(1)
Quiet’s computer desk was always kept impeccably clean.
It was unclear whether she tidied it herself or if Yu Minghui helped wipe it down every day.
Even the keyboard only looked worn; the letters on the keys had faded slightly, but it wasn’t dirty at all.
Zhu Ying reached out and pressed the power button.
The computer whirred to life, the unmistakable sound of the fan kicking in filling the room.
The startup speed seemed much faster than before, and an unfamiliar startup melody played as the computer slowly loaded the desktop.
The desktop wallpaper was still the one Zhu Ying had set last time—a photo of two people pressing their faces together for a selfie.
On this new screen, the photo appeared noticeably blurry.
Yet Zhu Ying couldn’t help but curve her brows into a smile.
“Hm… I’ll leave a few more photos here, as a surprise for Xiaojing when she returns…”
Zhu Ying whispered to herself.
She took out her phone, then leaned against the computer screen and posed cutely, snapping several pictures.
Although her phone didn’t have a front camera, she was skilled enough to take normal photos using the rear camera.
Unlike Quiet’s Nokia, her phone didn’t require a special data cable or a connection to the computer—just removing the battery and taking out the memory card was enough.
As for the card reader, most households with a computer had one.
Quiet’s place was no exception—Zhu Ying simply opened the first drawer on the left and found the orange-yellow card reader.
It looked a bit rough, probably a promotional gift from some purchase…
She plugged it into the computer.
Like reading a USB drive, a file window automatically popped up.
Zhu Ying skillfully clicked open the folder containing the photos, quickly copied the two pictures she had just taken onto the desktop, then flipped through the rest one by one.
She picked out those she thought looked nice and hadn’t yet been seen by Quiet, copying those to the desktop as well.
As she scrolled further back through the photos, one picture of Quiet suddenly jumped onto the screen.
Zhu Ying paused slightly, her small hand half-hidden in her sleeve gently covering her mouth, unable to stop herself from staring a little longer.
Quiet thought silently to herself.
***
(2)
A small city by the sea.
Because of the large waves today, most boats couldn’t set sail; only the large cargo ships chose to continue their journey.
As a result, many ships, big and small, were moored at the docks near the shore.
Zhao Lao’er had walked for quite a while before finally reaching the end of the dock, finding a spot where no boats were docked nearby.
He wore a pair of brand-new black leather shoes, making the wooden planks of the dock creak underfoot.
“Uncle Zhao, will my mom come back to see me?”
“No, once a person dies, that’s it. They don’t come back to life.”
Zhao Lao’er plopped down—his suit, though worn, didn’t lend him any dignity.
“Your mom died, and no one was willing to bury her. The village cemetery wouldn’t let her be buried there.”
“But the elders say people still have souls after they die.”
“No, there’s no soul. When someone dies, they just die. Understand?”
“I don’t understand…”
The little girl in red shoes pouted, her voice trembling with tears.
“Zhao Lao’er, can’t you be gentler with kids?”
Li Fanyuan squatted beside the girl, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and reached out to rub her head.
“Ningning, don’t cry. Scatter these ashes into the sea, and your mother will travel with the ocean’s waves to faraway places. When you grow up, she’ll come to visit you in your dreams.”
“Only… only in dreams?”
“Not even in dreams.”
Zhao Lao’er grabbed the ashes in his hand, slowly scattering them into the sea.
“The waves are really big today. Don’t know if any fish will come out to eat these ashes.”
“Maybe the sea is grieving for her young life.”
“Bullshit. The weather’s just bad today. It’s just bad luck for your mom…”
The little girl cupped her hands together, eyes wide and glistening with tears, sobbing as she prayed: “God of the sea… can you let my mom… leave peacefully?”
Suddenly, a tall wave crashing toward the shore receded back into the sea, and the turbulent ocean quickly calmed.
Even the seagulls began fluttering their wings, circling above the sea.
“Uncle Zhao, Uncle Li, the waves! They really stopped!”
At that time, Quiet hadn’t yet fully become a girl.
This photo was secretly taken on her phone.
Although it was called “secret,” it was quite blatant.
Back then, Quiet was less girlish, carrying more of a youthful spirit—handsome and cute, especially the way her eyes looked toward the camera, confused yet enchanting.
Further back were more photos of Quiet, all snapped by Zhu Ying herself.
Almost none were perfectly clear; each had a slight blur.
But the shadows of time in these photos made them all the more captivating.
“Xiaojing is becoming cuter step by step…”
Zhu Ying murmured softly, deciding to place these secretly taken photos onto the desktop as well.
This would count as a surprise.
Though it might also end up as a shock.
Zhu Ying nodded in satisfaction, gathered the photos into a new folder on the desktop, placed it in the most prominent position, and renamed it.
“What should I call it… hmm… Surprise Gift Pack? Yes! That’s perfect!”
She happily pressed Enter.
Though she hadn’t yet seen Quiet, she felt like she had just chatted with her for a while.
No, it wasn’t really chatting—perhaps ‘teasing’ was a more fitting word…
Quiet had paper and pens in her drawer.
Zhu Ying found a draft notebook from school and tried writing with a fountain pen but found it had no ink.
“This pen’s out of ink, this one too, and this one… why did silly Xiaojing keep so many broken pens in here?”
Finally, she found an old ballpoint pen.
The soft rubber that was supposed to protect the hand was sticky, but at least it worked.
She wrapped the pen in a napkin and began writing carefully in the draft book:
“Xiaojing, seeing these words is like seeing me in person…”
Near eight in the evening.
Yu Minghui, exhausted from the past few days, had gone to sleep in the next room.
But Quiet was still quite alert.
She no longer needed a wheelchair—in fact, she wasn’t physically impaired.
It was just that the day before, her body had been overexerted and her legs lacked strength.
The room was still and quiet.
She hadn’t turned on the lights, only resting her chin in her hands as she gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at the sea.
The ocean was pitch black like an abyss, with occasional flickers of light from distant ships sailing far away.
A single point of light grew clearer and brighter in the distance—a small cargo ship sailing at night.
Because it was so small, its outline only became visible as it approached the island’s shore.
That must be the ship delivering supplies to the research institute personnel.
Quiet had seen a larger ship during the day, but she wasn’t sure what this smaller one was bringing, especially since it came at night.
Among the flickering lights, people disembarked and carried small boxes off the ship.
The nursing ward was on a high floor, so it was hard to make out faces in the darkness, but she still stared blankly at the busy, blurry figures.
There wasn’t anything particularly interesting to see—it was just that staring at the night sea helped her thoughts wander.
She even felt that recently, her mind was so full of ideas she could write a whole novel—people really needed enough leisure to write novels.
Though no sound could be heard, she had lately become very good at imagining sounds in her head.
Things she used to find ordinary had become precious.
Perhaps constantly imagining various sounds was her way of not wanting to forget them.
What if… she never regained her hearing?
Quiet always set herself the worst-case scenario, then managed to stay optimistic on top of it.
She also wondered if her old mindset had really been that good.
Perhaps the ten years she lived in her dreams, though she lost most memories, had seeped into her body and changed who she was forever…
Suddenly, a triangular beam of light shone into the dim room.
Quiet slowly turned her head and saw a young nurse standing at the door, smiling gently at her.
Quiet recognized her somewhat, as this nurse often delivered daily necessities and other things, then quietly closed the door.
***
(3)
Silence filled the room until, at some moment, Quiet suddenly snapped back to reality.
She forcefully used the handle of a metal spoon to tear open the tape sealing the box, impatiently opening it.
Though roughly packaged, everything inside was neatly arranged.
On top was the GBA game console her cousin had sent her.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t hear the sound, so she wasn’t very interested in playing—without sound, the game seemed soulless.
Fortunately, the box contained more than just the console—there were over twenty novels, all complete sets.
Some were three-part series with beginning, middle, and end; others were volumes one through five with conclusions…
Apart from that, there were snacks.
She took all the books out of the box and neatly arranged them on the table.
A white letter suddenly slipped out from between the books and fell to the floor.
Quiet bent down and picked it up.
There were no words written on the envelope.
She glanced at it a few times before casually tearing it open.
She had expected it to be from Yu Mingfei, but the first line stopped her cold.
Something warm gently brushed her heart, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
The paper was torn from the draft notebook, as if still carrying Zhu Ying’s warmth—
“Xiaojing, seeing these words is like seeing me in person—what a joke! Plain text could never capture how perfect I am!
“Be honest—have you missed me? Even though it’s only been two days without contact.
“Are you okay there? Hurt? Used for human experiments? Everything alright?
“I’m fine, going to school normally now, so don’t worry.
“I’m not at all uneasy because I haven’t felt your presence lately! Just a little insomnia at night!
“Of course, I can allow you to miss me enough to lose sleep.
“Sometimes, isn’t it better to just be an ordinary person? Then you wouldn’t have to face these things.
“There’s a lot I want to say, but Feifei’s urging me, so I’ll wait to chat until you’re back!
“If you’re okay, remember to reply!
“—Your fiancée.”
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