The room fell into a brief silence.
A few seconds later, Dr. Li snapped back to attention. "Seraph?"
"Yes."
"What's it doing?"
"Nothing. It's like a golden sculpture, sitting in the center of a huge crater on the moon, looking up at Earth... as if it's... watching?"
Dr. Li rubbed his eyes, a bit helpless. "Qi Ye, do you know how far the moon is from Earth?"
"Almost 400,000 kilometers," Lin Qi Ye replied calmly.
"Almost 400,000 kilometers," Dr. Li repeated. "Even with the most advanced telescopes, we can barely see the moon's surface. But you, at seven years old, just lying on the roof of your house, saw the angel on the moon with your naked eye?"
"I didn't see it," Lin Qi Ye said quietly. "It saw me. I just looked up, and it felt like my eyes were pulled across space to meet its gaze."
"So, it forced you?"
"Sort of. Otherwise, how could I have seen the surface of the moon? I don't have x-ray vision."
"But if there really is an angel on the moon, why hasn't anyone discovered it all these years?"
"I don't know," Lin Qi Ye shook his head. "Maybe that seraph doesn't want to be seen. Besides... does humanity really understand the moon?"
Lin Qi Ye spoke so sincerely that Dr. Li immediately wanted to call for a car to send him back to the mental hospital.
As a specialist in psychiatry, Dr. Li had seen all sorts of mental illnesses. Over the years, he had developed a rule: the more serious the condition, the more convincingly someone could talk nonsense, making it sound reasonable.
"Then what about your eyes? What's going on?"
Lin Qi Ye extended his hand and gently touched the black satin cloth covering his eyes. His voice was calm, without any sign of emotion. "That day, when I looked into its eyes, I... went blind."
Dr. Li opened his mouth, glanced at the case file, and fell silent.
In the section for the cause of blindness, only four words were written:
— Cause unknown.
So... what really happened back then?
Could it be true, as Lin Qi Ye said, that he saw the seraph on the moon? Otherwise, how could he suddenly go blind?
This thought flashed briefly in Dr. Li's mind before he quickly suppressed it.
That was close—almost let a mental patient lead him astray!
He could almost imagine the expressions of the doctors ten years ago when Lin Qi Ye said those words in front of them.
No wonder the boy was forcibly kept in the hospital. No matter how you looked at it, what he said sounded like the delusions of a mental patient.
There were many such patients in the hospital—some claimed to be reincarnated as the Monkey King, spending all day on the monkey bars; some thought they were coat racks and stood still in rooms all night; some thought everyone they saw was their husband and would sneakily grope others.
...The last patient was a greasy middle-aged man.
"You're talking about things from the past. What about now? How do you feel about this?" Dr. Li adjusted his mood and continued with the check-up.
"It's all just delusion," Lin Qi Ye replied calmly. "That day, I just accidentally rolled off the roof, hit my head on the ground, and as for my eyes... maybe some nerve was damaged, and that's why I went blind."
He had said this many times before, calmly and with practiced ease.
Dr. Li raised an eyebrow, wrote something on the file, and chatted with Lin Qi Ye about daily life. About twenty minutes later, he checked the time, stood up with a smile.
"Well, the check-up is over. Your condition is fine now. I hope you can adjust your mindset and live well," Dr. Li said, shaking Lin Qi Ye's hand.
Lin Qi Ye smiled and nodded slightly.
"Hey, Dr. Li, stay for dinner!" Auntie called out as Dr. Li was about to leave.
"No, no, I have another patient to see. I won't disturb you," Dr. Li politely bid farewell and left.
As the door closed, Lin Qi Ye's smile vanished, as if it had never existed.
"Delusion... huh?" he murmured to himself.
"Bro, it's time for dinner!" His cousin, Yang Jin, came out of the kitchen with dishes in hand and called out.
Yang Jin was Auntie's son, four years younger than Lin Qi Ye. He had just entered junior high. Since Lin Qi Ye's parents went missing and he moved in with Auntie, they had grown up together, closer than real brothers.
"Coming," Lin Qi Ye answered.
As soon as he sat down at the small dining table, a warm sensation spread from his feet. He paused for a moment before his lips curled into a slight smile.
Cousin Yang Jin looked under the table and scolded with a smile.
"You little black rascal. You're usually so lazy, but when it's time to eat, you're faster than anyone."
A little black mutt poked its head out from under the table, its tongue hanging out, panting with warm breath. It trotted up to Lin Qi Ye and licked his feet, its face full of affection.
Three people, one dog—this was home.
Simple, tough, yet strangely comforting.
It had been like this for ten years.
Lin Qi Ye patted the dog's head, took a piece of meat from the few left in the plate, and placed it into Yang Jin's bowl.
"Give it a bone."
Yang Jin didn't refuse. With their brotherly bond, it would have been awkward to say more.
He was more concerned with something else.
"Bro, your eyes really are almost better?"
Lin Qi Ye smiled faintly. "Yeah, I can see now, just not well in the light. The black satin still needs to be worn for a few more days."
"A few days? Little Qi, Auntie told you, your eyes are very important. Even if you can see now, don't rush to take off the black satin. What if... what if the sunlight damages them again? That would be such a waste! Let's be careful and wear it for a bit longer!"
"Got it, Auntie."
"By the way, bro, I saved up some money and bought you a cool pair of sunglasses. I'll show you later!"
Lin Qi Ye shook his head with a smile. "Ah Jin, sunglasses can block the light, but they're not as good as the black satin. I can't wear them yet."
"Okay…" Yang Jin was a little disappointed.
"But once my eyes are fully healed, I'll wear them every day and take you shopping. I'll even buy you a pair too, so we can go together."
Upon hearing this, Yang Jin's eyes lit up, and he gave a heavy nod.
"By the way, Little Qi, Auntie has arranged for you to transfer schools. This semester, you'll be able to transfer from the special school to a regular high school," Auntie said, as if remembering something. "But are you sure about this? Regular high schools are different from special schools. With your condition, what if..."
"There's no 'what if,' Auntie," Lin Qi Ye interrupted her. "My eyes are fine now, and if I want to get into a good university, I have to be on the same starting line as everyone else."
"You child... Even if you don't get into a good university, it's fine. Auntie will take care of you!"
"Bro, I can take care of you too!"
Lin Qi Ye's body trembled slightly. His eyes hidden behind the black satin, he couldn't show what they looked like. He pressed his lips together, then curled into a smile.
He shook his head firmly.
They didn't speak, but both Yang Jin and Auntie could feel his determination.
Even the little black mutt at his feet nudged Lin Qi Ye's ankle.
"—Woof!"