Chapter 50
"I rely on it, I rely on it, I rely on it!"
As soon as the bathroom door opened, Lu Bai jumped out with a cry: "God damn it, what kind of high-tech water heater is this in your house? Even someone with a low IQ wouldn't be able to figure it out. And why is it suddenly running cold water?"
Lu Bai was so cold that he felt his teeth chattering. He immediately saw the clothes Zhang Xiaotian had left for him at the door, so he didn't bother to turn on the light and hurried over to grab them.
"I almost froze to death. Go and have a look later. What's going on?"
It was still drizzling outside the window, and the sky was getting dark very quickly. Large dark clouds came into the house from somewhere, making even the room dark.
The words fell to the ground and were forgotten, and Zhang Xiaotian didn't reply to him.
"Tian'er?"
Lu Bai stretched his neck and shouted again, but there was still no response.
It's raining heavily, so he couldn't have gone out. Lu Bai thought about it, put down his clothes again, turned around, slapped on the wall lamp, and walked around the room in his slippers, but he didn't see Zhang Xiaotian anywhere.
Could it be that he really went out?
"Tian'er, are you home?"
Seeing that there was no one in the room, Lu Bai pushed the door open without thinking and went out to look for them. As soon as he opened the door, he came face to face with Zhang Xiaotian and his mother in the living room.
"I C..."
Lu Bai was so frightened that he wanted to swear, but he swallowed it back. Suddenly he remembered that he was in a hurry to find someone and now he was only wearing a bath towel. His face turned red all the way to his neck.
Zhang Xiaotian was also frightened when he saw him coming out shirtless. He hurriedly looked at his mother. Since she came home, except for asking who was taking a shower, Zhang's mother hadn't said a word. Seeing her face getting darker and darker, Zhang Xiaotian secretly thought that something was wrong and desperately winked at Lu Bai to let him go inside.
Lu Bai is really something, it’s ok for him to just shout and walk around the house, but why isn’t he even wearing any clothes?!
Lu Bai held the door open, and when he saw Zhang Xiaotian signaling, he came back to his senses and hurriedly greeted Zhang's mother, "Ah...Auntie, you're back! Then I won't disturb you and Tian'er from talking, I..."
"Don't worry, Auntie."
Mother Zhang didn't even glance at Lu Bai.
"It's cold in the room." She pinched her brows, waved her hand and instructed Zhang Xiaotian directly, "Xiaotian, I remember your classmates left a lot of clothes here with you, right? Go find them and give them clothes to change into. Pack up the rest and ask your classmates to take them back."
"Thank you..."
Before Lu Bai finished speaking, Mother Zhang continued:
"I think it's getting late, so I won't keep you here for dinner. Go home early so your family won't worry."
"Oh, it's okay, my parents are not worried..." Before Lu Bai could finish his words, he was pushed and stabbed into the room by Zhang Xiaotian.
"Say less."
Zhang Xiaotian closed the door with his backhand and said to Lu Bai in a low voice, "You should go back first. My mother... seems to be in a bad mood."
When he said this, he remembered that Lu Bai's hair was still wet and the rain outside had not stopped.
"I'm sorry..." Zhang Xiaotian pinched his palms, lowered his head, and felt a little embarrassed. "Please put on your clothes first. I'll find you an umbrella... I'll get you a hair dryer first."
"It's okay, Tian'er."
Feeling Lu Bai's cool fingertips scratching his neck, Zhang Xiaotian flinched and then looked up. Seeing that he was finally willing to look at him, Lu Bai grinned, revealing a row of white teeth:
"I won't catch a cold. The rain outside has eased a bit, and your house is so close to mine. It's okay, Tian'er. Don't worry."
Zhang Xiaotian was speechless for a moment.
He didn't know what to say to Lu Bai, nor how to react, so he just nodded randomly, then quickly found an umbrella and a hair dryer. A complex feeling of shame and nervousness seemed to seal his mouth, and he couldn't say a word until he saw Lu Bai out of the house.
"Don't send me off anymore. Auntie hasn't been home for a long time. She must have something to tell you." Lu Bai stood at the door and stopped Zhang Xiaotian from bending down to put on his shoes. "Don't keep Auntie waiting."
"By the way, I didn't realize I left so many clothes here. I'm so embarrassed." Lu Bai shook the paper bag in his hand. The bag made two "swish" sounds and looked quite heavy. Zhang Xiaotian knew that every piece of clothing inside was hidden in his room by him.
There are so many.
If I had known earlier, I should have hidden it in more places. No one thought that she would find it.
Zhang Xiaotian shook his head and gently pushed Lu Bai.
"Give me the clothes you washed today tomorrow." Lu Bai smiled at him soothingly, "Then...see you tomorrow?"
Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai. He hadn't even had time to completely dry his hair, and a drop of water fell from the end of his hair, wetting his collar a little. Zhang Xiaotian forced a smile and nodded, feeling his heart also soaked with water, heavy and heavy.
After sending Lu Bai out, Zhang Xiaotian paused at the door before turning back to the house. Mother Zhang heard footsteps and picked up the water cup again, touching her lips.
"Everyone has been gone for a long time, why did you just come in?"
Zhang Xiaotian didn't say anything.
"Don't look so gloomy. Sit down. I have something to tell you." Mother Zhang pointed to the sofa and said after Zhang Xiaotian sat down, "I've decided to take you abroad next month. You should be mentally prepared in advance."
"What?!"
Zhang Xiaotian started playing again. "Next month? Wasn't it agreed to be after the college entrance exam?"
"Mom can't wait." Mother Zhang gathered her hair by her ears. "Mom and your uncle have discussed it and decided to let you go there first to adapt, and then find a way to get you into a local high school. That way you'll have a language environment. You're unlikely to develop in China in the future anyway, so going there earlier will also be beneficial..."
"no!"
Zhang Xiaotian blurted out.
"You know this isn't negotiable," Zhang's mother continued. "I know you've lived in China since you were a child, and it might be hard for you to accept being in an unfamiliar environment. But you still have a month to prepare, so there's no need to be so nervous."
"One month...is pretty short."
Zhang Xiaotian panicked. He'd thought he had time to talk to his mother, but plans never caught up. He swallowed hard, his head bowed as he pondered a solution. "Mom, you know I grew up here. It's hard for me to adapt quickly over there in a month, let alone a year. What if I embarrass you?"
"Don't worry about that," Zhang's mother interrupted him. "As long as you're in China, no matter how much time you spend there, you'll never fully adapt. Only once you're there will things get better. Just be obedient and do as I tell you. Your uncle and I will arrange everything for you..."
"But..."
"No buts!"
Mother Zhang slammed her cup down on the table, spilling water everywhere. She let out a breath and continued slowly, "Luckily, you've only been in this class for less than a year. A month is plenty of time for you to say goodbye to your classmates and this life. When I transferred you to another class, you only stayed there for a year, didn't you? If you could adapt then, you can do it now, too."
"And you know that if you follow Mom, you won't be able to get what you want back home even if you spend more time there. Smart people are efficient in everything they do. Xiaotian, Mom doesn't think you're stupid enough to go far away for something that's not worth it, right?"
Zhang Xiaotian could barely hear his mother's words. His breathing had been labored for a while, each breath requiring every ounce of strength. He felt like a fish on a chopping block, his only option for the future being to leave it to fate.
Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian didn't answer for a long time, Zhang's mother lost her patience: "Think about it carefully tonight. I hope you can understand your mother's painstaking efforts."
Zhang Xiaotian hung his head, breathing heavily. He saw the pair of legs in front of him stand up from the sofa and walk in one direction. Every step seemed to increase the force of the stranglehold on his throat.
Can't let her go!
Zhang Xiaotian suddenly thought. A lot can be done this night. If he can't convince her now, who knows if it will be too late by tomorrow.
I must explain this to her now!
"I won't leave!"
Zhang Xiaotian closed his eyes and shouted, shaking all over: "I've thought it through now. I won't go abroad!"
The footsteps stopped, but the expected scolding did not come.
The sound of dripping water from the kitchen faucet continued, piercing Zhang Xiaotian like a sharp knife. He held his breath, but the fatal blow never arrived. He mustered up the courage to raise his head, only to be met with his mother's gloomy gaze. Mother Zhang's face was filled with rage, like a storm approaching, and veins bulged on the side of her neck, but there was no trace of surprise or doubt, as if she had known all along that he was going to reject her.
"Why."
Although Mother Zhang was asking for the reason, her tone wasn't questioning. She was laughing in anger, with a smile flickering between grief and anger on her face. "I need a reason."
"I just... want to live according to my own ideas." Zhang Xiaotian looked at her and said.
"Ha, according to your own ideas..." Zhang's mother suddenly shouted, "Isn't it because you can't bear to part with your classmate?!"
"What..." Zhang Xiaotian didn't react.
"What sins did I commit in my past life? First I ended up with that loser of your father in this life, and then my own son turned out to be a pervert who loves men! You and your son were born to torture me, and I actually gave you a chance, thinking you could learn the ropes and turn back? All the hard work I put into you over the past year has been wasted by you!"
Zhang Xiaotian was stunned by this. He thought that whether at school or anywhere else, as long as there were outsiders, he had never said or done anything to Lu Bai. He had only thought about it in his mind, so how did his mother find out?
"I'm not..."
Zhang Xiaotian wanted to say something for himself, but his mother obviously didn't want to listen anymore.
"You still dare to say you're not?! Do you think I don't know anything because I'm not at home and my secretary isn't with you?!" Mother Zhang spoke very quickly, her eyes bloodshot. She paced back and forth in the living room like a madman, pointing at the tip of Zhang Xiaotian's nose every time she spoke:
"You brought him home, slept in the same bed with him, watched him bathe, and even touched him while applying medicine to him!" Zhang Xiaotian's face turned pale as she spoke. "Not only did you wash his clothes, you also hid them. And you hid so much of them! Why would you hide a boy's clothes? Don't you have any clothes of your own to wear?!"
"It's almost Chinese New Year, and he's helping you decorate your home, yet you're so shameless that you're still going to his house. Why, would his family allow you two to do this?! Do they know what you two did in this house, on this sofa?! You two perverts, psychopaths!!!"
"No..."
The more Zhang Xiaotian listened, the more frightened he became. Sharing a bed with Lu Bai when she was taking care of him, applying medicine to Lu Bai in the bathroom after their first fight, secretly hiding Lu Bai's clothes, decorating the house with Lu Bai, and even that kiss he'd given Lu Bai while he was asleep during the movie. All of this his mother was talking about happened when it was just the two of them at home!
He was certain that there was no third pair of eyes present, and some of them were even unknown to Lu Bai!
In a flash, he suddenly thought of a terrible possibility!
"You!" Zhang Xiaotian was so shocked by this possibility that he couldn't breathe. "You're spying on me?"
"Spying on you? You actually said I was spying on you?!"
Zhang's mother suddenly rushed over. She was half a head shorter than Zhang Xiaotian. She reached out to strangle him, but he dodged and instead grabbed his collar. She ripped at Zhang Xiaotian's collar and yelled at him at the top of her lungs, "I'm here to see what my son is doing at home. Can that be called surveillance?! How can I train you if I don't see what you're doing?! If I want to take you over, I have to make you look respectable first. Otherwise, why would I take you over? How can I be ashamed to be with you and have to face people's faces?!"
"Do you think that if you follow me over there, you can just sit back and enjoy a carefree life?! Do you think I've been living a happy life since leaving your father?! Do you think my husband loves and respects me?! He doesn't! He looks down on me! He gave me a job, a family, he gives to me all the time! Everything I have is his. I have no place to stand. I can only live at his mercy! His children, his servants, everything is his! I'm just an outsider. No one in that house helps me at all!"
"But I can't have children at my age! You are my only hope, you know! I spend my time on you so that you can support me, not to let you degenerate! I ignored his opposition and returned to China to find you and cultivate you. How can you be worthy of me like this! Ah?!" As Mother Zhang spoke, tears fell to the ground. Her eyes were red, and she trembled as she let go of Zhang Xiaotian's collar and put her hands in her hair again.
"You are my only child... I am already making it up to you. Even if you have grievances in your heart, you should take revenge on your father... You can't do this to me..."
At this point, she was already sobbing.
Zhang Xiaotian looked at him, feeling no pity. She could blame anyone for her life's mistakes, but he had nothing to do with it. Zhang Xiaotian looked at his mother's devastated face and suddenly felt powerless.
She knew everything. Under the hidden cameras in this room, his secret feelings for Lu Bai were exposed. The memories that once supported him now became weapons for his mother to attack him. At this point, it was almost impossible to convince her to let him stay.
Zhang Xiaotian closed his eyes and lowered his head. He didn't know what to say, nor did he want to say anything.
All that could be heard in the living room was Mother Zhang's suppressed sobbing.
"What are you doing?"
Zhang Xiaotian suddenly opened his eyes and saw his mother sitting opposite him with her eyes swollen like walnuts. Then he realized that he almost fell asleep.
"How can you still sleep at a time like this? You're just as cold and heartless as your father." Mother Zhang seemed to be trying her best to save her image, but her messy hair and the tears on her face couldn't hide it. She stared at Zhang Xiaotian, seemingly having given up on playing the role of mother to him.
"You still have to go abroad with me." Mother Zhang's voice was still a little hoarse, but her tone had returned to normal. "Even if I only spent one dollar on you, I want to get a proper return. I will send you to a treatment facility, and you must get good treatment until you become a normal person. After you are cured, we can talk about your future."
"I don't need it." Zhang Xiaotian sat up and looked at his mother.
"What did you say..."
"I don't need it." Zhang Xiaotian said, "I don't think what I'm doing is abnormal. You are an educated person after all, you should know that this is just a normal thing with a low probability of happening."
Seeing that Zhang's mother's face was about to change again, Zhang Xiaotian did not stop. He chose his words and continued:
"I won't go abroad with you either."
"I don't know how you're doing back home, or why you need to look down on others, but I'm not the one who caused your current situation. You can't pin your hopes of change on me."
For the first time, Zhang Xiaotian calmly looked directly at his mother. Even with her meticulous care, time had left its mark on her. Zhang Xiaotian suddenly realized that he and his mother looked a lot alike, but the long separation had left their similar faces with distinct flavors. Looking at that face that felt both familiar and unfamiliar, Zhang Xiaotian realized that while he called her mother, he had never truly considered himself to have any family.
"I've been growing up alone for the past seventeen years. I'm used to it. I've never thought about anything like debt or revenge. At the same time, I don't intend to force myself to join a strange family right now. That would be too tiring and meaningless."
Zhang Xiaotian withdrew his gaze, lowered his head and stared at the tip of his shoes.
"So, don't think about compensating me, and don't think about getting anything in return from me. Everyone has the right to make choices and should be responsible for the decisions they make."
"Now it's my turn to make my own decision."
The sound of dripping water, the sound of crying, everything disappeared, and the living room fell into a long silence. It was unknown how long it was before Zhang Xiaotian's mother uttered her last words.
"I have only one request."
"You have to transfer schools and leave that boy." Her tired eyes were expressionless. "Otherwise, I'm going to talk to his parents."
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