Chapter 26: The Silver Bracelet

Chapter 26: The Silver Bracelet

Before she could continue watching, the scene shifted abruptly.

They were at a temple pavilion on a distant mountain. Thick fog curled like dense clouds halfway up the slope, shrouding the treetops in a hazy blur. A man dressed in an expensive suit stood there. Several bodyguards followed behind him with their heads bowed, but the man stood tall, his hands pressed together in prayer in front of his face. A silver bracelet on his cool-toned wrist looked strikingly out of place.

Even more striking than the bracelet was his behavior. He ignored the grand temple hall behind him, choosing instead to worship the wild pear trees covering the mountainside.

As the perspective zoomed in, Bai Li could clearly see the man’s face in her dream—it was Fang Ye!

As if fulfilling that vague title, every movement he made now exuded a refined elegance. His mature features and eyes seemed to have weathered ten thousand sorrows, carrying a powerful sense of oppression mixed with deep piety.

"Bai Li."

In her dream, he spoke. His tone rose slightly—no longer careless, but warm, steady, and possessing an indescribable magnetism. Yet, it made her heart run cold.

Bai Li reached out tentatively in her dream, wanting to touch his arm. Just as she was about to graze that exquisite fabric, the scene shattered, and a wave of darkness rushed in. Immediately after, there was a piercing, discordant noise.

Leaning against the car window, Bai Li frowned and slowly opened her eyes. The taxi had stopped in front of the small building.

Fang Ye stood by her side of the car, watching her with calm eyes. Given her current state, it wasn’t easy to carry her. He said in a low voice, "It's just this short stretch; can you walk?"

Bai Li steadied herself for a moment at the end of the alley. She nodded quickly, suppressed the pain, and got out of the car, hobbling toward home. Fang Ye reacted quickly, offering half his arm for her to lean on. He was very much a gentleman.

For some reason, Bai Li felt nervous, and her breathing grew shallow. In a daze, she secretly glanced at Fang Ye’s profile.

So, it was just a dream...

But the scene in the dream had been impossibly vivid. It felt as if she had truly crossed the shackles of time to witness the future Fang Ye—the successful one. Thinking back on that realistic scene, goosebumps rose across her arms, reflecting the indescribable shock she still felt.

After Fang Ye helped her back to her room, she lowered her eyes, a smile touching her lips. The Fang Ye in her dream was doing well; he was no longer trampled upon or bullied, but had become a man worthy of respect.

If only that dream could become reality. She hoped that Fang Ye’s future achievements would be worth the suffering he endured now. Besides, Bai Li felt that a person like Fang Ye would certainly not live his life this way forever.

***

After Fang Ye went downstairs, he found a roll of gauze in the cabinet and retreated to the bathroom. Removing his outer shirt, the air grew thick with the metallic scent of fresh blood. Feeling the stinging pain in his back, he applied the gauze to his wounds without a sound. He threw the blood-stained clothes into a trash bag, intending to dispose of them later.

Bending over caused the torn wounds to bleed again. The midsummer heat was sweltering, enough to bake any wound and cause it to fester; for a weaker person, such suffering would have been enough to cause them to faint. Yet, the young man’s expression remained indifferent, as if this were a trivial matter. After all, his back was already covered in scars from moving cargo, and he had carried a teenage girl all the way home—it would have been a miracle if his wounds hadn't reopened.

Wiping away the blood, the boy returned to his room, closed his eyes, and gasped for breath, having no strength left for anything else. A bead of sweat trickled from his brow bone, passing his narrow, long eye tail.

The hardships life dealt him had never crushed him. He was accustomed to this pain. Looking up at the hazy moon outside the window, he closed his weary eyes once more.

***

The moon slowly crossed the sky, and the faint dawn light began to glow from the east. Fang Ye left early. Moving through the fine morning dew, he brought back a bottle of medicinal wine and pain-relief patches, hanging them on the girl's doorknob. His wounds seemed to be causing a fever, but he didn't care; he splashed his face with cold water and swallowed an anti-inflammatory pill before heading out again.

When Bai Li woke up and saw the bag of medicine, she knew who had bought it for her, but she was also worried about the bruises on Fang Ye’s face. After some thought, she took the iodophor out of the bag, added a few adhesive bandages she carried with her, and, mimicking Fang Ye, hung them on his doorknob.

Because her ankle injury made it difficult to move, she decided not to go to the library today. She took out her phone to explain the situation to Chen Miao, who urged her to get plenty of rest.

***

Pulling out a small square stool, she went to the backyard to sketch. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door—a series of light, gentle taps. This was the first time someone had knocked; usually, Chenzi and the others would just shout her name loudly.

Bai Li set down her pencil and walked cautiously to the door. Standing outside was a white-haired grandmother with a pair of kind, gentle eyes that crinkled into many lines as she looked at Bai Li.

"Are you Fang Ye's younger sister?"

Bai Li nodded. She wasn't quite sure who this was, so she said softly, "Hello, Grandma." Calling an elder a bit more affectionately was always a safe bet.

Grandma Qin carried a vegetable basket on her arm, her eyes curving even more as she smiled. "Oh, what a good girl. I'm Grandma Qin from the next street over. I just happened to harvest some greens, so I brought some over for you to eat."

Bai Li accepted her kindness and invited her inside to sit. Perhaps because she was tired from walking, Grandma Qin sat on a chair, smiling as she chatted with Bai Li. Bai Li enjoyed talking to the elderly; no matter the topic, they always used the experience accumulated over their long years to share profound truths of life with the younger generation.

When the conversation turned to Chenzi and his group, she didn't show the panic of the young or the disdain of the middle-aged. She simply rubbed her wrinkled hands and said, "As long as people are breathing, they have their difficulties. If they weren't a bit sharp, who would protect them? People call them 'bad boys,' but I don't agree. In this world, there aren't that many purely good or bad people."

Bai Li agreed deeply.

Grandma Qin took a box of 'Joy' candies from her pocket and placed it on the table. "These are from my grandson's one-month celebration. I brought them for you to sweeten your mouth. Alright, I must be going now, I won't disturb you anymore."

Bai Li immediately stood up to help her to the door. As they walked those few steps, Grandma Qin mentioned her plans for the day. Perhaps as people age, they like to tell those around them where they are going and what they are doing, fearing that the unpredictability of fate might suddenly take them away.

"My grandson is coming back tonight, so I have to go get a small silver bracelet made. It's a custom from our generation—melting down an old bracelet to make a new one so the child will be safe and sound for a lifetime."

This sentence drifted into Bai Li's ears along with the gentle summer breeze. Without knowing why, she suddenly looked up and asked, "Grandma, can a child a bit older, like me, wear one too?"

Grandma Qin nodded, her aged, pale hand gently stroking the back of Bai Li's ear. "Of course. As long as we old folks are still around, you are all still children."