Chapter 1 Black satin blindfold August.
Drip, drip, drip—! The harsh cicada chirping mixed with the intermittent honking echoed on the bustling street, the scorching sunlight baking the gray asphalt pavement, heat surging, the entire street seemed to distort.
Under the few clusters of trees on the roadside, a few young people were huddled together, smoking and waiting for the traffic lights.
Suddenly, one of the young men who was puffing smoke seemed to have discovered something, he exclaimed softly, his gaze falling on a corner of the street.
"Arno, what are you looking at?" his companion asked.
The young man named Arno stared blankly at the street corner for a while before speaking, "What do you think...
how does a blind person cross the road?" His companion hesitated for a moment and then slowly replied, "Generally, blind people have someone to take care of them when they go out, or guide dogs to lead them.
In modern cities, there are also voice broadcasts at traffic lights.
If all else fails, maybe they can rely on sound and a cane to move little by little?" Arno shook his head, "But what if there is no one to take care of them, no guide dog, no voice broadcast, and even the cane is used to carry peanut oil?" "...Do you think you're funny?" His companion rolled his eyes, following Arno's gaze, and the next moment, he froze in place.
Across the street, a young man in a black short-sleeved shirt was standing there, his eyes wrapped in several thick layers of black satin, completely blocking out all light.
His left hand was holding a cheap shopping bag full of vegetables, and his right hand was pulling a cane slung over his shoulder, like carrying a pole.
At the end of the cane, a large bucket of golden peanut oil was shining in the sunlight! Black satin blindfold, cane on the shoulder, left hand with vegetables, right hand with oil...
This incredible scene immediately attracted the attention of a large crowd around.
"Hey, look, that person looks weird." "With so much cloth covering his eyes, can he see the road?" "Didn't you see the cane in his hand? He's obviously a blind person, right?" "In this day and age, blind people mostly wear sunglasses.
Who still covers their eyes with cloth on a hot day, aren't they afraid of suffocating?" "Exactly, and have you ever seen a blind person not using a cane to walk, but to carry things?" "Young people these days are really something." "...
" The summer cicadas couldn't drown out the whispers of the pedestrians around, they curiously stared at the young man, quietly discussing whether he was truly blind or pretending.
At that moment, a clear voice sounded next to the young man.
"Brother, shall I help you cross the road?" It was a girl in school uniform, around twelve or thirteen years old, with a few glistening sweat drops on her cheeks, her big black eyes looking worriedly at the young man, pure and simple.
The young man was slightly stunned, turned his head to look in the direction of the girl, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Okay." He hung the bag of vegetables on his right hand, wiped the sweat off his clothes with his left hand, gently held the girl's hand.
Click—! The green light came on.
The young man stepped forward, walking towards the other side of the road with the girl.
The girl was very nervous, looking around at the vehicles on both sides, walking carefully and timidly.
As for the young man...
he walked steadily.
In the eyes of the onlookers, this scene did not look like a kind girl leading a blind person across the road, but more like an older brother guiding a child across the road.
The road was not wide, in just over ten seconds, the two reached the other side of the road, the young man thanked the girl and walked away towards a secluded alley without looking back.
"He's not blind." Arno saw this scene and said confidently, "He must be able to see."Behind Arno, a young man with one hand supporting his chin, lost in thought, then suddenly realized, "I got it, he's cosplaying as the Blind Monk!" Smack! A big slap landed on the back of his head, and Arno cursed, "Useless, all you do is play games all day long.
Who the hell cosplays as the Blind Monk on the main road? Are you asking for trouble?" After a pause, Arno muttered under his breath, "Besides...
the Blind Monk's eye covering is red, this cosplay doesn't look like it." "Arno, you still..." "Shut up." "Oh." As the two argued, the young man who had been silent all along watched the teenager walk away, his brow furrowed slightly.
"What's wrong?" Arno noticed his gaze.
"I know him." "Know him?" "Yes." The young man nodded, "When my cousin was still in elementary school, I heard that there was a student at their school who had an accident, had eye problems, had to use black satin to cover his eyes, and reportedly had mental issues..." "Mental issues?" Arno was taken aback, carefully recalling the situation just now, "I don't think there's any problem." "That was ten years ago, maybe he's recovered by now, but at the time, it seemed like a big deal.
In a few days, that student dropped out of school and reportedly transferred to a special school for the blind." Just then, another person eagerly interjected, "So, what kind of accident was it? To make someone go blind and have mental issues, could it be a curse?" "I don't know." He paused, "But...
I heard it was something even more bizarre than that." "He's a pitiful person." Arno sighed, "What's his name?" "It seems to be...
Lin...
Lin...
Lin Qiye?" ...
In the twilight, Lin Qiye pushed open the door.
Almost instantly, the aroma of cooking from inside the house wafted into his nostrils.
He sniffed, swallowed, and carried his things into the house.
Creak! The old door emitted a sharp squeak, drowning out the sound of cooking coming from the kitchen.
A middle-aged woman pushed open the kitchen door, saw Lin Qiye carrying bags, exclaimed in surprise, and hurried over.
"Little Qi, why did you bring back so many things at once?" The woman wiped her hands on her apron, quickly took the things from Lin Qiye, and chattered on.
"Such a big bucket of peanut oil? You, child, did you misuse the government subsidy again?" "Auntie, the government subsidy for the disabled is for living expenses.
I used it to buy oil to make the most of it." Lin Qiye smiled.
"Nonsense, that money is for you to go to college.
How can you misuse it? Let me tell you, Auntie's earnings from work are enough to support the three of us.
Don't spend money recklessly." Auntie gently wiped the oil drum, looking somewhat pained, murmuring softly, "Such a big bucket of oil, and it's a brand...
must have cost a lot of money, right?" Before Lin Qiye could say anything, Auntie suddenly realized.
"Wait...
how did you bring back so many things?" "Oh, I met a few kind people on the way who helped me bring them back." Lin Qiye said calmly.
"Good, good, it seems there are still many good people in society...
Did you thank them properly?" "I did." Lin Qiye changed the subject, "Auntie, where's Ajin?" "He's on the balcony doing homework...
Oh, this year's routine check-up doctor from the mental hospital is here, resting in the room.
Go check on the doctor, Auntie will go cook, and call you when it's ready." Lin Qiye's steps hesitated slightly, he said, "Oh," and turned towards the bedroom.
...
"Hello, I'm Dr.
Li from Sunshine Mental Hospital."When Lin Qiye pushed open the door and entered, the young man sitting on the small stool in the bedroom stood up.
He spoke gently, wearing a pair of large black-framed glasses on his face, looking gentle and refined.
Lin Qiye raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Wasn't it Dr.
Han who used to come before?" "Dr.
Han was promoted to vice dean last year," Dr.
Li smiled, a hint of envy in his eyes.
Lin Qiye nodded slightly, "Oh." Well, Dr.
Han is much older, with superb medical skills, so his promotion to vice dean was not surprising, and it was only natural for a young doctor to come periodically for check-ups.
Seeing Lin Qiye sit down, Dr.
Li cleared his throat and took out a stack of medical records from his bag.
"I'm sorry, I'm new here too, so I don't know much about your situation.
Let me briefly understand it first." Dr.
Li apologized.
Lin Qiye nodded.
"The name is...
Lin Qiye?" "Yes." "Seventeen years old." "Yes." "Birthday?" "October 5th." "Hmm...
the medical records say that you lost your sight ten years ago and were sent to our hospital due to some issues?" "Yes." Dr.
Li pondered for a moment, "Have you changed your name?" "...No, why do you ask?" Lin Qiye was puzzled.
Dr.
Li scratched his head awkwardly, "Ahem...
it seems I was overthinking." He pointed to the age on the medical record, then pointed to the three words from ten years ago, "You see, you lost your sight ten years ago when you were seven years old, and your name happened to be Lin Qiye, so I thought you changed your name after losing your sight..." Lin Qiye remained silent for a long time and shook his head, "No...
I have never changed my name.
My parents gave me the name Lin Qiye before I was born." "Well, that's quite...
ahem," Dr.
Li realized he was being impolite and promptly closed his mouth.
"Quite a coincidence," Lin Qiye said lightly, "Indeed, quite a coincidence." Dr.
Li felt a bit embarrassed, but he quickly changed the subject, "Hmm...
the medical records don't seem to detail the accident that caused your blindness and mental disorder.
If it's convenient, could you tell me about it?" Before Lin Qiye could speak, Dr.
Li hurriedly added, "It's not meant to offend, but to understand the patients better in order to treat them more effectively.
Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you." Lin Qiye sat quietly, his eyes seemingly fixed on Dr.
Li beneath the black ribbon.
After a while, he spoke slowly, "There's nothing I can't say...
it's just that you may not believe it, and you might even have me sent back to the psychiatric hospital." "No, no, don't categorize our relationship as doctor and patient.
This is just a normal conversation between friends, it won't go that far," Dr.
Li half-jokingly said, "Even if you tell me you were pulled into a pill furnace by Laozi, I would believe it." Lin Qiye remained silent for a moment and nodded slightly.
"When I was young, I liked astronomy." "Hmm, and then?" "That night, I was lying on the roof of my old house looking at the moon." "What did you see? The moon rabbit?" Dr.
Li chuckled.
Lin Qiye shook his head, and his next words made Dr.
Li's smile freeze on his face.
"No, I saw an angel," Lin Qiye said seriously, gesturing with his hands, "An archangel enveloped in golden light, with six white wings.""