Wen Ran would most likely not open the door for him.
He had once seen a line in a TV drama that said: in the eyes of normal people, this world is composed of themselves and others, but in the world of those with autism spectrum disorder, there is only themselves.
Therefore, it’s very difficult for them to establish emotional relationships with others. Except for some family members who have been by their side for a long time, it’s hard for outsiders to integrate into their world.
Wen Ran had received professional treatment for autism in her early years. After all, given the family’s financial situation, from childhood onwards, she hadn’t lacked any of the treatments and education she should have received.
Her family once said she had certain talents in the arts, which also belonged to some of the more special abilities among the autistic community, known as savant syndrome, referring to people who have cognitive impairments but possess abilities that surpass ordinary people in certain areas. In fact, only 10% of autism patients have savant syndrome. They often excel beyond normal people in some special tests, and Wen Ran was one of that ten percent.
But this didn’t mean that her other aspects developed normally like ordinary people.
She was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of four. Before that, she appeared to be nothing more than a beautiful and adorable little girl who would snuggle in her mother’s arms and occasionally smile and cry. But gradually, her parents discovered that this beautiful child was never interested in anyone other than herself, not even her parents.
She had never once called them mom and dad. No matter what environment she was in, she only focused on things that interested her, such as a painting, a cup, or a constantly moving clock. She could stare at such things for a long time, and any interruption would make her irritable or even cry loudly until she returned to the state she liked, only then could she calm down.
It wasn’t until this point that Wen Ran’s parents had no choice but to take her for professional assessment, ultimately receiving the result they least wanted to get, yet had already anticipated.
A result that could devastate an ordinary family.
Since their marriage, Wen Ran had never acted like a normal wife, never normally interacted with her husband Xie Yunli, and had no normal social communication. Her life was very closed off, to the extent that since living in this house, she had never stepped outside the front door even once.
The few times he had come before, he could only see her vague silhouette and Aunt Zhu’s apologetic smile.
After pressing the doorbell, there was indeed no movement inside, and no sound came through the intercom. Xie Yunli didn’t hesitate further and directly opened the password lock to enter.
Xie Yunli glanced around. It was still the same as before: a simple and clean courtyard without much change. Only near the tree that was originally in the yard had some flowers grown, not knowing whether Aunt Zhu had planted them or not. They looked somewhat like small wildflowers from the roadside.
He opened the door and walked in, deliberately making some noise.
“All the treatments that could be done have been done, but you also know this kind of illness is very difficult to treat. We can never expect her to live like a normal girl. That she can take care of herself and communicate simply with others is already very remarkable. Most of the time she still lives in her own world, and some of those numerous interventions and treatments from back then also caused her certain degrees of harm, so please be as patient as possible when getting along with her…”
These were words Xie Yunli had heard from an elder of the Wen family.
In the more than two years since their marriage, it wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to make contact with her, however… ever since her mother, the person closest to her in this world, passed away, it seemed no one could integrate into her world anymore.
“Originally, under our careful care and companionship, she was already able to communicate normally with outsiders like a normal girl, and had the ability to live independently. She would eat by herself and express her own needs. She could do everything that should be done in daily life. But now, she no longer wants to get close to anyone.”
“Don’t treat her as a patient. Although she has autism, she’s not a fool. Apart from being born with this condition called ‘autism,’ she’s no worse than any normal girl. I hope you can have more patience with her…”
Xie Yunli turned on the living room switch. The arrangement in the living room hadn’t changed at all.
The spacious living room was mostly in off-white tones. Apart from some necessary furniture, there weren’t many decorations.
Having her adapt to a new living environment wasn’t an easy thing, so the arrangement here was almost identical to her original home. Even Wen Ran’s mother’s piano from when she was alive had been moved over.
Every familiar item of hers was placed neatly in familiar positions according to specific distances. If the positions were changed arbitrarily, she might feel unable to adapt.
This also showed that she could remember the distance and position between every item. Her memory had been exceptional since childhood.
“Wen Ran, are you here?”
Xie Yunli searched around the living room. There was no one downstairs, and no lights were on in the second-floor rooms. He went upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door. “Wen Ran, are you sleeping? I’m Xie Yunli, your…”
Your husband.
Xie Yunli paused. This layer of identity seemed to have always been insignificant to them, whether for her or for himself.
The bedroom door wasn’t locked, and there was no one inside either.
Could it be that because Aunt Zhu hadn’t returned for so long, she went out by herself?
Thinking of this, Xie Yunli immediately went downstairs. Just as he took out his phone to arrange for people to search for her, he suddenly heard sounds from downstairs.
The lowest level of the three-story villa was actually a basement, previously used for storing red wine and some miscellaneous items. Later, everything had been cleared out, and there shouldn’t be anything inside.
Just as Xie Yunli walked over and was about to turn on the light, suddenly a figure came walking up the basement stairs with quick steps.
She was wearing a nightgown with her hair loose, holding up the hem of her long dress with both hands. As soon as she ran up, she came face to face with Xie Yunli’s tall figure.
Time seemed to freeze.
One person stood at the top of the stairs, while the other maintained her upward running posture.
In the dim hallway, her startled eyes met his for a second, then immediately avoided his gaze.
It was just that one second or so. Just as Xie Yunli was about to reach out to help her, she stumbled and supported herself against the wall, standing there in shock, her voice trembling when she spoke: “…Xie Yunli? How are you… here?”
He was somewhat surprised.
Because this was the first time in over two years that she had actively spoken.
It was still that somewhat unclear, childish pronunciation. Like many grown autistic children, she also had certain language barriers, as if she was still stuck in the early childhood period when she had just learned to speak. Since then, her voice and language had never matured.
Some autism patients always have their own unique ways of using language. Some even cannot express themselves using normal language, so in their speech and behavior, it’s easy to spot their presence in a crowd.
Xie Yunli said: “Aunt Zhu isn’t feeling well and is resting in the hospital now. She was worried about you, so she called me.”
He found the wall switch and turned it on. Her figure immediately became clearer, and her body also shrank back a little.
In their previous meetings, the two had almost never been at such a close distance, but her appearance didn’t seem to have changed much. Years of staying at home had made her skin exceptionally pale. Her black hair, rarely trimmed, could almost cover her entire slender back, making her figure appear particularly thin. In the loose nightgown, she almost seemed to sway precariously.
Those eyes that never made direct contact with people flickered slightly, not knowing where to look. Even her hands were restlessly hidden at her sides, as if she might turn and run away at any moment.
But she was still beautiful. Even though she was already over twenty, she still carried a unique girlish quality. Her striking appearance was an advantage for others, but for Wen Ran, what she least hoped for was to attract others’ attention. This was also one of the reasons she couldn’t go out alone. With such looks and severe social barriers, once she attracted others’ attention, it could very likely cause unnecessary trouble.
As if trying to organize appropriate language, after several seconds, her weak voice spoke again: “Aunt Zhu… is in the hospital, is she sick?”
“It’s nothing serious, not severe. Have you eaten?”
Xie Yunli turned and walked a few steps. He knew that if he continued standing in place, she would either turn and run away, or remain motionless where she stood.
Rather than saying it was simply due to communication barriers, her reaction should also be because she was somewhat afraid of him.
While she didn’t understand the meaning of marriage, suddenly having an additional husband would be confusing even for a normal person, let alone for Wen Ran who had autism.
But she also seemed to never care about this point.
However, Aunt Zhu was indeed overly worried. She had grown up after all, and from her current state, spending a day alone at home wasn’t really a difficult thing for her.
“No, I haven’t eaten.” Her speech suddenly quickened a bit, speaking haltingly: “Aunt Zhu… Aunt Zhu said she would come back soon, but she never came back. I was waiting to eat with her, waiting for her together…”
After saying this, her voice gradually stopped and became quiet.
It was indeed as expected.
Aunt Zhu had said that apart from the food she made, Wen Ran basically wouldn’t eat anything else, because in this world, only her mother and Aunt Zhu understood the food she liked to eat and arranged the food she ate in the way she preferred in front of her. Otherwise, she would feel troubled. This phenomenon had improved a lot after she became an adult, but ever since Wen Ran’s mother passed away, the progress she had made through treatment seemed to vanish overnight. Apart from simple communication with Aunt Zhu, she almost ignored outsiders.
This was also why Aunt Zhu was so worried about her being alone at home.
Her mother’s death had taken away the weak connection she had finally managed to establish with this world.
Xie Yunli turned to look and saw her slightly lowering her head, her ten fingers tightly clasped together. “…Mom told me to eat well, so I have to eat well. I was waiting for Aunt Zhu to come back to eat together. Mom said if I don’t eat well, she’ll be sad, and I don’t want to make her sad…”
This repetitive language would sound meaningless or even inexplicable to ordinary people, but for that special group, this was their own way of using language.
Many times, controlling emotions and thoughts was very difficult for them.
After she finished speaking, Xie Yunli tried to slow down his voice: “Alright, then what would you like to eat? Besides the food Aunt Zhu makes, is there anything else you’d like to eat?”
This question seemed somewhat difficult for Wen Ran. Just as she lowered her head to think, Xie Yunli’s phone suddenly rang.
He had forgotten to put his phone on silent mode, so in the quiet room, the sudden ringtone sounded rather jarring.
But his first reaction wasn’t to answer the phone, but to look at Wen Ran.
Sure enough, after the phone rang, her expression instantly became dazed.
Xie Yunli immediately reacted.
He knew she would be afraid of some sudden sounds, such as some harsh ringtones.
The reaction threshold of autism patients is much lower than that of ordinary people. They are naturally hypersensitive, and normal people can never understand what kind of world they perceive. Even just a noisy shopping mall or a sudden car engine roar could cause their sensory overload, thus triggering extreme fear and anxiety.
Xie Yunli knew she had a fear of sudden phone ringtones, which might also stem from some memory in her mind.
Xie Yunli took out his phone, wanting to hang up the call, but accidentally pressed the answer button. Zhou Wei’s voice came through the phone: “Mr. Xie, Aunt Zhu said she’s on her way home now…”
Xie Yunli took his phone and walked into a room, asking Zhou Wei: “How long before she arrives?”
“That hospital is quite far. If she takes a taxi, it would take at least half an hour…” Zhou Wei said: “I heard she snuck out of the hospital because she was really worried about Miss Wen being alone at home.”
Indeed, it was hard to feel at ease.
Her current state was obviously something he couldn’t handle.
“Mm, it’s good that she’s coming back as soon as possible.”
Zhou Wei detected an unusual undertone and was about to ask how Wen Ran was doing when Xie Yunli decisively hung up the phone.
Zhou Wei’s little heart, which had been beating wildly from wanting to hear some gossip, immediately calmed down.
Once before, because he was too curious, he had inadvertently mentioned something, and Xie Yunli’s expression had changed subtly. Since then, Zhou Wei had never actively brought up Wen Ran again, because he didn’t dare to.
Xie Yunli wasn’t the type of person who made others so afraid that they didn’t dare joke in front of him, but with Zhou Wei’s perceptiveness, he could still sense that topics about Wen Ran were something Xie Yunli didn’t want to hear or mention.
After hanging up, Xie Yunli walked out of the room.
“…Wen Ran?”
When Xie Yunli came out and didn’t see her, he searched around and saw a corner of clothing behind the sofa.
She had hidden herself behind the sofa, as if this way, she could isolate herself in her own little world, shutting out all the sounds that frightened her.
Perhaps what she wanted to distance herself from wasn’t just the sudden ringtone, but also his sudden appearance.