“You’re saying… Liu Changqing and she registered for marriage?”
“Mm.”
As if she couldn’t believe it, Li Wanran asked again, but the answer she got was still the sa.
Ignoring Li Wanran’s still-shocked expression, Liu Zhiyue spoke calmly, with a tone void of emotion.
“My sister and I both like her, so we don’t have any objections.”
“How could she do sothing like this!”
Her voice suddenly rose, disbelief filling her words.
“No matter whether it’s his background or his education, Liu Changqing doesn’t deserve her! Why would she choose a man like that?!”
“Have you said enough?!”
As if he couldn’t hold back anymore, Liu Zhiyue finally lost his composure upon hearing Li Wanran insult his father.
“You’ve been wrong from the start! Can you stop acting like soone who never knows how to repent?!”
“I…”
“You’ve already divorced Dad. Isn’t it fine for you both to live your own lives now? Since you chose to abandon and Xiazhi back then, then don’t show up again!”
As he said these words—
Liu Zhiyue hadn’t wanted things to turn out like this. But after the last shred of hope in his heart shattered, he didn’t want to communicate with this person in front of him anymore.
“You’ve asked your question, so I’ll go back to class now. Just like I said last ti, don’t show up again. And don’t you dare try to take Xiazhi away like last ti… or else, I’ll never forgive you in this lifeti…”
Mom.
After saying that, Liu Zhiyue gave Li Wanran one last look.
Then, without looking back, he walked straight towards the staircase of the teaching building. He didn’t want to stay here for even one more second.
Without noticing her son leaving, Li Wanran stood there, her mind full of confusion.
She didn’t understand… why would An Yuanyao choose Liu Changqing?
She thought she knew Liu Changqing inside out after their ten years of marriage. Why would a man she had already discarded beco soone An Yuanyao was so passionate about?
Why…
No matter how much she thought about it, Li Wanran couldn’t find an answer.
——
After returning to the classroom, Liu Zhiyue sat back in his seat, opened his workbook again, and stared at the printed questions, but his hand holding the pen never moved.
Zhou Shiyan noticed this.
She watched him return with a blank expression and then go into a daze.
No one knew what motivated her, but after thinking for a while, she quietly pushed a question she could have solved herself toward Liu Zhiyue.
She softly asked,
“Can you teach how to solve this?”
Hearing her voice, Liu Zhiyue snapped out of it. He glanced at Zhou Shiyan’s face, then looked down at the question she pointed to.
He picked up his draft notebook and started explaining.
“Start from this point…”
Inside the classroom, Liu Zhiyue quietly explained the problem to Zhou Shiyan.
Outside the school, Li Wanran sat silently in her car.
At that mont… it felt like she had lost sothing.
Evening self-study always felt long.
But not to Liu Zhiyue. The whole evening, he was explaining various difficult problems to Zhou Shiyan, and ti slipped by unnoticed.
It wasn’t until the school beca lively due to dismissal that he realized it was ti to go ho.
Silently packing the books he needed, Liu Zhiyue left the classroom with Zhou Shiyan. The two of them exited the school gate together, walking toward their respective hos.
Just like usual, there were occasional exchanges between them, nothing too serious, just like a habit.
After walking Zhou Shiyan to her building, Liu Zhiyue turned and headed ho.
In Zhou Shiyan’s eyes, his figure grew smaller and smaller.
Until he completely disappeared from sight, Zhou Shiyan finally used her key to unlock the door and went inside.
Walking ho alone, Liu Zhiyue deliberately slowed his pace, as if thinking about sothing along the way.
But even so, distance was finite. He eventually arrived at his own doorstep.
He took out his key, but hesitated to unlock the door.
No one knew how long he stood there until he finally figured sothing out. Then, he opened the door and walked into his ho.
The lights were still on.
His sister, who had just finished bathing and changed into long-sleeved pajamas, wasn’t watching TV like usual. Instead, she was fully focused on playing with the old handheld console she hadn’t touched in a long ti.
The console was pink with a big Pikachu printed on it—a gift Dad had specially given her.
Pulling his gaze back, Liu Zhiyue changed into his slippers. Perhaps it was the sound of the door opening that drew attention, as An Yuanyao’s voice ca from the kitchen.
“Zhiyue… go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Before he could reply, he heard his father’s voice coming from the kitchen as well.
“You go rest outside, I’ll handle this.”
Pushed out of the kitchen by Liu Changqing, An Yuanyao pouted and reluctantly rubbed her belly. As she walked out of the kitchen, she saw Liu Zhiyue looking in their direction.
She quickly stopped pouting and said with a big smile,
“Your dad saved a big chicken drumstick just for you. Xiazhi wanted it too, but he wouldn’t let her have it. Said she’s been eating too much lately…”
“Mom.”
That one word slipped out of Liu Zhiyue’s mouth.
An Yuanyao, who was still speaking, was instantly silenced. The smile on her face froze the mont she heard it.
On the sofa, Liu Xiazhi also heard it. Her fingers stopped on the console, and she stared at her brother’s back, mouth slightly open, stunned.
An Yuanyao couldn’t believe her ears, her voice full of disbelief.
“You… what did you just call ?”
“Mom.”
He called out again, and this ti, a smile appeared on Liu Zhiyue’s face. Standing in the kitchen, Liu Changqing also heard it clearly.
He imdiately ca out with a spatula in hand and looked at the two of them.
Emotional as she was, An Yuanyao’s eyes quickly welled up with tears the mont she heard those words, threatening to fall at any second.
And sure enough, they did.
Tears stread down as the overjoyed An Yuanyao stepped forward and threw her arms around the young man.
Knowing she was pregnant, Liu Zhiyue quickly supported her carefully, afraid sothing might happen. But his eyes t his father’s standing by the kitchen door.
Liu Changqing, holding the spatula, looked at the scene of An Yuanyao hugging their son. A warm smile slowly appeared on his face.
He had always known that An Yuanyao really wanted to hear the child call her “Mom”—
Not “Aunt.”
Seeing this scene unfold, Liu Changqing gave a nod of approval to his son, like silent praise.
Then… he said,
“I saved you the best dish. You’re the only one in the family who hasn’t eaten yet. Go wash your hands… the food will be ready soon.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)