After She Stopped Crying… My Past Came Back for Me

Chenlian cried for a long while.
Perhaps tired from crying, Ye Qing felt Chenlian lean her entire body against his chest, somewhat weakly.

He gently patted Chenlian’s shoulder and spoke to her in a gentle, calm voice.
“Chenlian, sit down and rest for a while.”

He felt Chenlian nod against his chest, rubbing against his school uniform, which had been dampened by her tears.
Ye Qing gently pulled Chenlian away and helped her sit down on the sofa.
He chose to stand beside her because his own clothes had been soaked by both the bathroom steam and Chenlian.

After settling Chenlian down, Ye Qing stood there scratching his head and looked toward the white door deeper in the room.
‘I wonder how Yuxuan is doing now? She should be fine, right!?’

Just as he thought this, the corner of his school uniform was suddenly tugged.
Ye Qing turned his head and smiled at Chenlian, who was still looking down.
“What’s wrong?”
Feeling like he was talking to a shy little girl, Ye Qing asked with a gentle, smiling voice.

Chenlian looked up.
Her face, somewhat unsightly from crying for so long, still managed to force a smile for Ye Qing.
Her clear, reddened-from-crying eyes narrowed slightly.
“Thank you, Ye Qing!”
Chenlian thanked Ye Qing in her clear voice, which hadn’t fully recovered and carried a hint of bitterness.

Looking at Chenlian forcing a smile for him, Ye Qing couldn’t help but scratch his head and give a wry smile.
He answered naturally, “Since we’re friends, you don’t need to thank me for something like this!”
As he said this, Ye Qing felt a sense of déjà vu.
‘Come to think of it, Chenlian is exactly like Zhang Haoyang in this respect.

Even when it’s just a casual, effortless gesture, he still has to seriously and deliberately thank someone. What a troublesome guy!’

Ye Qing sighed and leaned his body against the side of the sofa.
Although they weren’t touching, they maintained a very short distance between them.
Then they waited in silence.
Even though it was silence, strangely, there was no sense of awkwardness at all.
On the contrary, Ye Qing found this silence very comfortable.
It was like those wordless moments created by two like-minded friends—remaining silent together simply because there was no need for words.

About half an hour later, the white door opened.
Hadi and Fuzi walked out quietly.
Fuzi gently closed the door behind her.
Hadi walked directly to the opposite side of Ye Qing and Chenlian and collapsed onto the sofa as if suddenly relaxing.
Fuzi sat down beside Chenlian and gently pulled Chenlian, who still had her head lowered, into her embrace.

After a brief silence, Hadi sat up straight and flatly stated Lin Yuxuan’s condition.
“Lin Yuxuan’s body is not seriously injured. We’ve started her on some IV drips.
Let her rest quietly for the night, and she should be mostly recovered by tomorrow morning.
But this is also thanks to her daily training. Her physical condition is truly excellent.”

“Is that so?”
Ye Qing said this with a light sigh, then stepped into the middle, facing Hadi and Fuzi, and gave a deep bow.
“Thank you very much, Dr. Hadi! And Sister Fuzi!”
Ye Qing thanked them both with sincere formality.

The two exchanged a glance, then both smiled.
Hadi spoke to Ye Qing in his relaxed, flat tone, “It’s what we should do, young lad!”
His concise words also conveyed their apology.

With Hadi’s words, the living room fell into silence again.
As if perfectly timed, Ye Qing’s phone vibrated.
Ye Qing nodded to Hadi to excuse himself, then walked aside with his phone and looked at the screen.
The caller was unfamiliar, with a strange sequence of numbers that didn’t read smoothly at all.

Ye Qing guessed who it might be, but felt confused.
Still, if he answered, the other party would surely explain.
Ye Qing didn’t hesitate long before pressing the answer button and putting the phone to his ear.

“Ya-hoo! Is this Ye Qing?”
The voice on the other end first greeted him with a slightly shrill, goofy voice, then asked to confirm.

Ye Qing wanted to hang up immediately, but managed to restrain himself.
After all, if someone was looking for him at a time like this, there must be an important reason.
And Ye Qing somewhat missed the sound of this voice.
He answered calmly, “Yes, it’s me. What is it, Master?
And by the way, didn’t Master already retire? And I’ve already cut ties with the main family.
If there’s something important, shouldn’t you be contacting the main family? Why come to me?
And where the hell have you been all these years, Master? What are you trying to do by showing up now?
Do you think I’ll obediently listen to you anymore?”
Ye Qing launched a barrage of attacks against this person who had suddenly disappeared and now suddenly reappeared.

“Oh my~! Is it really okay to say things like that, Xiao Ye?”
The voice on the other end taunted back in a charming, feminine voice.

Ye Qing scratched his head helplessly and sighed.
“I’m not in the mood to play games with you right now. Just say what you need to say, Master Kizuka!”

“Oh dear~! I wonder who it was just now who was acting all pouty toward a long-absent lover~?”
The voice on the phone suddenly launched a counterattack in a seductive tone.

“I give up, Master!”
Ye Qing apologized immediately, then closed his eyes and kowtowed to someone in his heart.

“Ye Qing! You have twenty minutes to get to the ground floor of your building. I’ll be waiting downstairs!”
The voice on the other end changed its attitude, issuing the command in a serious, commanding tone.
Then, without waiting for Ye Qing’s reply, she hung up.

Ye Qing put his phone away, sighed, and walked back to the living room.
Hadi was leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting.
Fuzi was still holding Chenlian, gazing ahead with a somewhat dazed expression.

Everyone was tired, probably.
After all, they had been through so much this evening, and hadn’t even eaten dinner.
And now, none of them likely had the appetite to eat anymore.
Although he felt somewhat sorry for Dr. Hadi, he still had to ask for a favor.

“Um, Dr. Hadi!”
Ye Qing scratched his head and spoke to Hadi, who was resting with his eyes closed.

“What is it, young lad?”
Hadi opened his eyes and asked flatly.

“Could you please drive me home? Something urgent came up, and I need to get home quickly,”
Ye Qing looked seriously at Hadi and requested calmly.

“Right, it’s almost ten o’clock now. I’ll take you home, young lad!”
Hadi stood up in agreement and headed toward the door.

“Are you leaving already, Ye Qing?”
Fuzi asked casually.

“Yes. Please take care of Yuxuan,”
Ye Qing said as he bowed to Fuzi, then headed for the door.

“Take care on the road!”
Hearing the concerned voice behind him, Ye Qing walked out of the entrance.

The cold night wind blew against his body, which was already feeling chilly from hunger, making him shudder involuntarily.

‘Going home this late—Mom won’t mind much, but Xiao Fei and Xiao Bai will probably make a fuss again.’
Standing at the villa’s gate, Ye Qing thought about the scene when he got home.
‘What exactly is Master trying to do?’
He couldn’t connect anything with that person’s intentions. Ye Qing couldn’t fathom his master’s thoughts.

With these questions, with Hadi’s help, Ye Qing returned to the residential area where his home was located.
Following the GPS navigation, Hadi drove the Toyota up a slope below Ye Qing’s building.
Continuing up the slope, the Toyota arrived at the residential area on the higher ground.
They went around the circular flower bed in front, then drove straight for a while.
Hadi stopped the car in front of a building marked “Elegant 03.”

“Thank you, Doctor!”
Before getting out of the car, Ye Qing thanked Hadi.

“Go on, young lad. Didn’t you have something urgent?”
Hadi smiled at Ye Qing and spoke flatly.

“Mm!”
Ye Qing got out of the car, then stood beside it, watching Hadi drive the Toyota away.

He let out a soft sigh, then turned and walked toward the building’s entrance.
‘Where is Master?’
There was no sign of his master downstairs.

“Ye Qing!”
A clear female voice came from behind him.

Ye Qing turned around and saw his master—the person who had disappeared for two years.
She was wearing black high heels and a long black evening dress.
Her still-graceful figure was accentuated by the beautiful curves outlined by the dress.
Her jet-black hair fell to her shoulders.

Her sharp eyes, gleaming with strong will, were fixed directly on him.

Even after two years apart, his master was still as dignified and beautiful as ever.

“Master Kizuka.”

“Ye Qing, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Kizuka walked up to Ye Qing in her high heels, then hugged him.
“How have these two years been for you?”

“I don’t know if they’ve been good or bad. Hey, Master, where have you been?
Why did you suddenly disappear without saying anything? What’s the reason behind it?
Why are you, someone who’s already retired, coming to find me?
If it’s about the main family business, please let me refuse it all,”
Ye Qing let his master hug him as he fired off the words in his heart like a rapid stream.

“Ye Qing!”
Kizuka let go of the hug and looked at Ye Qing with a very serious expression.
“Do you truly want to protect that girl?”

Ye Qing was stunned.
‘How does Master know about this?’
He looked at his master with questioning eyes.

“You don’t need to know about that. I’ve already notified Yuxuan’s parents that she was injured,”
Kizuka said calmly, then firmly grasped Ye Qing’s shoulders and asked again with a very serious expression.
“Do you truly want to protect that girl?”

Ye Qing clenched his fists.
He didn’t know where his master had gotten her information.
But Master knew about Chenlian, and that Ye Qing and Yuxuan wanted to protect her.
If she was asking this question, did it mean there was something he needed to be resolved to do?
Regardless, Ye Qing had to protect Chenlian. He had already sworn it.

“Yes!”
Ye Qing’s reply was firm as a rock. His eyes blazed with unwavering resolve.

Upon hearing his answer, Kizuka sighed.
Then from behind her, she produced a large black leather bag containing a weapon.
The bag was very long—about 1.6 meters.

“What is this?”
Ye Qing was confused.

“Nozomi,”
Kizuka answered flatly, then handed it to Ye Qing with both hands.
Ye Qing took the heavy weapon, wrapped in the black leather bag.

‘So this is Nozomi?’

Ye Qing felt the perfectly balanced weight in his hands. Just holding it, he could tell this weapon would feel very natural to use.

“Mast… er?”
Ye Qing looked up wanting to ask more, but Kizuka had already vanished from before his eyes.

‘With what thoughts did Master entrust this sword to me?’
Ye Qing couldn’t understand the meaning behind it at all.