CH 8

Suddenly, his body was lifted off the ground, and Lin Qingyan found himself unexpectedly being held horizontally. He let out a startled cry and instinctively reached up, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck.

Unable to see, his sense of smell became more sensitive. A faint, cool woody cedar smell lingered in the tip of his nose, inexplicably reassuring and a little familiar.

Lin Qingyan remembered. The man who helped him at the mall that day also had this scent. Unfortunately, at that time, he couldn’t see the man’s face clearly before he fainted. Now, as a blind person, he was even more unable to see.

The person in his arms was very light, like a frightened kitten. His clear, watery, and lifeless eyes were extremely fragile. The man was silent for two seconds, lowered his head to the young man’s ear, and softly said, “Don’t be afraid, I’m not a bad person,” regardless of whether he could hear it or not.

The soft and deep voice was like a whisper between lovers.

Lin Qingyan vaguely heard it.

He didn’t know what the man looked like, what his last name was, or why he found himself here. But for some inexplicable reason, he believed that the man wasn’t a bad person. He felt a sense of reassurance deep within his heart, perhaps because this man was the only one who had helped him without any ulterior motives.

Besides, he had nothing to fear now that he had nothing to lose.

Next, the man sat the young man down on the sofa, took out a medical kit, and meticulously cleaned the burn on the back of his hand. Then he cleaned up the mess on the floor and finally went into the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles, feeding him one bite at a time.

The noodles tasted ordinary, but as Lin Qingyan ate, tears began to trickle down his cheeks. The strength he had deliberately pretended to have collapsed at this moment because of the kindness of a stranger.

He was just a normal human being with flesh and blood, capable of feeling sadness and sorrow. He, too, longed to be cared for, looked after, and loved unconditionally. But in his twenty-four years of life, the world had shown him nothing but hostility, with only faint affection and hypocritical love.

He also longed to become someone who could openly and confidently receive unabashed affection.

After a moment, Lin Qingyan found himself enveloped in a firm and warm embrace. The man’s movements were gentle as he stroked his slender shoulders and back. Then, he took out a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and placed it in Lin Qingyan’s mouth.

The familiar taste spread on his tongue—sour and sweet. It was a preserved plum candy, with a translucent coating wrapping around a tangy plum inside. It was his favourite candy from his childhood.

Lin Qingyan cried and laughed at the same time, leaning on the man’s chest, unable to speak through his tears.

Day by day, Lin Qingyan’s physical condition became worse and worse. He had missed the best time for treatment, and now even if Hua Tuo1Hua Tuo ( c. 140–208), courtesy name Yuanhua, was a Chinese physician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. The historical texts Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han record Hua Tuo as the first person in China to use anaesthesia during surgery. were to reincarnate, he wouldn’t be able to save him.

The only comforting thing was that he wasn’t alone during the final stage of his life.

The man had been by his side, taking care of him attentively and treating him kindly.

He couldn’t bear to leave this world, even though he knew his time was limited. If only he had listened to the doctor’s advice and undergone surgical treatment from the beginning, perhaps the outcome would have been different…

But this day had come.

It wasn’t the disease that took him, but a sudden car accident.

On that day, the man wasn’t there, and Lin Qingyan went out alone in the dark, fumbling. He could not see or hear, so when the truck drove over, he couldn’t dodge.

The young man’s skinny body was hit with a huge force, and he finally fell heavily on the cement floor, with bright red and dazzling liquid flowing out of his frail body.

He did not know that this scene was just witnessed by the man who rushed back.

As he was dying, Lin Qingyan stroked the man’s face over and over again, his fingertips tracing his eyebrows, nose, mouth… carefully tracing the man’s features in his heart, as if to etch the man into his bones.

Until hot tears fell on his hands, drop after drop, and couldn’t stop.

“Don’t cry…” Lin Qingyan mustered a smile, his weak voice carrying a sense of relief, barely audible. “You must be a good-looking person… It’s a pity I didn’t have the chance to see…”

“Thank you… Goodbye.”

If there were another life, he hoped he wouldn’t be so foolish, wouldn’t fall in love with Wenyan, wouldn’t believe in An Nanyi’s hypocritical face, wouldn’t be so weak and powerless, wouldn’t let others bully him…

And he hoped to meet this man again.

To know what he looked like, what his name was…

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