Scorching August.
Beep, beep, beep—!
The piercing chirping of cicadas mixed with the incessant honking of horns echoed on the bustling street, as the scorching sun baked the grey-brown asphalt road. Heat shimmered, making the entire street seem to twist and distort.
Under the few patches of shade by the roadside, a few young people huddled together, cigarettes in their mouths, waiting for the traffic light.
Suddenly, a young person who was puffing on a cigarette seemed to notice something, let out a soft exclamation, and his gaze fell on a spot at the street corner.
"A Nuo, what are you looking at?" his companion beside him asked.
The young man named A Nuo stared blankly at the street corner, and only spoke after a long while, "You say… how do blind people cross the road?"
His companion was startled, hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Generally speaking, blind people are accompanied when they go out, or guided by guide dogs. In more modern cities, there are also voice broadcasts for traffic lights by the roadside. If all else fails, perhaps they can slowly inch their way across using sound and a guide cane?"
A Nuo shook his head, "What if they have no one to look after them, no guide dog, no voice broadcast, and even their guide cane is being used to carry peanut oil? And his companion is also another blind person?"
"...Do you think you're funny?"
His companion rolled his eyes, followed A Nuo's gaze, and the next moment he was frozen in place.
He saw a young man standing at the opposite corner of the road, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a woman wear a black suit and tie. Several thick layers of black satin were wrapped around their eyes, completely blocking out all light.
In his left hand, he held a cheap shopping bag full of vegetables, and in his right, he gripped the guide cane slung over his shoulder, as if carrying a carrying pole. At the end of the guide cane, a large barrel of golden peanut oil was glistening in the sun!
Eyes bound with black satin, guide cane on shoulder, vegetables in the left hand, oil carried in the right...
This unbelievable sight immediately attracted the attention of a large number of people around.
"Hey, look, that person is so strange."
"With so much cloth covering his eyes, can he see the road?"
"Didn't you see the guide cane in his hand? He's a blind person, okay?"
"What era is this? Blind people basically wear sunglasses now. Who still wraps their eyes with satin on a hot day? Aren't they afraid of feeling stuffy?"
"Exactly. And have you ever seen a blind person who doesn't use a guide cane to walk, but instead uses it to carry things?"
"Young people nowadays are really something."
"..."
The chirping of cicadas in the summer couldn't drown out the whispers of the surrounding pedestrians. They curiously observed the young man, quietly discussing whether he was truly blind or faking it, while also looking expectantly at the flashing red light.
Just then, a clear voice sounded from beside the young man.
"Brother, shall I help you guys cross the road?"
It was a little girl wearing a school uniform, about twelve or thirteen years old. A few drops of glistening sweat were on her cheeks, and her large, dark eyes were watching the young man with worry, pure and simple.
The young man was slightly startled, turned his head to look in the direction of the little girl, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Mm."
He hung the bag of vegetables on his right hand, freed up his left hand to wipe sweat on the corner of his clothes, and gently held the little girl's hand.
Click—!
The green light turned on.
The young man took a step forward and walked towards the other side of the road with the little girl.
The little girl was very nervous, looking left and right, paying attention to the vehicles on both sides, her steps cautious and timid.
As for the young man… he walked very steadily.
In everyone's eyes, this scene didn't look like a kind girl leading a blind person across the road, but rather like a Big Brother taking a child across the road.
The road wasn't wide, and in just over ten seconds, the two of them reached the other side. The young man said thank you to the little girl, then walked towards a secluded alley without looking back.
"He's not blind." A Nuo said with certainty when he saw this scene, "He can definitely see."
A young man behind A Nuo rested his chin on one hand, deep in thought. Then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly realized and said:
"I get it, he's cosplaying Blind Monk!"
Slap—!
A big slap landed squarely on the back of his head. A Nuo cursed and said, "Idiot, all you do all day is play games. Who the hell has nothing better to do than cosplay Blind Monk on the main road? Are you tired of living?"
After a two-second pause, A Nuo added with a quiet mutter, "Besides… Blind Monk's eye covering is red. This cosplay doesn't even look similar."
"A Nuo, you're talking about me…"
"Shut up."
"Oh."
While the two were bickering, the young man who had been silent on the side watched the retreating figure of the young man, his brows slightly furrowed.
"What's wrong?" A Nuo noticed his gaze.
"I know him."
"You know him?"
"That's right." The young man nodded, "When my cousin was still in elementary school, I heard there was a student at their school who had an accident, and his eyes had problems, so he could only wrap them with black satin. It's also said he had mental issues…"
"Mental issues?" A Nuo was startled, and carefully recalled the situation just now, "He didn't seem to have any problems, in my opinion."
"That was ten years ago. Maybe he's already recovered. But at the time, it seemed like a big deal. The student dropped out after a few days and was reportedly transferred to a special school for the blind later."
Just then, another person excitedly interrupted, "Speaking of which, what kind of accident was it? To make someone blind and also have mental issues, could it have been possession?"
"I don't know." He paused, "But… I heard it was something even more bizarre than that."
"He's a poor soul." A Nuo sighed, "What's his name?"
"It seems like, Lin… Lin… Lin Qi Ye?"
...
In the evening glow, Lin Qi Ye pushed open the door.
Almost instantly, the aroma of cooking from inside the house wafted into his nostrils. He sniffed, swallowed, and carried the things into the house.
Creak—!
The old door let out a harsh screech, covering the sound of stir-frying from the kitchen. A middle-aged woman pushed open the kitchen door, saw Lin Qi Ye carrying large and small bags, let out a gasp, and hurried forward.
"Xiao Qi, why did you carry so many things back all at once again?" The woman rubbed her hands on her apron, quickly helped Lin Qi Ye take the things, and said chatteringly.
"Such a big barrel of peanut oil? You child, are you misusing the government's subsidy again?"
"Aunt, the government's subsidy for disabled people is for living expenses. Using it to buy oil is making full use of it." Lin Qi Ye said with a smile.
"Nonsense, this money is saved for you to go to university. How can you misuse it? Let me tell you, the money Aunt earns from working is actually enough to support the three of us. Don't spend your own money carelessly."
Aunt gently wiped the oil barrel with her hand, her expression a little pained, and muttered softly, "Such a big barrel of oil, and it's a brand name one… must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Before Lin Qi Ye could say anything, Aunt suddenly reacted.
"Wait… how did you bring so many things back?"
"Oh, I met some kind people on the way, and they helped me bring them back." Lin Qi Ye said calmly.
"Good, that's good. It seems there are still many good people in society… Did you thank them properly?"
"I did." Lin Qi Ye changed the subject, "Aunt, where is A Jin?"
"He's doing homework on the balcony… Oh right, the Dr. for the routine check-up from the Mental Hospital is here this year. He's resting in the room. Go let the Dr. take a look at you. Aunt will cook first and call you when it's ready."
Lin Qi Ye's steps paused slightly. He said 'Oh' and turned to walk towards the bedroom.
...
"Hello, I am a Dr. from Sunshine Mental Hospital. My surname is Li."
Seeing Lin Qi Ye push the door open and enter, the young man sitting on the small stool in the bedroom stood up and spoke gently. He wore a pair of large black-rimmed glasses and looked refined.
Lin Qi Ye raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Didn't Dr. Han always come before?"
"Dr. Han was promoted to Vice Director last year." Dr. Li smiled, a hint of envy appearing in his eyes.
Lin Qi Ye nodded slightly and said 'Oh'.
That's right. Dr. Han is quite old and has excellent medical skills, so his promotion to Vice Director wasn't surprising. It was also natural for a younger Dr. to come for his regular check-ups.
Seeing Lin Qi Ye sit down, Dr. Li cleared his throat and took out a stack of medical records from his bag.
"Excuse me, as I've just arrived and don't know your situation very well yet, I'll start by getting a brief understanding." Dr. Li said apologetically.
Lin Qi Ye nodded.
"Your name is… Lin Qi Ye?"
"Yes."
"You are seventeen this year."
"Yes."
"Birthday?"
"October 5th."
"Mm… The medical records say that you lost your sight ten years ago and were sent to our Hospital because of some issues at the same time?"
"Yes."
Dr. Li pondered for a long while, "Did you change your name?"
"...No, why do you ask?" Lin Qi Ye was startled.
Dr. Li scratched his head a little awkwardly, "Cough cough… It seems I was overthinking."
He reached out his hand, pointed to the age on the medical record, and then pointed to the words 'ten years ago', "Look, you lost your sight ten years ago, and at that time you were exactly seven years old. Your name also happens to be Lin Qi Ye, so I thought you changed your name after losing your sight…"
Lin Qi Ye was silent for a long time, then shook his head and said, "No… I have never changed my name. Before I was born, my parents decided on the name Lin Qi Ye for me."
"That's really quite… cough cough" Dr. Li stopped halfway through his sentence, realizing it was impolite, and promptly closed his mouth.
"Quite a coincidence." Lin Qi Ye said lightly, "It is indeed quite a coincidence."
Dr. Li was a little awkward, but he quickly changed the subject, "Mm… The medical records don't seem to describe the accident that caused your blindness and mental disorder in detail. If it's convenient, could you tell me about it?"
Before Lin Qi Ye could speak, Dr. Li quickly added, "I don't mean to offend. Understanding patients more allows for better treatment. Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you."
Lin Qi Ye sat there quietly. Beneath the black satin ribbon, his eyes seemed to be watching Dr. Li.
After a long while, he slowly spoke:
"There's nothing that can't be said… It's just that you might not believe it, and you might even take me back to the Mental Hospital."
"No, no, no, don't think of our relationship as Dr. and patient. This is just a normal chat between friends; it won't go that far." Dr. Li said jokingly, "Even if you told me you were pulled into the alchemy furnace by Taishang Laojun, I would believe it."
Lin Qi Ye was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"When I was a child, I liked astronomy."
"Mm, and then?"
"That night, I was lying on the eaves of my old home's house, looking at the moon."
"What did you see? The Moon Rabbit?" Dr. Li laughed.
Lin Qi Ye shook his head. His next sentence instantly froze the smile on Dr. Li's face.
"No, I saw an angel." Lin Qi Ye said seriously, gesturing with his hands in front of him.
"A Seraph enveloped in golden light, with six white wings..."