The Blind and the Deaf - Chapter 5

Chang slowly got into the habit. Every two weeks, Mr. Silence would name him for a massage, and every time it was a lumbar spine massage. Xiao Zhang knew that he was quite a chatterbox, but it didn’t matter, Mr. Silence couldn’t hear him anyway.

Moreover, he felt that although he hadn’t said a word, he and Mr. Silence had become friends. He brought himself desserts from the store every time. It was said to be sold out, but not once was it a repeat. Sometimes it was freshly baked nutcrackers, which filled the room with fragrance when they were set aside in the room. Every time, Xiao Zhang would say, “Thank you, Mr. Miao, your dessert smells so good.”

As summer turned to autumn, Mr. Silence came to visit one day after only a week or so. Xiao Zhang thought it was strange, but he couldn’t ask, and if he did, he couldn’t hear him. After the massage that day, he received a small box of mooncakes with a line inscribed on it, “Tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival, come for dinner?”

Xiao Zhang was flabbergasted for a moment, and hurriedly shouted “Mr. Miao!” He chased after Mr. Miao, bumped into the corner of the bed, and fell on his face. His knee hit the floor, and he grimaced in pain. Reaching out for something to help him. He ended up feeling a hand.

“Mr. Miao?” Xiao Zhang asked lamely.
The hand yanked him up.
Xiao Zhang rubbed his knee and said, word for word, in Mr. Silence’s direction, “Mr. Miao, can you read the mouth when I speak?”
“Uh-huh.” Mr. Silent let out a vague reply.
“Ah ……” For the first time he got an answer, Xiao Zhang sighed happily, “I ……” He hesitated for a moment and said carefully, “I want to come, but I’ll be late, is that okay? Around six-thirty, as soon as I can!”
“Well.” Mr. Silence gave him an affirmative answer.

Evening.
The wind chimes tinkled at the door of Mr. Meow’s Pastry House. The girl looked up to see a young boy with closed eyes walking in. He moves a little awkwardly, and after the door closes, he takes a step back at a loss for words. Coffee, the cat from the pastry shop, greeted him and rubbed against Chang’s pants leg, leaving him unaware of what was going on. Milk Tea, on the other hand, lounged lazily on the counter, only moving his eyelids.

“Is Mr. Miao in?” Chang said to the air in a rushed voice, one leg quietly ducking back to try and avoid the cat.
“Boss-” the little girl yelled as she pulled open the door to the bakery, “Someone’s looking!”

Chang heard footsteps approaching from the inner room and ‘looked’ in that direction. Heart thumping.

“Originally, I wanted to come …… to pick you up.” He heard a slurred voice say.
Xiao Zhang realized that this was Boss Miao’s voice and smiled heartily.

“I wanted to come over earlier, and told my coworkers to leave first.” Xiao Zhang said, taking a tentative step in the direction of the man.He felt the cat on his feet being carried away, and afterward, someone took his hand and said vaguely, “Come to the inner room ……”

Xiao Zhang was a little nervous. The last massage, he said to himself, mid-autumn can not go back home, too lonely. I did not expect that on the day of the Mid Autumn Festival, the kind and charitable Mr. Miao was willing to invite him to dinner. Xiao Zhang has always been afraid of troubling others, but sometimes, he would like to be a little more capricious.

Zhang was held by Mr. Miao’s hand and followed along like a toddler. He even overlooked one problem – not only was Mr. Silence not silent, but his ears seemed to be able to hear as well.