Please

Yi Xian’s fingers behind her back slowly clenched into fists, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms:

“I don’t understand. My family hid the truth from me to spare me emotional pressure, so where does the pain come from?”

Chen Miemie stared at the cup, at a single tea leaf floating on the water’s surface, as if it were the most fascinating toy in the world, without lifting his head:

“Sometimes, kindness itself brings pain.

They were suffering, yet because they had to consider you, they forced smiles and put on a show for you;

and as you watched their performance, you already knew everything, but to put their minds at ease, you had to put on an act for them too.

You watched your beloved mother become bedridden, unable to sleep from the pain deep into the night;

you watched your father’s hair turn from black to white, day by day growing haggard, as he struggled to pay for treatments for the three of you;

you watched the family go from comfortable to straitened;

you watched your mother waste away from her injuries;

you watched your brother fall out with your father over your new stepmother, eventually never coming home again;

you watched your father work himself to illness, then pass away.

Even so, everyone in the family still treated you like their little princess, showering you with affection.

You knew the root cause of all this, and yet you could only pretend you knew nothing.

At first, you were acting; later, you realized that even if you tore through that pretense, it wouldn’t change a thing. Keeping up the act was the only way to give others peace of mind.

Your brother, yelling and storming out of the house—though brash and reckless—at least found some release for the pain in his heart.

But you, you resented Dujuan becoming part of the family just as much. Yet you also knew she once risked herself to save you, sustaining serious injuries. You couldn’t even bring yourself to hate her.

The older you grew, the more you understood, and the guilt sank into your heart like a knife, cutting deeper and deeper, until finally it became unbearable.”

In secret, Yi Xian’s palms were already bleeding, but her expression barely flickered:

“What a tragic story. What a bizarre experience. If only I weren’t the protagonist. Now I’ve learned what I was supposed to have forgotten—yet I still can’t see anything.”

“Hearing it from someone else is just a story. Only when you feel that former pain firsthand do you truly reclaim the memories.

I’ve said quite enough. Here’s a little test for you: Do you know why this little wooden stick was kept by Ms. Hua Nian and Ms. Dujuan?”

The question caught Yi Xian off guard. “I… don’t know.”

“The reason is actually quite simple.

You have a good memory, but your acting isn’t that great.

Do you really think those childish pretenses of a child could fool the adults all those years?”

“What! You mean they knew—they knew I was aware of everything?”

“Even if they didn’t know from the very beginning, after a few years, especially after the school confirmed your special ability’s initial form, how could they not figure it out?”

“Then why did they still…?”

Chen Miemie raised the wooden stick.

“This little wooden stick is Ms. Hua Nian’s treasure.

It witnessed the mischief you and your brother got into as kids;

it symbolized your mother’s authority and courage;

in a way, through this stick, you were saved from that monster.

Sometimes, when she struggled to get out of bed at night, it served as a crutch for Ms. Hua Nian.

Originally, Mr. Yi and Dujuan wanted it cremated along with Ms. Hua Nian’s remains, but she refused just before she passed.

Hua Nian handed the stick to Dujuan with her own hands, saying that after you truly moved past your ordeal, Dujuan should use it to give you the beating you’d earned for bringing that monster into the house back then.

Oh, and by the way—now that you’ve forgotten—that was the one and only time you caused trouble and escaped getting hit with that stick.

So now, are you ready to take this stick and go find Ms. Dujuan to admit your fault and beg for punishment?”

The little wooden stick was placed on the table between them with a soft click.

Yi Xian, her nails full of blood, unclenched her fists and reached for the stick.

“After hearing all this, I understand what you mean. I don’t know how it will turn out, but right now, I’m willing to face it.”

“Good.

After that encounter with the ‘Lullaby Hummer,’ you never blew on a leaf again.

You often sat beneath the tree, staring at the gap in the leaves where you had once plucked a leaf, day after day. Even during the ‘Sunless Days’ you’d occasionally go, nursing a thought in your heart: ‘Maybe if I meet a monster, I’ll die, and that would be fine.’

Because of your prolonged gaze, the ‘Leaf of Obscurity’ was gradually born.

One day, it vanished from that tree.

For ordinary people, seeing it again would be nearly impossible.

But you are different—you have an eidetic memory. For you, as soon as it reappears near you, you recognize it.

And it just so happened you met it again on the day of your graduation exam.

The birth of a monster like the ‘Leaf of Obscurity’ is one in a hundred million. You, Yi Xian, brought it into existence, and when you met it again, it voluntarily chose to stay with you for life, protecting you from pain.

There is only one way to dissolve its bond.

You must genuinely be willing to open your eyes and face this world—face the real pain—sincerely asking it to leave.”

Yi Xian gripped the little stick tightly, feeling its texture under her fingers.

She cried out loudly:

“Leaf of Obscurity, please return my memories to me. Let me face everything from the past on my own.

The person I used to be might have been too pained to bear it, and I thank you for your help. But to move toward the future, I have to face it myself—no one can do that for me.

Only today have I realized that I’ve always had my family and my friends by my side, along with my mother’s thoughts and love. It’s time I walked out.

I am ready. I’m begging you!”

Yi Xian prostrated herself on the carpet, her forehead touching the ground in a deep bow.

The room was silent, as though nothing had happened.

After a long while, she rose.

Before her eyes, a faint light flickered, blurred, then gradually grew clear—as if someone had lifted a blindfold from her sight.

For the first time, she truly saw Chen Miemie’s face. He was much younger than she had imagined.

On the ground before her, a leaf appeared silently—the very same one that had once been blown by Xiaoqin to make a sound.

Chen Miemie smiled warmly and stretched out his hand to her.

“The Leaf of Obscurity has left, gone to a place no one knows. If fate allows, you may meet it a third time in your lifetime.”

One day later.

Dusk.

Chen Miemie was resting with his eyes closed in his shop.

Daidai flew onto his shoulder. “It’s been a day.”

Chen Miemie didn’t open his eyes. “Mm. Go ahead.”

Daidai: “Really? Take the price of the deal now? But they’ve only just begun to see and taste again…”

“I’ve already given them a day to experience it. That was our agreed-upon term. This shop does not provide free service.

Besides, humans like this—things that come too easily are rarely cherished. Go ahead.”