The late autumn sunlight drifted in with a gentle breeze, sending yellowed leaves fluttering down from the treetops.
Beneath a tree, a young man sat with a pencil in hand, drawing. Though thin and frail, traces of handsomeness could still be discerned in his features. He had large eyes fringed with thick, curling lashes, and at this moment, immersed in his art, those eyes were filled with nothing but focus—free of the timidity and guardedness from before.
His lips were full and naturally shaped into a slight pout, giving the impression of a coquettish expression even though none was intended.
Perhaps it was because of the young man's appearance that many passersby in the park were willing to sit for a portrait. They lined up quietly, taking their turns in the seat before him.
The young man did not utter a single word throughout. As if he knew no fatigue, his entire attention remained fixed on the sketching paper, his pencil moving with purpose. He was utterly earnest—perhaps drawing was the most beautiful thing in his world. Even though a rather long queue had formed waiting for him, every stroke he laid down was made with the utmost sincerity.
Wei Chen stood beside the young man the entire time, watching him draw from morning through to midday, growing anxious on his behalf. During all those hours of drawing, the young man hadn't drunk any water or eaten a single thing. He was like a machine, operating without pause.
"Chen Li, you need to eat," Wei Chen said, drifting to the young man's side and speaking as loudly as he could.
The young man still could not hear him.
And so it continued, until the sun sank and the moon rose.
When darkness began to spread, the young man finally put away his drawing tools. He casually stuffed the money he had earned that day into the pocket of his jeans, slung the portfolio case onto his back, and left in silence.
Wei Chen assumed the young man would go eat, but he didn't. He simply walked in the direction of the hospital.
Wei Chen glanced at the sky and then realized—every day before this, the young man had returned to the hospital at exactly this hour.
Wei Chen's pupils contracted involuntarily. Did that mean the young man had been going without food or water all this time? He drifted back to the young man's side and barked, "You have to go eat! You have to!" As the words left him, he instinctively reached out to grab the young man's arm, but his hand passed straight through the young man's wrist. Wei Chen's heart filled with helpless fury.
In the end, the young man did eat—a plain steamed bun washed down with mineral water. Never mind nutritional value; whether it was even enough to fill his stomach was questionable. And yet this was the young man's only meal for the entire day.
Wei Chen was so angry he wanted to knock the cheap food out of the young man's hands, but without a physical form, no matter how he swung his arms, it was all in vain.
After his simple dinner, the young man returned to the hospital. Ever since Wei Chen had been hospitalized after his car accident, the young man had stayed by his side without fail. The nurses at the hospital all recognized him by now, and more or less understood his circumstances. Whenever they passed by, they would quickly press food into his arms—bread, milk, and the like.
Wei Chen finally understood why, every evening when the young man returned to the ward, he always had so much food in his arms. But Wei Chen also knew that the young man, locked away in a world of his own, didn't know how to accept the warmth others offered. All that food ended up placed in the bedside cabinet. Not once had the young man ever opened any of it to eat.
They arrived at the door to the ward. From inside the room, which was normally quiet, there now came a voice dripping with mockery.
"What's the matter? Aren't you supposed to be so capable, Wei Chen? And now look at you—lying in bed like a dead man, having some idiot wipe your ass for you. Doesn't it disgust you to go on living like this? You might as well just die and be done with it!"
This was the first time Wei Chen had ever seen an expression on the young man's face. Urgency? Or perhaps anger? Before he could see clearly, the young man had already shoved open the door to the ward and rushed inside.