It was already dark when the school anniversary celebration ended.
After the dreamlike revelry, the students all left school noisily to go home.
Pei Xi and Pei Zhi returned home together by car. As soon as they stepped into the house, Pei Zhi's phone rang.
He took out his phone as he walked, looked down at the caller ID on the screen for a while, and then reluctantly answered the call.
"Hello." His voice was indifferent.
The voice on the other end of the phone was even calmer than his, cutting straight to the point: "I heard you beat up a classmate at school?"
The room was quiet. Pei Xi stopped in his tracks when he heard Pei Ruoyun's voice coming through the microphone.
A sense of unease rose in her heart, and she stood quietly beside the sofa, watching Pei Zhi.
Pei Zhi gripped his phone, his expression darkening, and gave a soft "hmm" into the microphone.
Pei Ruoyun's voice turned even colder: "Why?"
Pei remained silent.
Pei Ruoyun remained silent, and the silence on and off the phone lasted for several seconds.
Then Pei Ruoyun asked in a deep voice, "They didn't do anything, but you hit them, didn't you?"
Pei Zhi squeezed his phone hard, his face already frosty. "Yes."
His tone was cold and harsh.
It was as if he didn't want to say a single word more.
Pei Ruoyun seemed to take a deep breath, her voice carrying a solemn and oppressive tone: "Who taught you to use violence against someone you don't like? Where did you learn such arrogant and domineering behavior?"
Pei Zhi sneered, "Anyway, it's not with you."
A hint of amusement appeared on his face. "I'd like to learn, do you have time to teach me?"
He deliberately used the formal "you" (您), but it was an ironic use of the term.
Pei Ruoyun paused for a second, then said, "Pei Zhi, I'm talking to you properly."
Pei Zhi's chest heaved, as if he was desperately suppressing his emotions. He spoke in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly: "What right do you have to tell me what to do?"
Pei Ruoyun seemed to have anticipated his reaction, and her tone remained calm: "Because I am your mother."
Pei Zhi chuckled, as if he'd heard a joke, "From childhood to adulthood, the nanny has spent more time with me and Pei Xi at home than you have. What kind of mother are you?"
He said, "Even so, we still grew up well. But what does that have to do with you? What gives you the right to question me? Don't you think it's too late to start disciplining us now?"
“Pei Zhi,” Pei Ruoyun called his name, “I know you have a lot of opinions about me.”
She paused for a moment, then continued, "If you want to say it, say it all at once today."
In this situation, she remained calm, so calm that it was as if she were telling her employees in a meeting that they could begin to present their design proposals.
Pei Zhi was instantly enraged by this calm. The veins on his hand gripping the phone bulged, and the blood vessels on his forehead throbbed. "Pei Ruoyun, do you know what? I hate you."
A faint breathing sound came from the receiver, and Pei Ruoyun remained silent.
He continued.
"Do you know when I started hating you?" Pei Zhi gritted his teeth. "From the time Pei Xi was injured."
Pei Ruoyun's breathing seemed to quicken.
“I was sick then, and the nanny was irresponsible, just sleeping soundly. Only Pei Xi was in the room with me at night. I was delirious with fever and said I was hungry…” A trace of pain appeared on Pei Zhi’s face. “Pei Xi felt sorry for me and went to cook porridge herself. She was too young, so she knocked over the pot… Where were you at that time?”
"Every time I think about this, I hate you!"
“I don’t care about anything else. You won’t come to my parent-teacher conference, you won’t praise me the moment I get an award, you won’t watch my basketball game… I don’t care about any of these things, because I’m grown up now, I don’t care anymore.”
"But this is the one thing I can never forgive you for."
Pei Zhi's eyes were red with emotion, almost overwhelmed by remorse. He murmured, "Do you know how much pain she was in?"
"Her small face was so pale it was completely devoid of color..."
Pei Zhi's face contorted with pain as he recalled the scene, and he could hardly bear to remember it.
He said into the microphone, "So, whatever we look like is our own destiny, what does it have to do with you?"
Pei Ruoyun remained silent for a long time.
Then she said softly, "I admit that I have not fulfilled my responsibilities as a mother, and I apologize to you."
Pei Zhi closed his eyes tightly and remained silent.
Pei Ruoyun added, "You are my children, and so is my work. Sometimes, work even takes priority over you, I admit that."
She paused, then continued, "But this is who I am, and I can't change it, nor will I."
Pei Zhi seemed not to have expected such a response.
His expression froze for a moment.
Then she pressed her lips tightly together.
Pei Ruoyun paused for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and said in a calm and rational tone, "My absence at many important moments in your growth was a choice I had to make. If I could do it all over again, I would find a more responsible caregiver for you."
She continued, "This is my answer to your accusations today. You have grown up very well, and I am grateful to you."
Pei Zhi remained silent.
Pei Xi walked over and gently took his free hand.
His hands were very hot, and his palms were sweaty.
She held Pei Zhi's large hands in her own, offering silent comfort.
Then, his fingertips trembled a few times, curled up, and grasped her fingers.
“But no matter what, hitting someone is wrong.” Pei Ruoyun’s voice came through the receiver.
“So starting today, your allowance will be completely stopped,” she said, “for two weeks.”
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