After feeding the medication to Nix, Lin Qiye withdrew from his mind and gradually fell into a deep sleep.
This time, he didn't dream the exhausting door-knocking dream. Since merging with the Gods' Asylum, he seemed to have completely shaken off the constraints of that dream, enjoying true, undisturbed sleep.
He had a pleasant dream: he had passed the college entrance exam, achieved career success, and moved into a big house with his aunt and Yang Jin. In the dream, the three of them finally went on a trip, visiting mountains and rivers they had only seen on TV...
Due to his previous physical disabilities and his family's tight budget, Lin Qiye hadn't even left Cangnan City in the past seventeen years. He had always longed to see the world beyond.
When the alarm rang, Lin Qiye reluctantly got up, changed clothes, and prepared to go to school.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw his aunt hurrying to change her shoes, ready to leave.
"Aunt, why are you leaving so early?" Lin Qiye asked.
"There's a batch of new parts coming to the factory. We need to process them quickly. I'm leaving now. You go ahead and have breakfast with your brother. Remember, don't be late!" His aunt scolded lightly as she put on her shoes.
"Okay."
Just as she was about to close the door, Lin Qiye spoke again.
"Aunt?"
"What's wrong?" His aunt stopped and looked at him in confusion.
"Uh... nothing. I'll tell you something good when you get back." Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and smiled.
His aunt gave him a puzzled look, then scolded him with a smile, "You're always teasing me. Alright, I'm in a rush, tell me when I get back!"
With that, she quickly closed the door and hurried downstairs.
Lin Qiye stood silently in the doorway, his head lowered as if deep in thought...
Suddenly, he looked up sharply, as though making a decision, and opened the door with a determined stride!
Standing in the hallway, he shouted downstairs, "Aunt! I can see now!!"
The next moment, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly stop, and his aunt's voice trembled as it called from below, "What... what did you say?!"
"I can see now! I'm better, Aunt!"
There was a brief pause, and then the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs more urgently than before. Before long, his aunt, breathless and panting, stood in front of Lin Qiye.
Her lips trembled, but a smile she couldn't suppress bloomed on her face...
"You can see now? Really?" She asked, barely believing it.
"Yes," Lin Qiye answered, his smile broadening.
"Is it blurry? Are there double images? Does it hurt? Does light still hurt your eyes?"
"No, none of that, Aunt." Lin Qiye smiled and gently removed the black cloth covering his eyes. His beautiful eyes slowly opened, revealing their full clarity. "I'm really better, Aunt."
His aunt stared blankly at his eyes, tears welling up uncontrollably as they spilled down her cheeks.
She smiled, and her wrinkles seemed to soften as if blooming like flowers. Despite being in her forties, she looked like a child in that moment.
For ten years, Lin Qiye had never seen her smile like this.
She hugged him tightly, and he could feel her body trembling slightly.
"Good... good... our little Qiye finally made it!" His aunt released him, wiping away her tears and smiling. "Qiye, I have to go to work now. When I get back tonight, I'll buy extra groceries! We'll celebrate!"
"Thank you, Aunt."
"Well, I'm off now. Go to school, okay?"
"Mm."
His aunt hurried downstairs, and as the tears continued to fall, she wiped her face and took the stairs with an unusually light step.
Lin Qiye watched her leave, his eyes red, then turned and entered the room.
In truth, he had planned to wait for his aunt to return that night before officially announcing this news. But then he thought about how in movies, those who make such promises usually face unfortunate outcomes...
He didn't want to tempt fate, even if it was some irrational superstition. So, he decisively discarded that "flag" and threw it into the Pacific Ocean.
As he turned around, he saw Yang Jin holding the little black dog standing behind him. His eyes were red as well.
The two brothers exchanged a glance for two seconds before they both burst into laughter.
"Brother, congratulations."
"Yeah, now the sunglasses you gave me can finally come in handy." Lin Qiye ruffled Yang Jin's hair and chuckled.
"Let's eat, brother. When Aunt comes home, we'll have a good meal."
"Okay!"
The little black dog, standing in Yang Jin's arms, stretched its head out to lick Lin Qiye's hand and barked, "Woof!"
...
Second High School
When Lin Qiye walked into the classroom, the whole class fell silent.
For a moment, his classmates just stared at him, confused. Finally, someone cautiously asked:
"Are you... Lin Qiye?"
Lin Qiye, removing the black cloth from his eyes, raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly.
After a brief silence, the classroom erupted into chatter, more excited than before!
"His eyes are better?"
"Of course they are! He can see now!"
"His eyes are so pretty!"
"Yeah, yeah, I never noticed before, he's actually quite handsome..."
The girls' eyes on Lin Qiye shifted, and they gathered in small groups, whispering and occasionally glancing at him.
The boys who were closer to him also gathered around, asking him a lot of questions about his eyes. When they confirmed that his vision had really returned, they were all in shock.
"I could always see, just not in the light. After I went to the hospital yesterday, it's all fine now." Lin Qiye explained.
That's when his classmates remembered he had missed school the day before, and everything clicked.
But in the midst of all the commotion, two people stood out as noticeably out of place.
Liu Yuan, in the corner, kept his head down, stealing glances at Lin Qiye, his face full of awkwardness.
He clearly remembered the day he had shoved Lin Qiye hard, trying to escape. After making it out, he figured that Lin Qiye, being blind, would never survive the monster's attack. He felt a little guilty at first, but didn't dwell on it.
However, he never expected that it was Jiang Qian who had died, and the one he least expected—Lin Qiye—had survived!
Moreover, his eyes had improved!
For a moment, Liu Yuan couldn't sort through his feelings—awkwardness? Guilt? Frustration? Or... regret?
Though Lin Qiye's back was to him, his keen sense picked up every subtle shift in Liu Yuan's expression. His eyes narrowed slightly.
At that moment, another person walked up to Lin Qiye's desk.
Li Yifei stood next to Lin Qiye, fidgeting, his expression awkward. He looked around, lowered his body, and whispered in Lin Qiye's ear:
"Qiye... uh... can you come out for a moment? I have something to say."
Lin Qiye hesitated for just a moment before nodding.