0100 100 Life without light

Lin Bo's memories begin from the age of five. Before that, he doesn't remember anything. When he was little, his parents said that children don't have any childhood memories. But a few years later, he went to school. His classmates were talking about the toys they played with when they were three or four years old and the places they went, but he didn't remember anything.

He went home and asked his parents why everyone else remembered. His parents said that they made it up and that no one could remember the past so clearly. Not long after, he was sent abroad. His mother stayed with him abroad until he was fifteen. After that, his mother returned to China, and he was all alone abroad.

He returned to China when he was eighteen. The day he returned was his birthday. He didn't tell anyone, intending to surprise everyone. But when he walked into the yard alone with his heavy suitcase, he heard his cousins ​​arguing about his origins with their grandfather.

He said he didn't look like any of his brothers, and that no one among all the children wanted to play with him.

He knew his grandfather was very powerful and his family had countless riches, but he seemed to have never asked for anything, though no one would believe him if he said it.

He turned around and saw his mother standing behind him, looking helpless. His mother was very, very good to him, the best person in the world to him. But why didn't she come up and comfort him? Why did she look like she was blaming him?

Lin Bo left. Apart from his mother, who knew he had briefly returned for two minutes, no one in the family knew he had ever been there. He went to university and never spoke to them again.

That was the year he graduated from university. His mother called him and said that he should come back to China, where it would be more convenient to stay at home.

Actually, they haven't completely lost contact over the years, it's just that he never takes the initiative.

Lin Bai nodded, then remembered that his mother couldn't see him, so he opened his mouth to agree. He heard his mother's suppressed laughter and his father's sigh.

It's as if he's being unreasonable.

Having declined all invitations and offers to sign contracts here, Lin Bo, a young painter who had already gained some fame, began packing his bags to go home. On his last night before returning to China, he unusually paid attention to the news in China, also wanting to see if his grandfather had aged in recent years.

But the phone screen cruelly displayed that Lao Lin had been replaced by Lao He. He had been sent to the ICU, and his life was hanging in the balance. The eldest uncle, who had the worst temper in the family, was also brought into the interrogation room and wept bitterly in front of the police.

He frantically called home—cell phone, landline—but couldn't get through to the nanny. He had been abandoned once again.

On the other side of the sea, the bright sun shone down, illuminating their family's centuries of sins; on this side of the sea, thunder roared, drowning out the knocking at the door.

Lin Bo spent the whole night on the floor at home. The next day, someone knocked on the door. He thought it was the car he had booked, so he got up to cancel it. But there was an older-looking uncle standing outside the door. He smiled at him and said that he was Lin Zixu's friend and had been entrusted by his father to take care of him.

Lin Bai would go through his early life in his mind almost every day, and each time a new detail would come to mind, stimulating him to create a new piece of work. He always forced himself to recall those unpleasant memories, so that his inspiration would never run dry, and he also felt as if he had found a catharsis.

He recalled that rainy night abroad in his dream again today. The rain pounded all night, and he was all alone in the world.

But why did the scene change again? A man whose face I couldn't see was holding him, holding him as a tiny baby, still in swaddling clothes. Who was he? Was he his biological father? He still wanted to love his own appearance, but why didn't he want him anymore? Where was he now...?

Lin Bai was caught in the torrent from which he could not escape. The towering waves swept him closer and closer to the center of the whirlpool. He reached out in vain, but could not grasp anything. The floodwater blocked his mouth and nose, and he became one with the water.

A hand, cooler than his skin, covered his forehead, wiping away the fine beads of sweat. The hand grasped his body, and he was finally freed from that invisible flood.

Shen Guang looked unusually anxious. There were only the two of them in the private room. She pulled him into her arms and gently patted his back.

Even after being in contact for so long, Lin Bai still blushed when he pressed his face against her chest, but he enjoyed the softness and snuggled closer to her with a flushed face.

She also offered gentle words of comfort.

"Did you have a nightmare? You got up too early today."

"It's alright, where are we?"

"We've arrived, we're already landing."

"What kind of surprise are you talking about?"

"Yes, you'll see them soon."

As she spoke, Lin Bai sat up. The two people he had been longing for were standing below, but they hadn't yet caught a glimpse of him.

When he finally went down and hugged them, he was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Lin Zixu arrived in Jingyang in the early hours of this morning, but he had already arranged accommodations and prepared a lavish welcome feast for his son whom he hadn't seen for many years. Mrs. Lin held Lin Bai's hand and wiped away her tears inside the house, while Chen Guang went outside to set out the bowls and chopsticks with Lin Zixu.

She, who used to be pampered, has learned to do housework, and her smile has become kind. He took over all the work and even smiled as he told her to sit down and rest.

"You must be exhausted from the journey. Your brother went to great lengths to find Lin Bai and bring us back safely. We don't know how to thank him enough."

“My brother is also a kind-hearted person who loves to stand up for the weak. Even Uncle Lin… well, let’s not talk about it anymore. What’s past can’t be changed. Let’s look forward together.”

She spoke with great ease and touched Lin Zixu's heart. He looked up at her gratefully, but only caught a glimpse of the large red marks showing near her collar.

Both of them awkwardly withdrew from their positions. Lin Zixu lowered his head, touched his nose, and muttered, "What are these two doing?" before fleeing to the bedroom.

Sitting alone at the table, Shen Guang pulled her collar back without expression, but the new sweater she had just picked at caused her excruciating pain from the red marks she had just made.

She still didn't know what Shen Yan wanted her to do, so she sent him a "completed" message and then continued to sit by the table in a daze.

Inside the government building, Su Changce, along with his five deputy general managers, reported the month's work to Lao He. However, Lao He's mind was elsewhere; he kept checking his phone, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

Su Changce exchanged a glance with his in-laws, with whom he didn't get along, on his left, and then with Qi Yu on his right. Everyone's eyes were filled with their own ulterior motives. They chatted haphazardly until lunch break. Old He pushed aside the files in front of him and was about to leave. Someone who was truly focused on work tried to stop him, but he waved them off.

"Take a break, take a break. At my age, it's not easy to get all my classmates together for a reunion. We'll talk about the rest of the work when I get back."

Old He left through the front door, and Su Changce immediately turned to look at Qi Yu, but the seat behind him was also empty, leaving the back door wide open.

After finishing the family lunch, Lin Zixu was called away by a phone call. Before leaving, he looked solemn and kept turning back to look at his wife and adopted son.

Mrs. Lin didn't glance at Chen Guang once after they met. Her eyes were only on her son. Ignoring his attempts to stop her, she insisted on taking him to the bedroom for a nap.

She couldn't see Shen Guang, and Shen Guang couldn't see her either. Ever since entering Jingyang territory, she had been very quiet, always staring in one direction, her heart beating very fast.

Holding her phone, she received no messages. Shen Yan used to always reply to her messages immediately, even if it was just a simple "okay." But now, an entire meal's worth of time had passed, and he still hadn't made a move. This was completely abnormal.