Bang!
The empty iron pot crashed heavily onto the floor, clanging as it rolled into the wall inside the room. With a final clang, it came to rest against it.
"Chi... Chiba... you... you..."
He Yin's eyes slowly widened. Her hands, still holding the posture of carrying the iron pot, trembled slightly. Her face was filled with shock, and though she opened her mouth, she stammered, unable to say a word.
In her gradually widening eyes, Chiba, whose entire body was nearly pressed against the wall, slowly raised his head. His sweat-drenched face was full of smiles.
"Oh, it's He Yin..."
Then, his lips moved, and a calm sentence accompanied by faint panting sounded.
"You... you... you're stand... stand..."
At those words, the shock on He Yin's face deepened. Her lips seemed somewhat stiff from surprise, and though she spoke, she still stammered.
But her bright black eyes stared fixedly at that boy, staring in disbelief at the boy leaning against the wall—the boy who had already stood up! Yes!
He was standing. At this very moment, although Chiba was completely leaning against the wall, he had already stood up.
The bedding behind him had been rolled into a messy heap, almost kicked into the fire. It looked as if someone had tried to stand on it and failed countless times, crawling and tumbling over it again and again.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Chiba had stood up! Five days—five monotonous days of steady, methodical routine.
His legs, which had been completely numb, were now unbearably sore and tingling. As he stood on the ground, both his thighs and calves trembled, while the soles of his feet hurt and tingled as though they were being shocked, leaving them incredibly uncomfortable and weak.
But he had truly stood up. His