After feeding Nyx her medicine, Lin Qiye withdrew from the depths of his mind and slowly slipped into sleep.
This time, he didn't have that exhausting knocking dream. Ever since the Asylum of Gods had fused with him, it was as if he had completely broken free from the nightmare's shackles and finally gained the right to truly dream.
He had a beautiful dream: he saw himself getting into university, finding success in his career, and moving his aunt and Yang Jin into a spacious new home. He dreamed of the three of them finally being able to travel together, visiting mountains and rivers they had only ever seen on television…
Because of his disability and the constant strain on the family finances, there had never been any extra money. In all of his seventeen years, Lin Qiye had not only never gone on a trip — he hadn't even once left Cangnan City.
Deep down, he still yearned for the world beyond.
When the alarm rang, Lin Qiye reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, got dressed, and prepared to head to school.
He had just pushed open his door when he saw his aunt at the entrance, hurriedly changing her shoes as she got ready to leave.
"Auntie, why are you heading to work so early today?"
"The factory just got a new batch of parts in, and we've been told to rush the processing. I'm heading out first. You finish breakfast with your brother, and don't be late for school!" his aunt muttered as she fussed.
"Okay."
Just as his aunt was about to close the door, Lin Qiye spoke up again.
"Auntie."
"What is it?"
She paused mid-step and turned to look at him, puzzled.
"It's… nothing." Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "When you get back, I'll tell you some good news."
She gave him a few more curious looks, then laughed and scolded, "You kid, always talking in riddles with me. Fine, your Auntie is in a hurry right now. Tell me tonight!"
With that, she quickly shut the door and clattered down the stairs in a rush.
Lin Qiye stood silently in the doorway, head lowered, lost in thought.
Suddenly, he jerked his head up, as if coming to a firm decision, and, still in his slippers, yanked the door back open.
He stepped out into the stairwell and shouted down the building.
"Auntie! I can see!"
The next second, the clatter of footsteps below abruptly stopped, and his aunt's trembling voice floated up from the floors beneath.
"W-what did you just say?!"
"I can see! I'm healed, Auntie!"
There was a brief moment of silence, then the sound of someone charging upstairs — far faster than she'd gone down — rose from below. In no time, his aunt was standing in front of him, panting for breath.
Her lips quivered, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upward.
"You can see? Really?"
"Really."
"Is it blurry? Double vision? Does it hurt? Does the light still sting?"
"No. None of that, Auntie." Lin Qiye's smile widened as he reached up and untied the black silk over his eyes. A pair of remarkably beautiful eyes slowly opened. "I'm really better now, Auntie."
His aunt stared blankly at those eyes as tears burst, uncontrollably, from her own.
She began to laugh, the wrinkles on her face blooming like flowers. In that moment, though she was in her forties, she smiled like a child.
Ten years. In all that time, Lin Qiye had never seen her smile like this.
His aunt pulled him into her arms, and he could clearly feel her body trembling ever so slightly.
"Good… this is so good… Our Xiao Qi has finally made it through," his aunt said, letting him go and wiping at her tears before breaking into a grin. "Xiaoqi, Auntie has to get to work. I'll buy lots of good food on my way back tonight — we're going to celebrate properly!"
"Thank you, Auntie."
"Th-then Auntie's off. You head to school and study hard, alright?"
"Mm-hmm."
His aunt hurried down the stairs, and tears still wouldn't stop sliding down her cheeks. She scrubbed at her face, her steps lighter than they had ever been.
Lin Qiye watched her go, eyes rimmed red, then turned back into the house.
Originally, he'd planned to wait until she came home in the evening to officially tell her everything. But then he thought of all the movies where people jinx themselves like that — and it never ends well…
He didn't want anything to happen to his aunt. Even if it was just some inexplicable superstition, he refused to take that risk.
So he went ahead and scrapped that jinx altogether, imagining himself ripping it up and pitching it into the ocean.
Just as Lin Qiye turned around, he saw Yang Jin standing behind him, Little Blackie cradled in his arms, eyes rimmed with red.
The two brothers locked eyes for a couple of seconds, then both broke into smiles.
"Congrats, brother."
"Yeah. Looks like those sunglasses you gave me are finally going to see some use." Lin Qiye chuckled as he ruffled Yang Jin's hair.
"Let's eat. When Auntie comes back tonight, we'll feast."
"Deal!"
Little Blackie poked his head out of Yang Jin's arms and licked Lin Qiye's hand. "Woof!"
***
Sixth High.
When Lin Qiye walked into the classroom, the whole room fell instantly silent.
For a moment, his classmates just stared at him, wide-eyed and bewildered, until someone finally ventured, "You're… Lin Qiye?"
Without the black silk over his eyes, Lin Qiye raised his brows slightly and gave a small nod.
After a brief hush, the classroom exploded into noise again — louder than before.
"His eyes got well?"
"They must be. He can see now!"
"His eyes are gorgeous."
"Right? How did we never notice he was this handsome before…"
The girls' gazes toward Lin Qiye shifted; they huddled together, whispering, sneaking glances at him every so often.
The boys sitting closer to him crowded around, bombarding him with questions about his eyes. When they confirmed that he really had recovered, every one of them was stunned.
"I could always see. My eyes just couldn't be exposed to light. I went to the hospital yesterday, and now they're fine," Lin Qiye explained.
Only then did his classmates remember he'd been absent the day before, and realization dawned on them.
Amid all the commotion, however, there were two people who seemed completely out of step with the rest.
Liu Yuan sat in the corner with his head down, sneaking glances at Lin Qiye from the corner of his eye, his expression painfully awkward.
He remembered it all too clearly: that day, when he'd been busy running for his life, he'd slammed into Lin Qiye in his panic. After finally escaping, he'd figured there was no way a blind guy like Lin Qiye could get away from that monster. He'd felt guilty for a while, but hadn't thought about it too deeply.
What he never expected was that the one who died would be Jiang Qian — and the one he'd least believed in, Lin Qiye… had actually survived.
And his eyes were healed on top of that.
For a moment, even Liu Yuan himself couldn't tell what he was feeling. Awkward? Guilt? Dejection? Or… regret?
Although Lin Qiye had his back to Liu Yuan, he could see every vivid shift in the boy's expression through his spiritual perception, clear as day. His own eyes narrowed slightly.
Just then, someone else stepped up to Lin Qiye's desk.
Li Yifei stood there, completely at a loss, looking rather embarrassed. After glancing around, he bent down and whispered into Lin Qiye's ear:
"Qiye… uhm… can you come out with me for a bit? There's something I want to say."
Lin Qiye hesitated only briefly, then nodded.