[Today’s Intel: The Calming Pill, derived from the Six God Pill, is made from Bezoar, rosewood, toad, and other ingredients. It has the effect of calming the mind and spirit, and can be used to treat convulsions, psychosis, insomnia...]
[Bai Han.avi]
"Hm?"
Today’s intel not only contained a new formula, but also a video file.
All the previous intel had been text-based.
This was the first ti video intel had ever appeared.
’Could it be...’
Looking at the video’s title,
Li Xu had a suspicion.
Perhaps the answer lay within.
He ntally opened the video.
In his mind,
a vivid recording began to play.
The first clip revealed that, surprisingly, Bai Han had also been sick as a child.
He had taken large doses of beta-blockers.
An overdose of this drug can cause amnesia.
’This...’
Li Xu was shocked.
He had thought only Xiao Xi was sick, but he never expected that Bai Han was sick as well.
However, this illness seed to have had almost no effect on Bai Han’s later life.
’Why would Bai Han have taken such large doses of beta-blockers?’
The video soon revealed the truth.
「At Bai Han’s ho.」
A car was parked out front.
Bai Han’s mother urged from the doorway, "Hurry up, look at the ti."
"I have to leave now. I have an important eting today."
A man’s voice ca from inside the room. "Alright, drive safe."
His mother opened the car door. "I know. See you later."
A little boy who looked a lot like Bai Han was darting back and forth by the road, playing happily.
Just then,
his mother started the car, preparing to back out.
She didn’t see the little boy playing behind her.
In that instant, tragedy struck.
The car ran over the little boy.
’Bai Han died?’
Li Xu froze.
’That’s not right. If Bai Han died, how did everything that ca after happen?’
Bai Han was clearly still alive.
The video didn’t imdiately provide an answer.
Instead, the scene changed, cutting back to the inside of the room.
In the room was a bed—a bunk bed, to be precise.
One person slept on the top bunk.
One person slept on the bottom bunk.
’Could it be...’
Li Xu wondered.
The scene changed again.
It cut back outside.
Another little boy walked into view.
He looked very much like the grown-up Bai Han.
’This must be Bai Han.’
Li Xu realized.
anwhile,
the car stopped.
The mother got out, saw the boy pinned underneath, and let out a grief-stricken cry, "Xiao Hai..."
Little Bai Han was also stunned.
He had just watched his brother get run over.
He rushed over, shouting, "Xiao Hai! Xiao Hai... What happened to you?"
Seeing his mother get out of the car,
Little Bai Han confronted her, "Mom, why did you run over Xiao Hai?"
He scread himself hoarse.
"Xiao Hai, get up!"
"Xiao Hai, get up!"
But no matter how loudly he shouted,
his brother, Bai Hai, would never get up again.
Little Bai Han didn’t notice the vacant, traumatized look on his mother’s face...
...
From then on,
the grief-stricken mother developed psychological problems.
And Little Bai Han, having witnessed the horrific scene, grew quiet and withdrawn.
The scene changed again.
Inside the room.
His neurotic mother held a bottle of beta-blockers, forcing them into Little Bai Han’s mouth. "Xiao Han, eat these. You’ll forget everything..."
After that,
Little Bai Han lost his mory.
He forgot many things.
His mother didn’t take any beta-blockers, but her mind had snapped. She remained fixated on Xiao Hai’s death.
That’s why she started calling Bai Han by the nickna "Xiao Hai."
"I miss your grandfather, so I call you Xiao Hai to honor his mory..."
It was all just a lie!
The heartbroken mother was actually doing it to commorate the son who had died by her own hand.
...
Li Xu sighed, his heart aching as he watched.
’So that’s how it was!’
But this only explained Bai Han’s side of the story; it didn’t seem to have much to do with Xiao Xi.
He glanced at the progress bar.
There was still more than half to go.
So, he continued watching.
The video continued in reverse chronological order, jumping further back in ti.
The scene jumped to a ti before Xiao Hai’s accident.
The two brothers were chatting in their room.
Xiao Hai said he liked Transford Warrior.
"Transford Warrior is a story about a group of kids who can turn into animals to fight monsters that control people’s minds."
As he spoke, he made sure to recomnd it to Bai Han.
Little Bai Han shook his head. "I’m not into those weird alien creatures."
Xiao Hai asked, "Why not? It’s so aweso!"
"One day, I’ll be a world-famous author."
"I’ll write the coolest, best-selling novel ever, and every kid will get to read it for free."
"Only for kids, though... The adults will have to pay, of course!"
Little Bai Han chid in sarcastically, "...Yeah, I’m sure the adults will be thrilled to hand over their money."
Xiao Hai said proudly, "I’ll make us all rich! I’ll buy you and Mom a mansion."
But clearly, Little Bai Han couldn’t care less about any of it.
Xiao Hai said, "Okay, okay, tell you what. If you like, you can have my toy train."
Little Bai Han finally perked up. "Really?"
Xiao Hai nodded. "Really."
"Everything I have is yours, too, you know."
The two brothers continued to chat.
From this, Li Xu gathered that their mother had favored the older brother, Xiao Hai, while Xiao Hai, in turn, adored his younger brother, Bai Han.
The scene changed.
One day, their mother took the two brothers to an amusent park.
They ca to a toy stall.
Little Bai Han shook his head. "I don’t want this dumb doll."
He pointed to a nearby train. "I want that toy train."
"That’s the last toy train. How about a teddy bear as a prize instead?"
"No, I just want the toy train."
However, in the next ga,
Xiao Hai won the competition and got the toy train.
Little Bai Han was a little upset.
Xiao Hai said, "We can play with it together."
Later, they went to a snack stall.
Xiao Hai urged Little Bai Han to try so pickled radish.
"It’s delicious. Just have a taste."
Little Bai Han refused. "They’re too salty. I don’t like them."
Xiao Hai said, "How can you know if you don’t try? You might like it."
A short while later,
a bag appeared next to Little Bai Han.
It was a prize he had won.
Although it wasn’t as cool as the toy train,
Bai Han still cherished it.
Xiao Hai said, "Let carry the bag for you."
Little Bai Han replied, "No, it’s mine."
...
At this point, Li Xu had a few more of his questions answered.
After the accident, the mother, in her deranged state, had not only forced Xiao Hai’s na onto Little Bai Han, but also Xiao Hai’s favorite food—pickled radish—and his favorite comic, Transford Warrior.
This explained why, later in life, Bai Han was so fond of pickled radish and the comic *Transford Warrior*.
...
His mother continued to play with the two brothers at the amusent park.
The sky slowly grew dark.
Bai Han went to a small hill in the park.
The area was open, offering a great view.
He was captivated by the starry sky and couldn’t help but gasp, "Whoa!"
The cara zood in.
Beside him lay the prize he had won at the park.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from a distance.
A little girl was walking over.
Li Xu could already guess,
the little girl was none other than Xiao Xi!
He watched without blinking, afraid he might miss a single detail.
...
Seeing that her usual spot was occupied, Xiao Xi turned to leave.
Bai Han couldn’t help but call out, "...Hello."
Xiao Xi didn’t stop, and kept walking.
Bai Han ran after her. "Don’t go, wait."
"My na’s Bai Han. What’s yours?"
"Fang Xiaoxi."
"Well, would you like to sit with ?"
Xiao Xi asked, "Are you here to watch the stars?"
Bai Han replied, "You too?"
The two children chatted freely under the stars, their imaginations running wild as they decided to find a "Rabbit Constellation."
Xiao Xi was the first to find the nonexistent constellation.
"I found it!"
"Uh... where?"
"In the sky."
Bai Han stared intently,
and after a long mont, he finally found a rabbit in the night sky, pieced together from the stars and the moon.
"There, right? Those are its two ears and its head," Bai Han said, pointing at the sky.
Xiao Xi asked, "And what else?"
Bai Han imdiately answered, "And over there, those are its feet."
Xiao Xi asked again, "Perfect. And what else?"
"And... and the moon," Bai Han said excitedly. "The moon is its big, round belly."
...
Watching this, Li Xu fell silent.
He rembered watching Bai Han’s videotape yesterday afternoon.
In that recording, Xiao Xi held a paper rabbit and relentlessly pressed Bai Han, "And what else?"
"And what else?"
"And what else?"
But no matter how many tis she asked, Bai Han couldn’t give her the answer she was looking for.
Because Bai Han had taken beta-blockers and forgotten that mont.
And Xiao Xi, because of her Asperger’s syndro, was unable to properly articulate what she really wanted to ask.
After a long silence, Li Xu continued watching.
...
The two continued to chat under the night sky.
Xiao Xi said, "I’ve never told anyone this, but... I’ve always thought the stars are watchtowers."
"Thousands upon thousands of watchtowers, shining as they stand at the end of the world."
Bai Han said, "Wow, they must be so full of life, bustling and noisy."
Xiao Xi said, "It’s not like that."
"They can see every other watchtower. They want to talk to each other, to communicate, but they can’t. They’re all in their own separate places, so far apart that they can’t hear each other’s calls."
From these words, Li Xu could tell that Xiao Xi was incredibly lonely.
She compared the stars to watchtowers, far apart yet facing one another.
They wanted to communicate, but were unable to.
It was a hint at the struggles her condition caused her.
Her social impairnt made it impossible for her to communicate normally with others.
Just like the stars she described, "The only thing they can do... is try their best to shine their own light."
"So that light can shine on the other watchtowers... and on ."
...
The two of them talked for a long ti.
Bai Han heard his mother calling him.
"Oh, my mom’s calling ."
Bai Han stood up,
and gave the platypus toy he had won at the park to Xiao Xi. "This is a gift for you. I hope you like it."
Xiao Xi took the platypus, clutching it tightly in her hand.
She looked up, her eyes filled with hope. "Will you co back here again next year?"
Bai Han replied, "Of course. Will you?"
Xiao Xi said, "I will."
Bai Han asked, "Sa ti? Sa place?"
Xiao Xi nodded. "Mhm."
Then she asked, "What if you forget... or get lost?"
Bai Han shouted back, "Then we’ll et on the moon! Right on the little rabbit’s belly."
...
In his rush to leave, Bai Han also gave Xiao Xi the bag and sandbag he had forgotten.
After Bai Han left,
Xiao Xi sat alone on the rock, hugging the platypus toy and gazing at the starry sky.
She would hold on to that platypus for the rest of her life.
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