Late autumn of 1985
Wearing a brown overcoat and silver-rimmed glasses, Qin Ye, exuding a cool and aloof aura, walked down the physics laboratory building with two books in his hands.
Two years of university life changed me a lot; my wildness and aggression were replaced by calmness and aloofness.
Qin Ye glanced at his watch; it was almost noon. It was perfect to wait for Xiao Yu to finish class so they could go to the cafeteria for lunch together.
"Ono."
A gentle female voice rang out.
Qin Ye paused, looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a woman wearing a beige coat, with big wavy hair, sunglasses, carrying a large leather bag, and wearing an emerald magnolia pendant around her neck.
At a glance, Qin Ye recognized who the other person was.
Half an hour later, Erge sat in the cafe outside the school.
The woman took off her sunglasses, and her eyes, weathered by time, gazed tenderly at Qin Ye.
"It's been almost twenty years since I last saw you, you've grown into a big boy."
"Mom is so glad you didn't go astray and are so successful. I was so happy to see in the newspaper that you became the top scorer in the college entrance examination," Xu Mengyuan said, looking at Qin Ye with a face full of satisfaction.
Qin Ye shook his leg; these words made him feel physically uncomfortable.
"Why did you come to see me today? Please just say it directly. I don't like beating around the bush."
Isn't it ridiculous? A girl who was abandoned by her father when she was young and left to live with an alcoholic father, whom she hadn't seen for almost twenty years, said to her for the first time that she was glad she hadn't gone astray.
Xu Mengyuan's expression froze, and a look of hurt appeared on her face. "Xiao Ye, you still hate your mother for abandoning you, don't you?"
"Mom had no other choice at the time. If she didn't leave, your dad would beat her to death sooner or later."
Qin Ye shook his head. "I don't hate you. I can understand that you had no choice but to abandon me back then. But I can't understand why you left me for so long without ever contacting me, and only came back to see me after I became successful and made it into the newspapers."
This would make her feel that she only came back to acknowledge her as her biological son because she thought he was useful to her now that he had become successful.
If No hadn't gotten into university and No had become a hoodlum, she wouldn't have come back to acknowledge No.
Qin Ye's words left Xu Mengyuan speechless.
Qin Ye continued, "Judging from your appearance, you're not doing too badly after escaping Dad. You know very well what kind of person Dad is. When he's drunk, he'll not only beat you, but he'll beat Dad too."
"Can't you imagine what kind of life a four-year-old child would have with an alcoholic father?"
"But after you escaped from Dad, you never thought of rescuing your own son, Da, from all those times, and you didn't even send Da a single letter."
There are many things that I can understand and accept, but what I can't understand is that she insists on appearing only when I've become successful and no longer need her.
Xu Mengyuan covered her face and said sadly, "Mom also has her reasons."
"After leaving your father, fearing he would look for me, I fled directly to Hong Kong. My mother suffered a lot in Hong Kong before finally meeting your Uncle Cao and starting a good life."
"As you know, it's very troublesome for me to come to the mainland from Hong Kong. Although I miss you very much, there's nothing I can do."
“These past few days, things have opened up. I came to the mainland to do business with your Uncle Cao and that's when I saw your news. Seeing how well you've grown up and how you even became a top scorer in the college entrance examination, I'm so happy. I originally wanted to come and see you right away, but I was afraid your Uncle Cao would be unhappy.”
“Your mother isn’t very capable. To put it bluntly, she lives off your Uncle Cao. She can’t make decisions on many things and doesn’t dare to come to you.”
“These two have been working for your Uncle Cao for a long time. They only recently persuaded him to agree to let them acknowledge you.”
"Your Uncle Cao has accepted you as his stepson and is willing to support you in your upbringing. Xiao Ye, come home with Mom. Let's live a good life together as a family of five from now on," Xu Mengyuan said, looking at Qin Ye.
Qin Ye: "A family of five?"
Xu Mengyuan nodded with a smile, "Your Uncle Cao gave you a younger brother or sister. We've seen you in the newspaper and know you're our older brother. We all admire you."
“I’m still in school, but I came to Kyoto with you.”
"No need," Qin Ye said with a smile.
Xu Mengyuan: "What did you say?"
Qin Ye said, "There's no need. You already have a younger sister and a family. Whether it's you or those two children, they are just strangers with blood ties to you."
“Xiao Ye.” Xu Mengyuan looked at her with a sad expression. “You were the top scorer in the college entrance examination and you have studied so many books. I thought you could understand me.”
Qin Ye said, "I can understand you, but I also feel the pain of being abandoned in the past."
“I know you have your reasons, but the pain of being abandoned by your mother and the suffering you have endured will never disappear.”
“I know that my suffering was not caused by you, so I don’t hate you or blame you. But I also hope that you can understand that I can’t treat you like my closest relative, and I can’t treat the children you gave birth to as my own younger brothers and sisters.”
"If you get old and need support, the son you had can pay you support just like your other children."
Xu Mengyuan shook her head with red eyes, "Xiaoye, that's not what Mom needs."
Qin Ye said calmly, "I know, but we can't think about everything."
"May I ask what industry your current husband works in?"
Xu Mengyuan paused for a moment and said, "Your Uncle Cao works in an electronics factory."
Qin Ye chuckled. "Heh, electronics factory. You only agreed to let me claim you because you saw my newly developed machine patent in the newspaper, right?"
"..." Xu Mengyuan didn't speak, but she didn't deny it either.
Old Cao did indeed read the newspaper before asking her if she had a son named Qin Ye.
Qin Ye stood up with a smile. What blood ties, mother and son recognizing each other? It was all just about finding something to profit from.
"Ono."
“Ms. Xu, you now have a mother and your own home. Your current mother pulled you out of the mire during your most difficult time, gave you the love of a mother and the warmth of a family, and asked for nothing in return.”
"Her only request is that she take care of her health and be happy." As he said this, a warm smile appeared on Qin Ye's usually cold face.
"Ono."
Hearing these words made Xu Mengyuan extremely upset; she was the one who carried her for ten months and gave birth to her.
Even if she abandoned her back then, she had no choice and had her reasons. As her children, why can't she understand, let go, and forgive?
Qin Ye looked at Xu Mengyuan and said, "Ms. Xu, you don't need to come looking for me anymore. There's no need for us to have any contact. You can give me a bank account. When you turn fifty-five, I will deposit a sum of money into the account every month as alimony, which can be considered as repaying the debt of life."
“Xiao Ye…” Xu Mengyuan cried, “Mommy doesn’t have money, Mommy will give you money.”
Qin Ye looked at her tears, but he wasn't moved at all. "You already have a son and a daughter. Whether you have a son or a daughter isn't that important to you."
“If I really meant that much to you, then you wouldn’t have waited until today to come find me, would you?”
Xu Mengyuan: "..."
Xu Mengyuan did not give her bank account to Qin Ye.
Qin Ye left the coffee shop and hurriedly ran back to school, where he met Li Xiaoyu waiting for him at the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Brother." Li Xiaoyu waved to him from the cafeteria entrance.
Qin Ye ran over, panting.
"Brother, where did you go?" Li Xiaoyu asked, looking at me. "I went to the lab to look for you but couldn't find you. I thought you weren't coming to the cafeteria for lunch."
Qin Ye: "I have something to do outside. Let's go in and have some food."
Li Xiaoyu nodded and followed him inside. "By the way, brother, you don't have to stay at school to do experiments this week, right? Let's go home together and eat Mom's dumplings. I'm craving Mom's dumplings."
Qin Ye smiled and said, "Okay."
Half a year later, Qin Ye and Li Xiaoyu embarked on their journey to study abroad.
Five years later, Qin Ye and Li Xiaoyu both graduated and returned to China.
After returning to China, Qin Ye joined a secret national research and development project, devoting himself to research and remaining unmarried throughout his life, making significant contributions to the country's scientific research development.
He became a world-renowned and celebrated physicist.
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