Chapter 177 – In the Blink of an Eye, They’ve Grown Up

Chapter 177 - In the Blink of an Eye, They've Grown Up

In a small, yet tidy and bright apartment near Chang'an Hospital in Chang'an City. On the table sat a large ball of rising dough, while on a nearby bed, Luo Qi lay on Luo Chun's lap, wearing a black cochlear implant on her head.

Luo Qi, usually quiet and adorable, now had tears welling up in her big eyes, looking anxious as she struggled to adapt to the newfound sense of sound.

Flipping through pages on vocal training techniques, Luo Chun recalled the scene at the hospital's rehabilitation center, trying her best to piece together the right approach for training.

With one hand holding the book and the other soothing Luo Qi's forehead, she comforted her little one, who was now confronting a new world of sound.

"Be good, Xiao Qi. You can hear now. Don't be afraid, this is sound. There's nothing to fear."

...

From then on, Luo Chun would carry Luo Qi on her back each dawn, pushing a breakfast cart filled with steamed buns and tea-oil twisted doughnuts. As time passed, her breakfast offerings expanded to include meat-stuffed buns, lamb soup with bread, and more.

After cleaning up in the afternoon, she'd take Luo Qi along to the market for supplies. Whenever she wasn't talking to others, she would constantly engage with her daughter.

Every day, the market-goers would spot a limping figure, leaning on a cane, with a cherub-like child on her back, her eyes wide with wonder, rediscovering the world around her.

Luo Chun turned to speak with Luo Qi, making sure their eyes met to help her focus and interpret the tone and expression in her voice.

"Little Qi, listen carefully. Can you hear a bird singing over there?"

She pointed to a tree. Luo Qi listened attentively, and after a moment, indeed heard the bird's chirping. She promptly nodded, expressing her delight with a series of "ah ah" sounds.

"Little Qi, can you hear my clapping? Which direction is it coming from?"

Luo Chun would periodically create sounds to engage with Luo Qi in communication.

Luo Qi's small head nodded, then she pointed to the left.

"That's right, it's from the left. Little Qi is so clever."

At this, Luo Qi's laughter would chime in, a delightful series of "gege" sounds. A sense of happiness would visibly bloom on Luo Chun's face alongside those giggles.

"Does Mommy's voice sound nice to you, Little Qi?"

With her chubby little hands on Luo Chun's shoulder, Luo Qi opened her mouth as if to speak but only produced meaningless sounds.

"Were you trying to say it sounded nice?"

Luo Qi nodded.

"In that case, you read it like this. Touch Mommy's neck and watch my mouth: ní-hǎo-tīng—"

"Ao-ding."

"Almost there. One more time: ní-hǎo-tīng—"

In the evenings, back at home, Luo Chun would play the Vibrating Balloon game with Luo Qi. With her lips on the balloon and both hands supporting it, she'd make it vibrate by forceful vocalizations.

While Luo Chun kneaded dough for the next day's breakfast, Luo Qi would tire and try to slack off.

At such times, Luo Chun would poke her head in. "Xiao Qi, Mommy wants to see the balloon buzz. Can you give me a little show?"

Upon hearing Luo Chun's voice, Luo Qi's eyes, which had wandered away, would instantly curve into crescents.

Despite being exhausted, she'd still exert herself to produce different sounds against the balloon, making it vibrate.

Next, she heard Luo Chun praising her, "So lovely. Can you show Mommy again, please?"

Later in the evening, dressed in her pajamas, Luo Chun would hold Luo Qi in her arms and lie down on the bed. Straining her imagination, she would invent tiny tales to narrate, occasionally tapping the chair to create disruptive sounds, urging Luo Qi to listen attentively with her eyes closed, thus training her focus on auditory cues.

"The little birdie lets out an 'oh-hoo' sound to scare the roaring tiger."

Luo Qi's eyes snapped open, and her two chubby little hands waved around as she said "Ah Bo."

"Oh, Mommy made a mistake. Mommy was wrong. It's the big tiger that roars 'oh-hoo,' scaring the little birdie into hiding in the treetops. You caught that, didn't you, Xiao Qi?"

Luo Qi buried her small face into Luo Chun's waist, smiling.

"Good job, Xiao Qi. You're not shy, and you're so clever – Mommy didn't even notice."

...

By the time Luo Qi turned three, she could speak like any ordinary child. Wearing a little hat, no one could tell her apart from others.

Occasionally, Luo Qi would point at her head and ask Luo Chun, "Mommy, what's on my head?"

"It's an antenna that receives signals like an alien. Without it, you can't hear voices from Earth."

"Then is Daddy also an alien? He flew away, but why didn't I fly with him?"

"You can't fly yet. You'll always be on Earth," said Luo Chun, pressing a floury fingerprint on Luo Qi's forehead. "Remember not to let the kids in kindergarten pull off your signal-receiving antenna, okay?"

"Okay, I got it." Luo Qi put on a little hat. "I won't let them see it."

...

From primary school to high school, Luo Qi grew up in the blink of an eye. She understood her differences from others; she wasn't an alien but had a deficiency.

In all these years, Luo Chun's family reconnected with her. After so long, Luo Chun managed to secure a storefront in Chang'an City, running both a breakfast stall and a night market, leaving their financially strained days behind.

In high school, Luo Qi was portrayed by Jiang Xiaoying.

The director had decided on casting them long ago. When Tang Fei saved the lost Jiang Xiaoying, the chemistry between the two was just right.

Subsequent competitions were meant to assess the actors' abilities, and as long as they weren't too terrible, it would suffice.

Xiao Yuan's defeat came too early, and her efforts were directed towards the main female lead, Luo Chun, not the secondary female lead, Luo Qi, causing her to miss the mark entirely.

During the shoot, Jiang Xiaoying was dressed in a school uniform with light makeup on, her hair tied up in a ponytail, carrying her backpack as she exuded a vibrant aura of youth.

The character she portrayed, Luo Qi, had undergone a cochlear implant, with a pink cartoon decal attached to the side of her ponytail, like a tiny ornament on her head.

Upon returning home, she would assist Luo Chun in preparing breakfast. "Mom, you sit down, I'll take care of it."

Luo Chun leaned on her crutches, her entire body slanted abnormally, with a deformed shoulder and a crooked spine. Her pant legs fluttered, yet she still clung onto her faded, well-washed clothes.

In contrast, despite being in her school uniform, the accessories on Luo Qi's wrists and ears indicated her pursuit of fashion as a young girl.

"You go study, Mom will finish soon," Luo Chun insisted.

After some mutual insistence, Luo Qi slipped into the kitchen, washed her hands, and stood beside Luo Chun. "Mom, we can do it faster together."

Luo Chun yielded a bit of space, scolding her affectionately while feeling content. The corners of her mouth curled upward as the warm glow of the setting sun streamed through the window, casting a rosy hue on Luo Chun and Luo Qi as they stood side by side, heads bowed, and laughed heartily, both bathed in the reddish glow.

One day, after school, a sudden downpour occurred. Luo Qi, with her backpack on, stepped out of the classroom and, as expected, saw Luo Chun, half-soaked, holding an umbrella, and using one leg.

Since she was little, whenever it rained unexpectedly, Luo Chun would always rush to bring her an umbrella without fail.

"Luo Qi, don't get drenched in such heavy rain," Luo Qi hurried over to support Luo Chun and took the umbrella from her to hold it for her.

"Don't hold it for me. You can't get wet; you have to protect your cochlear implant. Take this bigger one," Luo Chun passed the umbrella to Luo Qi while snatching it back and leaning on her cane. "I've been holding an umbrella like this for years, it's fine. Just change your clothes when we get home."

Luo Qi pulled out a hat from her backpack and put it on, then unfolded a larger umbrella to cover both of them, taking the other umbrella from Luo Chun's hand. "One umbrella is enough for us. Mom, let's go, hurry up and change."

"You..."

"What's wrong?"

"Such a stubborn personality. You need to be more reserved at school."

"I take after you, Mom."

...

In the classroom, whispers could be heard from behind. "Why is Luo Qi's mom limping? No wonder she never talks about her parents or invites us to her house."

"The clothing is rather outdated too."

Luo Qi goes about her days alone, brushing off advances and interactions with others. Many assumed it was due to her aloofness, but it turns out her mother is disabled. Could it be that she behaves this way out of a sense of insecurity?

"Do you know? I heard from Luo Qi's junior high school classmates that she's deaf and has a disability. There was this one time when the device on her head fell off, and she lost all her hearing."

"Truly?"

"You'll know the truth if you give it a try."

"Is this appropriate?"

"There's no ill intent. It was just a joke. What's so wrong with that? You can't be that timid, can you?"

...

By the end of the day, when school was over, Luo Qi still hadn't returned. Luo Chun anxiously checked the time and tried calling Luo Qi, only to find the phone switched off.

Forgetting about her unfinished tasks, Luo Chun immediately threw on her coat and hurried to the school in search of Luo Qi.

Luo Qi had never lingered outside since she was young; she always returned home promptly after school. This was the first time she hadn't come back on time, and countless terrifying scenarios raced through Luo Chun's mind.

The most haunting memory was that of the car accident. Supporting herself with her crutch, she hurried along, keeping an eye out for any places with gatherings or incidents that might indicate an accident.

The unknown worry and fear swiftly consumed Luo Chun's heart.