The room went silent for a moment.
A few seconds later, Dr. Li came back to his senses. "A Seraph?"
"Yes."
"What was he doing?"
"He did nothing. He was like a golden statue, seated in the heart of a massive lunar crater, looking up at Earth as if he were… watching over it?"
Dr. Li rubbed the corners of his eyes, and said helplessly "Qiye, do you know how far away the moon is from Earth?"
"Nearly four hundred thousand kilometers," Lin Qiye replied calmly.
"Nearly four hundred thousand kilometers," Dr. Li repeated. "Even with the most advanced astronomical telescopes, you can barely make out details on the Moon's surface. Yet at age seven, while lying on the roof of your family's old house, you claim to have seen an angel on the Moon with your naked eye?"
"I didn't see Him," Lin Qiye said softly. "He saw me, I only looked up, and my eyes were drawn across the void as if by his gaze, meeting his directly."
"So, you're saying He forced you to look?"
"I suppose so. Otherwise, how could I have seen the Moon's surface? I don't have supernatural vision."
"But if a real angel truly existed on the Moon, why hasn't humanity discovered Him in all these years?"
"I don't know," Lin Qiye shook his head. "Perhaps that Seraph doesn't wish to be discovered. Besides… do people truly understand the Moon?"
Lin Qiye spoke so sincerely that Dr. Li was immediately tempted to call for a car to take him back to the mental hospital.
After all, Dr. Li was a psychiatrist specializing in mental illness, and he had encountered all kinds of psychological disorders. Over his medical career, he had developed a principle: the more matter-of-fact the nonsense someone spouted, and the more convincing they sounded, the more serious their condition.
"What about your eyes then? What happened?"
Lin Qiye stretched out his hand, gently rubbing the black silk covering his eyes. His voice carried no emotions. "That day, I met His gaze for just a moment, and then… I went blind."
Dr. Li opened his mouth, then closed it. He lowered his head to look at the medical file, falling into silence.
In the blank for cause of blindness, there was only one word written:
— Unknown.
So… what exactly happened back then?
Could it truly be as Lin Qiye said — that he saw a Seraph on the Moon? Otherwise, how could his sudden blindness be explained?
The thought flickered through Dr. Li's mind for only a moment before he decisively shut it down.
That was close. He'd almost been led astray by a psychiatric patient!
He could almost picture it: young Lin Qiye, blind for ten years, retelling that very story before a panel of doctors. He imagined their expressions must have been quite something.
No wonder this boy had been ordered into mandatory hospitalization. No matter how you looked at it, what he described was the kind of delusion only a psychiatric patient would voice.
Such patients weren't uncommon in the hospital. There was one who claimed to be the reincarnation of Sun Wukong and spent all day in a daze hanging from a pull-up bar. Another believed he was a coat rack and stood motionless in his room all night. Then there was the one who thought every man around was their husband and was always sneaking around touching other people's butts...
Oh, and that last patient was a greasy forty-year-old man.
"These are things mentioned in the past. What about now? How do you view this situation?" Dr. Li adjusted his emotions and continued with the routine checkup.
"It's all just delusions," Lin Qiye said calmly. "That day, I simply lost my balance and fell off the roof. My head hit the ground, and as for my eyes… perhaps some nerve was damaged in the impact, and that's why I lost my sight."
He'd perfected this explanation long ago, delivering it with mechanical precision, his voice betraying nothing
Dr. Li raised an eyebrow and made a note in the medical file. He continued chatting with Lin Qiye about everyday matters. About twenty minutes later, he glanced at the time and stood up with a smile.
"Well, that concludes the checkup for today. Your condition is fine. I hope you'll maintain a positive mindset and live well." Dr. Li shook hands with Lin Qiye and said encouragingly.
Lin Qiye smiled faintly and nodded slightly.
"Oh, Dr. Li, please stay for a meal," Auntie called out warmly as Dr. Li prepared to leave.
"I appreciate it, but I need to check on my next patient."
He bid farewell to Auntie with courtesy and stepped out the door.
The moment the door closed, Lin Qiye's smile vanished as though it had never existed.
"Delusions…" he muttered to himself.
"Brother, dinner's ready!" His cousin Yang Jin called out, walking out of the kitchen with a dish in hand.
Yang Jin was Auntie's son, four years younger than Lin Qiye and just starting middle school. Ever since Lin Qiye's parents went missing and he came to stay with Auntie, the two had grown up together, and their relationship is closer than that of brothers.
"Coming," Lin Qiye replied.
Just as Lin Qiye sat down at the cramped dining table, a sudden warmth came from the soles of his feet. He paused for a moment, then a faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips.
Yang Jin glanced under the table and teased with a laugh: "You lazy mutt, Little Blackie! You lie around all day doing nothing, but as soon as dinner's ready, you're the fastest one here."
A small scruffy black dog poked his head out from under the table, his tongue hanging outside his teeth, breathing hot puffs of air. He padded over to Lin Qiye's side and licked his foot affectionately, his whole face eager to please.
Three people and one dog. That was their home.
Simple, difficult, yet somehow deeply comforting.
It had been like this for ten years.
Lin Qiye petted the dog's head and picked out one of the few pieces of meat from his plate, placing it in his cousin Yang Jin's bowl.
"Give him a bone to munch on."
Yang Jin didn't refuse. Between brothers like them, unnecessary words would only create distance.
His real concern was something else.
"Brother, are your eyes really almost healed?"
Lin Qiye smiled slightly, "Yeah, I can see now. But they're still sensitive to light, so the silk wrap needs to stay on for a few more days."
"A few more days? Xiao Qi, listen to Auntie — eyes are precious. Just because you can see now doesn't mean you should rush to take that wrap off. What if… what if the sun damages them again? That would be such a pity! Let's be careful and keep it on a bit longer!" Auntie hurried to caution him.
"I know, Auntie."
"Oh, by the way, brother, I've been saving up and bought you a pair of cool sunglasses! I'll show them to you later!" Yang Jin suddenly said excitedly, as though he'd just remembered.
Lin Qiye shook his head with a smile. "Ajin[1], sunglasses can block light, but they're nowhere near as effective as the silk wrap. I still can't wear them yet."
"Oh…" Yang Jin looked disappointed.
"But once my eyes are completely healed, I'll wear them everywhere when I go out. And I'll buy you a pair too — we can match!" Lin Qiye promised.
Yang Jin's eyes lit up at those words, and he nodded enthusiastically.
"By the way, Xiao Qi, Auntie's already arranged your transfer. Once this semester starts, you can move from the special school to a regular high school," Auntie said, as though she'd just remembered something. "But are you really sure about this? A regular high school is completely different from a special school, and with your situation, what if…"
"There's no 'what if,' Auntie," Lin Qiye interrupted gently. "My eyes are healed now. If I want to get into a good university, I must stand on the same starting line as others."
"You stubborn child… even if you don't get into a good university, it's fine. Auntie can always support you!"
"I can also support you, brother!"
Lin Qiye's body trembled slightly. What lay beneath the black silk wrapping, no one could see, but his lips pressed together, before curving into another smile.
He shook his head firmly.
He didn't say anything, but both Yang Jin and Auntie felt the unshakeable determination in that gesture.
Even Little Blackie at his feet seemed to sense it, nuzzling against Lin Qiye's ankle.
"—Woof!"
[1] a familiar/affectionate nickname for Yang Jin