[Picking Boat and Accompanying the Moon] We Will Meet Again Later - Chapter 30

Hearing Ning Xu’s voice, a smile naturally touched Jiang Feng’s eyes and lips.

Before he could ask how she had come, Ding Fuxue, who had finished storing her things, approached Ning Xu and said, “Shall I take you inside for the experience?”

Ning Xu was more interested in the shop owner at the moment, so she replied, “You go ahead and get busy, don’t worry about me. I know your boss; I’d like to chat with him for a bit.”

Ding Fuxue said, “Then I’ll go inside to guide the other guests. Just call me when you want to experience it, or our boss can take you too. He’s very easy to talk to.”

The place was bustling with guests coming and going. There were three staff break rooms. Jiang Feng first led Ning Xu to the innermost one and locked the door.

Ning Xu settled herself comfortably. “Well then, Boss Jiang? Care to explain?”

Jiang Feng smiled. “We haven’t been open long, and I just finished sorting everything out. I was planning to bring you here in a couple of days.”

“When did you start preparing this?”
“Around the time I decided to buy the apartment in Yanlin.”

Ning Xu completely forgot her original plan to explore shops. She was full of curiosity about this place and wanted to stay longer.

There were currently thirteen employees. Besides those manning the front desk, cleaning, and handling accounts, the other ten were all visually impaired, some working part-time, others full-time. Part-timers were paid by the hour, full-timers by the day.

The visually impaired staff were solely responsible for guiding guests through the black doors to experience life as a blind person.

The basic experience lasted over an hour. Because the pricing was relatively low, they had many guests. To ensure the quality of the experience and prevent employee burnout, Jiang Feng limited the number of guests.

When it was too busy, online bookings could only be made for the next day, and walk-in guests might have to wait in the rest area.

“Are you really not going to take photos anymore?” Ning Xu asked, studying his face, feeling it was a bit of a pity.
“No, I’m not.”

The break room was relatively small and enclosed, lending a low, resonant quality to his voice.

“If it’s because of what I said back then, it’s really not necessary,” Ning Xu said seriously. “I don’t mind those things.”

Besides, Jiang Feng’s photos were quite artistic, not nude shots; he was quite proper. Although, after he found out she was Ning Xu, he was blatantly drawn by her in nude.

“There’s no need to continue,” Jiang Feng said.

However, that experience had given him one benefit: he learned how to control his facial expressions and eye movements.

Ning Xu pulled him over to sit, turning sideways to look at his prosthetic eye. “But those eyes of yours are so beautiful, even prettier than colored contacts.”

“It’s alright.” Jiang Feng took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist, having her sit on his lap. “Whenever you’re painting, or whenever you want to see, I can wear them again.”

“Or if you want me to keep taking photos, I can do that too,” he added after a moment’s thought.

Sitting on him, Ning Xu was slightly taller. She looked down at him. “Do what you yourself want to do.” Not what I want you to do.

He was far too accommodating, too easy-going, too compliant with her, as if he would immediately agree to anything she said.

A mischievous itch stirred within Ning Xu.

She raised her arms to loop around his neck, straightened her posture, and straddled him.

Ning Xu began asking about the business hours, whether they closed on public holidays, employee benefits, and so on.

She asked in a serious manner, but seemed to be moving and rubbing against him unintentionally.

Jiang Feng replied, “Business hours are from 10 AM to 10 PM… Social security and housing fund are provided… Shifts can be rotated and adjusted…”

“Keep talking, don’t stop.”

Her hands had already slipped inside his clothes.

Jiang Feng, thoroughly provoked, leaned back, his head resting against the back of the couch, eyes closed, chin tilted up. The line of his throat was taut, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Now? Here?” he asked, his voice hoarse when he spoke again.

Ning Xu thought about it and realized it really wouldn’t do. Who would have their way with the boss on their first visit to the shop?

She obediently held him tight, inhaling his clean, crisp scent, and relaxed.

“Jiang Feng, I’m so tired and sleepy. I didn’t sleep well again last night.”

“Then rest here for a while.”

Jiang Feng didn’t let her go. He held her waist with one arm, lifting her slightly, while his other hand felt for the soft couch, laying it flat.

Ning Xu lay down. “Do you have things to do today?”

Jiang Feng did have a few things left, but he said, “Nothing much.”

“Then sleep with me,” Ning Xu stated matter-of-factly. “You promised me.”

The couch was small, only fitting one and a half person. Jiang Feng ended up with half his body serving as a cushion for Ning Xu.

The embrace was warm, his scent familiar. Combined with Jiang Feng’s gentle strokes on the back of her head, Ning Xu quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Time slipped quietly by.

When Ning Xu woke up, she felt refreshed and clear-headed. She sat up and stretched, savoring the rare feeling of being fully satisfied by sleep, her body energized and ready.

Jiang Feng slowly sat up as well, completely unfazed by his own arm, which was numb and devoid of sensation.

The two of them walked out of the break room. It was already dark outside, with the neon signs from the street and the streetlights repainting the night with their vibrant colors.

Ning Xu checked her phone; it was almost their closing time.

“Would you like to go in and experience it?” Jiang Feng asked. “Or should we go back for dinner?”

Ning Xu thought, Since I’m already here, I definitely have to go through it once.

You entered through the black door on the left and exited through the one on the right.

At the entrance, Jiang Feng handed her a white cane. She knew how to use it naturally; no instruction was needed.

The black door opened, revealing a deep, profound darkness inside, not a single ray of light.

Intellectually, Ning Xu knew she should go in and try it, but her body instinctively recoiled from such blackness. Both psychologically and physiologically, she was accustomed to a colorful, clear world.

Jiang Feng keenly noticed her hesitation. “Still want to go in?”

Ning Xu gripped his upper arm, tapped the cane forward into the path leading into the darkness, and said, “Let’s go.”

The black door closed, shutting out the last sliver of light. Her heart sank along with it.

Ning Xu was completely immersed in this seemingly endless darkness.

It was entirely different from a haunted house. The dimness in a haunted house is just to create a scary atmosphere; they still use coloured or ghastly white lights so you can see the eerie scenes and the actors dressed as ghosts.

Here, even looking down, she couldn’t see her own body.

It was as if her eyes had truly gone blind.

People with normal vision and those without were the same here: they couldn’t see. The difference was that the staff at the Blindness Experience Hall had repeatedly familiarized themselves with the venue to be able to perform their guiding duties.

In the past, it was always Ning Xu leading Jiang Feng. Now, he was guiding her forward.

With her vision restricted, Ning Xu suddenly realized she could hear their footsteps with extreme clarity.

The experience hall simulated the daily life of a blind person.

Ning Xu slowly followed Jiang Feng into a room.

Jiang Feng said, “You’ve woken up now, starting a new day. You need to fold the quilt and tidy the bed.”

It felt like a long time passed before Ning Xu finally completed the task.

Jiang Feng continued, “Now you can have breakfast. There’s milk and bread in the refrigerator. Please come to the dining table to eat.”

Ning Xu found the refrigerator, felt for tomatoes, eggs, greens, etc. She could identify the bread by touch, but there were several cartons; she wasn’t sure which one was milk. She picked one at random, tasted it, and found it was yogurt.

Jiang Feng continued his role as the NPC: “Now you can go out.”

Shortly after leaving the room, they encountered a tactile paving path. Jiang Feng gave her some change. “You need to buy groceries for tonight’s dinner.”

Ning Xu often bought groceries and cooked, so she was very familiar with the process. But being unable to see made everything strange again.

She didn’t know how much money she had, and it was difficult to select the vegetables.

Arriving at a stall, Ning Xu asked, “Hello, what vegetables do you sell?”

A relatively mature female voice answered, “I sell cucumbers, eggplants, celery, tomatoes…”

Ning Xu said, “I’d like two eggplants, half a pound of celery, and two heads of garlic.”

The woman said, “That will be 13 yuan and 4 jiao.”

She could distinguish the one-yuan, five-jiao notes, and coins by touch, but she couldn’t tell the ten, twenty, and fifty-yuan notes apart.

The first bill she handed over was returned. She offered another, which was accepted, and she received change, though she didn’t know if it was correct.

After buying the vegetables, she needed to buy meat, but she didn’t have enough money. Jiang Feng prompted her to withdraw money from a simulated ATM.

With Jiang Feng’s help and her own slow, deliberate actions, she finally managed to get the money and buy the groceries.

…

In the darkness, time became chaotic and blurred. They said the experience lasted over an hour, but to Ning Xu, it truly felt like an entire day had passed.

There were no thrilling scenes, no scary music or lighting effects. Every task was a mundane, everyday chore, trivial and usually performed with ease, repeated daily. Yet, because she couldn’t see, everything became immensely difficult.

As the experience neared its end, Jiang Feng said, “Just walk straight from here, and you’ll reach the exit.”

He said in a gentle, almost joking tone, “Walk towards the light, and leave the darkness behind you.”

Ning Xu suddenly grabbed his arm.

She felt a sour ache spreading through her, her jaw trembling slightly from clenching it to hold back her emotions.

That long, arduous hour was merely a temporary experience for her, but it was every single day and night for him, it was his entire life.

And even the pitch-black darkness she perceived and felt was a ‘colour’ granted to her because she had once possessed sight. Jiang Feng couldn’t even experience darkness; when he opened his eyes, there was only nothingness.

Ning Xu let go of his hand and wiped her face with the back of her hand, only then realizing she was already crying.

Jiang Feng raised his hand to touch her face, speaking softly, “Are you scared? We’ll be outside soon.”

“Jiang Feng, lower your head.”

Jiang Feng complied.

“Close your eyes,” she said again.

Jiang Feng closed his eyes, and suddenly felt her reach out and touch his eyes.

In the next moment, she kissed him.

The thin skin of his eyelid felt the warmth of her lips.

Jiang Feng’s breath hitched.

Her tears were still falling, wetting his eyes too, tracing a path from the corners.

Jiang Feng’s eyelashes fluttered. It was as if, deep within his soul, separated only by flesh, something trembled violently.

“Jiang Feng, I like you.”

“Let me love you.”

She spoke through her sobs.

The two of them walked out through the black door. Ning Xu saw a wall covered in sticky notes of various colours, a space specifically for guests to leave their thoughts.

Ning Xu glanced over them. Some wrote about their experience, some wrote about taking care of their eyes, but most wrote wishes—hoping for a better life for the blind, vowing to contribute in their own small ways.

During her breaks, Ding Fuxue would have Xiao Xin read them to her.

She was always moved and touched after listening. “There are still many good people in this world, aren’t there?”

Ning Xu sat in the rest area, calming her emotions.

It was quite late. The last group of guests went in, including a young couple. Unexpectedly, the young man had a physiological stress reaction inside: panic, fear, dropping his cane, crouching against the wall crying, even dry heaving.

Staff promptly brought him out, offering hot water and comfort.

The girl, however, persisted through the entire experience. She held back her tears when she came out, but couldn’t stop them while writing on a sticky note.

Ding Fuxue happened to be nearby and immediately comforted her, then shifted to other topics to help her relax.

After all the guests had left, Ding Fuxue gathered her things. Seeing Ning Xu, she said, “I used to be unwilling to come out, but now I’m very glad I did. Because this work is very meaningful.”

This ‘coming out’ wasn’t just about leaving the house; it referred more to crossing that inner threshold.

Ning Xu’s mood was warmed by her smile.

Seeing things through from start to finish, Ning Xu had picked Ding Fuxue up, so she also drove her home, taking Boss Jiang for a late-night snack before dropping him off.

For some reason, Jiang Feng remained silent the whole time. Ning Xu’s mind was still back in the experience hall, so she didn’t notice.

After dropping him off at the foot of his apartment building, Ning Xu said with a smile, “We’re together now, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jiang Feng acknowledged with a sound and got out of the car.

Ning Xu turned the car around and headed home. If she had glanced back at that moment, she would have seen that Jiang Feng didn’t go upstairs immediately. Under the cold white streetlight, his face was unusually pale.