vision | winwin.

t h r e e

***

"Oh, I hope you don't get the wrong idea...I'm not trying to say that you're lying or something. I'm just curio—"

"You're right. I'm not actually tired..." Si Cheng sighed, contemplating whether or not he should tell this girl that she just met this morning the truth. "I'm actually, visually impaired." Si Cheng said. (Y/n) was surprised by his sudden remarks. Visually Impaired? Does he mean that he's on a brink of losing his vision?

"I know you're probably shocked. That's okay, I'll take my leave now. Thank you for your time." Si Cheng said in a sad tone while bowing. "Wait, Si Cheng. Don't leave alone. I don't want you to bump into things again and hurt yourself." (Y/n) stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Aren't you upset I didn't tell you earlier?"

"I mean, I kind of expected it, though I didn't want to believe it."

"You, expected it? How?"

"You haven't been making any eye contact with me since this morning. And you're also extremely clumsy." (Y/n) chuckled. "I'm not upset, Si Cheng. Why would I? It's actually amazing that you've kept it inside for this long." She continued. "...thank you."

"It's alright, let's walk to class.

***

Throughout the whole journey to class, Si Cheng explained his whole situation as briefly as possible because he felt that (Y/n) deserved to know so she won't be confused anymore. Si Cheng started losing his vision when he was on his first year of middle school. And it has worsened ever since. 

Si Cheng was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which made his vision worsened over time. At first, he lost his peripheral vision. And now, he could only see shadows of people and things, though it's tough sometimes.

His mom tried to convince him to go to a school for the blind. But, he didn't want to feel 'different' and insisted continuing in a normal high school. So he and his family moved from Wenzhou to Fujian to finally start a new life, away from the pity and attention. The teachers were aware of his condition but, he didn't want any other people to know about his disability because he didn't want to be treated differently. So, he told the teachers to keep his condition a secret and act normal.

It all finally clicked. The clumsiness that (Y/n) had been worrying about was because of his lack of vision that he had been experiencing for a few years now.

"But, isn't it troublesome to walk without a white cane?" (Y/n) asked. "I have it on my bag for me to use when I walk home. But, I don't want to use it at school...I hate receiving a lot of attention." Si Cheng said as (Y/n) nodded understanding the whole situation.

"It must be hard for yo—"

"Don't."

"Hm?"

"Don't show me pity...it makes me more miserable than I already am." He said looking down to his feet, starting to regret his words. (Y/n) smiled softly at him, thinking that how could a guy that looks cold and calm whilst being clumsy just this morning become so vulnerable? 

"Should we go to class and wait for the next lesson then?" (Y/n) asked patting the guy's shoulder causing him to flinch a bit from the sudden touch. He nodded anyways and walked alongside the girl who has already started walking ahead of him.

But this time, (Y/n) made sure that she was at a distance that could make sure that he's safe and comfortable at the same time.