Hearing this, Ye Qianwen's face turned cold.
Her slightly relaxed heart tightened once more.
She inwardly scoffed at herself: How could I still believe this scoundrel's words?
Ye Qianwen took a deep breath, pointed toward the door, and said coldly to Ye Qingyun.
"Get out of here right now!"
"Qianqian, you don't believe me?"
"Get out!"
Seeing Ye Qianwen's absolute disgust and firm expression, Ye Qingyun understood.
Given an ordinary person's knowledge, it was indeed difficult for her to comprehend the medical skills he now possessed.
So he looked at Ye Qianwen earnestly and said.
"Qianqian, let's make a bet."
"What bet?"
Ye Qianwen's expression paused.
With a serious expression, Ye Qingyun said: "If I can cure Mom's eyes and let her see the light again, you will acknowledge me as your older brother."
Without much hesitation, Ye Qianwen nodded directly.
"Fine. If you can cure Mom's eyes, that will make up for your past mistakes, and I can acknowledge you as my brother. But what if you can't?"
"Then I will do as you wish, and you can step across this threshold!"
Ye Qingyun replied instantly.
"However, before I treat Mom's eyes, I need to go prepare some medicinal herbs."
"Then come back after you've prepared them. Until then, please don't disturb us."
With that, Ye Qianwen pushed Ye Qingyun straight out the door.
This time, Ye Qingyun did not resist.
Just as Ye Qianwen was about to close the door, a figure appeared in her field of vision.
The person spoke.
"Qianwen, have you thought about my suggestion?"
A flash of disgust crossed Ye Qianwen's face.
She looked at the young man before her, who wore a pierced ear and ripped jeans, and said.
"Liú Píng, I refuse."
Having said that, Ye Qianwen tried to close the door right away.
Liú Píng was quick-witted and grabbed the door handle, saying.
"Without me, how are you going to pay back the one hundred thousand yuan you owe Brother Hǔ?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Qianwen, as long as you agree to be my girlfriend, I'll pay off that one hundred thousand yuan for you immediately. Besides, I truly love you, and in the future, we can take care of Mom together!"
Liú Píng continued.
"Thank you for your affection, but I don't accept it. You're too ugly."
Ye Qianwen said coldly.
This Liú Píng had come to pester her time and time again, driving Ye Qianwen to distraction, so today she simply decided to lay it all on the line.
Too ugly...
These three words made Liú Píng's heart tighten violently, and his face burned red!
He felt his self-respect being trampled upon, and a surge of anger swelled within his chest.
Without thinking, he raised his hand and swung it toward Ye Qianwen.
His movement was so fast that Ye Qianwen had no time to react at all.
Just as Liú Píng's palm was about to strike Ye Qianwen's face, a figure appeared before him, catching Liú Píng's hand like an iron vice and leaving him completely unable to move.
Ye Qingyun had made his move!
Gazing at this scene, Ye Qianwen's face turned cold.
She had not expected Liú Píng to do something so lacking in reason.
At the same time, the sight of Ye Qingyun blocking the way in front of her reminded her of her older brother's figure from their childhood.
"Who are you?"
With a solemn expression, Liú Píng asked the Ye Qingyun standing before him.
He felt his hand ache terribly, as if his bones were about to break!
"Liú Píng, it's been a few years, and you've grown quite bold! You even dare to bully my sister."
As he spoke, Ye Qingyun applied force to Liú Píng's grip, causing Liú Píng's face to turn the color of a pig's liver from the pain.
Liú Píng cried out repeatedly.
"Let go! Let go of me!"
With a shove from Ye Qingyun, Liú Píng went flying backward and crashed to the ground.
He stared at Ye Qingyun, a thoughtful look crossing his face, before suddenly letting out an exclamation.
"I know, you're Ye Qingyun!"
"Now that you know, get lost right now. If you ever dare to come back and bully my sister again, I'll break one of your legs."
Ye Qingyun said coldly, a flash of murderous intent cutting through his eyes.
Liú Píng inexplicably felt a chill run through his body.
Looking at Ye Qingyun's menacing expression, he felt a wave of doubt in his heart.
When they were kids, Ye Qingyun had been as thin and frail as a monkey, dark and skinny, and he hadn't escaped being bullied.
Back then, Liú Píng used to pick on Ye Qingyun from time to time.
Yet five years later, Ye Qingyun had grown so tall, and his strength had become so terrifying.
"Ye Qingyun, I'll let you off this time!"
Liú Píng dropped a symbolic harsh remark before turning around and leaving.
"Qianqian, you see? With the skills I just showed, I am entirely capable of protecting you and this family."
Ye Qingyun smiled at Ye Qianwen.
"Hmph! What good is brute strength? It's only good for teaching a few thugs a lesson, at best you could be a security guard! Besides, have you forgotten Mom's instructions to you? She hopes you'll study hard, get into a good university, and find a good job—not go around fighting and killing. If Mom had seen what just happened, how heartbroken would she be?"
Ye Qianwen said.
Ye Qingyun fell silent.
He thought of his father, who had once lived a life of street fighting and gang violence, and then left them when Ye Qingyun was still very young.
That was why Xie Meilan did not want Ye Qingyun to fight and kill, hoping instead that he would study diligently and find a decent job.
And it was precisely because Ye Qingyun had eloped with a woman from the underworld five years ago that Xie Meilan had been so devastated upon finding out.
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath and asked Ye Qianwen.
"And what about you? Dyed hair, manicures, ear piercings, crop tops, shorts. Look at the way you're dressed now—does it look like you're a scholar?"
"If I didn't dress like this, how would I make money? Where would the money for Mom's medical treatment come from? If I had been like you, ignoring the family completely for the past five years, Mom would be dead by now!"
After snapping at him with a barrage of harsh words, Ye Qianwen slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Staring at the tightly shut door before him, Ye Qingyun's heart was filled with bitterness and self-reproach.
It was true! With Xie Meilan's blindness preventing her from working, she could only stay at home.
The burden of the entire family rested entirely on Ye Qianwen's shoulders alone!
A young girl in the prime of her youth like her should have been studying at school right now.
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyun felt a deep ache in his chest, and he spoke to the closed door.
"Qianqian, that one hundred thousand yuan Liú Píng mentioned—I will take care of it for you before tonight."
With those words, Ye Qingyun turned and walked away.
After a long while, the door opened, and Ye Qianwen poked her head out, only to find that Ye Qingyun's figure was already gone from the doorway.
With complicated emotions in her heart, she let out a long sigh.
...
"Damn brat! I haven't seen him in five years, and he comes back with such brute strength!"
Walking down the road, Liú Píng kept rubbing his swollen right hand, cursing angrily.
He muttered to himself that he would have to go to the hospital later to get an X-ray; his hand bones might actually be shattered.
Thud!
Suddenly, he bumped into someone.
Without even thinking, he blurted out.
"Damn it! Are you blind or what?!"
"Liú Píng, your temper is still this bad. Do you want me to crush your other hand as well?"
At these words, Liú Píng's body shuddered.
He raised his head to look closely, and was so frightened that he took a step back.
Sure enough, the person standing before him was none other than Ye Qingyun, whom he had just seen moments ago.
Gazing at Ye Qingyun's icy expression, a wave of cold air chilled Liú Píng to the bone. Putting on a brave front, he said.
"What do you want, Ye Qingyun? Let me tell you, I've got the Eight Doors Sect backing me up. If you dare lay a finger on me, you'll be sorry!"