Chapter 67 Glasses His reluctance to go out and meet people stemmed from low self-esteem, and also from...

Jiang Xiliu was somewhat helpless against Jin Zhao.

Jin Zhao didn't argue with her or make a scene. He didn't need Jiang Xiliu to do anything more; he had already locked himself away.

From another perspective, Jiang Xiliu achieved her goal, but she was very dissatisfied.

So she asked System 0777: "In the original storyline, after the marriage, was it mentioned what Jin Zhao was thinking?"

System 0777 looked at the already fragmented plot and felt that the original plot was of no reference value.

But since Miss asked...

[System 0777 summarized part of it and read it to the young lady: When Jin Zhao was first locked up, all he thought about was escaping. He jumped out of the window once, broke his leg, and was caught by the bodyguards. After that, he behaved himself for a few months.]

[System 0777: After realizing it couldn't escape, it stopped running away, but simply ignored you.]

[System 0777: ...Later, he formed a cooperation agreement with someone from the Jiang family. In order to gain your trust, he spent a brief and harmonious period of time with you.]

Jin Zhao hasn't run away or ignored her; he answers her questions, but he's dishonest and always lies.

He clearly wanted to go, but insisted on saying he wouldn't; he clearly hated her, but insisted on denying it.

There's still some time before graduation, so we can gradually introduce contact with the outside world.

Jiang Xiliu thought to herself: Since he doesn't want to go out, then I'll invite his friends over to my house.

She thought it would be easy and delegated the task to her assistant.

A day or two later, the assistant stammered and reported, "Mr. Jin said he has no friends." The people he found who had been in contact with Jin Zhao could not be considered friends; they were more like work partners.

This includes the senior students in the lab as well.

Before he turned twenty-two, Jin Zhao didn't have time to make friends; it was difficult for him to live on his own.

After turning twenty-two, Jin Zhao also had no time to make friends; his world revolved solely around Jiang Xiliu.

The assistant subtly expressed some sympathy during the report.

Jiang Xiliu tapped her index finger on the table: "What kind of expression is that? Do you have a lot of friends? Does having a lot of friends make you something special?"

She was a little angry. So what if Jin Zhao didn't have any friends? He was a chosen one, and he didn't need anyone's pity.

In the afternoon, she canceled everything and went home to take Jin Zhao to the hospital.

While Jin Zhao was talking to his psychologist, Jiang Xiliu asked his attending physician outside, "Didn't they say that my vision would recover once the blood clot dissipated? How long will it actually take to fully recover?"

Jin Zhao has accepted the situation, but Jiang Xiliu finds the blind Jin Zhao an eyesore.

The doctor, of course, couldn't give a precise answer: "It could take as little as three months, or as long as three or thirty years."

Jiang Xiliu asked seriously, "If I drag him and bang his head against the wall, will his recovery speed up?"

"It's hard to say." The doctor wiped away non-existent sweat and sincerely advised, "But it's best not to. If the impact is more serious, you could very well go completely blind or become mentally disabled."

When Jin Zhao came out, Jiang Xiliu was still thinking: Could the luck of the chosen one guarantee that he wouldn't become an idiot?

Xiao Da walked ahead and sensibly stopped in front of Jiang Xiliu.

Jin Zhao rarely reached out to explore anything when he was out; he forced himself to pretend to be a normal person.

In fact, anyone who met his gaze could sense something was amiss.

His gaze was floating in the air, unable to focus.

"Are you there?" Jin Zhao wasn't sure if there was really anyone where Xiao Da had brought him. He raised his hand and then lowered it. "Xi Liu."

Jiang Xiliu didn't respond, watching his slightly flustered movements.

However, Jin Zhao soon realized that Jiang Xiliu was deliberately teasing him.

He heard her laughter.

One advantage of not being able to see is that your other senses are exceptionally sharp.

Jiang Xiliu handed Jin Zhao over to Abiao; she still needed to talk to the psychologist about Jin Zhao's current condition.

When she pushed open the door, the psychologist was organizing documents.

Jiang Xiliu wasted no time and went straight to asking the psychologist, "Have you found out why he doesn't want to interact with the outside world?"

The psychologist led her to a chair and said, "Ms. Jiang, you should be well aware of the huge gap between you two."

"Through my communication with Mr. Jin, I discovered that he was extremely insecure because of this huge gap."

"So?" Jiang Xiliu tilted her head. "This is a gap that existed before he went blind, and before he went blind—"

She paused for a moment, then continued, "He has a positive attitude towards life every day, and he tries to do as much as he can. Although he doesn't earn much money, he's full of energy."

"Is it too late to feel insecure now?"

The psychologist smiled slightly: "You may have been lacking it before, but you just didn't notice."

Jiang Xiliu frowned, leaned back in her chair, and was in a bad mood.

“A lack of security is the root of the problem, and it cannot be solved in a few days or months. Mr. Jin felt that he had become worse after losing his sight, and his reluctance to go out and see people stemmed from both inferiority and fear.”

Feeling inferior? Fear?

Jiang Xiliu couldn't associate those two words with Jin Zhao.

She paused for a few seconds, then asked, "What is he insecure about? What is he afraid of?"

"Inferiority complex... A blind man with nothing is not worthy of you."

"If you're afraid... Mr. Jin has many things he's afraid of, but they're all related to you."

"And what he fears most right now is that he won't see you for a long time and will forget what you look like."

Jiang Xiliu inexplicably recalled that on several nights, she would suddenly wake up and, when she opened her eyes, Jin Zhao's hand would be just millimeters above her face.

So, he was afraid of forgetting, so he secretly traced her face with his finger while she was sleeping?

Although the doctor advised Jiang Xiliu against using overly forceful methods to compel the patient to interact with the outside world, Jiang Xiliu, who has always lacked patience, still decided that Jin Zhao must attend the graduation ceremony.

Because of this, Jin Zhao was so anxious that he couldn't eat anything every day.

If the young lady were a compassionate person, she might have comforted him or not pressured him, but she wasn't.

After Jiang Xiliu noticed how thin he had become, she only said one sentence: "You look so ugly now that you're so thin."

The day after she finished speaking, the cook excitedly reported to her, "Mr. Jin had a good appetite today and ate a full bowl of rice."

The hamster being monitored at home, also known as System 0777, immediately spoke up.

[System 0777: Jin Zhao vomited after eating because of stomach discomfort.]

Jin Zhao was eager to gain weight, so it would be strange if he didn't throw up after eating so much all of a sudden.

However, Jin Zhao's body is very adaptable.

By graduation day, he had gained five or six pounds despite eating more.

When Jiang Xiliu came from the company to pick up Jin Zhao, he was slowly dragging out the time.

Jin Zhao still didn't want to go.

Jiang Xiliu didn't mince words: "I'll give you ten minutes. After ten minutes, whether you're ready or not, you must leave."

Jin Zhao raised his head slightly, turning his face toward her voice, and blinked: "...I want to wear glasses, do you have any at home?"

He has his own glasses, but he doesn't know where they've been put away; he searched everywhere this morning but couldn't find them.

Jiang Xiliu rummaged through the glasses haphazardly but couldn't find his, so he simply picked out a more neutral pair from the decorative glasses he had bought before.

The dark gray frame wasn't too big, and it was very light. When worn on Jin Zhao's face, it made his face look small and his age appear younger, yet it inexplicably gave off a cold feeling.

Perhaps it was because his gaze was unfocused that he seemed to disregard everyone.

That's good; at least it looks a bit intimidating.

Jiang Xiliu, as an award presenter, dressed more formally.

She looked down at her own outfit, then at Jin Zhao's clothes.

They seem a bit mismatched.

The thought flashed through her mind for only a moment before she suppressed it. Jiang Xiliu said, "Let's go."

Jin Zhao and Jiang Xiliu entered the school separately.

School leaders greeted Jiang Xiliu, and only after Jiang Xiliu disappeared from sight did Jin Zhao slowly get out of the car, prompted and urged by his bodyguards.

Xiao Da stayed with him.

This year's graduation ceremony was held in the school gymnasium.

Having spent over three years at school, Jin Zhao actually knew the general area.

He walked quietly along the roadside toward the stadium, silently praying that he wouldn't run into anyone he knew.

However, Jin Zhao didn't have a clear enough understanding of his face.

Almost as soon as he entered the school gate, someone noticed him.

However, because he had a "do not approach" look on his face, people who were not familiar with him did not come over to say hello.

Jin Zhao walked steadily with his back straight, so from a distance, he didn't appear to be anything unusual.

The surrounding noise gradually increased, and Jin Zhao knew they were almost at the stadium.

He walked more carefully; the stadium had more than a dozen steps, and he didn't want to trip.

Xiao Da suddenly stopped and called out.

Jin Zhao was so nervous along the way that he almost forgot about Xiao Da's existence. Only when he heard its reminder did he realize that it was time to go up the steps.

Jin Zhao tentatively took a step, steadily.

Xiao Da is really smart; he called out again after climbing all the steps.

Jin Zhao lowered his head and praised Xiao Da.

We're about to go in; the whole process has been incredibly smooth.

An unfamiliar voice rang out: "Student, pets are not allowed in the gymnasium."

Jin Zhao bumped into someone's arm and only then realized that he was the one being stopped. He took a small step back and slowly said, "Can't I bring it?"

"Yes, you can't bring it."

Jin Zhao would never say that Xiao Da was a guide dog; if he did, all his efforts to cover it up would be in vain.

He was about to move aside to make room for other students when he heard A Biao's voice: "Mr. Jin, you can leave Xiao Da to me."

Jin Zhao was taken aback.

Why didn't A Biao follow Jiang Xiliu, but instead followed him all the way?

Jin Zhao thought of A Biao's big build; no wonder he hadn't encountered anyone to greet him after walking for so long.

"Thank you for your help." Jin Zhaoxian extended his hand, which A Biao took.

He led Xiao Da to the side, remembering what the young lady had told him: "Mr. Jin, your seat is in the first row, on the far left."

Jin Zhao nodded, his mind already replaying the seating chart of the stadium.

But his good fortune seemed to disappear as soon as Xiao Da and A Biao left him.

First, he bumped into a classmate he didn't know, then he ran into his roommate, and finally, he met Shen Xiu.

Shen Xiu is a student volunteer who came to help at the graduation ceremony. He earns two points for each day of work he does.

He certainly didn't come for this level of quality; he only volunteered to be cheap labor after seeing the banner at the entrance of the stadium and realizing that Jiang Xiliu was coming.

Shen Xiu had considered that Jiang Xiliu had come for Jin Zhao, since he had just graduated this year.

But when Jiang Xiliu saw Jin Zhao appear in the stadium, he was immediately drawn to him for a second, and he was still so jealous that he gritted his teeth.

So, Shen Xiu walked towards Jin Zhao, deliberately bumping into his shoulder. Just as he was about to say a few sarcastic remarks, he heard Jin Zhao unusually cold and commanding him, "Pick it up."

What?

Shen Xiu turned around.

Jin Zhao's glasses were knocked off by him.

Unfortunately, it crashed into a seat, and once picked up, it was destined to shatter into pieces.