"Divorce, divorce now." Suddenly there was a sound of something falling outside the room, mixed with the meowing of a cat in the yard, which made Mu Zishan's heart twist into a ball.
This was the first time she'd heard her parents argue. She couldn't understand what they were saying, and now her brother hadn't come home yet, unwilling to leave the warmth of his bed. In the darkness, the noises outside gradually faded, accompanied by the sounds of doors opening and closing downstairs. She was certain it was her brother returning from studying at school.
Mu Zibai's voice was very low: "What? Divorce as soon as you get back?" He threw his schoolbag on the sofa, took a bottle of drink from the kitchen refrigerator, looked at their packed suitcases, and said coldly, "If you want to leave, leave early, so that no one will be displeased with each other."
Dad wanted to go over and touch his shoulder, but missed. He squinted his eyes at him and sighed, "I'll have your grandma come up to take care of you two in a few days. Don't worry about your mom and me."
"Hmph, that's easy to say. Do you have the nerve to let the children know what you did?" His mother was unhappy with what he said. Standing with her son, she said solemnly, "Son, listen to me. Fill in your college entrance examination application form and choose a school in Shanghai. I will help you arrange everything there."
Mu Zibai glanced at her impatiently, picked up his schoolbag and went upstairs to his room.
There were sporadic noises outside, and she didn't wake up until she heard the sound of a car engine outside. She walked to her brother's door, hesitated for a moment, and finally knocked on the door.
"Come in!" He was playing games with headphones on, and his mouth was full of unpleasant words.
"Brother! Are Mom and Dad really going to get divorced?" She asked, wiping away her tears. Although her parents didn't spend much time at home, they were her family after all. She felt very uncomfortable thinking about them leaving this home.
He was very calm and took off his headphones: "We couldn't live together for a long time. What else can we do if we don't get a divorce?"
She was a little overwhelmed and didn't know how to tell her brother about her worries.
When Mu Zishan was very young, her parents separated. One had a mistress in Beijing, the other found a wealthy man in Shanghai, leaving neither of them with much time to care for the two children left at home. By the time Mu Zishan was born, her parents' affection had long since faded, meaning she wasn't truly the product of love. Later, they each focused on their own careers, leaving the two children to be cared for by their grandmother in the countryside. Later, her grandfather, who lived alone in the countryside, developed cancer, leaving her with no energy to care for the two children and hurried back to the countryside. From then on, twelve-year-old Mu Zibai shouldered the sole responsibility of caring for her five-year-old sister. Four years later, after enduring all the pain, her grandfather passed away. Grandma, feeling dejected, felt that her retirement in her hometown was perfectly fine. She had been reluctant to return to Chongqing, but her father coaxed her into coming. He called her, saying he was worried about her being left alone at home without anyone to take care of her. At least here, she had two children to look after.
"So are you going to take the exam in Beijing or Shanghai?"
"I can take any test I want." He continued playing games.
Mu Zishan knew that her parents liked her brother and always considered him first when making any decision. They never asked about her feelings. She felt a little aggrieved and dissatisfied, so she could only go back to her room and try not to think about those things.
In the morning, Mu Zibai, with his panda eyes, leaned listlessly against the elevator, even wearing his shirt inside out. This made Mu Zishan unwilling to take his scooter to school, so after getting off the elevator, he said, "I'll take the bus today."
He didn't say anything, took some money out of his wallet and gave it to her, then drove away from her sight.
During school, Mu Zibai picked her up and dropped her off almost every day. It was her brother's behavior that made her realize her family was different from others. Not only did her parents not pick her up, they wouldn't even attend parent-teacher conferences. From that time on, she became somewhat dependent on her brother, feeling unfamiliar with her parents, and even feeling awkward in their arms.
Once, she felt that her brother's bicycle was no match for her classmate's car, so she hid from his sight and secretly took the bus. However, her brother waited for a full hour and then went to find her homeroom teacher. However, he did not tell her about it after he knew that she had returned home safely. Because of the guilt, she did not dare to do anything bad behind her brother's back for a long time.
As people grow up, they need their own space and hobbies, and Mu Zishan is no exception. She fell in love with the library not far from her home, and would spend an hour or two there after school, borrowing a few books to take home. Her brother took care of all the housework. She didn't even know how he washed her white school uniform so well, or how he got the ratio of rice to water just right.
The summer in Chongqing always makes people feel suffocated. Grandma, who came from her cool hometown, was not used to keeping the air conditioner on in the room all day long, so in the evening all the air conditioners in the house were turned off, and the two of them were driven out of the house to stroll by the river outside.
Back then, my brother always liked to tease her, trapping her on the rockery in the park and then running away. When she was about to collapse, he would pop out from nowhere, scare her and even gloat over her misfortune.
At that time, the park also had a man-made plant maze. The shrubs were much taller than she was. Once she entered, she was completely lost. The light above her head didn't work at all. In the darkness, she felt like countless eyes were staring at her face and countless hands were grabbing her feet. She was so scared that she trembled all over. When she finally got out, her brother, who had been waiting at the exit, frightened her so much that she couldn't hold it back and burst into tears. After that, she just fell asleep on his back.
One time, she was sprawled on the couch watching a discovery show. It was about a plane found in a certain area, with human bones inside. Curious, she wanted to know the answer, but in the end, they just said it was some American model, which only left her with a ton of questions. A taxi driver, playing a video game nearby, sighed, "These kinds of shows are just kidding. If everything is so simple, what's the point of having a detective?"
Mu Zishan sat up and looked at him: "Brother, you also know Detective Conan?"
"What famous detective? He's just something the Japanese made up to fool kids like you. The only real detective is Victor," Mu Zibai glanced at her. The bewildered look on her face amused him. "You don't even know the French Victor, and you spend all day watching TV!"
Her excited emotions suddenly calmed down. In her eyes, her brother had no books in his room, his computer was full of game software, and he had never done anything serious except housework when he got home. But she had to believe that her brother knew a lot.
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