After peeling the cucumbers, Pei Xu called out to Shen Zhiyi.
“Done.”
Looking at the two peeled cucumbers in his hand, Shen Zhiyi stared at them for a long time.
“Are you sharpening pencils, brother?”
Perfectly good cucumbers, and he had peeled them down to the thickness of a finger.
Pei Xu tightened his grip on the peeler in his hand and lowered his eyelids.
“It’s fine. The cucumber core is still tasty when mixed, tender.”
Shen Zhiyi didn’t mean to blame Pei Xu. She was just teasing him.
“Take your time. I wasn’t criticizing you just now…”
Seeing that Pei Xu hadn’t spoken for a while, Shen Zhiyi worried he might have misunderstood and quickly explained.
“I’ll peel two more cucumbers.”
“Alright.”
There were plenty of cucumbers anyway, and even if there weren’t, she could just go out and buy more tomorrow.
The two newly peeled cucumbers were clearly much better than the previous ones. She took them and set them aside for later use.
Shen Zhiyi deliberately removed the bones from the pork ribs.
Yesterday, she noticed how inconvenient it was for Pei Xu to eat chicken wings, especially when using chopsticks—they would easily slip when picking up the bony parts.
After helping her peel the cucumbers and radishes, Pei Xu didn’t move again. He just sat on the small stool, listening to the sounds of her chopping and stir-frying.
“Try the ribs and see how they taste.”
Shen Zhiyi picked up a piece of rib with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and brought it to Pei Xu’s mouth.
“Open up.”
Seeing him motionless, Shen Zhiyi gently pinched Pei Xu’s chin.
Once he opened his mouth, she placed the rib inside.
“How does it taste?”
“Mhm.”
Pei Xu swallowed the rib in his mouth and replied calmly.
“Too salty or too bland?”
“Just right.”
A conversation fit for the gods…
“It seems you’re not cut out for food reviews. No matter what dish, you just sum it up with ‘mhm.'”
“If a dish is bad, I’ll say it’s terrible.”
Seeing the serious expression on Pei Xu’s face, Shen Zhiyi felt he probably wasn’t trying to annoy her on purpose.
After finishing all the dishes, she brought them to the coffee table in the living room.
“Wash your hands and eat, Pei Xu.”
Looking at the person sitting on the small stool in the corner, Shen Zhiyi reached out and pulled him up.
“The weather seems pretty nice today.”
“How can you tell?”
Standing beside him, Shen Zhiyi asked curiously.
“The sun is strong. It feels warm on my skin.”
If Pei Xu hadn’t mentioned it, Shen Zhiyi wouldn’t have noticed the sunlight shining on his face and body.
“I still remember it was raining outside on the day of the accident.”
The smile slowly faded from Shen Zhiyi’s face.
She thought of many things to say, but in the end, only “I’m sorry” came out.
“I never blamed you.”
Shen Zhiyi didn’t know whether Pei Xu’s words were true or not.
If she put herself in his shoes, and she were the one who couldn’t see now…
Shen Zhiyi might have resented the world.
“Let’s eat. I’m hungry.”
After not hearing Shen Zhiyi speak for a while, Pei Xu broke the silence.
“Alright.”
Shen Zhiyi and Pei Xu sat on the sofa. As usual, she held his hand to let him know where each dish was placed.
“I’ve already served the soup for you. This dish is braised pork ribs, this one is scallion tofu…”
“Zhiyi.”
This was the first time Shen Zhiyi had heard Pei Xu call her by her name like this. She instinctively turned to look at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Could I trouble you to buy me a white cane? Lately, I’ve been deliberately avoiding the fact that I’ve lost my sight, pretending I’m still normal…”
“But no matter how much I pretend, I can’t change the fact that I’ve become blind.”
Shen Zhiyi’s throat tightened slightly. She wasn’t Pei Xu, so she couldn’t fully understand what he was feeling right now.
“You don’t have to hide your emotions deliberately. I’ll go buy it for you tomorrow.”
Her words came out a bit jumbled.
Truthfully, she wasn’t even sure what she should say at this moment.
“What did the doctors say when you were in the hospital? Is there still any chance of recovery?”
“The chances are slim. There’s a blood clot in my skull pressing on the optic nerve, plus traumatic corneal damage. Surgery would carry significant risks.”
“You’ll get better, Pei Xu. You will.”
She wasn’t just comforting him—she was speaking from an observer’s perspective, as if she already knew the outcome.
Pei Xu would definitely recover.
“Well… I’ll take your kind words.”
A faint smile touched the corners of Pei Xu’s lips.
It was the first genuine smile he had shown since losing his sight.
Shen Zhiyi washed all the newly bought bedsheets and duvet covers in the washing machine.
She had intended to ask Pei Xu if he had anything that needed washing, but when she entered the master bedroom, she found his room spotlessly clean, with all his laundry already hung out to dry on the balcony.
“I’ll help you change the bedsheets and duvet covers in a bit.”
“I can do it myself. I changed them just a few days ago.”
Shen Zhiyi glanced at the haphazardly arranged bedding he had changed and nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, I can tell. It’s all messy—the front side is on the back, and the back side is on the front.”
Pei Xu’s expression froze for a moment before relaxing again.
“You can change them yourself if you want. I’ll just keep an eye on things.”
He couldn’t see, but she could.
“Okay…”
The summer sun was strong, and the freshly washed bedding dried quickly after being hung outside.
Just before bedtime, Shen Zhiyi carried the purple seersucker three-piece set she had bought from the mall into the master bedroom.
The freshly washed and sun-dried fabric still carried the scent of sunlight.
When she bought it, she hadn’t thought much about it—she simply chose two sets because they felt comfortable to the touch.
“Take off the current bedsheets and duvet covers and toss them into the laundry basket.”
Shen Zhiyi sat on a chair, holding the clean three-piece set in her arms, watching Pei Xu.
He removed the pillowcases first, then the duvet cover, and finally the bedsheet.
“Do you need to take a break?”
Noticing the thin layer of sweat on Pei Xu’s forehead, Shen Zhiyi asked him.
“It’s fine.”
Truth be told, having Shen Zhiyi watch him change the bedding made him a little nervous, though he couldn’t quite explain why.
“Hand me the bedsheet first.”
Pei Xu licked his slightly chapped lips and reached out toward Shen Zhiyi for the bedsheet.
“Turn around, march forward, take two steps…”
When Pei Xu walked up to her, she looked up and spoke with a smile.
“Hold out your hand.”
He raised his hand, waiting for Shen Zhiyi to hand him the bedsheet.
Instead, Shen Zhiyi lightly slapped his palm.
“You’re quite obedient.”
Pei Xu clenched his fist. Even though Shen Zhiyi hadn’t used much force, his palm tingled faintly.
“For the bedsheet, you don’t need to worry too much about which side is which. But if you’re particular about it, feel the edges—the smoother side is the front.”
Shen Zhiyi guided Pei Xu’s hand over the bedsheet, letting him feel the difference between the front and back.
But Pei Xu’s mind wasn’t on the task at hand.
All his attention was focused on Shen Zhiyi’s fingertips resting on the back of his hand.
Cold and cool to the touch, yet soft…
“Pei Xu, can you tell the difference now?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me which side is the front and which is the back.”
Shen Zhiyi flipped the bedsheet around.
“This side is the front.”
Seeing him speak with such confidence, Shen Zhiyi couldn’t help but laugh.
“Wrong! The other side was the back.”
It didn’t matter if he got it wrong—after all, they would be changing the bedsheets and covers in the future. With a few more tries, he would surely get it right.