I flipped through the photos one by one. In these pictures, my mother looked completely natural, without a trace of worry on her face. Moreover, the clothes she wore weren't recent—clearly, these photos were taken before my birthday.
Just then, Dad came out of the kitchen. Seeing me standing in the entryway, he said, "What are you doing? Come in and wash your hands for dinner."
I waved the photos in my hand at him and asked, "Have you seen these?"
Dad replied calmly, "Yes, I have."
Feeling both worried and confused, I changed my shoes and followed behind him, asking, "Aren't you angry?"
Dad chuckled. "What's there to be angry about?"
"But… last time you…"
Dad turned around, took the photos from my hand, and said, "Not only have I seen these photos, but I also showed them to your mom."
"What's going on here? Why does everything feel so strange?" I was completely baffled by Dad's behavior.
"Go wash your hands quickly. After dinner, focus on your studies. This has nothing to do with you."
"If you don't explain it clearly, my curiosity is going to get the better of me. How can I possibly study?"
I followed him all the way into the kitchen. Dad, unable to shake me off, finally relented and said, "Your mom did this on purpose."
"On purpose? What do you mean?"
Dad explained, "Last time someone sent photos, your mom and I were a bit suspicious. We thought someone was deliberately trying to ruin our relationship. We discussed it privately. At first, we suspected it was Mr. Chen, but your mom and I both know him quite well. Back in school, he was a playboy. He tried to ask your mom out a few times, but she ignored him, and he didn't bother her again."
"So, it wasn't Mr. Chen who sent the photos?"
Dad said, "Your mom thinks that although Mr. Chen is a flirt and pursued her back in school, he has plenty of women around him now. Since he doesn't want to marry your mom, why would he go to all this trouble to break us up?"
"So it's someone else? Do you already know who it is?"
"Your mom suspects someone, but we don't have solid evidence. It's her direct supervisor, Mr. Li."
"Him?" I remembered meeting this Mr. Li twice, but at the time, my attention was focused on that damn Mr. Chen, so I didn't pay much attention to him.
Dad continued, "Your mom told me before that Mr. Li has had feelings for her for a long time. He got divorced a few years ago and genuinely cares for her. Ever since he found out your mom and Mr. Chen were old classmates, he's been subtly arranging for her to work with Mr. Chen. At first, your mom didn't think much of it, but after the photos incident, she started to suspect something. So, the next time Mr. Li assigned her work, she deliberately went out for a stroll and had a meal with Mr. Chen. We thought the photos would arrive in a couple of days, but nothing happened. Then, as soon as something happened in our family, the photos showed up. Don't you think that bastard is up to no good?"
After hearing Dad's explanation, I began to understand a bit, but something still felt off. After a moment of thought, I said to him, "I think Mom did this not only to test that so-called Manager Li but also to give you some reassurance, Dad."
"Hmm?" Dad clearly didn't grasp my meaning.
"What I mean is, Mom told you in advance that she was intentionally going for a walk and having a meal with Manager Chen. When the photos arrived later, wouldn't that prove her innocence?"
Dad pondered for a long while, patted my shoulder, and gave me an approving look.
After leaving the kitchen, a sudden thought crossed my mind: Could it be that Mom had someone take those photos on purpose, just to reassure Dad?
But then I reconsidered: If Mom had arranged for the photos, why wouldn't she have sent them immediately? Why wait until the family was in turmoil to send them?
After turning it over in my mind, I still felt that that damn Manager Li was the most suspicious.
Anyway, no matter what, I absolutely refused to believe Mom had cheated.
...
The final exams of last semester finally arrived. For some reason, ever since I saw those photos that day, my mood had actually become more relaxed. Combined with the intense studying I'd been doing lately—burning the midnight oil and pushing myself to the limit—my grades had improved quite a bit.
However, because I had slacked off so much earlier in the term, I only barely managed to squeeze into the top ten in my class.
This was actually my usual performance, but this time, I wanted to prove to Mom my remorse and effort, so I felt somewhat disappointed with this mediocre ranking.
Ever since our agreement to spend New Year's Eve together, Annuo hadn't come to see me again. People can be so contradictory sometimes—when she was around, I found her annoying; but when she wasn't bothering me, I actually missed her a little.
In the blink of an eye, the end of the year arrived. One afternoon, as I was buried in my books in my bedroom, a commotion suddenly erupted in the living room, followed by Beibei's delighted cry: "Mom, you're back~!"
My mind went blank with shock and joy. Without a second thought, I threw down my pen and rushed out of the room.
Mom was standing in the living room, tightly hugged by Beibei, her face expressionless. Dad was carrying large and small bags of luggage, as if he had just returned from a business trip.
It had been almost a month since I last saw Mom, and of course, I was overjoyed. I wanted to hug her excitedly, just like my sister.
But I didn't dare. I could only stand at the bedroom door, watching them from a distance.
Mom held Beibei with one arm, gently patting her head. When she turned and saw me, her expression instantly darkened.
Dad said with a smile, "Don't just stand there. Take a rest—you haven't been home for so long." Then he turned to me and said, "What are you standing there for? Come and help."
I responded softly, lowered my head, and walked over, murmuring a quiet "Mom." Mom seemed not to hear me, not even glancing my way. Feeling awkward, I helped Dad unpack the luggage.
Dad personally cooked a lavish dinner to welcome Mom home.
At the dinner table, Mom sat as still as a statue, neither eating, drinking, nor speaking. She didn't even show any expression on her face.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Dad was the first to raise his glass, smiling as he said, "There's been some trouble at home lately, and your mom... she's been away for a while. Today, I finally managed to bring her back. As a family, living together, it's inevitable that we'll have our bumps and clashes. But in the end, we have to weather the storms together. Whatever difficulties we face, let's get through them together, okay?"
"Okay~!" Beibei excitedly raised her glass filled with juice. But seeing Mom's stern face, showing no reaction at all, and me hesitating, wanting to raise my glass but not daring to, her enthusiasm alone felt awkward.
Dad quickly tried to smooth things over, chuckling awkwardly, "Look, the child is welcoming you back. You... this isn't good."
Mom remained silent for a moment, let out a heavy sigh through her nose, and picked up the glass in front of her. Dad gave me a look, and I quickly raised mine too.
"Cheers~!"
With a clink, the four glasses came together. As I sipped my juice, I secretly glanced at Mom beside me. Her face was still expressionless, cold and a little frightening.
Dad and Beibei took turns serving food to Mom. Mom accepted everything without showing any gratitude. After hesitating for a long time, I mustered up the courage to pick up a piece of dried tofu and carefully placed it in Mom's bowl. Without even looking, she picked it out and dropped it onto the table.
The somewhat cheerful atmosphere instantly froze.
I lowered my head, not daring to speak. Beibei looked confused, glancing at me and then at Mom, her eyes filled with curiosity. She wanted to ask but didn't dare.
At times like this, Dad would usually step in to smooth things over. He cleared his throat, grinned at Mom, and said, "Oh, come on, it's your own son. No matter how big a mistake he made, you can't just disown him." Then he turned to me and said, "Hurry up, apologize to your mom."
I quickly seized the opportunity Dad gave me. Holding the glass with one hand and supporting it with the other, I respectfully raised it to Mom. My voice was soft but sincere and respectful as I said, "Mom, I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Please don't be angry. Just forgive me this once."
Mom kept her cold face, not even glancing at me. I stood there holding the glass for a full three minutes. Dad couldn't take it anymore and whispered, "Be more sincere."
I quickly left my seat, knelt before Mom with both hands holding the glass, and said in a trembling, tearful voice, "Mom, I really didn't mean it. I really know I was wrong. Please forgive your son just this once."
Mom remained motionless, sitting there as the dinner atmosphere dropped to freezing point.
I kept praying in my heart, hoping Mom would forgive me, but she didn't even look at me.
Tears welled up in my eyes and began to flow uncontrollably.
Finally, with no other choice, Dad sighed, helped me up from the floor, and muttered, "What on earth did our son do to make you so angry? You could let go of what happened with me, so why... can't you let go of what happened with our son?"
Mom grabbed her glass and slammed it heavily on the table, splashing juice everywhere.
Dad was so startled he immediately fell silent, awkwardly frozen for a moment before suddenly remembering something. He turned to me and said, "Right, hurry up and tell your mom about your exam results."
I fought back my tears, choking out, "I... I got tenth place."
Mom, who had been ignoring me all this time, suddenly asked coldly, "Tenth in your grade?"
"C-class... class tenth." Seeing Mom finally speak, I was so excited I could barely get the words out.
"And what right do you have to boast about that here?" Mom's voice remained icy, but to my ears, it felt like a spring breeze, as pleasant as the song of an oriole.
Though Mom didn't say anything more, the awkward silence was finally broken. Dad returned to his seat and said with a smile, "There's one more thing I want to announce. This Spring Festival, our whole family is going abroad for a vacation."
Beibei jumped up excitedly, her hands braced on the table, unable to hide her joy. "Really? Dad, you're not lying to us, are you?"
Dad smiled. "Really, really. Our family has had too many troubles this year. It's time we went out to relax."
Beibei clapped her hands excitedly. "That's great, Dad, I love you. Even though I don't know exactly what troubles our family has faced, I think we really should go out and unwind."
I stole a glance at Mom. She was still sitting upright, her face expressionless. But no matter what, at least I had gotten her to speak, and that was a breakthrough.
Two days later, our whole family prepared to travel to Latia Island. Beibei had been excited from the moment Dad made the announcement, and right up until we left, she was still bouncing around the house like a little rabbit.
Then again, she was the only one who didn't know what had happened in our family. It was hard to imagine what expression she would have when she found out she had gained a younger sister—it would surely be quite a sight.
Imagining the comical scene, I couldn't help but laugh. Beibei turned and glared at me. "What are you laughing at?"
"I wasn't laughing."
"You clearly were."
"I wasn't." I deliberately put on a stern face.
Beibei turned to Dad to complain. "Dad, he's laughing at me."
"Come on, hurry up and pack. We're going to miss the flight," Dad urged as he packed the luggage.
Beibei then turned to Mom. "Mom, he's laughing at me."
Mom seemed not to have heard at all, sitting on the sofa folding clothes into the suitcase.
Seeing that no one paid her any attention, Beibei deflated a little and muttered softly, "Why does it feel like the atmosphere at home is weird?"
Our family rushed to catch the flight. Throughout the journey, Mom remained distant and unresponsive toward me, and I couldn't feel happy either. Only Beibei was in high spirits.
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