Hot August.

Drip, drip, drip!

The harsh chirping of cicadas mixed with the intermittent honking of car horns, echoing on the crowded streets. The scorching sun baked the gray asphalt road, and the heat surged, causing the entire street to seem distorted.

Under the few clusters of trees on the side of the road, a few young people were gathered, smoking and waiting for the traffic lights.

Suddenly, one of the young men who was blowing smoke seemed to have noticed something. He looked over to the corner of the street and exclaimed, “Nuo, what are you looking at?”

His companion beside him asked, “What’s up, Nuo?”

Nuo, the young man, stared at the corner for a while before speaking, “What if a blind person needs to cross the road?”

His companion was taken aback and hesitated for a moment before slowly answering, “Usually, blind people have someone to take care of them when they go out, or they have guide dogs to lead them. In modern cities, there are also voice announcements for traffic lights on the roadside. If none of those options are available, maybe they can rely on sound and a white cane to move little by little?”

Nuo shook his head. “But what if there’s no one to take care of them, no guide dog, no voice announcements, and even the white cane is being used to carry cooking oil?”

“Do you think you’re funny?” His companion rolled his eyes and followed Nuo’s gaze. In the next moment, he froze in place.

Across the street, a young boy wearing a black short-sleeved shirt stood there. His eyes were wrapped in several layers of thick black cloth, completely blocking out all light.

In his left hand, he held a cheap shopping bag filled with vegetables, and in his right hand, he held a white cane resting on his shoulder. It looked like he was carrying a pole. At the end of the white cane, there was a large bucket of golden peanut oil, sparkling in the sunlight!

With the black cloth covering his eyes, the white cane on his shoulder, vegetables in his left hand, and oil in his right hand…

This bizarre scene immediately attracted the attention of a crowd.

“Hey, look, that person looks strange.”

“With so much cloth covering his eyes, can he see the road?”

“Didn’t you see the white cane in his hand? He’s obviously blind.”

“It’s the modern age. Most blind people wear sunglasses. Who covers their eyes with cloth on a hot day? Aren’t they afraid of suffocating?”

“Yeah, and have you ever seen a blind person using a white cane to carry things instead of using it to walk?”

“Young people these days are really something.”

“…”

The sound of cicadas in the summer couldn’t drown out the whispers of the pedestrians around. They curiously observed the young boy, quietly discussing whether he was truly blind or pretending to be blind, while also looking forward to the blinking traffic light.

Just then, a clear voice sounded beside the young boy.

“Big brother, let me help you cross the road.”

It was a girl wearing a school uniform, around twelve or thirteen years old. There were a few glistening beads of sweat on her cheeks, and her big black eyes were filled with concern as she looked at the young boy, pure and simple.

The young boy was slightly taken aback and turned his head to look in the direction of the little girl. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Okay.”

He hung the bag of vegetables on his right hand, freeing his left hand to wipe the sweat off his clothes. He gently held the little girl’s hand.

Click!

The green light turned on.

The young boy took a step forward, walking with the little girl towards the other side of the road.

The little girl was nervous, looking left and right at the passing vehicles, her steps cautious and timid.

As for the young boy… he walked steadily.

In the eyes of the onlookers, this scene didn’t seem like a kind girl helping a blind person cross the road, but more like an older brother guiding a younger child.

The road wasn’t wide, and in just a dozen seconds, the two reached the other side of the road. The young boy thanked the little girl and walked away without looking back, heading towards a secluded alley.

“He’s not blind.” Nuo, who witnessed this scene, said confidently, “He can definitely see.”

One of the young men behind Nuo propped his chin with one hand, deep in thought. Then, as if he had figured something out, he suddenly exclaimed, “I get it! He’s cosplaying as Lee Sin, the Blind Monk ! “

Slap!

A resounding slap landed on the back of his head, and Nuo cursed, “Idiot! All you do is play games every day. Who the hell has nothing better to do than cosplay as the Blind Monk on a busy street? Are you asking for trouble?”

After a two-second pause, Nuo muttered under his breath, “Besides… the Blind Monk’s blindfold is red, and this cosplay doesn’t look like it.”

“Nuo, you think the same…”

“Shut up.”

“Oh.”

While the two were bickering, the young man who had been silent all along stared at the young boy’s departing figure, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Nuo noticed his gaze.

“I know him.”

“Know him?”

“Yes.” The young man nodded, “When my younger cousin was still in elementary school, I heard that there was a student in their school who had an accident and had problems with his eyes. He had to use black cloth to cover them, and there were also mental issues…”

“Mental issues?” Nuo was taken aback and carefully recalled the situation just now. “I didn’t see any problems.”

“That was ten years ago. Maybe he has already recovered. But at that time, it seemed like a big deal. The student dropped out of school in just a few days and transferred to a special school for the blind.”

Just then, another person chimed in excitedly, “By the way, what kind of accident was it? It caused blindness and mental issues. Could it be some kind of curse?”

“I don’t know.” He paused, “But… I heard it was something even more unbelievable.”

“He’s a pitiful person.” Nuo sighed, “What’s his name?”

“I think his name is… Lin… Lin… Lin Qiye?”

…

In the evening glow, Lin Qiye pushed open the door.

Almost instantly, the aroma of food from inside the house wafted into his nostrils. He sniffed, swallowed his saliva, and walked into the house with his bags.

Creak!

The old door made a piercing creak, drowning out the sound of stir-frying coming from the kitchen. A middle-aged woman pushed open the kitchen door and, upon seeing Lin Qiye carrying bags, exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly walked over.”Little Qi, why are you bringing so much stuff back all at once again?” The woman wiped her hands on her apron, hurriedly helping Lin Qiye take the things, and chattered.

“Such a big bucket of peanut oil? You kid, did you misuse the government’s subsidy again?”

“Auntie, the subsidy the government gives to the disabled is for living, and I use it to buy oil, which is making the best use of it.” Lin Qiye laughed.

“Nonsense, this money is for your college, how can you misuse it? I tell you, the money I earn from working is enough to support the three of us, you don’t need to spend your own money.”

Auntie gently wiped the oil barrel with her hand, her expression a bit pained, she muttered quietly: “Such a big barrel of oil, and it’s a brand… it must have cost a lot of money, right?”

Before Lin Qiye could say anything, Auntie suddenly reacted.

“Wait… how did you bring so much stuff back?”

“Oh, I met some kind people on the way who helped me bring it 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 is Jin?”

“He’s doing his homework on the balcony… Oh, the doctor from the mental hospital who comes for the routine check-up this year is here, he’s resting in the room, just go to talk with him, I’ll cook, call you when it’s ready.”

Lin Qiye’s steps paused slightly, he responded with an “Oh”, and turned to walk towards the bedroom.

……

“Hello, I’m Dr. Li from Sunshine Mental Hospital.”

Seeing Lin Qiye push the door in, the young man sitting on the small stool in the bedroom stood up and spoke gently, his face adorned with a pair of large black-rimmed glasses, looking very scholarly.

Lin Qiye raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Wasn’t it always Dr. Han who came before?”

“Dr. Han was promoted to deputy director last year.” Dr. Li smiled, a hint of envy in his eyes.

Lin Qiye nodded slightly, acknowledging with an “Oh”.

Indeed, Dr. Han was of a certain age and highly skilled in medicine, so his promotion to deputy director was not surprising to him. It was only natural to have a young doctor come for regular check-ups.

Seeing Lin Qiye sit down, Dr. Li cleared his throat and took out a stack of medical records from his bag.

“Sorry, because I just arrived, I don’t know much about your situation, I’ll just get a brief understanding first.” Dr. Li apologized.

Lin Qiye nodded.

“Your name is… Lin Qiye?”

“Yes.”

“You’re seventeen this year.”

“Yes.”

“Your birthday?”

“October 5th.”

“Um… The medical record says that you lost your sight ten years ago and were sent to our hospital due to some issues?”

“Yes.”

Dr. Li pondered for a while, “Did you change your name?”

“…No, why do you ask?” Lin Qiye was taken aback.

Dr. Li scratched his head awkwardly, “Cough cough… It seems I thought too much.”

He pointed at the age on the medical record, then at the words “ten years ago”, “You see, you lost your sight ten years ago, when you were exactly seven years old, and your name happens to be Lin Qiye, so I thought you changed your name after you lost your sight…”（Note：the Chinese word Qi means Seven. In addition, Lin means Grove or Forest, and Ye means Night）

Lin Qiye was silent for a long time, then shook his head: “No… I never changed my name, my parents named me Lin Qiye before I was born.”

“That’s quite… cough cough” Dr. Li stopped halfway through his sentence, realizing it was impolite, and promptly closed his mouth.

“Quite a coincidence.” Lin Qiye spoke lightly, “Indeed, quite a coincidence.”

Dr. Li was a bit embarrassed, but he quickly changed the subject, “Um… The medical record doesn’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 quickly added: “I don’t mean to offend, the more I understand the patient, the better I can treat them, of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t insist.”

Lin Qiye sat quietly, under the black ribbon, those eyes seemed to be staring at Dr. Li.

After a while, he slowly said:

“There’s nothing I can’t talk about… 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 see our relationship as doctor and patient, it’s just a normal chat between friends, it won’t go that far.” Dr. Li joked, “Even if you tell me you were pulled into the alchemy furnace by the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, I would believe it.”

Lin Qiye was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“When I was a kid, I liked astronomy.”

“Um, 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 laughed.

Lin Qiye shook his head, his next sentence directly froze Dr. Li’s smile on his face.

“No, I saw an angel.” Lin Qiye said seriously, even gesturing with his hands in front of him.

“A Seraph, enveloped in golden light, with six white wings.”