After three weeks had passed, subtle changes occurred in Yinuo's life rhythm.
Sleep time was still only five hours, but the physical fatigue had lessened. He began to maintain a more stable mental state during the day, and the afternoon drowsiness was no longer so difficult to resist. This improvement might have come from the meditation training itself, or it might just be his body adapting to the new daily routine. Yinuo didn't delve deeply into the reason—he only recorded this change, then continued executing his daily training plan.
On the weekend of the third week, he completed his first full blindfolded walk in the small park. The fifty-meter path, from starting point to end, without colliding with any obstacles midway. He relied on changes in ground material underfoot, subtle differences in wind direction, and sounds reflected back from surrounding trees. This process took ten minutes, nearly ten times slower than normal walking, but at least proved this training direction was feasible.
After that confrontation in the small park, Chen Hao changed his strategy. He no longer took direct action, but shifted to more covert methods of harassment. Yinuo's textbooks would inexplicably disappear, then be found in the trash can. Salt or chili powder would be put in his water cup. Torn test papers would appear in his drawer. These small acts all happened when Yinuo left his seat, and no one could catch them in the act.
The teacher turned a blind eye to these things—or rather, chose not to see them. The homeroom teacher was a woman in her fifties whose management philosophy was to maintain surface order. As long as students didn't fight or cause trouble in class, other matters could be overlooked. Yinuo had once tried to report this harassment to her, and the answer he got was: "Students need to learn to get along. Don't be so petty over small matters."
The subtext of this statement was clear: you're the one being bullied, so you're the problem.
Yinuo no longer sought help from anyone. He devoted all his energy to training and studying, and everything else became background noise that could be ignored.
On Tuesday evening of the fourth week, something unexpected happened.
After finishing his homework, Yinuo prepared to begin his evening meditation training. He sat cross-legged on the bed and had just closed his eyes when he heard the sound of his parents arguing in the living room.
"How many times have I told you, don't spend all the money on those useless health supplements!" His father's voice was loud, carrying long-suppressed fury.
"Those are for your mother—her legs hurt badly." His mother's voice also rose. "If you won't be filial to your mother, can't you let me be filial?"
"I'm not filial? I give her five hundred yuan living expenses every month. Have you ever given a single cent?"
"I stand eight hours a day at the supermarket, and when I come home I still have to cook and do laundry. Is it easy for me?"
The quarreling grew louder and louder. Yinuo opened his eyes and looked at the closed door. This kind of quarrel wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last. The source of his parents' conflict was simple: not enough money. His father's salary barely covered household expenses, and his mother's income had to subsidize both sets of elderly parents. Every month when the end of the month came, the atmosphere at home would become tense, and any small matter could trigger an argument.
Yinuo got down from the bed and opened the door.
In the living room, his parents stood facing each other, neither noticing he had come out. His father's face was flushed red, and his mother's eyes were already brimming with tears.
"Are you done arguing?" Yinuo asked.
Both turned their heads to look at him simultaneously.
"Go back to your room. This is adult business, you don't need to worry about it." His father said.
Yinuo didn't move. He looked at his parents' exhausted faces and suddenly realized they were aging quickly. His father's temples already had white hair, and his mother's crow's feet were as deep as knife-carved marks. They had exhausted all their energy for this family. Arguing was just a way to vent, a way to prove they were still trying.
"I can solve next month's living expenses myself." Yinuo said.
His mother wiped her eyes: "You're a student, how will you solve it?"
"Do part-time work on weekends." Yinuo answered. "Convenience store or fast food restaurant—can earn eighty to one hundred yuan a day."
His father frowned: "What about your studies?"
"It won't affect them." Yinuo said. "My grades have always been stable."
This was true. Even sleeping only five hours a day, Yinuo's grades remained in the top ten of his grade. In last week's monthly exam, his total score had even improved by seven points from the previous time.
His parents exchanged glances and didn't answer immediately.
"Let me try." Yinuo said. "At least it can reduce some pressure."
The silence lasted about ten seconds. Finally, his mother sighed: "Try it, but if it affects your studies, stop immediately."
Yinuo nodded and returned to his room, closing the door. He sat back on the bed and closed his eyes, but the calm in his heart had already been broken. That decision just now had been a spur of the moment, but after speaking it aloud, he realized this was something that had to be done. He couldn't train himself to become stronger while continuing to let his parents bear all the pressure.
Going to do part-time work on weekends meant training time would be compressed. Originally, he had planned to practice blindfolded walking in the small park for an hour every evening. Now this time slot might be occupied. He needed to replann his training schedule, improving efficiency while ensuring effectiveness.
Yinuo opened his eyes, took out a notebook from his backpack, and began formulating a new timetable.
Five to six in the morning: meditation—this couldn't be compressed.
On the way to and from school: could briefly practice blindfolded walking in places with few people, probably squeeze out twenty minutes.
Lunch break: go to the rooftop or empty classroom to meditate for fifteen minutes, supplementing part of the training time.
Weekends: one day part-time work, the other day concentrated training.
Yinuo wrote the new timetable in his notebook, then closed it. This plan looked very compact, but theoretically it was feasible. The key was whether he could maintain focus during execution, whether he could achieve training results in fragmented time.
The next day after school, Yinuo began trying the new training method. He chose a small road from school to home that detoured about ten minutes farther than his usual route. This road had a section along a riverside walkway. Around five in the afternoon there were very few people, suitable for short-term blindfolded walking practice.
After confirming no one was ahead or behind, Yinuo put on the scarf and began moving forward along the walkway. The sound of flowing water was on the left, the railing on the right, and the road ahead was straight. He used hearing and touch to perceive this information, maintaining a slow but steady pace.
After walking about fifty steps, he heard footsteps coming from ahead. Two people, with steady steps, about twenty meters away. Yinuo stopped, removed the scarf, and waited for them to pass.
Two middle-aged people in sportswear passed by him without casting any strange looks. Yinuo put the scarf back on and continued forward.
This practice went on for fifteen minutes, and Yinuo walked about three hundred meters. Although the distance wasn't long, this kind of high-intensity perceptual training made his brain more tired than usual. He removed the scarf and continued walking the remaining distance in the normal way.
When he got home, his father had already returned. He sat on the sofa watching TV, and when he saw Yinuo enter, he beckoned.
"Come here."
Yinuo walked to the living room. His father took out a fifty-yuan note from his pocket and handed it to him.
"This is this week's allowance, spend it carefully." His father said. "If you go look for part-time work on the weekend, be safe and don't let anyone cheat you."
Yinuo took the money and nodded.
"Also," his father paused, "you've been getting up very early lately. Are you preparing for some exam?"
Yinuo was startled for a moment, then shook his head: "No, I'm just used to getting up early to study."
His father looked at him for a few seconds, then finally said: "It's good that young people have vigorous energy, but you should also pay attention to rest."
Yinuo returned to his room and put the fifty yuan in his drawer. He sat at his desk and began doing today's homework. The sky outside the window gradually darkened, street lamps lighting up one after another.
After finishing his homework, Yinuo took out the booklet and turned to the progress explanation for the first stage. According to what was recorded in the booklet, the first step of sitting meditation needed to continue for three months to achieve a stable state of consciousness descent. He had now been doing it for close to one month, having completed roughly one-third. Although the second step of blindfolded walking had started early, progress was slower than expected. To reach the level required in the booklet of "walking freely without obstruction" would probably take more than two months.
This progress made Yinuo feel a subtle anxiety. The training itself was effective—he could feel his perceptual abilities improving—but the speed of this improvement was far slower than imagined. Chen Hao's harassment continued, the school environment showed no improvement, and all he could do each day was persist in training, waiting for that invisible turning point to arrive.
Yinuo closed the booklet and leaned back in his chair. He recalled that day in the small park when Chen Hao's fist had stopped five centimeters from his face. In that moment he had indeed perceived the threat, but his body hadn't made any reaction. This interval needed to be eliminated. It required countless repetitions of training to establish an automated pathway between perception and reaction.
He stood up, sat cross-legged in his room, and began additional meditation training. Outside the window, night had completely enveloped the city, with only scattered lights flickering in the darkness.
Yinuo closed his eyes, his breathing gradually becoming steady. The sounds around him emerged once more, clear and three-dimensional. His consciousness slowly descended, like a stone sinking into deep water, the surrounding world becoming distant and blurred.