A9 C268: Redemption is Not Up to Others

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Ming Zhou keenly sensed the unusual silence in the air, and there was no sound coming from the living room either. Unconsciously, he frowned, gripping the doorframe tighter, and called out, "Xiao Jin'ang?"

"Thud—"

Startled by the call, Xiao Jin'ang finally came to his senses but lost his balance and fell to the ground. Face flushed with embarrassment, he hurriedly got up, looking like a child caught doing something wrong. "I... I'm here..."

Hearing his voice, Ming Zhou's brow relaxed. His hand that had been gripping the doorframe slowly dropped as if something invisible had finally returned to its place. He paused and said, "I'm done showering. You can go now."

Xiao Jin'ang's mind was a mess. He nodded subconsciously, "Oh... okay, I'll go wash up."

He didn't dare to look at Ming Zhou anymore, picked up his pajamas from the sofa, and quickly headed into the bathroom.

Ming Zhou didn't notice anything unusual either. He turned and felt his way towards the bedroom. He had a habit of not turning on the lights, but upon entering, his steps paused for an almost imperceptible moment. He reached for the wall with his right hand for a moment and then pressed the light switch.

With a soft "click," the dim bedroom suddenly lit up. Bathed in the gentle light, Ming Zhou sat down at his desk as usual, took out a diary from the drawer, and placed a braille ruler under the paper.

Holding a pointed braille pen, Ming Zhou paused for a moment, as if contemplating something. His silhouette was cast onto the warm-colored window, making him look like an ordinary person.

An ordinary person who needed the light to write.

Sitting in his chair, letting the tips of his wet hair drip water, Ming Zhou seemed lost in thought. He lifted his eyelids slightly, revealing his eyes covered with a layer of unhealthy white film. Because his pupils were smaller than usual, he appeared to have a cold and lifeless aura.

Ming Zhou touched the paper with his fingertips and suddenly remembered the cat still at the clinic receiving treatment. He finally began to write, marking down on the paper with his braille pen:

[I lied to Xiao Jin'ang...]

[I actually... had a cat before...]

Ming Zhou seemed to be tearing down some protective barrier, starting to recall a brutal past:

[To be precise, it was the woman who raised it.]

[She was beautiful but naive, fooled by a married man. She waited in that room every day, hoping for his occasional visits. No one locked her in; she trapped herself.]

[She could have lived like any other woman, but she chose to become dependent like a bindweed. Once she lost her support, she couldn't withstand any hardships.]

[So when she found out about the man's family, she went completely mad. No unfaithful man would stay with a madwoman, and he disappeared from her life entirely, never to return.]

[He and her, my father and mother.]

[She locked me in that room, not letting me out, along with a pet cat she used to have. But even a person couldn't endure such a life of darkness, let alone a cat.]

[One day when she came in to bring food, the cat suddenly struggled out of my arms and bolted through the door, like a gust of wind, too fast to catch even a glimpse, even knocking over the woman's bowl of spoiled food.]

[I truly wished to leave with it, but the woman dragged me back by my hair...]

[So the room was left with just me. I felt like a disposable object.]

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