After playing outside for a short while, Lin Jingyue, worried that he would get sunburned, finally went home.

Li Chengyi, that little guy, just followed along blankly, not saying whether he wanted to continue playing or had any other ideas. He did whatever his mother said, very obedient, but without a soul.

There was no television in the rented apartment, but Lin Jingyue had a computer. Since there was still some time before dinner, she planned to let her child watch some cartoons during that time.

Watching the right cartoons can greatly shape a child's values, and some children even use cartoons as a source of emotional support during their childhood. Perhaps with the help of cartoons, some cases of social withdrawal might even improve.

All she had to do was buy some groceries online and cook a delicious dinner later.

This was the first time Li Chengyi had been able to dominate the entire screen, which was filled with all sorts of cartoons, some of which he had seen on television before, and others that he had never seen before.

He didn't know what the others were, so following his memory, he looked at an animated film that he was familiar with before.

To ensure he had a good viewing experience, Lin Jingyue even subscribed to VIP so he wouldn't have to watch several commercials while watching an episode.

She sat on the sofa, thinking about what groceries to buy, when she looked up and saw the child sitting there obediently, watching cartoons. The scene was heartwarming, as if he had never had autism.

I shook my head, clearing my mind of all the jumbled thoughts, and looked down at my phone, adding everything I wanted to buy to my cart. The rest of the time was just waiting for the goods to be delivered.

Of course, she wasn't completely idle; she handled some tasks when she could. For those she couldn't handle immediately, she waited until the child finished watching cartoons. Throughout the entire process, nothing unusual happened.

She naturally didn't notice that the child watching cartoons would sometimes look up at her, as if to confirm her existence, or as if to confirm that he wasn't dreaming.

Once the goods were delivered, Lin Jingyue took a break from her work, grabbed the items, and went into the kitchen, ready to show off her cooking skills to her child.

Braised pork ribs, cola chicken wings, corn and pork rib soup, and braised pork belly are all dishes that kids love. You could say that almost no child could resist them.

However, the two of them don't need to cook so many dishes, so she plans to cook slowly in the future. She'll start with braised pork ribs, corn and pork rib soup, and then add a vegetable dish.

Occasionally, a few sounds could be heard from the kitchen, like clattering and rattling, which were quite reassuring.

Li Chengyi's hands, resting on his knees, unconsciously twisted together. In the animated film, the main characters were singing the ending theme song, and he looked towards the kitchen with some curiosity.

He wanted to take a look, but he didn't want to move, as if he was bound by something, making it difficult for him to take action.

Mom is back.

His mother took him away from his father's house.

His mother fed him lots of delicious food, took him to see a doctor, and even got him a swing.

My memories of that very young period are not very clear. I only remember that my mother was not doing well at that time, and my father often beat her. He cried and begged his father not to hit my mother, and his father kicked her, but my mother blocked it.

Later, Mom left home and never came back.

Dad loves his older brother, and his stepmother loves his younger sister. Only he is stuck in the middle, neither here nor there, and is disliked by anyone.

So he started taking care of everyone's daily needs, becoming the most inconspicuous person in the family and the one most easily bullied.

The person Dad hits has changed; it's him now. Whenever Dad drinks, he's guaranteed to get beaten. But why doesn't he hit his stepmother? Even though Mom was so upset before.

But who can really understand these things? All I can say is that with Li Chengyi as his punching bag, why would Li's father need to beat his wife to vent his anger? Remarrying doesn't cost money, does it?

After working for an hour, I finally reduced the sauce on the ribs, and the dish was done.

Lin Jingyue placed the food on the table and called out to the little one, "Time to eat."

Li Chengyi subconsciously stood up and slowly walked to the dining table, but didn't sit down; he just stood there waiting. It was unclear what he was waiting for; it was all an unconscious action.

"What's wrong? Let's eat, sit down quickly." Lin Jingyue pulled him over to sit down and placed a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks in front of him.

She guessed that the child probably hadn't received any special treatment at his father's house. He likely didn't even have a seat at mealtimes and had to stand.

With a touch of sadness, she placed a piece of pork rib in his bowl. "Do you like pork ribs? If you do, eat more. Whatever you want to eat, Mom will make it for you."

As long as it's not some rare or exotic substance, she should be able to do it.

Li Chengyi wasn't actually very hungry. Although he had digested most of his lunch, he had gotten used to the feeling of being hungry. So most of the time, he thought he wasn't hungry.

But the smell of ribs made him swallow hard.

It smells so good.

Back home, his older brother and younger sister always had braised pork, while he couldn't even get any gravy to mix with his rice; he could only watch them eat. He could only eat vegetables, and his stepmother would serve him half a bowl of rice. In the end, he had to drink water to feel full.

But now, the aroma of the ribs was right at the tip of his nose, making him involuntarily take a deep breath.

Lin Jingyue took out another bowl and ladled some soup for him. The bowl contained not only corn but also pork ribs.

"I've been simmering this soup for a long time, it's really delicious. Eat your food first, then drink it after you've finished eating, it won't be so hot."

Li Chengyi blinked, picked up his chopsticks and started shoveling rice into his mouth. After a couple of bites, he still felt that the ribs were too fragrant and overpowering, so he picked up a rib and stuffed it into his mouth.

Only when stewed long enough will the ribs fall off the bone. Chewing the meat in his mouth, he felt that the past had been too bitter.

Wow, meat tastes so good! No wonder my brother and sister love it.

The neighbors said he was thin, but his father and stepmother said it was because he didn't like to eat meat and only liked to eat vegetables, which was why he was so thin.

He doesn't like eating vegetables; he likes eating meat. It's just that they don't let him eat meat.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it, and even if he did, he'd only be met with a beating.

Lin Jingyue observed for a while and found that he was basically eating plain rice, and sometimes he would pick up a piece of green vegetable, but he didn't touch the ribs at all.

She thought her cooking was bad, but he had just sucked the bones off the rib.

So she tentatively put a few more pieces of ribs into his bowl, and sure enough, he ate them.

It turns out it wasn't that I didn't like the food, but that I was afraid to pick it up.