Chapter 25

What is the world like for a blind person? Nothing can be seen, nothing has ever been seen.

For Yu Tiancai, who was born blind, he had never even perceived darkness before; the world was a void, and he had no concept of color.

Even though he had lived in the house most familiar to him for over a decade, he still had to fumble his way out of bed and dress himself.

A normal person might take only a minute to get up and dress, but it took him much longer.

Even the simplest tasks like brushing his teeth and washing his face required him to search carefully for the toothbrush and cup.

If the layout of the house changed even slightly, he would stumble and bump into things.

Every day, his mother would prepare his meals before going to work, leaving him at home, feeling like a useless burden.

He couldn’t do anything on his own.

He had tried cooking for himself, but it was a dangerous endeavor. The kitchen posed numerous hazards for him: knives, gas, even water on the floor could cause injury.

Sometimes, after all the effort, he would accidentally use salt instead of sugar.

Yu Tiancai could no longer count how many times he had felt broken. He longed to be like others, no longer needing his mother’s care at sixteen, no longer treated like a child.

No longer needing someone to accompany him whenever he went out.

He wanted to make friends, to look at the stars and moon like everyone else, to cook a meal for his mother and praise her beauty.

But he had never seen his mother’s face.

Not until now.

Beside him, Yu Shan’s tears streamed down her cheeks as she covered her mouth, gazing at her child. “Tiancai, can you see your mother?”

“Tiancai, can you truly see her?”

She asked anxiously and expectantly, desperate for an honest answer because this was what she had always hoped for.

Yu Tiancai lifted his hand and wiped away her tears with his thumb. He had touched his mother’s face countless times before, but never could he piece together her appearance.

This time, he truly saw her.

“Mother, I can see you,” he said softly. “I can see you.”

“So you are this beautiful.”

He had never seen a human face — not even his own. He only knew that a person should have two eyes, one nose, and one mouth.

But now, he saw.

This is what a person looks like. This is what mother looks like.

He didn’t know what beauty was supposed to look like; his mother had told him that “beautiful” meant “nice,” but he had never seen it.

Now he understood—his mother was beautiful.

At this moment, he was like a newborn baby seeing his mother for the first time.

Only he was sixteen years late.

Yu Jingshan stood nearby, recording everything, biting his lip to hold back tears.

Yu Shan wiped her face with a tissue and, as usual, took his hand and guided it to a cup. “This is a teacup, a white teacup.”

Yu Tiancai nodded gently. “It’s white.”

“This is the table, the color of wood,” Yu Shan patiently explained every color he was touching.

“This is your clothing, blue, the color of the sky.”

“This is red, a bright vermilion. Our country’s flag is red, and the blood we shed is red. During the New Year, people put up red couplets. Red is the color of celebration.”

“This is black. At night, the sky turns black, and we can see the moon and stars.” Yu Shan looked toward Yu Jingshan, who was wearing black clothes.

After finishing, she added softly, “He helped us.”

Yu Tiancai looked at the stranger before him, a joyful smile on his face. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for letting me see this world.”

Yu Jingshan suppressed the bittersweet ache in his heart and smiled back. “No need to thank me. It was the glasses that helped you.”

“Do you want to see the outside world?”

“Let’s go for a walk.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Tiancai’s face showed a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, but he quickly composed himself. “There are others waiting to use the glasses.”

Yu Jingtian shook his head. “It’s alright. They haven’t arrived yet. You can go out and take a look first. We won’t go far.”

Only then did Yu Tiancai turn to look at his mother. When she nodded, he gave a slight nod in return. “Okay.”

This time, Yu Shan did not hold his hand, and Yu Tiancai did not take his cane.

For the first time, he walked out of the door all by himself, step by step.

Yu Shan watched nervously from the side, afraid he wouldn’t adjust well or might fall.

But none of that happened.

Yu Jingshan filmed from behind. “Step down here.”

Yu Tiancai walked steadily, faster than he ever had before.

It was as if, for the first time, he truly possessed the ability to walk independently. He arrived outside the teahouse.

He saw the bustling street, the passersby, the trees lining the road, the bicycles that often tripped him, and the sky above.

The sky wasn’t so blue, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Tears slid from the corners of his eyes, gathering on his chin before dropping onto his collar.

Yu Tiancai’s mouth parted slightly as he gazed at all these things he had never seen before.

For the first time, he felt what it meant to be human.

A healthy human.

The world was so beautiful. This was the color of sunlight. This was the meaning of vibrant colors.

Yu Jingshan stood watching as Yu Tiancai slowly crouched down like a child, reaching out to touch the sunlight on the ground, happily picking up a fallen leaf.

He looked up at the birds flying across the sky.

Everything was so novel to him.

Yu Shan stood nearby, a bittersweet smile on her face.

Relieved her child had finally seen the light, saddened that he was sixteen years behind everyone else.

Just then, a family of three approached from a distance. The couple looked like any ordinary middle-aged pair, with a young woman of about twenty walking between them.

The young woman had dyed her hair teal and wore delicate makeup, looking lively and radiant.

The family’s walk appeared no different from others.

Only Yu Jingshan recognized her immediately. She was another tester he had arranged to meet that day.

A deaf woman.

The young woman’s name was Deng Mu, and she had contacted Yu Jingshan herself.

Deng Mu’s online name was “Moonlight Deep,” and she had posted photos and videos of herself online.

So Yu Jingshan recognized her at once.

Deng Mu and her parents arrived in front of the teahouse. She stepped forward and said, “Hello.”

Yu Jingshan was a bit surprised. Although Deng Mu’s pronunciation was imperfect, he hadn’t expected her to be able to speak.

In his experience, deaf people were often called mute deaf because learning to speak was extremely difficult for them.

They had never heard others speak.

They could only imitate lip movements but couldn’t hear their own voices.

They didn’t know if their pronunciation was right or wrong.

“Hello, hello, I’m Wandering Jing. You must be Moonlight Deep, right?” Yu Jingshan extended his hand for a handshake.

Deng Mu’s gaze stayed fixed on his mouth. “Yes.”

Yu Jingshan smiled and greeted her parents. “Hello, thank you for coming to help with the testing.”

“This is Yu Shan, the mother of the child testing today.”

He looked at Yu Tiancai. “This is Yu Tiancai. He is blind.”

Deng Mu nodded and looked at Yu Tiancai, naturally noticing the sunglasses he wore. “He, use glasses?”

Yu Jingshan carefully confirmed her meaning then nodded. “He can see now. Shall we go inside?”

Yu Shan stepped beside Yu Tiancai. “Let’s go in.”

Only then did Yu Tiancai reluctantly stand and walk into the tea room, perhaps treasuring the light he might see for the last time.

Once everyone was inside the private room, the door knocked again.

Liu Maomao opened it, seeing the group and feeling a bit shy. “Hi, hello.”

Yu Jingshan stood up. “You’re Liu Maomao, right?”

Liu Maomao nodded. “Yes, yes, hello, I love watching your videos. I’m your fan!”

She entered and found a seat. Yu Jingshan spoke, “Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come for testing. You probably know that these incredible glasses were something I casually bought while traveling in Jiangchao City.”

“To test their functionality, we need your help. Thank you very much!”

He bowed. Yu Tiancai shook his head. “I should be the one thanking you.”

“Thank you for letting me see the light.”

Yu Shan smiled and nodded. “Thank you very much. I am so happy he can see.”

Deng Mu also spoke with her imperfect pronunciation, “I’m not shy, I’m very happy.”

Her mother added, “My daughter says she is very happy. Thank you for giving us this opportunity.”

Liu Maomao quickly chimed in, “I’m not busy at all, haha. I haven’t slept well in ages. I think if I could just have a good night’s sleep now, I’d fly to the North Pole for it.”

She hadn’t slept well in so long, she didn’t even know how long.

She used to take melatonin daily, but after a while, it stopped working.

Now she stayed awake night after night, sometimes feeling as if she might die.