Chapter 22: Afraid of Not Being Able to See
Chen Jiashu hasn't read Braille in a long time.
He had a Braille teacher come to his home to teach him last October, and has been practicing on his own ever since. Now he has basically mastered reading and writing. It's a way of preparing for him to truly become 'blind', but he still hopes that day will come later.
After 'reading' the book, Chen Jiashu picked it up, turned his back, raised his arm, and placed it on the top shelf of the bookshelf, the shelf where all Braille materials and books were stored. Finally, he closed the small door.
Chen Jiashu returned to his room, then went into his bedroom, only to remember he hadn't taken his phone, so he went back to his study.
He searched everywhere he could think of—the desk, the folders, the three drawers—but couldn't find his phone. The room was seventeen or eighteen degrees Celsius, and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. It was probably midnight by then. Oh well, he'd deal with it tomorrow morning.
In the middle of the night, at some unknown time, Chen Jiashu was awakened by thunder. When he saw that everything was pitch black, he was so startled that he sat up.
His unease grew, and he raised his right hand, brought it close to his face, and waved it a few times. Chen Jiashu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but there was no shadow. He tried again, four times, five times... but still to no avail.
Chen Jiashu almost fell off the bed, his bare feet stepping on the cold floor. He walked straight toward the balcony, a place he could usually walk to with his eyes closed, but the more he walked, the more disorganized he became.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, he bumped into the glass, hitting his nose hardest.
Pushing open the glass sliding door, the hot air from outside rushed in, mixed with a light drizzle.
Chen Jiashu took three steps at a time, only stopping when he bumped into the black iron railing. He gripped the still-warm railing with both hands and looked around. On the top of the 45-story trade building to the east, the navigation light flashed year-round, and even he, who was night-blind, was often blinded by its white light.
Nothing...nothing at all.
“Song…”
"Boom!" Another loud noise rang out, and he couldn't tell if it was his imagination or a sound from the outside world.
Chen Jiashu suddenly turned around. The fear of darkness and blindness made him panic and helpless. Relying on his memory of the room's layout, he quickly walked out, bumping into the foot of the bed, the TV cabinet, the door frame... He bumped all the way out of the room.
He leaned against the wall and shouted downstairs:
"Old Song!!"
His trembling voice echoed up and down the stairs.
The nannies all live in rooms on the basement floor, so they might not be able to hear.
Chen Jiashu felt his way along the wall to find the elevator, then fumbled for the down button, pressed it, but didn't hear it go up.
Is even the elevator broken?
He waited a while, and then he broke out in a sweat, his forehead dripping with sweat, but there was a chill running down his spine.
Has he gone offline again? We can't afford to delay... otherwise he's finished.
The moment the thought popped into his head, Chen Jiashu's head felt like it was on fire, and his eyelashes were wet with sweat. He blinked hard, took two steps forward, and walked forward while holding onto the wooden railing.
The railing turned a corner, and he tentatively touched the edge of the stairs with his foot, stepped down, and walked all the way downstairs.
"Old Song!!" he shouted again.
"Old Song!"
"Sister Bai!"
......
The three floors were empty; apart from his own increasingly rapid and terrified echoes, no one responded. His own heavy breathing echoed incessantly in his ears, like a ringing in his ears.
If you don't take the elevator down to the basement, you can only go outside the villa and then go around to the back. Chen Jiashu turned around and positioned himself, raising his right arm to a certain height, sweeping it in the air as he walked towards the door.
He was so disoriented that he forgot his cane and couldn't count his steps.
"Bang!"
Chen Jiashu's calf struck a hard, sharp corner, and the excruciating pain quickly overwhelmed all his senses. He cried out in pain, his left knee slammed into the ground, and he bent over, quickly covering his injured leg with both hands.
"Chairman Chen!"
When Lao Song made a sound in the distance, Chen Jiashu suddenly turned his head.
Hurried footsteps approached from behind, and a pair of hands gripped the outside of his arms. Chen Jiashu grabbed Lao Song's arm in return: "Take me to the hospital, quick!!"
"Chairman Chen!"
"Chairman Chen."
Two aunties also came over.
Uncle Song quickly took out his phone, and the screen lit up instantly. The faint blue light, like a tiny flame, appeared before Chen Jiashu's eyes.
Chen Jiashu's body jolted suddenly. He reached forward with his other hand, then down, and his palm touched the cold glass surface, finding the hard corner he had just been standing on.
This is the coffee table... and this is just a power outage.
I rushed to the living room in a panic, mistaking the power outage for blindness... In the end, it turned out to be a false alarm... I don't know whether to be happy or sad.
It turns out that deep down he was so afraid of not being able to see. Even though he learned Braille in advance and did a lot of mental preparation, he thought he was fully prepared, but when he actually faced it, he was still afraid and found it hard to accept.
"No need," Chen Jiashu said in a hoarse voice. "Old Song, help me upstairs."
They had just reached the top floor when the lights in the villa came on. Chen Jiashu forced a smile, and he could still hear his phone ringing in the study.
Chen Jiashu asked Lao Song to get it, while he stood there and waited. Lao Song quickly brought him the phone, which was still ringing.
Exhausted, Chen Jiashu closed his eyes slightly, barely able to lift his eyelids, and asked in a deep voice, "Whose call was that?"
Old Song read aloud the name of the caller that appeared on the screen: "My Qiaoqiao."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiashu suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes, raised his hand to hit Lao Song's arm, reached over to grab the phone, and, relying on muscle memory, swiped the screen to his ear to answer the call.
"Chen Jiashu..."
Qin Qiao's speech was slurred on the other end of the phone, as if... she was drunk?
"What's wrong?" Every word trembled as Chen Jiashu gripped the fuselage, his entire body tense. "Where are you?"
"I'm at...my front door." Qin Qiao suddenly became extremely angry again. "But, but why can't I open the door? Did you change the lock?"
"What did you say?"
Chen Jiashu subconsciously looked towards the window downstairs. Suddenly, he remembered something, grabbed Lao Song's hand, and pushed him outside: "Go, go outside and see if anyone is there."
Old Song always listened to Chen Jiashu's every word, and immediately turned around and ran downstairs.
"Why did you change the lock?" Qin Qiao burst into tears, sobbing as she cried, "How am I supposed to find you now... how am I supposed to find you...?!"
Hearing her extremely aggrieved cries, Chen Jiashu's heartache for her had just begun to surface when it was overwhelmed by a surge of joy.
Overjoyed, he said, "Qiaoqiao, wait for me, I'll be right there."
Chen Jiashu, supporting himself against the wall, walked to the elevator, found the down button, and pressed it.
The elevator stopped on the second floor. Chen Jiashu listened carefully and heard the door open. He stretched out his arm and waved to confirm that the door was open before stepping into the elevator car.
The two aunties downstairs hadn't gone back to sleep yet. When they saw Chen Jiashu come out of the elevator, they immediately went to greet him.
"Chairman Chen."
"Chairman Chen."
The man, who had just been pale and dejected, now had a hint of excitement in his eyes, as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He grabbed Sister Bai's arm and said, "Sister Bai, please get my cane from the first shelf of the entryway cabinet."
He then said to Sister Jing, "Sister Jing, could you please make some hangover soup?"
Chen Jiashu always treated them with gentleness. Although he did not give people the arrogance of someone in a high position, he carried a strong sense of coldness and aloofness.
Normally, in this house, apart from Lao Song occasionally taking care of him when he is unwell, their job is to keep the house clean and they don't interfere or say a word.
The two exchanged a quick glance and immediately agreed to do as instructed.
Because of the rain, the night was as thick as ink in an inkstone. Raindrops fell on the awning of the outdoor terrace, the marble floor of the yard, and the tiles of the wall, making a continuous dripping sound.
The smell of alcohol filled the courtyard, and the closer you got to the woman, the stronger the smell became... How could she have drunk so much?
The woman stood outside the door, her eyes closed, leaning against the small door. Strands of her messy hair clung to her flushed cheeks. A small black leather bag hung from her elbow, and her other hand was raised to her ear as if she were making a phone call, her palm still holding the phone.
How could Lao Song not recognize her...? The wedding photo hanging in the small living room of Chairman Chen's bedroom is of this woman. They must be divorced, but she is still very important to Chairman Chen.
Old Song stepped forward and pressed the smart button on the wall that controls the large iron gate. With a "click," the gate slowly slid open.
Just as he was about to step out, Chen Jiashu's voice came from behind him:
"Is that Qiaoqiao?"
The sound of the white cane striking the ground and footsteps overlapped, creating a hurried and urgent atmosphere.
"Chairman Chen, it's Ms. Qin." Old Song turned around and saw Chen Jiashu had already walked down the steps, with Sister Bai following closely behind.
Without Chen Jiashu needing to say anything, Lao Song immediately stepped forward and quietly pointed the way for Chen Jiashu: "Ms. Qin is drunk and is leaning against the small door. I've opened the main door. Just walk ten more steps and turn right twice." This was the tacit understanding that the two had developed through their cooperation over the past year.
“Jia Shu…”
Hearing Chen Jiashu's voice, Qin Qiao struggled to lift her eyelids. Through her blurry vision, she saw the man walking towards her with a white cane. His steps were brisk, and his judgment of her location was extremely accurate, which was rare. He couldn't have been like that before because he was night blind... Now his eyes... She must be dreaming.
But the next second, Chen Jiashu was in front of her, and he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Qin Qiao instinctively tried to dodge, but he held her even tighter, their bodies pressed tightly together, the faint scent of mint mixed with the lingering woody aroma filling her nostrils.
It makes you want to immerse yourself in it.
A note from the author:
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