Mud beads

Yu Zhu, as usual, carried her white cane and walked back.

The tip of her cane tapped rhythmically on the ground, producing different sounds as it touched different materials. Yu Zhu kept her head down, looking at this path she had walked many times before, and belatedly realized how short it was. So much so that when she stood in front of the front door, she closed her eyes and repeatedly felt around on the door panel before confirming that she hadn't gone the wrong way.

The door opened, and she stood at the entrance, pausing again.

So this is where she's lived for so long.

The living room was larger and more spacious than I had imagined. A beige carpet stretched from the entryway to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, like a clean, soft layer of skin. The owner of this house seemed to disapprove of any sharp corners in the space; the coffee table, dining table, TV cabinet, and even the baseboards were all covered with white anti-collision strips.

Yu Zhu knew that Yuejian Che was a person who had high standards for life.

Moon Garden is decorated with various art pieces, and his office building also features an elaborate, retro style. But this building in front of us has no superfluous furnishings; the white walls are so clean they seem almost innocent, and sunlight can stream from one end to the other without any obstruction.

Yu Zhu changed into slippers and slowly walked into the dining room. The table was empty; only a perfectly fitted stove cover remained on the white marble slab. A folded square dishcloth lay beside the sink, its four edges perfectly straight.

There was a piece of paper stuck next to the built-in refrigerator.

Clean the countertop as needed.

Tableware should be put away promptly.

No debris may be piled up in the passageway.

......

Her name wasn't on the paper, but every single entry was related to her.

Yu Zhu suddenly remembered her aunt's complaints before, that Mr. Yue had too many rules, and that even moving a cup in the wrong place would be noticed. At the time, she hadn't taken it seriously. Where a cup is placed isn't important to someone who can't see.

Yu Zhu turned and went to the restroom.

As soon as she approached the door, the light in the mirror cabinet turned on automatically.

Suddenly, a thin and pale woman appeared in the mirror.

She had thin cheeks and a pointed chin, but her hair was very well-maintained. Her short, jet-black hair was smooth and sleek, gleaming quietly under the light.

Yu Zhu raised her hand.

The person in the mirror also raised their hand.

She touched her hair, then her face. Her features were still the same, but she felt a little unrecognizable to herself.

Yu Zhu lowered her head.

A red hollow ring sticker is affixed to the glass shelf of the sink. A milky white toothbrush cup sits squarely in the center of the ring, with the handle facing outwards.

Everything she used was patiently and repeatedly straightened for her.

She left the bathroom and went into the bedroom.

Her arm instinctively reached towards the wall, her fingertips touching the light switch.

Very low.

She glanced back.

In the bedroom, hallway, and bathroom, all the light switches are at the same height. She can easily reach them with her fingertips by simply extending her arm.

Everything in this house remembers that she was blind.

Yu Zhu sat by the bed all afternoon.

The white cane rested across her lap, its silver-gray shaft reflecting the fading light of the sky. She looked down at it, considering several times about putting it away in the cabinet, but in the end, she left it with her.

She hasn't decided whether to tell Eshima Toru.

It's not hard to guess what will happen after she tells him. He'll immediately contact the doctor, arrange examinations, and confirm that her restored sight won't disappear again. But she can't be sure if Toru Echizen will really be happy about it—a blind person is always more likely to rely on him.

It also makes it easier for him to believe that she can't go too far.

The sunlight slowly retreated from the French windows, turning the white walls gray before gradually sinking into the night.

Koshima Toru did not return.

The aunt prepared dinner and put the untouched portion into the refrigerator before leaving.

Yu Zhu went to bed very early.

She wasn't asleep; she just turned off the lights and listened as the house returned to its familiar state in the darkness. Around midnight, the door lock finally clicked.

Koshima Toru entered quietly. He didn't turn on the overhead light, but only switched on the wall lamp at the end of the corridor. The dim light seeped in through the crack in the door, casting his elongated shadow.

Yu Zhu immediately closed her eyes, turned her back to the door, and remained silent.

Light footsteps, the rustling of fabric, the slow opening and closing of the wardrobe door. After a while, the mattress sank slowly behind her. Yuejian Tetsu lifted the covers and lay down, not touching her, but simply pulling up the corner of the blanket that had slipped to her shoulders.

The breathing behind me gradually calmed down, becoming even and long.

Yu Zhu waited for a long time before slowly turning around.

The main curtain wasn't drawn, and moonlight filtered through the thin white gauze, gently illuminating the man's face beside her.

he's changed.

Seventeen-year-old Toru Echizen lay in bed, his features as clear as glass in the winter moonlight. Now, the boy's bones had fully developed, giving his eyes the sharpness of an adult. His youthful beauty had faded, replaced by weariness, and faint dark circles clung to his eyes.

Only the small mole on the side of the nose remained unchanged.

Yu Zhu stared at the mole for a while.

Suddenly, my vision became blurry again.

Her heart skipped a beat, thinking her vision was blurring again. It wasn't until a warm drop of liquid slid down her nose and into her hair that she realized the blurriness was due to tears.

The person I longed for day and night when I was thirteen is now lying in front of me when I'm twenty.

But why is everything different now?

Distance is a strange thing.

Sometimes, even when separated by thousands of miles, you feel like that person is right next to you. Other times, even when separated only by a blanket, you can never reach them.

They briefly came close, sleeping in the same bed, sharing breath, body temperature, and the long night.

But they never stood in the same position.

Moth

The next morning, Yu Zhu woke up very early, but did not get out of bed.

She heard Tetsuya Echizen moving around in the bathroom. After the water stopped, the closet door opened and closed twice. A moment later, the bedroom door was pushed open, and he seemed to be standing very close, watching her for a while.

The footsteps faded into the distance, the front door opened and closed again, and soon the sound of a car driving away could be heard outside the courtyard.

Yu Zhu opened her eyes.

A ray of bright sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains, falling on the wall with sharp edges. She looked at it for a while, then sat up, threw back the covers, and dialed Liu Zhengyang's number.

They agreed to meet at their usual spot.

Liu Zhengyang arrived earlier than her.

He sat on a bench by the lake, a book in his hand, the wind ruffling his hair. Seeing Yu Zhu approach with her cane, he quickly stood up.

"here."

Yu Zhu smiled at him from afar.

Liu Zhengyang stared at her for a few seconds, then scratched his head.

"alright?"

Yu Zhu sat down next to him: "You're quite sensitive."

"Just kidding." Liu Zhengyang handed her the book. "You still need to practice your observation and control of details."

Yu Zhu reached out and caught it.

This is a brand new sample book, with thick paper on the cover, printed with the names of the opera projects they helped organize. The book still smells of fresh ink from the printing press, and each page has a stiff, unpolished feel.

"Now that you're better, why don't you come back to class?" Liu Zhengyang turned his head to the side.

Yu Zhu didn't answer, her fingers slowly tracing the spine of the book. She turned the pages; the author's name was printed on the title page, "Yu Zhu" being the third character.

"Could you book me a ticket to Qindao?"

Liu Zhengyang was taken aback: "Where are you going and what are you going to do?"

Yu Zhu looked up and smiled briefly: "Just taking a walk to clear my head."

"one person?"

"Um."

Liu Zhengyang looked at her for a moment: "Why didn't you order it yourself?"

Yu Zhu looked down at the book lying on her lap.

"My current phone isn't very convenient."

Liu Zhengyang's brows furrowed slowly.

The wind rustled the branches overhead, and shards of light flickered across the open pages of the book, the words "Yu Zhu" sometimes bright, sometimes dim. A small insect suddenly landed on the edge of the paper. Liu Zhengyang bent down and blew on it; the insect's transparent wings fluttered, and it flew away.

"Which day?"

Yu Zhu announced the date.

Liu Zhengyang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Yu Zhu continued flipping through the sample book. When she got to the middle, a few pages suddenly skipped over, and a photographic piece of paper appeared from between the pages.

It's an instant photo.

The photo has been there for a long time, its edges slightly yellowed. Four young heads are huddled together against a messy backstage backdrop. Except for the girl in the center wearing a crown, who looks dazed, everyone else is smiling brightly.

Yu Zhu's fingers moved slowly towards Liang Dong's face, following the flickering light and shadow.

She hadn't seen him this clearly in a long time.

They had been together for quite some time, but because of his profession, she was afraid of leaving any traces and never took a single photo that truly belonged to the two of them. The photo frame that used to stand on the TV cabinet in their apartment, even after they moved out, only had a line of auspicious red words on it.

She turned the photo over.

On the back of the photographic paper, there is a line of black text.

Let the night bear witness for me, that I once belonged to myself.

Yu Zhu was stunned.

The handwriting was not neat, and the last character "己" was drawn out very long, as if the writer suddenly heard someone calling him and hurriedly put down his pen.

Liu Zhengyang followed Yu Zhu's gaze and looked down at the line of words, then smiled faintly.

"Liang Dong, I wrote this when you took off your makeup."

Yu Zhu didn't speak, but looked up and smiled at him.

She tucked the photo back into the book, closed the cover, and pressed the book close to her heart.