INSIDER Chapter 1

Lu Chu was the only blind person in this town.

From the day he was born, he had always faced the astonished gazes of those around him.

“Blind… What does that mean?”

“So people can actually be blind?”

“Sorry, our hospital has never seen such a case before.”

“You… you really can’t see? The sky is blue, the grass is green, blood is red…”

“…”

“Hmm.” Lu Chu smiled gently, “I can’t see.”

And so, he lived for twenty-one years.

Even now, people were still curious and amazed by his blindness. They couldn’t understand what it felt like.

The world was pitch black—no, that wasn’t right. How could a blind person know that the curtain in front of them was black?

But Lu Chu was already used to it.

He had once suffered, feeling like an outcast in this town. As far as he knew, even after major accidents directly hitting the head, no one had ever developed the “blindness” symptom he had.

He was also grateful that his parents had given him love and endless care.

Even though they passed away unexpectedly when he was sixteen.

That year, his parents suddenly fell ill, fiercely and without warning.

“Ah Chu, live well, you hear?” they said.

“Hmm.”

“I want you to swear!” his mother, face full of tears, shouted hysterically.

Lu Chu couldn’t hold back his tears either: “I swear, I will live a long life.”

——————

Lu Chu had gotten used to a life without sight. He had a cute guide dog, of course, the only one in the entire town. His parents had spent three years training it specifically for him.

The town he lived in was peaceful and quiet.

The buildings in the town were generally not tall, mostly three or four stories high. The tallest building was a tower in the town center. The tower was very high, with no windows from the fourth floor up, rising darkly into the sky, always reminding Lu Chu of the sea-stabilizing needle from stories.

The town’s elders said no one had ever gone up there.

But he only heard about all of this.

He couldn’t see.

This place seemed isolated from the world, with few outsiders, and a peaceful and comfortable life.

But recently, Lu Chu always felt there was a stranger following him.

Since his parents passed away, he had been living alone.

The town wasn’t big, and the roads weren’t complicated. When his parents were still alive, they had taken him for walks around the town’s streets and then squatted down gently to tell him, “You need to remember these roads, rely on your sense of direction, so even if we’re not here, even if there’s no guide dog, you can still find your way home, okay?”

They would spend one day each month walking these streets twice, explaining things as they walked: “To your left is a large supermarket with many daily necessities and food; we usually buy things from such places. To your right is a flower shop with beautiful flowers. In front of the flower shop is a clinic, not as good as the town’s only large hospital, but it has all the necessary equipment and medicine. Many people in town come here to see a doctor…”

His parents loved him very much, and they showed him the world bit by bit.

They taught him to read, the way normal people did.

They carved the words into raised shapes for him to feel.

——“Ah Chu, imagine it in your mind, imagine these words.”

…

Everything he knew came from his gentle and patient parents.

After his parents passed away, he still walked the town’s streets every month.

Sometimes even without the help of his guide dog.

His guide dog was named Radish, the only one in town. He liked to name things he liked with colors, perhaps because he also longed to see those colors. He always imagined Radish had bright red fur, like a carrot in others’ eyes, hence the name. But his parents had said Radish’s fur was actually dark brown.

Who knows.

Sometimes he felt he didn’t need a guide dog; he just needed a companion.

Today, as usual, he walked around the town’s streets and headed home.

Radish was excited all the way.

However, Lu Chu wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface; he felt like he was being followed again—because he couldn’t see, his other senses were extremely sharp, like his hearing, smell, and even his sense of presence.

Just as he was about to unlock the door, he suddenly stopped.

He listened and once again heard faint sounds that were almost imperceptible—if not for his keen hearing, he wouldn’t have noticed.

There was no malice.

Lu Chu had been sensitive to people’s emotions since he was a child. That subtle feeling was hard to describe; even though he couldn’t see, he could always detect others’ emotions from their breathing and footsteps.

“Do you want to come in and sit?” Lu Chu smiled gently, speaking to the air. Although his eyes had no focus, his smile made people feel inexplicably soft-hearted.

Lu Chu sensed the person’s breathing hitch slightly.

He stood still, and Radish sat by his side, wagging its tail and panting.

For a moment, the surroundings were extremely quiet.

After a while, a man stepped out of the shadows of the stairs: “Hmm.”

Seeing someone approach, Radish immediately stood up, lowered its front limbs, crouched down, and barked at the man, baring its teeth in a menacing display.

“Radish.” Lu Chu’s gentle voice rang out.

Hearing Lu Chu’s voice, Radish stopped barking and circled the man warily, sniffing him before finally returning to Lu Chu’s side, still growling softly.

————

Inside the house, Lu Chu familiarly found the kitchen, poured two glasses of water, and walked back to the living room.

Lu Chu placed a glass in front of the man and smiled apologetically: “Make do with this, I didn’t prepare any drinks.”

The man said nothing.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Lu Chu didn’t mind the man’s silence and continued to ask.

After a long silence, Radish stood in the middle of the living room, chasing its tail and occasionally barking, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

Lu Chu listened to Radish’s movements, smiled softly, and continued talking to the man: “This is the first time I’ve met someone from outside. I’m Lu Chu. What’s your name?”

“You like to smile a lot.” The man suddenly spoke, his voice harsh and cold, completely unrelated to Lu Chu’s question.

Lu Chu was taken aback, then gently covered his sightless eyes, smiling warmly: “Why not smile?”

The man spoke very little, and Lu Chu pressed the talking clock beside him. Hearing the time, he stood up—it was time to cook. The man followed him, standing a short distance away at the kitchen door, silently watching Lu Chu.

“Why.”

Lu Chu smiled, his voice gentle: “Why what?”

“Why did you let me in?”

Aren’t you afraid I might harm you?

Cooking was something Lu Chu’s parents had started teaching him from a young age. Everything in the house was placed in fixed spots, so over time, even without sight, Lu Chu knew where everything was and could cook with ease.

At that moment, he took vegetables from the fridge, washing and cutting them while saying, “Don’t look at me as a blind person, my ears are very sharp. You’ve been following me for more than just a day or two, right? If you really wanted to harm me, you would have done so already. If you want something from me—although I don’t know what I have that’s worth taking—you’ll keep me safe until you get it. In short, as a blind person, if you really wanted to do something, I wouldn’t be able to avoid it anyway.”

After saying that, he placed the chopped vegetables into a plate and asked with a smile, “Do you eat cilantro?”

Radish barked once.

The man replied, “Hmm.”

During dinner, the atmosphere remained quiet until the man suddenly spoke: “Seven.”

“Hmm?”

“My name.”

A number? Lu Chu tilted his head slightly, puzzled.

But Lu Chu didn’t voice his confusion. Instead, he smiled gently, “Okay, I understand.”

“I forgot,” the man said flatly, seemingly aware of Lu Chu’s curiosity, “my original name.”

Everyone has secrets.

Lu Chu continued to smile, “It’s alright, you’ll remember eventually.”

After saying that, he lowered his head and continued eating. Radish lay by his leg, happily munching from its own little bowl, occasionally looking up at the man, its eyes still full of vigilance.