Chapter 1: A Golden Promise
On the first weekend of early autumn, all the sunflowers at the farm were in full bloom. A vast field of golden flowers shimmered brightly under the sun; when the wind blew, the flower heads swayed gently as if greeting every visitor.
The "Light Gap Sharing Session" was held right in this sunflower field. Lin Xiao and her friends from the support group had set up the venue early – a simple stage made of wooden planks, next to which stood boxes filled with pamphlets of The Light Gap Collection. Grandma, the farm owner, had specially boiled a large pot of mung bean soup.
More people showed up than expected: readers who had left messages before, family members of patients introduced by Dr. Chen, and residents from nearby communities. Dressed in a white dress and wearing the straw hat embroidered by Grandma, Lin Xiao stood on the stage with a crumpled speech script in her hand.
"Hello everyone, I'm Lin Xiao..." Her voice trembled slightly at first, but when she saw the encouraging looks from Su Yang, Grandma, and her parents in the audience, she gradually relaxed. "I'm not here today to tell an inspiring story about 'overcoming depression'. Instead, I want to let you know that being ill is not something to be afraid of, and seeking help is not shameful – we all deserve to be treated with kindness..."
Halfway through the session, a school-uniformed girl quietly walked up to Lin Xiao, clutching a letter in her hand. "Sister... I... I have the same troubles as you did. Can I talk to you about it?"
The girl's name was Xiao Tang, a sophomore in high school. Struggling with declining grades and strained relationships with classmates, she had recently felt constantly breathless under pressure. Lin Xiao took her to sit on the ridge of the sunflower field and showed her the composition notebook she had kept from years ago. "Look, I used to hide my feelings too. But later I realized it's better to speak up than to keep everything inside."
She gave Xiao Tang Dr. Chen's contact information and gifted her own notebook. "If you don't feel ready to talk to others, write down your thoughts here – it's like chatting with an old friend."
Chapter 2: The "Little Dark Cloud" in the Office
When Lin Xiao went to work on Monday, she noticed that Xia Xia, the new intern, always kept to herself in a corner. Tasks assigned to her were either submitted at the last minute or full of mistakes. One lunch break, as Lin Xiao passed the pantry, she overheard Xia Xia on the phone: "I'm just useless – I can't do anything right... Can you just leave me alone!"
Instead of interrupting, Lin Xiao quietly bought Xia Xia's favorite milk tea, placed it on her desk, and left a note: "I used to think I was incapable too, but later I learned that it's okay to take things slow."
In the afternoon, Xia Xia found Lin Xiao with red eyes. "Sister Lin, did you notice something?" It turned out that Xia Xia had just graduated and was struggling to keep up with her work. Fearing being laughed at by colleagues, she had been living under great stress, even suffering from insomnia and hair loss recently.
Lin Xiao took Xia Xia to the rooftop and pointed at the plane tree in the distance. "Look at that tree – all its leaves fell off in winter, and I thought it wouldn't survive. But now it's growing well, isn't it? We're the same way – we all go through seasons where we 'lose our leaves', but as long as our roots are strong, we'll always grow new ones."
She also brought Xia Xia to a support group activity, where Xia Xia met more friends. Encouraged by everyone, Xia Xia finally found the courage to see a doctor and gradually opened up. Later, she became more and more competent at work and volunteered to help Lin Xiao manage their official account. "Sister Lin, you made me realize I'm not fighting this alone."
Chapter 3: New Stories in The Light Gap Collection
After The Light Gap Collection was printed, it was quickly distributed. Many readers sent in their own stories after reading it, some enclosing drawings or photos they had created.
After discussing with her friends, Lin Xiao decided to compile these contents into a formal book and invited Dr. Chen to write the preface. The book included not only patients' experiences but also professional psychological knowledge and guidelines for family members on how to support their loved ones. On the day of publication, everyone held a small launch event in the sunflower field.
Teacher Zhou was there too. Holding the book, tears glistened in her eyes. "Xiao Xiao, I was wrong about you back then. Now seeing how many people you've helped, I'm truly overjoyed." She also brought compositions written by her current students. "The children have read your book and said they'll pay more attention to their classmates."
At the end of the event, everyone planted new sunflower seeds in the field together. As Lin Xiao squatted down to gently bury the see