Dad, it's time to take your medicine.

 

During the high summer in Yishi, it always seemed to rain heavily, with almost no interruption, every day. Just a moment ago, the sun was shining brightly, but then, rolling dark clouds would rapidly cover the sky, followed by flashes of lightning and booming thunder, and then the torrential rain would pour down, drenching the scattered people on the city streets.

It was in this pouring rain that Bai Ke, holding an umbrella, turned into the long alley at the end of Xidu Street, flanked by walls of two courtyards. He walked along the shallow puddles against the walls, heading towards the hazy residential building at the end of the alley.

This was the oldest district of Yishi, mostly comprised of decades-old buildings, dirty and chaotic, intertwined without any aesthetic sense, forming a residential area as if it were crumpled together and casually thrown into the southwest corner of Yishi.

Over the years, the Yishi government had made several urban planning and redevelopment attempts, but somehow, they always seemed to forget about this area. As a result, after so many years, it still looked like a ghost town, with its hardware conditions remaining at the level of decades ago. The only thing that seemed to grow was the moss in the alley, increasing year by year. On rainy days like this, it was truly a treacherous existence.

A young man, who forgot to bring an umbrella and had his backpack on his head, hurriedly ran towards Bai Ke. He clumsily ran and jumped to avoid several puddles on the ground, but ended up stepping on some moss. He stumbled forward, about to collide with Bai Ke. However, Bai Ke leaned to the right, making way, and even reached out to grab the young man's arm, preventing him from falling on his head.

"Wow! Falling into an enemy's ambush due to carelessness! Thanks a lot for your help, young hero!" The young man patted his chest, breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at the umbrella conveniently covering Bai Ke's head. He patted Bai Ke's shoulder appreciatively and sighed, "There are indeed many good people in this world..."

Bai Ke: "..."

He didn't even blink, maintaining a slight nodding posture, lifted his umbrella and walked away, leaving the young man, whose entire body was probably soaked, behind in the pouring rain.

The young man was instantly soaked again by the rain, looking like a wilted chicken, pitiful and innocent.

"Aren't you going to give me a ride?" The young man, who had come to his senses, bounced his backpack and said as he walked away. Bai Ke, who had already walked quite a distance in the rain, turned back and looked at him, puzzled, "Do you have any dry places left on you?"

Young Man: "..." It seems not.

He walked a few steps dejectedly, holding his backpack on his head. Eventually, he felt something vigorously shaking against his thigh, causing his leg to shake twice. He stopped and took out a phone-like gadget from his pocket, then stared at it, murmuring, "Isn't this a coincidence?!"

The young man turned around, holding the gadget, and bounced his backpack again, saying, "Young hero, I see you have extraordinary bones. Are you interested in accompanying me..."

Unfortunately, this time there was not a soul left in the alley.

"...A trip... Well, running so fast?" The young man scratched his head, turned around with disappointment, and continued to jump over puddles crookedly. "Forget it, let's talk later... I didn't even get a clear look at his face, darn it!"

Meanwhile, Bai Ke, who had already reached the end of the alley, slowed down and entered the nearest old building.

The walls of the old building's corridor were already stripped, with cobwebs in the corners. It looked gloomy and dilapidated, with a pair of old-fashioned rain boots and a red plastic bucket filled with odds and ends thrown messily on the ground, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Bai Ke, as if accustomed to it, didn't even glance at the mess, just closed the umbrella and shook off the raindrops. He felt somewhat speechless.

Although the young man's call had been drowned out by the noisy rain, Bai Ke's hearing was much more sensitive than usual, so he heard it clearly. He simply chose to ignore it.

Firstly, the young man's manner of speaking reminded him of another troublesome character he didn't want to deal with. Secondly, he feared that the young man might catch up with him recklessly and startle him with his appearance.

Bai Ke adjusted his umbrella and then lifted his head. At this moment, his face, which had been half-hidden under the umbrella and his bangs, now fully revealed itself.

Actually, Bai Ke wasn't unattractive. On the contrary, his eyebrows were clear and handsome, his nose straight, and his cheeks slender, giving him a good foundation. However, his pale skin, coupled with his consistently tight pale lips, made him seem unapproachable.

But, none of these were the focal points affecting his appearance. The real root lay in his eyes—

To everyone who knew Bai Ke, he was completely blind, blind since birth, never experiencing a day of light.

His eyes, hidden under the shadow of his bangs, were obviously abnormal, always closed, never opening. There were strange dark red birthmarks on both corners of his eyes, which, in the wetness of the rain on his cheeks, looked extremely similar to blood flowing from closed eyes.

Such eerie marks, coupled with the faint bluish traces under his eyes, perhaps due to chronic sleep deprivation, gave him an overall eerie feeling, much like a water ghost emerging from the rain.

The slender water ghost was about to step upstairs when he heard the sound of a closing door upstairs, followed by a series of not-so-light footsteps, "thud thud thud," coming down quickly, soon reaching the stairs in front of him.

"Heh—" The person coming downstairs obviously didn't expect to find someone standing silently at the bottom of the stairs, which startled him. He took a breath of cold air, and his steps visibly paused. After realizing who it was, he patted his chest, dryly chuckled a couple of times, and somewhat embarrassedly said, "Little Ke, why didn't you make a sound? You scared me."

Bai Ke called out, "Uncle Li," and explained, "Just entered the building."

His voice was somewhat cool, pleasant to the ears, not too high in tone, as if he were a person who didn't like to exert effort when speaking.

"Oh, okay." Uncle Li responded twice, patted Bai Ke's shoulder, and said, "Go upstairs, don't stand here. It's windy and rainy."

Although he was only eighteen years old and his bones hadn't fully developed, Bai Ke was already quite tall, with a slender figure but standing straight. He nodded slightly and was about to go upstairs.

But just as he took the first step, he heard Uncle Li, who had already walked out with an umbrella, say, "Oh, I forgot to mention! Earlier, I saw someone downstairs without an umbrella, quickly turning around and going to the back. Because of the heavy rain, I couldn't see clearly. I shouted from the window a couple of times, but he didn't look back. Go back and see if it's Lao Bai! If he's not there, call Shen Shen to help you look around. She's at home. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I'm leaving." Without waiting for Bai Ke's response, he hurriedly left.

Bai Ke: "..."

Carrying his umbrella, he hurried upstairs. He didn't look like a blind person at all. In the blink of an eye, he stood in front of his own door on the third floor and then used his key to open the door.

If there were familiar people nearby, witnessing Bai Ke's actions would surely make them swallow their surprise—because Bai Ke, while pursing his lips, quickly surveyed the surroundings and confirmed that the man who had troubled him for eighteen years wasn't in the house.

Yes... surveyed.

He was just like a completely normal person, turning his head, sweeping from left to right, then somewhat reluctantly retreating to lock the door. Just like coming up, he hurriedly went downstairs again, his steps fast and steady, without any hesitation.

Of course, he didn't do as Uncle Li said and go to his house to ask his daughter for help. Instead, he simply went out with his umbrella. After passing through four or five old buildings, he found the person he was looking for in a deserted park with withered flowers and leaves—

The person was tall, looking nothing like an eighteen-year-old's father from a distance. He seemed more like a tall young man, at most not over thirty. Standing tall in the pouring rain, tilting his head slightly, his features were somewhat obscured by the mist, but he didn't seem too disheveled.

If he maintained this posture, he even had a certain indescribable charm.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to think so himself—

Just as Bai Ke approached, reaching out to him, suddenly lightning flashed. The purplish light illuminated the entire sky for a moment, winding and twisting, almost as if it had struck the ground.

"Don't touch me!" The man tore his sleeve away from Bai Ke's grip, pushed Bai Ke aside, then spread his arms and pointed in the direction where lightning flashed one after another. "It's time, can't you see? The thunder tribulation is coming! Stand back a bit, be careful not to get hurt later!"

Bai Ke: "..."

The young man he had encountered in the alley just popped into his mind. If that young man and the person in front of him who was performing in the rain came together, it might be quite a topic.

That young man had said something before—there are still many good people in this world...

But why were the weird ones always around him?

Bai Ke remained expressionless for two seconds, then simply put down his umbrella, walked over, and chopped the man on the back of his neck. The man's eyes rolled back, his legs softened, and his whole body was about to fall to the ground.

As Bai Ke turned around, he caught him perfectly with his somewhat slender back, lifted his arms, and hung them around his neck. Then, pursing his lips, he carried the dizzy man, stepping on the rain-soaked ground, and said coolly, "Dad, it's time to take your medicine."

--

The author has something to say:

This new story is still a bunch of peculiar tales~~ Feel free to jump in~ \\\\ (≧▽≦) / ~~

 

Translator : DarNan