001
1995 Words
Beep beep...
The shrill chirping of cicadas mixed with the continuous honking of horns echoed on the street where the flow of people was rapid. The whole street seemed to be distorted.
Suddenly, a young man who was smoking seemed to have noticed something. He let out a soft gasp and fixed his gaze on a corner of the street.
"Arno, what are you looking at?" asked his companion beside him.
The young man named Arno stared blankly at the corner for a long while before saying, "Tell me... how does a blind person cross the road?"
His companion was startled. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly replied, "Generally speaking, when blind people go out, they are usually accompanied by someone or guided by a guide dog."
Arno shook his head. "What if there's no one to take care of them, no guide dog, and even the guide cane is used to carry peanut oil instead?"
"Do you think you're being funny?"
His companion rolled his eyes and followed Arno's gaze. In the next moment, he was stunned.
He saw that on the opposite corner of the road, a young man in a black short-sleeved shirt was standing there. His eyes were tightly wrapped with several thick layers of black cloth ribbons, blocking out all light.
In his left hand, he was carrying a cheap shopping bag full of vegetables, and in his right hand, he was gripping a guide cane that was slung over his shoulder as if it were a carrying pole. At the end of the guide cane, a large barrel of shiny yellow peanut oil was glistening in the sunlight.
With black ribbons covering his eyes, the guide cane on his shoulder, vegetables in his left hand, and oil in his right hand...
This incredible scene immediately attracted the attention of a large number of people around.
"Hey, look. That guy is so strange."
"With so much cloth covering his eyes, can he even see the road?"
"Didn't you see the guide cane in his hand? He's clearly a blind person, okay?"
"What era is this? Most blind people wear sunglasses nowadays. Who would still wrap their eyes with cloth ribbons on a hot day? Aren't they afraid of feeling stuffy?"
"Yeah, and have you ever seen a blind person not use the guide cane to walk but carry things with it instead?"
"These young people nowadays really know how to have fun."
They curiously looked at the young man and quietly discussed whether he was really blind or just pretending. At the same time, they looked expectantly at the blinking red light.
Just then, a clear voice rang out beside the young man.
"Brother, let me help you cross the road."
It was a little girl in school uniform, about twelve or thirteen years old. There were a few glistening beads of sweat on her cheeks, and her big black eyes were looking at the young man with worry, pure and simple.
The young man was slightly startled. He turned his head in the direction of the little girl and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Okay."
He hung the bag of vegetables on his right hand, wiped the sweat on his left hand on the corner of his clothes, and gently held the little girl's hand.
Click!
The green light came on.
The young man took a step forward and walked across the road with the little girl.
The little girl was very nervous. She looked around cautiously, paying attention to the vehicles on both sides, her steps careful and timid.
As for the young man... he walked very steadily.
In the eyes of everyone, this scene didn't look like a kind-hearted girl helping a blind person cross the road. Instead, it seemed more like a big brother leading a little kid across the road.
The road wasn't wide. In just over ten seconds, the two of them reached the other side of the road. The young man thanked the little girl and then walked straight towards a secluded alley without looking back.
"He's not blind," Arno said firmly when he saw this scene. "He must be able to see."
A young man behind Arno held his chin with one hand, looking thoughtful. Then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly realized and said, "I get it. He's cosplaying Lee Sin!"
Smack!
A slap landed crisply on the back of his head. Arno cursed and said, "i***t. All you think about is playing games all day long. Who the hell would be cosplaying Lee Sin on the street for no reason? Do you want to die?"
After a pause of two seconds, Arno muttered in a low voice, "Besides... the cloth that covers Lee Sin's eyes is red. This cosplay doesn't even look like it."
"Arno, you're still scolding me..."
"Shut up."
"Oh."
Just as the two were bickering, a young man who had been silent all along stared at the back of the young man as he left, his brows slightly furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Arno noticed his gaze.
"I know him."
"You know him?"
"Yeah." The young man nodded. "When my younger cousin was still in primary school, I heard that there was a student in their school who had an accident. There were problems with his eyes and he could only cover his eyes with black ribbons. It was said that he also had mental problems..."
"Mental problems?" Arno was startled. He carefully recalled what had just happened and said, "I don't think he had any problems."
"That was all ten years ago. Maybe he's already recovered. But at that time, the incident seemed to be quite a big deal. A few days later, the student dropped out of school. It was said that he was transferred to a special school for the blind later."
Just then, another person excitedly interrupted and said, "By the way, what was that accident exactly? What could have made someone lose their sight and have mental problems? Could it be that he was haunted by something evil?"
"I don't know." He paused for a moment. "However... I heard it was something even more absurd than that."
"He's a poor guy." Arno sighed. "What's his name?"
"I think it's... Lin... Lin... Lin Qiye?"
In the glow of the sunset, Lin Qiye pushed open the door.
Almost instantly, the aroma of the dishes cooking in the house wafted into his nostrils. He sniffed and swallowed, and then walked into the house carrying his things.
Squeak!
The old door made a shrill screech, drowning out the sound of stir-frying from the kitchen. A middle-aged woman pushed open the kitchen door. When she saw Lin Qiye carrying big and small bags, she exclaimed and hurriedly walked over.
"Xiao Qi, why did you bring back so many things at once again?" The woman wiped her hands on her apron and quickly took the things from Lin Qiye, chattering away.
"Such a big barrel of peanut oil? You child, did you misuse the government subsidy again?"
"Auntie, the subsidy for the disabled given by the government is meant for daily life. I'm making good use of it by buying oil." Lin Qiye smiled.
"Nonsense. This money is reserved for you to go to college. How can you misuse it? I can tell you, the money I earn from working is actually enough to support the three of us. Don't spend your own money recklessly."
The aunt gently wiped the oil barrel carefully with her hand, looking a bit pained, and muttered softly, "Such a big barrel of oil, and it's a branded one... It must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Before Lin Qiye could say anything, the aunt suddenly realized something.
"Wait... With so many things, how did you bring them back?"
"Oh, I met a few kind-hearted people on the road who helped me bring them back." Lin Qiye said calmly.
"Good, that's good. It seems there are still many good people in society... Did you thank them properly?"
"Yes, I did." Lin Qiye changed the topic. "Auntie, where's Ah Jin?"
"He's doing his homework on the balcony. By the way, the doctors from the mental hospital came for the routine check-up this year. They're resting in the room. You go and let the doctor examine you. I'll go cook first, and I'll call you when it's ready."
Lin Qiye's steps paused slightly. He said "Okay" and then turned and walked towards the bedroom.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Li from the Sunshine Mental Hospital."
Seeing Lin Qiye push the door open and enter, the young man sitting on the small stool in the bedroom stood up and spoke gently. He was wearing a pair of big black-framed glasses and looked refined.
Lin Qiye was a bit surprised and raised his eyebrows. "Didn't Doctor Han usually come before?"
"Doctor Han was promoted to vice president last year." Doctor Li smiled, a hint of envy showing in his eyes.
Lin Qiye nodded slightly and said "Okay."
It was only natural for a younger doctor to come for the regular check-ups instead.
Seeing that Lin Qiye had sat down, Doctor Li cleared his throat and took out a stack of case files from his bag.
"Sorry, since I'm new here, I'm not very familiar with your situation yet. I'll just briefly get to know you first." Doctor Li said apologetically.
Lin Qiye nodded.
"Your name is... Lin Qiye?"
"Yes."
"You're seventeen years old this year."
"Yes."
"Your birthday?"
"October 5th."
"Well... The case file says that you lost your sight ten years ago and were sent to our hospital because of some issues."
"Yes."
He pointed to the age on the medical record and then to the words "ten years ago". "Look, you lost your sight ten years ago. At that time, you were exactly seven years old, and your name happens to be Lin Qiye. So I thought you changed your name after losing your sight."
Lin Qiye was silent for a long time and then shook his head. "No... I've never changed my name. My parents gave me the name Lin Qiye before I was born."
"That's quite a... ahem" Doctor Li stopped halfway through his sentence when he realized it wasn't very polite and quickly shut his mouth.
"Quite a coincidence." Lin Qiye said faintly. "It's indeed quite a coincidence."
Doctor Li felt a bit awkward, but he quickly changed the topic. "Well... The case file doesn't seem to describe in detail the accident that caused you to lose your sight and have mental problems. If it's convenient, could you tell me about it?"
Lin Qiye hadn't yet spoken when Doctor Li quickly added, "I don't mean to be offensive. The more I know about the patient, the better I can treat them. Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you."
Lin Qiye sat there quietly. Under the black ribbon, his eyes seemed to be looking at Doctor Li.
After a while, he slowly began to speak.
"There's nothing I can't talk about... It's just that you might not believe me. You might even send me back to the mental hospital."
"No, no, don't think of our relationship as that of a doctor and a patient. This is just a normal chat between friends. It won't come to that." Doctor Li said half-jokingly. "Even if you tell me that you were dragged into the alchemy furnace by the Supreme Lord Laozi, I'll believe you."
Lin Qiye was silent for a moment and then nodded slightly.
"When I was a kid, I liked astronomy."
"Yeah, and then?"
"That night, I was lying on the eaves of our old house looking at the moon."
"What did you see? The Jade Rabbit?" Doctor Li smiled.
Lin Qiye shook his head. His next sentence made Doctor Li's smile freeze on his face.
"No, I saw an angel."
- Writer
