Chapter 25: Fleeing
Ling's mother changed into one set of clothes after another in the fitting room. No matter what kind of clothes or what color, as long as they were worn on Ling's mother, there would always be a different beauty.
Ling Shen stood outside the fitting room, his eyes full of patience and tenderness. Whenever his mother walked out of the fitting room, he would not hesitate to praise her.
"Mom, this dress suits you so well. It makes you look ten years younger!" "The color of this dress really shows your temperament. It seems to be tailor-made for you!" His voice was sincere and warm, and the smile on his lips never faded.
When they finally left, Ling Shen's hands were already full of shopping bags of different sizes, and the salesperson behind him watched the mother and son leave with a smile on his face.
Ling's mother looked at an inconspicuous box hidden among many shopping bags, and thought of Ling Shen's smile. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes unconsciously deepened a little. Those were the traces left by the years, but at this moment they were filled with happiness and relief.
She said nothing, but just gently took Ling Shen's arm and walked slowly with him in the spacious and bright aisles of the mall. The hustle and bustle around them seemed to have nothing to do with them.
When he arrived at the door of his house, Ling Shen got out of the car carrying bags of clothes. He was thinking about putting the things in the house quickly, but he forgot the box in the car.
Looking at her son, Ling's mother suddenly felt like teasing him. A sly smile appeared on her lips as she said, "Don't you need to take down that box?"
Ling Shen paused and turned to look at his mother, who was teasing him. "Mom..."
Seeing her son's embarrassed expression, Ling's mother couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. The sound of her cheerful laughter was so clear and loud that it startled a sparrow that had been leisurely preening its feathers on a branch and made it fly up and circle in the sky.
Ling Shen looked at his mother, who was laughing so hard that she was rolling on the floor, and could only look doting and helpless. His eyes met with Ling's father, who had come out after hearing the noise, and he pursed his lips in his mother's direction, as if to say, "Quickly control your wife, my mother."
But Ling's father pretended not to notice his son's distress signal. He strode forward a few steps, naturally put his arm around Ling's mother's waist, and asked gently, "What's wrong? Why are you so happy? Did you buy some nice clothes?"
Having said that, he took Ling's mother into the house. The two talked and laughed along the way, and were very close.
The couple completely forgot about Ling Shen and went straight into the living room talking and laughing, leaving Ling Shen alone in the cold wind.
When Ling Shen returned to the living room, the couple had already sat down in the dining room. The table was filled with steaming delicious dishes.
Father Ling was carefully peeling shrimps for Mother Ling, his movements gentle and skillful, while Mother Ling looked at her husband with a happy face.
Ling Shen picked up a hot towel and slowly wiped his hands. He then took a sip of water from his cup. Then he looked across at his loving parents and said in a feigned aggrieved tone, "Dad, Mom, is this really okay for you two? Can you please be a little more understanding of a single person like me?"
Father Ling rolled his eyes without even raising his head, but his hands did not stop moving as he continued to concentrate on peeling shrimp for Mother Ling.
Ling's mother smiled and served Ling Shen a bowl of fragrant soup. Her tone was gentle and a bit teasing: "Are you envious? Then why don't you find someone caring enough to bring it back?" As she spoke, she looked meaningfully at the shopping bag on the sofa, her eyes full of deep meaning.
Ling Shen paused slightly as he held the spoon. His mother's words were like a stone, stirring up ripples in his calm heart. For some reason, Su Nian's figure suddenly appeared clearly before his eyes.
Although Father Ling didn't understand what the mother and son were talking about, he always adhered to the principle of "what his wife says is right". He nodded repeatedly and agreed, "Your mother is right. If you have time to envy us, you might as well find someone to bring home."
Ling Shen couldn't sit still anymore after hearing his parents' words. He quickly finished his meal, wiped his mouth with a wet wipe, and went upstairs.
The couple smiled at each other as they watched their son flee in panic, their porcelain spoons making crisp sounds as they tapped against the edge of the bowl. Ling's mother used her serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of braised pork ribs for her husband, and within the steaming heat, she hinted at a subtle teasing, "Our son, I'm afraid he's really taken it to heart."
Ling Shen returned to his room and closed the door before he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know what was wrong. It was as if Su Nian had invisibly infiltrated his life. No matter what time it was, he could always think of Su Nian.
The concentration when baking bread, the calmness when making coffee, and even the confusion when sleeping, all make Ling Shen unforgettable.
"It's really a ghost." Ling Shen cursed inwardly, loosened his tie, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, and hurried into the bathroom.
The bathroom mirror was soon covered with heat, and the hot water from the showerhead hit my shoulders and neck, but it couldn't extinguish the burning heat running under my skin.
The moonlight outside the window poured into the room, and the faint sound of water and the low humming coming from the bathroom added a touch of charm to the originally silent room.
The car squeaked softly as it rolled over the thinly icy road. Ling Shen stared out the window at the rapidly receding street scene. The morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year was still shrouded in the languid trance of the last days of the year. Scattered fragments of firecrackers littered the snow, like the lingering embers of the New Year's atmosphere.
Soothing light music was playing on a loop in the car stereo, but it couldn't drown out the voice that kept echoing in his mind - it was the words his father said on the balcony last night, with the calmness of old pine wood, but it cast ripples in his heart.
In the rearview mirror, the outline of his home gradually shrank into a blurry black dot. Ling Shen's fingertips unconsciously stroked the steering wheel, his thoughts drifting back to the night of the second day of the Lunar New Year. After seeing off his mother's noisy relatives, he finally found a moment of peace on the balcony.
As he drank, the courtyard lights cast a warm glow on the red lanterns and Chinese knots hanging from the trees. The subtle light and shadows swayed in his glass, evoking a sense of peaceful time. He had hoped to use his tipsiness to sort out his chaotic thoughts, but his father's sudden voice interrupted his thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?" Ling's father had been standing behind him without him knowing when, his eyes falling on him gently.
Ling Shen smiled and shook his head, then poured a glass of wine and handed it to his father, "Dad, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Father Ling took the wine glass but didn't drink. He simply let the clear liquid swirl gently in the glass, the crystal glass reflecting a cool light. "Ah Shen, just do as you wish with the Jiang family. As for Jiang Yi..."
He paused, his eyes glancing at Ling Shen's suddenly tense profile. "You've already repaid the so-called life-saving favor. Don't let that favor bind you. You should learn to let go."
His father's words were like a stone dropped into still water, stirring up a thousand waves in Ling Shen's heart. He opened his mouth, but found his throat constricted, a thousand words stuck in his chest, and he didn't know how to respond.
He knew he was trapped in a cage called "favor." But how easy was it to let go? From youth to adulthood, being kind to Jiang Yi and putting him first had become a habit ingrained in him.
I'm used to staying up all night to watch over him when he's sick, used to solving all his problems, used to giving in to my own needs over and over again... Just like the left hand is used to the existence of the right hand, and if it's suddenly cut apart, only a bloody wound will be left.
Father Ling looked at the struggle in his eyes and sighed softly: "Life must pass, and time will not stop. Everything will pass. Ah Shen, don't wait until you really lose you to regret it."
After saying this, Ling's father patted his shoulder and walked back inside, leaving Ling Shen standing alone on the balcony, staring blankly at the bright moon in the sky. The moonlight, as cold as water, sprinkled on him, but it couldn't dispel the confusion in his heart.
The car drove over a bumpy road, and Ling Shen suddenly came to his senses, only to find that he had gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The scenery outside the car window became familiar, and Ling Shen found with a smile that he was near the bookstore again.
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