressedly: "This lesson is too profound. I will never dare to do it again next time."

Ye Man: “…”

Xu Huaiting saw his red earlobes in the light coming in from the room.

It was clearly he who said it, but after someone responded seriously to it, he was the one who felt embarrassed first.

Xu Huaiting tilted his head and coughed twice to hide his smile.

He was distractedly thinking that he couldn't laugh out loud at this moment.

Otherwise, even the goodnight kiss might be cancelled.

That is a very serious problem.

Seeing Xu Huaiting return safely, the Chi family also breathed a sigh of relief.

Otherwise, they really don’t know how sad their youngest child would be.

Grandpa Chi sighed for a long time, but he had to grit his teeth, pat Xu Huaiting on the shoulder and say, "Okay, I'm glad everything's okay."

The Chi family called a doctor over, who checked Xu Huaiting's hand injury and treated it.

"Fortunately, it's just a superficial wound. Be careful not to get wet in the next few days. It's nothing serious."

With a doctor around, Ye Man felt relieved.

That night, Ye Man was particularly clingy to Xu Huaiting.

......

The next day, Chi Jue set out early for the place he had agreed to meet with Ye Guowen.

The others got there some time later than him.

On the way there, Ye Man's heart was beating very fast the whole time. He thought about a lot of things, including those obstacles that he once thought he might never be able to overcome in his lifetime, and the days and nights of these years. It was not until Xu Huaiting held his hand that he realized that his hands were shaking.

He took a deep breath, his expression gradually becoming firmer, "I'm fine."

When he was almost at the destination, Xu Huaiting received a call from Chi Jue.

"The person has been caught and the evidence is solid." Chi Jue's voice sounded a little lonely, and there were sounds of struggling and cursing on the other end of the phone.

Xu Huaiting replied, "I understand and will be there soon," and then hung up the phone.

At this time, the box where Ye Guowen and Chi Jue had agreed to meet was in a mess, and Ye Guowen was pinned to the ground by several people.

"Chi Jue! You are my son, you are so unfilial! You are such a bastard!" The man lay on the ground, his face red and he cursed: "You have so much money, what's wrong with giving me some? You want to arrest me when I ask you for some money. I tell you, you are not even as good as Ye Man. He worked to pay off my debts even when he had no money. This is a good son. If you are like this, don't even think about me recognizing you in this life!"

Chi Jue's body swayed, his face pale. He closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them he looked a little cold: "You want to acknowledge Xiaoman as your son, are you worthy? Do you think he wants to pay you back? Isn't it you who betrayed him time and time again, letting those debt collectors go looking for him, haunting a child?"

"Did you use what he went through to show off that you have a good son?" Chi Jue's chest was so stuffy that he couldn't breathe. "Do you think he would be happy to hear you say that? Xiao Man must be disgusted to death to hear you say that. Ye Guowen, I am your son, his last name is Chi, and he has nothing to do with you!"

Ye Guowen seemed to be irritated and said, "I'm his father, how can I not understand him? How long have you known him, how long have I known him, what qualifications do you have to say that!"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he looked at the boy who appeared at the door: "Xiao Man, you are finally here, please let them let me go!"

He burst out with amazing strength, which enabled him to break free from the people who were suppressing him and rush towards Ye Man.

Xu Huaiting leaned over and protected the man in his arms. Several people rushed out immediately and pulled Ye Guowen away and held him down again.

Ye Guowen saw that Ye Man remained silent. The face that was once the most familiar to him was now calm, with no joy or sadness. That look made him feel unfamiliar.

It was not until then that he suddenly realized that the child from back then had grown so tall now, so tall that he didn't know when the child had gone from being looked down upon by him to being the one looking down at him like now.

——Even though he couldn't see it, it was like a dark and oppressive mountain looming over his head.

Ye Guowen said in a panic, "Xiao Man, this must be the last time. I will live a good life from now on. Don't you know that I don't always lose? I have won a lot of money. Dad also took you to eat the pizza you always wanted to eat. Do you remember?"

Ye Man remained indifferent.

Ye Guowen was furious again: "Do you think you are the only one who has suffered these years? Don't I have suffered too? As long as we win one more time, as long as we win one more time, we can live a good life, ah!!!"

Chi Jue clenched his fist and punched someone for the first time in his life.

The Chi family's parents who also came along could no longer hold back and rushed forward. Qin Fangrui threw tears at them without caring about her manners, "Scumbag!"

A group of people were fighting with each other.

Chi Yan took the opportunity to secretly kick them twice, then stepped forward to separate them.

Xu Huaiting covered Ye Man's ears and said, "Don't listen."

Ye Man smiled at him and pulled his hand down.

Seriously said to Ye Guowen: "You are not my father."

Ye Guowen, who was beaten black and blue, was stunned by these words.

Even when he first found out that Ye Man was not his biological son, he was not as shocked as he is now. At that time, he was only concerned about being happy, thinking that Ye Man was rich, and his brain knew what had happened. Cognitively, he still felt that Ye Man was his son, even if he went to the Chi family, he was still his son.

How could he not be? He was his son when he was that age. Eighteen years have passed in a blink of an eye. It's just a little contradiction. Who doesn't have contradictions between father and son? Why is he so hypocritical?

"No, this is not right, you are my son..." Ye Guowen became even more panicked.

Ye Man calmly repeated, "I am not."

Not only are they no longer related by blood, but in all respects, starting today, they are two strangers who have nothing to do with each other.

Hearing the determination in his tone, Ye Guowen sat down on the ground completely paralyzed.

"I will serve as a witness and tell you everything you did back then." Ye Man said.

"Aren't you afraid that you will be imprisoned as a harborer? I am guilty, and so are you!"

Xu Huaiting held Ye Man's hand tightly and said to Ye Guowen coldly: "You, a criminal, don't have to worry about this. He is not guilty. Don't compare you with him."

The police knocked on the door. Seeing the police coming, Ye Guowen shouted, "I didn't do it! I told them about the plan at that time, but I didn't dare to do it when I got there. Someone else did it! Xiaoman, you can testify for me. There was another person in the bedroom that day! Didn't you hear me talking to him?"

Ye Man was stunned. Xu Huaiting called him and Ye Man shook his head: "I'm not sure. I thought he was talking to my mother."

The door was closed at the time, and Ye Man vaguely saw Ye Guowen talking to the bed, and thought he was talking to Ye's mother.

"Now think about it, there might be someone standing by the window on the other side of the bed in that direction. Who is he talking to?"

Perhaps it was because the two of them were talking in low voices, anyway Ye Man only heard a few words Ye Guowen said. He was young at the time, and had just stolen something and was already nervous. When he heard Ye Guowen say that he wanted to rob the Lu family's money, he panicked even more. Soon after, Ye Guowen rushed out and threatened him, and he was even more nervous afterwards, so he didn't have time to pay attention to so many details.

"Your mother was so sick, she didn't wake up at all, why did I say all this to her!" At this point, Ye Guowen hurriedly confessed to the police: "It really wasn't me. I said those words at the time, but I planned it with a poker buddy of mine. He was short of money at the time, and I was short of money too. We agreed to go together to find a way to get some money. How could I dare to do it alone? I was scared when I got to the door. I said I would go downstairs to keep watch for him. I stood at the door for a while, and then went to the canteen to buy some wine! It really wasn't me who committed the crime that night!"

Ye Man thought about it carefully and said, "It is indeed something he can do."

Ye Guowen often shouted at home that he would kill someone, but in the end, he never really killed anyone. But we can't say that he really doesn't dare to commit crimes because of this.

"Then you sent a blackmail letter to the Lu family?"

Ye Guowen's eyes widened: "What blackmail letter? I never sent one!"

My mind raced and I remembered something: "It must be him! It's——"

Xu Huaiting narrowed his eyes and suddenly thought of something.

Ye Man wanted to listen to the rest of the words, but Xu Huaiting covered his ears tightly.

His big hands tightly covered his ears, blocking out most of the sound. Ye Guowen's shouting became some muffled, vague, and strange syllables that did not form a sentence.

Ye Man tilted his head, not understanding why he covered his ears. He wanted to pull them down, but he kissed his hair lovingly with helplessness.

The action seemed to be telling him to be good.

Well, okay then.

Ye Man put down her hands and let him cover her ears obediently.

He didn't really want to hear it anyway. The living ancestor would surely be able to solve it!

......

"It's Hong Qing! Xiaoman, you know him, right? He's always by your side!"

At Xu Huaiting's signal, the person behind him covered Ye Guowen's mouth.

Xu Huaiting's eyes were cold, and he said in a low voice, "I was wondering why there were two gamblers around him. You told him about Hong Qing running to the orphanage, right? What else did you tell him? Did you say that your son has become a rich young master and that if he runs out of money, he can ask him for money under the pretext of the orphanage? Ye Guowen, you are really not a human being."

"Hong Qing also asked you for money, and said that if you didn't give him money, he would tell everyone about what happened back then? What did you say? Let me guess... You didn't tell him to ask your son for money, did you? You told him that your son knew about the incident back then, and even that he was the one who lured the people away from the house?"

A trace of guilt crossed Ye Guowen's face.

Xu Huaiting gritted his teeth and said, "Have you never thought about how dangerous it is for a criminal who almost killed someone to run to the witness?"

The man called Hong Qing might have been aiming to spy on people at first, but later on, when Ye Man became rich, he had another layer of value.

Over the years, whenever Ye Man had the thought of telling others about what happened back then, Xu Huaiting didn't dare to think about what that person would do. He felt a wave of fear in his heart.

Ye Man didn't know that there was another person involved, but as long as he reported Ye Guowen, Ye Guowen's personality would make sure to expose Hong Qing and escape punishment.

What a pity.

"You can't escape punishment like this. You said you were the mastermind," Xu Huaiting sneered, "But don't worry, he can't escape either."

Xu Huaiting nodded to the police.

The police then stepped forward and took the man away.

Watching the person being taken away, Chi Jue leaned against the wall and slid down paralyzed.

Everything has settled.

Ye Man felt a vibration in his pocket.

He pulled Xu Huaiting's hand down - this time he pulled it down. The incoming call was from an unfamiliar number, and Ye Man picked up the phone. It was Lu Junxing's voice.

"Brother Xiaoman! My parents, grandma and I are now at the place where grandma used to live. Guess what, grandma just spoke a complete sentence!"

Lu Junxing said carefully, "Brother Xiaoman, grandma wants to talk to you. Do you have time to come to our old home now?"

If you have something to say...speak to him?

Ye Man was stunned for a moment.

She didn't even know him, how could she have anything to say to him?

Even if there is...even if there is, it's probably because they found out that he always steals things from their house and they want to scold him...

"I..." Ye Man hesitated and didn't want to go.

Lu Junxing said seriously: "Brother Xiaoman, you really have to come. I'm afraid you won't believe me if I say it on the phone. And I really think I have to let grandma tell you in person. I tell you, this is simply a miracle. You don't know how much effort we put in. We spent several days looking for things that grandma is familiar with and replicating some scenes. We didn't have any hope at first, but in the end there is really something..."

She said, a little anxiously, "Oh, just come, it's not a bad thing, it's really magical, and I have something to tell you! It's settled, you must come, it won't take up too much of your time, it will be quick, we are all waiting for you here!"

Fearing that he would refuse, Lu Junxing hung up the phone in a hurry.

"......"

"Xiao Man?"

Ye Man raised his head and said to Xu Huaiting, "Can you take me somewhere?"