Before I could even see the rest, a prompt appeared on the screen asking me to verify my fingerprint.
The nurse placed her hand on the screen, the screen turned green, and the door next to her slid open automatically.
Inside, one entire wall is made of glass.
Sunlight streamed through the glass, falling on the floor in a riot of colors.
Lu Ming glanced back at her, then stepped inside.
Zhou Chunhua quickly followed her inside.
However, the soft, yielding feeling underfoot was like walking on clouds.
Looking down, I saw a clean, soft, long-pile carpet.
It's very fine and looks high-end.
Although it was just one room, it was surprisingly spacious.
In addition to a reception area equipped with a sofa and coffee table, there is also a reading area filled with books.
There was a large, luxurious bed in the corner.
On the wall opposite the foot of the bed, there was a liquid-temperature television that took up half of the wall.
The room is not only well-laid out, but the colors are also warm and comfortable.
Finally, Zhou Chunhua noticed an old woman sitting on the ground in front of the French windows.
An old woman with a full head of white hair and a body so thin it was almost emaciated.
She was wearing a loose white nightgown and holding a thick book, which she was reading with great interest.
Zhou Chunhua looked at Lu Ming beside her, puzzled.
Only then did she notice that the expression on Lu Ming's face and the tenderness in his eyes inexplicably reminded her of the boy who once stood on the high podium.
Just as she was about to speak, Lu Ming walked over there.
Zhou Chunhua stood still and watched him walk over and sit down next to the old woman.
He raised his large, calloused hand and gently tucked the old woman's drooping hair behind her ear.
"Mom, can you tell me about the book you're reading?"
mom?!
No wonder... Lu Ming's expression changed, and even his voice was gentler than before.
But at this moment, Zhou Chunhua noticed that his mother was sitting there without even raising her head, as if she hadn't heard him speak.
Are you hard of hearing? Or are you simply deaf?
Just as she was filled with curiosity, Lu Ming suddenly bent down and rested his head on the old woman's lap.
Something amazing happened!
She... remained completely still.
It's like... it's like she can't see Lu Ming... No! Even if she can't hear or see him, at this moment, she should be able to feel Lu Ming lying on her lap.
But if it weren't for her fingers moving to point at the words in the book, she would look like a sculpture.
I can't see it! I can't hear it! I can't feel it!
At that moment, Lu Ming reached out and grasped the old woman's hand.
"Mom! Can you look at me? Or... say something to me, just one sentence, just one sentence."
Lu Ming's hoarse, smoky voice was filled with deep sadness, even... pity.
Zhou Chunhua couldn't help but walk over and sit down opposite the old woman.
"What happened to your... mother?"
Lu Ming suddenly covered his face with his hands, and after a while, he sat up and said, "My dad beat me."
"Your...dad?" Zhou Chunhua repeated in disbelief.
When Lu Ming lowered his hand, his eyes were still red.
“Yes. Domestic violence.” Lu Ming leaned on his mother’s shoulder, his voice low: “Originally, I also had a happy family. But later, my mother was laid off, and within two years, my father’s company stopped paying salaries.”
After discussing it with my mother, he decided to go into business. My mother not only gave him all the money in the house, but also borrowed my grandparents' savings for their funerals.
My dad would take the money to Guangzhou to buy goods and then bring them back to sell. My mom stayed at home to take care of me and my bedridden grandmother.
Although it was tough at first, business gradually improved. Every time my dad went to pick up goods, he would bring my mom pretty dresses.
Lu Ming wrapped his arms around the old woman's waist and continued, "Back then, my mother was the most beautiful woman in our factory. I remember there were men who still pursued her even though they knew she was married, but I chased them all away."
My mom often tells me that the luckiest thing she ever did in her life was marrying my dad.
Lu Ming suddenly stopped talking at this point.
The expression on his face also changed without him realizing it.
He let go of her hand, raised his head, and looked at the motionless old woman.
"Even now, I often think: if my mother had chosen to betray my father, would things have turned out differently?"
Zhou Chunhua frowned in confusion.
"I don't understand, if your parents loved each other so much, how could your father..."
"Ha! Men are all the same!" Lu Ming sneered.
Zhou Chunhua awkwardly looked away.
Because he seems to have forgotten that he is also a man.
"Haven't you heard? Men with money go bad! I remember my dad's change started in my third year of junior high. When I was in my second year of junior high, he said he wanted to expand his business, so he went to Guangzhou."
After that, he came home less and less often, and he also gave my mother less and less living expenses. So, my mother sold all her pretty dresses and high heels to raise money for my tuition.
I asked her why she didn't ask my dad for money so he could send it back. My mom said that my dad was wandering alone in a foreign land and the difficulties he encountered were beyond our imagination.
She said she couldn't help my dad now, so she could only save money to ease his burden. My mom also told me to study hard and be a successful man like my dad.
So I studied like crazy, hoping to become a man like my dad. But later, an acquaintance from the same factory told my mom that he had met my dad in Guangzhou, and my dad was with a woman.
The woman was wearing the same beautiful dress and high heels as my mother, and she was holding a little girl who looked about one or two years old.
Zhou Chunhua frowned deeply.
Lu Ming suddenly chuckled and said, "You're right. My dad cheated on me! He did it when I was in sixth grade. My mom only found out later. He met that woman when he went to Guangzhou."
The two of them hadn't known each other long before they started living together. But back then, my dad still came home often, gave my mom money, and brought us nice clothes and shoes.
Who would have thought that he was already cheating on me back then? I remember my mom didn't believe it when she heard the news. My grandma, on the other hand, was even more worried than my mom, urging her to go to Guangzhou to see for herself. She said, "Seeing is believing."
"Did your mother go?" Zhou Chunhua asked.
Lu Ming shook his head: "No. My mom firmly said that my dad isn't that kind of person, and he would never betray her or this family. I remember my grandma was so anxious she almost jumped out of bed, but my mom just wouldn't listen."
She continued to live frugally at home, trying to ease the burden on my dad. But even so, in my first year of high school, my dad still brought that woman and their daughter home!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
