“Oh, hello, my name is Su Ziyan.”
The sensation transmitted through his hand made Su Ziyan pause for a moment before he followed the other person’s guiding force, getting up from the bed and standing.
The strength in the other person’s hand and the direction of their pull felt incredibly comfortable to Su Ziyan, making him inwardly marvel at how professional this maid truly was.
After all, helping a blind person sitting in the middle of a bed to get up was no easy task. Even Xu Duyan, who had taken care of him for so long, had taken a considerable amount of time to get used to it.
Blind people, in their current state, still had their own will. If the person assisting them used too much or too little force, it would cause discomfort.
And once a blind person who had lost their sight felt discomfort, they would instinctively resist the force. Since their eyes couldn’t see anything, encountering a force that didn’t align with their own movement would inevitably trigger a subconscious fear—an undeniable self-protection mechanism.
Initially, whether Xu Duyan tried to assist or help Su Ziyan, it often led to him becoming stressed, and this was despite the absolute tacit understanding and trust between them.
It took both of them a long time to slowly adapt and get used to it.
Yet even so, it was far from being as soothing as Shi Lingge was for Su Ziyan right now.
Her perfectly measured force guided him to stand up and step precisely into his slippers. Everything felt so natural and effortless. Su Ziyan felt as if his body was being completely guided by her movements.
It was as if the two of them had performed this action countless times before.
So much so that for a moment, Su Ziyan wondered if the person helping him up was actually Xu Duyan. But both his hearing and sense of touch told him it was a stranger.
“I will take you there now,”
Shi Lingge’s voice, carrying a hint of cool, refreshing fragrance, came from beside Su Ziyan.
“I know you must be full of questions about the current situation. I will explain it to you slowly.”
The girl’s soft body pressed against Su Ziyan’s side as she held his arm, guiding him forward.
Yet Su Ziyan didn’t feel any discomfort or any inappropriate thoughts.
In her words and actions, he felt only an endless sense of reassurance, simply following her lead as they moved forward.
For a moment, Su Ziyan couldn’t help but wonder if he was being a bit foolish. Otherwise, why would he instinctively feel such trust towards this stranger before him?
But then again, he figured it was probably because he was still feeling a bit groggy.
“I feel a bit dizzy. Is it a side effect of the sleeping pills?”
Su Ziyan instinctively asked.
“Even if the sleeping pills I took weren’t lethal, I still took quite a lot…”
“Actually, you only took one dose’s worth,”
Shi Lingge applied a slight force, guiding Su Ziyan to turn sideways through the narrow bedroom door.
“That pharmacy owner didn’t dare sell that much medication to a blind person. So, in reality, that bottle was filled with vitamin tablets.”
“Ah? Isn’t that deceiving the consumer?”
Su Ziyan couldn’t help but feel speechless.
“I’m going to report him. He has no idea how much courage it takes for someone to choose to die! By the way, you don’t need to use honorifics with me. It feels kind of awkward.”
“Alright. But even if it had been sleeping pills, you wouldn’t have died from them. Taking too much of that kind of sleeping pill would, at most, just make you feel terrible when you wake up.”
Unexpectedly, when it came to forms of address, Shi Lingge didn’t hesitate or stand on ceremony—she changed it directly.
She let out a soft sigh. For some reason, that tone felt inexplicably familiar to Su Ziyan.
“And about the courage to die… Clearly, it takes more courage to keep living, doesn’t it?”
“Ah… You’re right. In my current situation, living does indeed require more courage than dying.”
Hearing her words, Su Ziyan was momentarily stunned before replying with a serious expression.
“But I never had that courage to begin with.”
“Huh?”
Shi Lingge instinctively let out a rather cute sound of confusion, but she quickly recovered and responded, “Why do you say that?”
“Because many people are like that. They don’t have the courage to really want to live, but they also don’t dare to actually die.”
Su Ziyan sighed softly.
“I’m the same kind of person. So even choosing to die… it took me a long time to gather the courage to do it…”
A long silence followed. Shi Lingge continued to lead him forward but didn’t speak further.
Su Ziyan then shifted the topic, asking,
“So, who is this Young Lady of yours? Why does she want to see me?”
“I don’t know the Young Lady’s intentions. That’s something she will likely have to tell you herself,” Shi Lingge changed the subject slightly and continued,
“But I can probably guess the general reason.”
“Oh? And what might that be?”
“Because the Young Lady finds living alone too quiet, so she picks up stray cats and dogs to keep.”
“Ah?”
After hearing Shi Lingge’s words, Su Ziyan felt his whole body stiffen with awkwardness. He spoke somewhat rigidly,
“The stray cats and dogs you’re talking about… wouldn’t happen to be me, would they?”
“Hehe?”
“Don’t maliciously act cute at a time like this!”
“It’s true. After all, when the Young Lady picked me up two years ago, that’s exactly what she said,”
Shi Lingge tilted her head slightly.
“But when you think about it, she’s only picked up two of us all this time. Do you think you’re more like a cat or a dog?”
“Can I choose to be a person?”
Su Ziyan felt the collar around his neck, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily.
“Why must it be a pet?”
“Someone who’s been picked up shouldn’t have so many demands, right? I was picked up too, and you don’t see me complaining, do you?”
“Do you have a collar around your neck?”
“No, of course not. I’m a maid. Why would I have a collar around my neck?”
Su Ziyan truly couldn’t fathom how someone could say such things in such a cool, soft, and sweet voice. For a moment, he couldn’t help but feel that the sense of reassurance he had felt earlier was all an illusion.
This person is really mean.
“Actually, I’m the same kind of person as you,”
Shi Lingge suddenly said.
“The kind who doesn’t really want to live, but is too scared to die. The kind who finally musters the courage to die, only to be saved.”
“And then I never had the courage to try dying again. Back then, I comforted myself by saying that living on, trying to find a way to live a better life… that takes more courage…”
“But these things are always easier said than done. Luckily, the Young Lady was there. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have become who I am now.”
“The Young Lady is actually a very gentle person. You don’t need to be so afraid.”
Her voice was soft.
“Since you’ve survived this time, don’t think about dying anymore. Stay here and start a new life…”
“Although I don’t know what your life was like before, it must have been something you wanted to escape from, right? In that case, start over here.”
Su Ziyan was taken aback for a moment before asking,
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Oh, that really is an age where trying to persuade others with grand principles can seem particularly clumsy.”