The room fell into a brief silence.
After a few seconds, Dr. Li came back to himself. "The Archangel?"
"Yes."
"What was He doing?"
"Nothing. He was like a golden statue, sitting in the middle of a massive crater on the moon, looking up at the Earth, as if... watching over it?"
Dr. Li rubbed the corner of his eye and sighed helplessly. "Qiye, do you know how far the moon is from Earth?"
"Nearly 400,000 kilometers," Lin Qiye replied calmly.
"Nearly 400,000 kilometers," Dr. Li repeated. "Even with the most advanced telescopes, you can barely see the moon's surface. And you say when you were seven, just lying on your old home's roof, you saw an angel on the moon with the naked eye?"
"It wasn't me who saw Him," Lin Qiye said softly, "He saw me. I just looked up, and it was like my eyes were pulled across space by Him to meet His gaze."
"So you mean He forced you?"
"Something like that. Otherwise, how else could I have seen the moon's surface? I'm no clairvoyant."
"But if there really was an angel on the moon, why hasn't humanity discovered it all these years?"
"I don't know," Lin Qiye shook his head. "Maybe that Archangel doesn't want to be observed. Besides... do humans really understand the moon?"
Lin Qiye spoke earnestly, so much so that Dr. Li immediately wanted to call a car and have him taken back to the mental hospital.
After all, Dr. Li specialized in psychiatry and had seen all kinds of cases. Over his career, he'd learned that the more seriously convincing and logical the nonsense sounded, the more severe the illness usually was.
"What about your eyes? What happened?"
Lin Qiye reached out and gently rubbed the black satin blindfold over his eyes, his voice steady and emotionless. "That day, I looked into His eyes for a moment, and then... I went blind."
Dr. Li opened his mouth but said nothing, lowering his gaze to the medical file and falling silent.
In the cause of blindness section, only four characters were written — "Cause Unknown."
So... what really happened back then?
Did Lin Qiye truly see the Archangel on the moon? Otherwise, how to explain the sudden blindness?
This thought flashed briefly before Dr. Li crushed it immediately.
Thankfully, he almost got led astray by a psychiatric patient!
He could almost imagine the doctors' expressions ten years ago when young Lin Qiye said such things.
No wonder the boy was forcibly hospitalized; no matter how you looked at it, what he said was typical of a mentally ill person.
Such patients weren't rare in the hospital: some claimed to be the reincarnation of the Monkey King and spent all day hanging from monkey bars; others thought they were coat racks standing motionless all night; some mistook everyone for their spouse and groped strangers...
Well, the last one was a greasy forty-year-old man.
"What about now? How do you see all this?" Dr. Li adjusted his mood and continued the check-up.
"Just delusions," Lin Qiye said calmly. "That day, I accidentally rolled off the roof and hit my head on the ground. As for my eyes, maybe a nerve was damaged, so I lost my sight."
He didn't know how many times he'd said this, so practiced and calm.
Dr. Li raised his eyebrows, wrote something in the file, then chatted with Lin Qiye about daily life. About twenty minutes later, he glanced at the time and stood with a smile.
"Alright, that's all for today's check-up. Your condition is stable. I hope you can keep a positive mindset and live well." Dr. Li shook Lin Qiye's hand encouragingly.
Lin Qiye smiled and nodded lightly.
"Hey, Dr. Li, stay for dinner," Auntie warmly invited as he prepared to leave.
"No, no, I have another patient. I won't disturb you."
Dr. Li politely said goodbye and left.
The moment the door closed, Lin Qiye's smile vanished as if it never existed.
"Delusions... huh..." he murmured.
"Brother, dinner's ready!" His cousin Yang Jin came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and called out.
Yang Jin was Auntie's son, four years younger than Lin Qiye and just starting middle school. Since Lin Qiye's parents disappeared and he stayed with Auntie, the two had grown up like brothers.
"Coming," Lin Qiye replied.
As Lin Qiye sat at the cramped dining table, a warm sensation spread from his foot. Startled at first, then a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Yang Jin looked under the table and laughed, teasing:
"You lazy little black rascal. You're always slow, but come dinner time, you're faster than anyone."
A small black mutt poked its head from under the table, tongue hanging out, panting, nudged Lin Qiye's foot, and licked it, full of affection.
Three people and one dog — this was a family.
Simple, tough, yet somehow comforting.
For ten years.
Lin Qiye petted the dog's head, took a small piece of meat from his plate, and put it in Yang Jin's bowl.
"Give it a bone to chew on."
Yang Jin didn't refuse. Given their brotherly bond, there was no need for words.
But he cared about something else.
"Brother, are your eyes really getting better?"
Lin Qiye smiled faintly. "Yeah, I can see now, just still can't handle bright light. I have to keep the black satin wrapped for a few more days."
"A few more days? Xiao Qi, Auntie told you, eyes are too important. Even if you can see now, don't rush to take off the blindfold. If the sun blinds you again, that'd be a pity! Better be safe and keep it on longer!" Auntie urged.
"I know, Auntie."
"Oh, and I saved some money to buy you cool sunglasses. I'll show you later!" Yang Jin seemed excited.
Lin Qiye laughed and shook his head. "Ajin, sunglasses block light, but nowhere near as well as the black satin. I can't wear them yet."
"Alright…" Yang Jin looked disappointed.
"But once my eyes fully heal, I'll wear them every day and buy a pair for you too. We'll go out together."
Yang Jin's eyes lit up again, nodding eagerly.
"By the way, Xiao Qi, Auntie has arranged your school transfer. Starting next semester, you can move from the special school to a regular high school." Auntie spoke, seeming thoughtful.
"But are you sure? Regular high schools are different from special schools. Given your situation, what if..."
"No 'what if,' Auntie." Lin Qiye interrupted firmly. "My eyes are better now, and if I want to get into a good university, I have to stand on the same starting line as everyone else."
"You kid... Even if you don't get into a good university, it's okay. Auntie will always support you!"
"Brother, I can support you too!"
Lin Qiye's body shuddered slightly. The eyes beneath the black satin were unseen, his lips pressed then curled into a smile.
A resolute shake of his head.
No words, but both Yang Jin and Auntie felt his determination.
Even the little black dog rubbed against Lin Qiye's ankle.
—Woof!