Chapter Text
Cover Art by: @CynOrca_
A young child opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure of what had happened to him, feeling as though he had been in deep slumber for a long time.
The first thing he saw was the color white. The next thing he noticed was the suffocating smell of medicine choking the air, and that his body was hurting all over. There was nobody by his side. As he looked around, he found himself lying on a bed in a room completely unfamiliar to him.
The child, bewildered by his situation, disturbed by the pain, opened his mouth and called for his mother. However, it was at that moment he noticed something else.
There was no sound.
He tried to call for his mother again, but still he couldn’t hear anything. He called his father, his grandmother, yet the silence pertained.
The child became terrified. He called louder, and this time there was some sort of vibration, along with faint noises that he was sure must be his own voice. He thought if he screamed harder and louder, perhaps everything would finally return to normal.
But he was wrong.
He was never able to hear his own voice as he used to be. The child screamed and cried until his throat was hurting, forgetting about the pain tormenting his small body, but even after his energy was drained to the very last drop, there was nothing he could listen to.
There was only silence. Surrounding him, trapping him, crawling all over him until he was overcome with so much fear and his entire body trembling.
From then onwards, silence followed the child wherever he went.
The city temperature is steadily dropping. The trees in the parks and roadsides have all been covered in red and yellow, piling more and more dry leaves on the ground. As the days grew shorter, people began to cover themselves in thicker, more layers of clothes.
Xiao Zhan slowed his scooter as he entered a quiet residential area. Lines of small houses and apartments stood on his left and right. It was a little after noon. There weren’t many passersby he encountered along the way; most people living in the neighborhood must still be busy working at the office or attending school. A bit further ahead was a public park, a playground for children living in the vicinity and a place suitable for afternoon walks for the elders. He’d passed by this area several times before and knew his way around here quite well. As he was closing in to the entrance of the park, a few food vendors could be seen attending to their temporary stalls by the street side.
Three other scooters similar to his own were parked nearby. The owners were none other than fellow deliverymen like him, taking their short lunch break after hours of braving the autumn wind on an open two-wheeled ride. Xiao Zhan stopped and parked his scooter at the same spot. Lifting up his helmet’s shield and pulling down the scarf covering his nose and mouth, he turned off the scooter’s engine and stepped down. The drivers eating their lunch by the food stalls noticed his arrival. They gave him a quiet nod and a small gesture of greeting as Xiao Zhan smiled and slightly bowed at them as he passed. After that brief exchange, he approached an older man attending to the chicken rice stall.
“Zhao- ge ,” he called.
“Oh, Zhan Zhan, you’re here,” the vendor, already familiar with him, gave a huge grin upon seeing his face, “What is it going to be today? The 16 yuan set or the 8 yuan set?”
“The 8 yuan set as usual, please.”
“Alright, here you go.”
“Thank you, Zhao- ge .”
Xiao Zhan smiled and thanked him. After making his payment, he returned to where he parked his ride, sitting on the scooter as he placed his cheap smartphone on a holder near the handlebar. He started chowing down on his meal then, occasionally shifting his eyes from the food to the phone as if waiting for a call.
After a brief moment, the display of his smartphone started blinking and a call did come in. Xiao Zhan quickly placed his chopsticks down and accepted it, putting the phone on loudspeaker.
“Uncle Li, hello!” the corner of his lips were pulled into a happy smile as he picked up the call.
“Zhan Zhan, on your lunch break?”
“Yes, yes,” he nodded a few times, “Uncle Li, would you mind putting Grandma on the phone?”
“Sure, wait a minute.”
“Thank you, Uncle. Thank you.”
The display showed the middle aged man on the other side of the line walking towards a room nearby. Rubbing his cold hands, Xiao Zhan waited impatiently, staring at his phone. The display shook a bit as his uncle seemed to be saying something he couldn’t quite catch. And then, the face of an elderly woman appeared on the screen.
“Grandma!” Xiao Zhan’s face immediately beamed, “Grandma, how are you? Do you see me?”
He waved his hand at the phone. The elderly woman on the other side squinted. She did not seem to understand how to properly handle the device as the screen only displayed half of her face, meaning that she was holding it wrong. Xiao Zhan knew this very well. With an apologetic face, he called for the older man accompanying his grandmother.
“Uncle Li, sorry to bother you, but could you please help Grandma to face the screen?” he asked, “Ah, right, right, like that. Thank you, Uncle. Hello, Grandma! Do you see me now? Can you hear me?”
“Hello? Who is this?” the elderly woman replied; her voice already hoarse, deteriorating with age.
“It’s me, Grandma,” as he said this, Xiao Zhan removed his helmet and put it away, “Can you see me now?”
“Oh, ohh, it’s Zhan Zhan,” his grandmother waved to the screen.
“Ahaha, hello, Grandma. Have you eaten yet?” Xiao Zhan asked.
“Hello, Zhan Zhan, hello.”
Instead of answering his question, the elderly woman kept greeting him and waving her hand. Xiao Zhan responded with a smile, waving back at her and this time, speaking in a louder voice.
“Grandma! Have you eaten yet?”
“Hey, kid. Lower your voice. You’re going to disturb the whole neighborhood,” one of the drivers sitting nearby reprimanded him.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m speaking to my grandmother. She couldn’t hear very well,” Xiao Zhan bowed his head a few times, apologizing. The other drivers returned to their businesses, no longer paying him any mind. Now speaking in a whisper, Xiao Zhan drew his face closer to the phone. “Grandma! Grandma, have you eaten yet?”
“We just had chicken porridge a while ago. Has Zhan Zhan eaten yet? It’s already past noon,” finally, the elderly woman responded properly.
“I’m eating right now, Grandma. See this here? See?” he lifted up his meal, purposely taking a mouthful to show his grandmother that he was actually eating.
“Good, good. No matter how busy you are, you mustn’t forget to eat your meals. Isn’t it getting colder over there? Your cheeks are red. Zhan Zhan, are you cold?”
“No, no. I’m not cold at all. Don’t worry, Grandma,” Xiao Zhan quickly replied and shook his head. Of course, this was a lie. He’d been rubbing his hands several times now, sniffling between his sentences. But his expression remained bright and cheerful still. Perhaps even he himself didn’t realize that he was lying. Seeing his grandmother smiling on the other side, he couldn’t help but smile, as well.
“Look at you, Grandma. Your eyes disappear when you smile,” he giggled mischievously.
“Your voice is small, Zhan Zhan. I couldn’t hear what you say .”
“I said, when you smile, your teeth are gone. Now everyone can see that you’re toothless.”
His grandmother laughed, and Xiao Zhan, too, ended up laughing along with her. He could see a smile blooming on her face, a kind and gentle smile that he used to see everyday as he grew up. Somehow, it looks as if his grandmother wanted to pat him in the head. But since it was impossible to do over the phone, she ended up leaning on her rocking chair as she spoke to him again.
“Zhan Zhan, are you doing well? How’s your work going? You didn’t get sick living by yourself, did you?”
“I’m not. I’m doing great, Grandma. I’m doing great. Really,” he replied.
“Come back here if you ever feel unwell. Take some rest and don’t force yourself.”
“I’m alright. Don’t worry about me,” Xiao Zhan nodded, “I’m saving up money right now. Once I’ve had enough, I’m going to buy hearing aids for you.”
“Buy what?”
“Hearing aids. For the ears. See? It’s this one.”
As he said this, Xiao Zhan tilted his head and pointed at his left ear. There was a small device attached there, similar to a wireless earphone. Seeing his grandmother squinting her eyes, unable to see clearly, he laughed a bit and tried to elaborate.
“It’s a hearing aid, Grandma. A hearing aid, remember?. If you wear this, you’ll be able to hear better when people speak to you.”
[“You have received an order. Please respond immediately.”]
At that moment, a notification suddenly appeared on his screen. Xiao Zhan tapped on the pop-up. Briefly reviewing the incoming task, he tapped “Accept” and returned to the call, all the while chowing down the rest of his meal in a hurry.
“Uncle Li, I have to get back to work soon. Sorry to bother you again, but could you please let me see Grandma in full?” he said.
“Sure, sure. Hold up. Grandma, Zhan Zhan said he’s going back to work. Say goodbye to him?”
“Bye, bye, Grandma. See you later.”
“Bye, bye, Zhan Zhan. Take care.”
They both were waving at the camera, him and his grandmother, and Uncle Li beside her. Xiao Zhan was smiling, but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel a little pang in his heart when the display showed the elderly woman sitting on that old rocking chair, in that puny little room of hers. Her white hair was thinning. The wrinkles on her face seemed to have increased since the last time they did a video call. Xiao Zhan hadn’t seen her in years, and everytime they talked through the phone like this, he felt like she’d gotten considerably older each time.
“...Toothless Grandma, please wait a little bit longer. I promise I will let you hear the whole world once more.”
As the call ended, Xiao Zhan finished the last bite of his meal in one gulp and threw the styrofoam box away into a nearby trash bin. He went through the order he just received again. It seems that the customer wanted him to buy a few things from the supermarket and delivered them to their office in the business area. Putting on his helmet, he started the scooter’s engine and drove away, not forgetting to say goodbye to the food vendor still attending to his stall at the park’s entrance.
Three years had passed since he moved to this city all by himself and worked as a delivery man. As a child, Xiao Zhan was a normal boy, living in a normal family with his parents. Due to an unfortunate accident during a trip, however, he lost both of his parents when he was young, and along with it, had his ears badly damaged he could no longer hear small noises, let alone understanding people’s speech unless they yelled at him.
It was his grandmother who took him in and raised him on her own. They weren’t rich, but despite all that, his grandmother still worked hard not only to pay for his tuition until he graduated high school, but also to buy him hearing aids so he could live as normally as possible. Of course, it would never be as perfect as having healthy hearing, but at the very least it allows him to function like any other normal people would.
That’s why, as soon as he was able to become independent, Xiao Zhan decided to move to the city and find a job. He didn’t make that much by working as a delivery man, but added with the occasional tips he received from customers and other side jobs he took in his free time, it was enough to sustain himself and set a little amount aside for savings. His grandmother bought him these hearing aids when he needed it the most. Now, it was his turn to return the favor when she was the one needing it.
“Chips… Biscuits… Soft drinks… Alright, I’ve got them all.”
Mumbling as he stood in the cashier’s line, Xiao Zhan double checked the stuffs in his cart and compared them with the list in the customer’s order. He paid for them with the money sent by the customer through the delivery apps, and after making sure everything had been packed into one plastic bag, he left the supermarket and was about to head to where he had parked his scooter...only to realize that it had suddenly started raining outside.
“Oh, no…” his shoulders slumped. Xiao Zhan peered into the content of the plastic bag in his hands. They were all canned drinks and snacks that would not be ruined if the packaging got wet, but still, it wouldn’t look good if he were to bring a drenched packet to his customer. Carefully, Xiao Zhan tied the bag and put it inside his jacket, zipping it up to his chest so most part would be protected from the rain. Taking a deep breath, he put on his helmet and pulled down the shield, sprinting with all his might towards the parking lot where his faithful scooter was waiting.
The office address indicated by his customer actually wasn’t too far, but the bad weather didn’t allow him to move at his usual speed. Instead of subsiding, the rain quickly turned into a downpour without any sign of stopping anytime soon. The traffic worsened. Visibility was poor, and it didn’t take long until the junctions were filled with cars and bikes, all stuck in the same place as they started honking at each other, impatient.
Xiao Zhan closed his eyes, slightly shaking his head as his brows scrunched in pain. Although the hearing aid improved his listening capability, when all these loud noises surrounded him from all directions, going off one after another, it felt as though they were screaming right into his head. It was confusing, it was painful to hear. But he was in no condition to take off his hearing aid at the moment, not to mention it would be dangerous to drive on such a busy road with impaired hearing. Left with no other choice, he could only persevere and keep moving forward, little by little when the traffic allowed him to. Besides, rather than going mad from all the noises, he was more worried about whether his customer would be angry at him for not arriving within the estimated time.
And it didn’t take long for his worry to become reality.
“What took you so long?! The supermarket isn’t that far from here!”
In the grand lobby of a well-known skyscraper towering in the bustling business district, his customer, a young lady in her thirties, snatched the shopping bag as soon as he presented it to her and yelled at him without mercy. Just as other people coming and going out of the marvelous building, she was dressed in proper office attire; her hair and make-up neatly done. Him, on the other hand, was in his worn out jacket and scarf. He’d left his helmet back with his scooter, and with his disheveled hair exposed he looked even more like a drenched rat; rainwater occasionally dripping from his clothes onto the spotless marble floor.
“I… I’m sorry, the traffic was bad because of the rain…”
“Well, you’re on a bike! You could’ve slipped your way through instead of waiting behind those cars. Do you know how long I’ve waited just for these things?!”
“I’m...terribly sorry…”
The lady continued berating him. Even the other staffs and guests passing by around them couldn’t help but glance at the unfolding scene. Xiao Zhan felt so embarrassed and out of place. He wished he could run away, but such a thing would be impossible. Not only the customer would be angrier, she would certainly give him a bad rating in the apps. Instead of getting an income from doing the delivery, he would end up being penalized for bad service. Even now, he wasn’t sure if she would be so merciful as to give him at least a mediocre rating. In the end, Xiao Zhan could only take in her anger with his head hung low, nervously squeezing his fingers.
Neither of them noticed at that moment, a jet black car arrived in front of the lobby. It was a European-made car, and anyone could immediately tell how expensive it was just from a single look. One of the security guards hurried to open the passenger’s door. As the figure inside stepped out of the car, the guard immediately greeted him politely, and so did the other staffs of the building who saw his arrival.
“Sir,” they said, bowing to him.
It was a young man in the beginning of his twenties, definitely no older than twenty five years old. Dressed in a tailor-made suit, a high-end brand of watch on his wrist, and a pair of spotless, shiny black leather shoes as his footwear, he was the very definition of a walking luxury - one that would always attract the public’s attention wherever he went. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses, but even with this, anyone who laid their eyes on him could tell at once that he was a very good-looking young man.
"Good afternoon, sir," the guard in charge of checking the building's visitors greeted him as he approached the entrance, a rotating glass door.
"Who's that?" jerking his chin towards the two figures at the other side of the lobby - one fiercely scolding the other - the young man asked.
"Oh, it's one of those delivery boys. Seems like he took awhile to arrive with the order due to the rain and bad traffic, but the lady isn't accepting it very well.
"And you all just stand here watching him being yelled at despite knowing the reason?"
The guard couldn't yet process what he said and remained standing there with his mouth opened, but the young man already left. Instead of going into the building, he strode towards the woman and the delivery man she was berating, standing right next to them.
"What's going on here?" he asked bluntly, not even notifying them of his presence first.
"Mind your own b--- O-Oh, Mr. President, sir…"
The lady, about to lash at the uninvited visitor, immediately shrank upon realizing who it was talking to her. Xiao Zhan thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but it looked as if his customer's face just went a shade paler than before.
"Why are you making so much commotion? Do you know where you are right now?" the young man asked again; his voice colder than the chilling autumn wind in this downpour.
"Oh, I- I was just...making a complaint--"
"For what?"
"Umm, I… I made an order an hour ago, b-but he only arrived now and--"
"You saw how hard it's raining outside and still expect your delivery man to get here fast? How long have you been working here? Don't you know how bad the traffic becomes every single time it's pouring like this?" while saying this, the young man tugged at the shopping bag in the woman's hand and peered at the content, "...You're screaming at him over this? Don't you think you should be grateful instead that someone is willing to deliver your cheap order in this weather? How much are you paying him that you think you have the right to lash out at him like that?"
"M-My apologies…"
"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not the one you've been yelling at in front of everybody here."
"I'm...sorry. I went overboard just now," her voice almost shaking, the lady turned towards the drenched delivery man before her and lowered her head, "Thank you for bringing these here."
"O-oh, no problem, no problem," Xiao Zhan stammered in his response, completely caught off guard by her sudden change of attitude. The lady then quietly left, returning back into the building with the shopping bag in her hands. Now, only Xiao Zhan and this unknown young man remained in the lobby.
"Are you alright?" he asked him.
"Huh? Oh, y-yes, yes, I'm fine," startled, Xiao Zhan instinctively bowed several times towards the young man in front of him, "T-Thank you for your help."
"You should've spoken up for yourself. Anyone in their right mind knows it's impossible to move quickly in this weather. She's been speaking nonsense, yelling at you for something as trivial as snacks and drinks."
"Ah, thank you for your concern, but it's alright, really," Xiao Zhan smiled, scratching his half wet hair, "I'm already used to this. Maybe she was just having a stressful day and got impatient."
The young man didn't say anything for awhile. He hadn't been paying attention before, but now Xiao Zhan finally had a good look at the person who just saved him from that angry customer. He was a little bit shorter than him, and definitely younger, too. To think that someone so young could have so powerful of a presence…
"...Anyway, did she pay for her order?" as he said this, the young man finally removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of clear, sharp eyes behind. Xiao Zhan could find no other words to describe his appearance other than extremely charming. "Don't tell me that after all that commotion, she walked away without paying."
"Oh, no, no, she already paid through the apps when she made the order."
"Good. Tell me immediately if she gave you a bad rating for this. I will deal with it."
The young man pulled out a business card from the inner pocket of his suit. Bewildered, Xiao Zhan accepted the card without question, reading the name neatly printed on it.
"Wang YiBo. President of…"
"Also, here," before he could even finish reading the information on the card, the young man handed him something else - a huge amount of 100 yuan bills.
"Umm… This is...?"
"Your clothes are completely drenched and it doesn't look like the rain will stop anytime soon. Use this to get a taxi and buy some new clothes. If the taxi driver asks you to pay a cleaning fee for getting in with wet clothes, just give him some."
“Oh, it’s alright. I have my scooter parked over there.”
“Are you concerned about your vehicle? Very well, then tell me your name and where you live, also your scooter’s type and plate number. I’ll arrange for it to be sent home as soon as possible. You go back with a taxi instead.”
Xiao Zhan couldn’t comprehend at all what this young man was saying. In this day and age where everyone is already using digital money to purchase everything, he was still carrying such a huge amount of cash with him, and he could give it so easily to a stranger he just met. Not only that, this person was even willing to go through all that trouble sending his scooter back home just so a mere delivery man like him wouldn’t have to go out in the rain. However, although his behavior was certainly very odd, Xiao Zhan did not sense any evil intention coming from him, nor was he trying to belittle him due to their status difference. If he were to describe it with words, it felt more like…
“...like he truly, genuinely thinks this is a normal solution and the right thing to do.”
This young man, Wang Yibo, did not seem to budge at all; his face clearly saying that he still intended for him to accept the offer. For some reason, Xiao Zhan could not help but smile. He rejected the money, politely pushing back the other’s hand. As expected, he was met with a look of bewilderment from the younger person.
“Why are you not taking it?” Wang Yibo frowned.
“Thank you very much for the offer, but I can’t accept this.”
“And why can’t you?”
“I...didn’t do anything that deserved this much money from you,” replied Xiao Zhan, “It does not feel right to receive payment for something I didn’t work for.”
“Then what should I do so it will feel right for you to accept this?”
“Oh, no, no, really, you do not have to do anything,” Xiao Zhan quickly shook his head, “Just now, you already helped me a lot. Thank you so much. I will never forget this.”
Once again, Xiao Zhan bowed to thank him. Wang Yibo eventually pulled back his hand holding the 100 yuan bills. However, the expression on his face was clearly saying that he still couldn’t understand the reason why he wouldn’t accept the offer, even though it was perfectly beneficial for him. Xiao Zhan could only wonder what kind of environment this person was being brought up in that he could end up developing such an unusual way of thinking.
Nevertheless, no matter how curious he felt, he wasn’t allowed the time or chance to think any further about it.
“Oh, excuse me, that’s my phone,” when a beeping sound repeatedly went off out of the blue, Xiao Zhan scrambled to find his smartphone in the pocket of his wet jacket. Wang Yibo only watched him turning on the display in a hurry. On the screen, a familiar message popped up.
[“You have received an order. Please respond immediately.”]
“Umm, I...have to get back to work,” putting down his phone, Xiao Zhan looked at the younger man before him, “Thank you again for your help. I’ll be going now.”
“You’re going back to work? But it’s still raining,” the frown on Wang Yibo’s face grew deeper as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
“Oh, yes… But it’s fine. I will make sure to inform the customer this time that I might be a bit late because of the traffic.”
“What about your clothes? Are you planning to go back to work like this?”
“Ah, this is quite alright. They will dry later,” Xiao Zhan lightly patted his wet jeans like he would dust off dirts, “Thank you very much. I’m sorry for causing trouble in your office. I hope it did not affect everyone’s work. Please take care.”
He smiled and waved at the younger man. Then, turning on his heels, he briefly scanned his surroundings. The downpour had lessened a little bit, but it was still raining quite hard. Going down the lobby’s stairs, Xiao Zhan went back to where he’d parked his scooter. He put on his helmet, covered his nose and mouth with his damp scarf. After checking the destination of his delivery, he left the building’s vicinity and went out to the busy road, resuming his work once again.
Wang Yibo stood at the lobby of his office building. The 100 yuan bills he was holding, already folded neatly, ready to be handed over, never left his hand in the end. Reluctantly, he put the valuable sheets of papers back into his wallet - a thick, high-end branded wallet made of the finest leather. His eyes returned to gaze towards the opened field before him. Amidst the droplets of water continuously falling from the sky in huge quantity, the figure of that humble delivery boy eventually disappeared from his sight.
Meanwhile, the frown on his face remained still.
“Why won’t he receive my offer? Is the benefit insufficient? No, no matter how you look at it, everything I proposed was nothing less than favorable to his situation. Then why? For what reason did he refuse such a beneficial proposal? Exactly what is it that is lacking from my offer?”
Wang Yibo could not understand. Everyone he’d ever met, each and every single person, be it relatives, colleagues, partners, even strangers, had always been constantly chasing after him for his wealth. And then this person, this delivery boy dressed in a worn-out jacket, old dirty shoes, a pair of soaked jeans that looked like they could tear with one single pull, just literally refused when he offered him cash to help fix his situation. Even though that person clearly looked like he was in a difficult financial situation, even though he could’ve had a much easier day if he took the money… Wang Yibo thought long and hard, but still he could not comprehend the reason for that person’s action.
“Sir, you’re already here. I thought you were still stuck in the traffic.”
From inside the building, his assistant stepped out of the rotating glass door and approached him. The older, capable-looking man had a polite, professional smile on his face at first, but his expression quickly changed to that of confusion upon seeing the situation his younger superior was in.
“Uhh, sir? Is something the matter?” he asked, noticing the other’s dissatisfied look, “The meeting is about to start. If you would please come this way…”
“...I need you to look something up,” all of a sudden, determination seemed to erase the conflict from Wang Yibo’s face as he turned towards his assistant.
“Oh, certainly, certainly. Is it a competitive landscape for our newest product or information on our future partnership? I can inform our business research team to--”
“No. I want to know the name of that delivery man who just left here and where he lived.”
“...I beg your pardon?”
“Go ask the guards on duty and see if they have that person’s scooter plate number recorded on the security camera,” without so much as a glance, Wang Yibo dictated his instructions to the dumbfounded staff, “After that, send an inquiry to the delivery company for information on their employee who owns that vehicle.”
“Umm, you want us to...look for a delivery man?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?” the young executive raised his brow, not even realizing how he’d just given the most unreasonable request to his subordinate.
“N-No, no, there isn’t any problem. We will get on it as soon as possible.”
“Good. I want the answer ready on my table tomorrow morn-- No, tonight. The faster you can get it, the better.”
Just like that, he left his still bewildered assistant and entered the building, soon burying himself in meetings after meetings, going through yet another busy day that did not allow him any spare time to rest.