Liang Zhirou immediately realized that Xiao Xunfang was teasing her. Her face turned as red as a tomato, and her heart pounded so hard that it drowned out her breathing.
She thought her excuse was foolproof, but it turned out her mother knew everything...
The thought of her mother always knowingly playing along without saying a word made her face burn like she had a fever.
What's the point of celebrating the New Year?! Might as well just die!
That seems a bit unlucky... Ugh, ugh, ugh.
But now that the matter has been brought up, we can't just stay silent.
After all, she had already promised Chen Lu.
After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out the next sentence in a barely audible whisper.
"I won't be coming back tonight."
"I'll come back often in the future..."
Actually, it didn't come to that extent; she was just nervous and didn't know what to say.
She had originally planned to continue traveling between the two places every day, just staying in a different place at night.
Just as Liang Zhirou looked up to correct her earlier statement, she suddenly realized that Xiao Xunfang was frozen in place, looking somewhat dazed.
Xiao Xunfang opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but before she could speak, two lines of tears had already flowed down her cheeks.
"Mom...why are you crying?"
Liang Zhirou was terrified; this was the first time in her life she had ever had her own ideas.
I never expected that I would actually make my mother cry.
Somewhat at a loss, she sat down and apologized repeatedly, her voice starting to tremble with tears, "I know I was wrong, please don't be angry with me, okay?"
"No... Mom is happy, happy that I didn't become a burden to you."
Xiao Xunfang wiped away her tears as she came to her senses, took Liang Zhirou's hand, and warmed it in her own palm. "Ni'er, do you know? I just suddenly realized that my daughter has really grown up."
“You can’t stay by my side forever, and I don’t want that. Every child will have this day sooner or later, so how could I be angry with you over something like this?”
She reached out and gently stroked Liang Zhirou's cheek. "You're learning to leave home; you'll be a grown woman from now on."
A tear slid down her cheek, and a bitter smile appeared on her wrinkled lips. "Mom's useless, I didn't do anything right, but at least I've completed the task your father left me..."
Parents' wishes are nothing more than that: their children can get into a good school, find a good job after graduation, and whatever their future holds doesn't matter, as long as they live peacefully. Most importantly, they hope their children will meet a good person.
Xiao Xunfang suddenly became somewhat dazed, her eyes blurred with tears, as if through a thin mist. In the mist, the beautiful girl with red-rimmed eyes suddenly reverted to her childhood appearance.
In the hazy vision, Liang Zhirou seemed to still be that little girl who used to squat alone by the wall, staring blankly at other children her age playing and laughing in the distance, and then hiding away forlornly to cook for her.
Now, that little girl who was desperately trying to grow up seems to have really grown up.
Over the years, she had been hoping that Liang Zhirou would eventually get tired of being dragged down by her and then leave her behind.
But Liang Zhirou didn't. This girl always held back her tears and swallowed all her bitterness.
Thank goodness, her daughter is finally accepting a new life.
Xiao Xunfang quickly wiped away the tears that were flowing more and more. Although she couldn't stop the tears, her face was filled with a happy smile. "Alright, you don't need to worry about me. You can see how well Mom has recovered now."
As she spoke, she got up and pulled Liang Zhirou up as well, then started walking towards the entrance on her own.
Without any support, the immense pressure rested on his knees.
Like the black and white static on a TV screen, it's densely packed, and feels numb and painful like being pricked by needles.
She clenched her teeth tightly, looking as if nothing was wrong.
Fortunately, the recovery is going well now, and the level of pain is completely tolerable.
Besides, even if she couldn't bear it, she had to take these steps carefully.
As they reached the entrance, Xiao Xunfang turned around and gave her a gentle smile.
"See? Mom is almost better. Go now. You're all grown up. It's time for you to have your own life."
Your mother has been a burden to you for over a decade; she can't be a burden to you anymore.
Xiao Xunfang pointed to the wall clock; it was already 10 p.m., indicating to Liang Zhirou that she didn't need to worry about being lonely at home.
"Let's go, let's go. The little road is all lively now. We had a good New Year, and Mom is getting ready to go to bed."
This was indeed her true feeling. It was already so lively that she would just lie down and fall asleep. What was there to be lonely about?
Much later, Liang Zhirou was forcibly "pushed" out of the house by Xiao Xunfang.
Seeing the door closed, Xiao Xunfang didn't bother to go back to the sofa to rest and immediately sat down on the floor.
On the other side, Liang Zhirou was hanging her head, her palm still pressed against the door.
She kept a close eye on her mother's recovery progress and how she usually walked.
How could she not see how much show of bravado he was putting on?
But if I go back now, Mom will probably feel even worse...
The fear of being a burden to her mother seemed to be a thorn in her side.
When she came to her senses again, she was already standing in front of the building entrance.
Liang Zhirou cast aside her complicated thoughts, raised her head, and focused her gaze on the smiling boy in front of her.
Chen Lu was standing with his arms crossed in front of him, looking at her with a faint smile.
"Is this how you give gifts? You messaged me saying you wanted to give one to me, and then it's been ages since you actually did."
He couldn't help but tease, "By the time it takes you to get here, I'll almost be home."
When Liang Zhirou walked up to him, he reached out and tidied the stray hairs that had blown the wind across her face, and asked softly, "Or is there something you want to tell me?"
Liang Zhirou looked up and met Chen Lu's gaze for a moment, but quickly looked away.
If this continues, this person will soon realize that I've been crying.
After all, she couldn't hide anything from Chen Lu.
After thinking about it, she was still too embarrassed to say it, so she silently walked to the other side, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.
Chen Lu was stunned for a moment, then got into the car as well.
He turned on the heater before going downstairs, and it became much warmer as soon as he got into the car.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Chen Lu noticed Liang Zhirou's red eyes and quickly went over to gently stroke the girl's hair, saying, "Don't cry, don't cry, just tell me what's wrong."
"Will you agree to anything I say?"
"As long as you don't cry, that's fine. I told you when we first got together that I would pluck the stars from the sky for you if you wanted them." Chen Lu's tone became very serious, as he thought Liang Zhirou was about to say something very important.
Liang Zhirou leaned against the car window, turning her face away, too embarrassed to look at him. After a long while, she turned back, rested her forehead on his shoulder, and said softly, her voice trembling with tears:
"I...I want to go home with you..."
? ? ! !
Master Chen's health bar, which had just been fully restored, was empty again.
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