An Yuanyao noticed the dust on Liu Changqing's clothes and the strong smell of smoke.

But she didn't say anything, just fetched him fresh clothes to change into.

The children were eating.

Zhou Shiyan and Liu Xiazhi were among them.

After these past few days, their daughter's mental state seemed to have improved somewhat, but the sorrow in her expression remained unchanged.

When Zhou Shiyan saw Liu Changqing, she stood up to greet him.

After nodding in acknowledgment, he asked her:

"Is Zhiyue still in his room?"

"Yes..."

Zhou Shiyan's response sounded troubled too.

Hearing this, Liu Changqing didn't join them for the meal. Instead, he took two bottles of baijiu from the shelf and fetched two glasses from the kitchen.

He headed toward his son's room.

Everyone at the dining table saw this, but no one said a word.

Liu Xiazhi just silently watched as her father reached her brother's door.

After knocking a few times, he pushed the door open and entered.

Upon entering, Liu Changqing immediately saw his son standing by the window instead of resting in bed.

Using his foot to close the door behind him, Liu Changqing walked straight to his son's side.

He placed the baijiu and glasses on the table.

Opening the bottle, he filled both glasses.

"Have a drink with me."

"......"

Liu Zhiyue said nothing.

He just looked silently at his father for a long moment before picking up his glass and downing it in one gulp.

Liu Changqing did the same.

There was no clinking of glasses between father and son.

No verbal communication whatsoever.

Just silently...

One glass after another.

The atmosphere grew somewhat peculiar. After finishing one bottle, Liu Changqing, who wasn't much of a drinker, naturally began feeling lightheaded.

But he still persevered, slowly making his way to sit on the edge of the bed.

Liu Zhiyue, however, seemed relatively unaffected.

Father and son remained in the room together, neither choosing to speak.

Until... Liu Changqing's voice broke the silence.

"Son."

"......"

"I'm sorry..."

Perhaps emboldened by alcohol, Liu Changqing apologized to his son for the loss of his birth mother.

Hearing his father's apology, Liu Zhiyue slowly turned to look at him.

After a long pause, he said:

"Dad, this isn't your fault..."

As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly.

Looking down at his feet.

"I've been thinking a lot these past few days. Maybe I was being too naive."

"......"

"Now we have a new family. I have younger siblings too. Time only moves forward, but Mother... she remained stuck in the past. Even though I visited her often, I couldn't stay with her for long. Maybe she'd been having these thoughts for a while, and I just never noticed..."

"Zhiyue..."

"Dad..."

Calling out like this, Liu Zhiyue took a few steps forward until he reached the bed.

He sat down beside his father.

Lifting his head, he took a deep breath.

"Actually, when I was little, I really envied my classmates. Because they could act spoiled with their teachers... with their mothers..."

"......"

"But I could never do that. From childhood, her parenting taught me never to show weakness. Maybe she was too young herself back then. So from very early on, I felt our family was different from others..."

"......"

"After you married Aunt An, I kept thinking... how nice it would have been if she'd been my mother from the start. But that was just wishful thinking."

Glancing at his father, Liu Zhiyue's eyes reddened again.

Forcing a smile as he looked at his father, he spoke with a slightly choked voice:

"So... please don't blame yourself, Dad... You didn't do anything wrong..."

"Zhiyue..."

Looking at his son saying these words, Liu Changqing found himself speechless.

In the end, this young man barely in his twenties finally broke down crying in front of his father.

Even as he wept, he tried comforting his father, saying life must go on.

Seeing his son clearly devastated yet still trying to comfort him, Liu Changqing reached out and hugged him tightly.

Just as his own father once had, he said softly:

"Don't cry. Men shouldn't shed tears easily... And don't keep all your grievances to yourself. Dad's here. Tell me everything..."

With his father's words, Liu Zhiyue completely lost control, crying loudly.

He poured out all his thoughts and true feelings to his father.

His regrets.

Why hadn't he spent more time with her?

Why hadn't he come back sooner?

Why... had she chosen to end her life?

Even though she'd made many mistakes in her life, even though she'd caused her children wounds that couldn't be healed...

She was still their mother.

She had still given birth to them both.

Listening to his son's cries, Liu Changqing felt as if he'd returned to the day he first arrived in this world.

Only this time it was different.

The one crying wasn't his daughter, but his son.

It began with her.

And ended with her.

Death had washed away her sins.

Cleansed the wrongs she'd committed.

Erased the hatred others held for her.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Changqing realized for the first time how...

Changeable human beings are.

How...

Fragile.

——————————————

Three months later.

Early in the morning, Liu Xiazhi was in a complete panic. After rushing downstairs, she headed straight to their garage.

Getting into the already running car, she climbed into the front passenger seat.

Three children sat in the back.

An Yuanyao gripped the steering wheel nervously.

"Mom, hurry! I'm going to be late for my competition!"

Hearing her daughter's urgency, An Yuanyao grew even more nervous, fumbling with the gearshift as she tried to back out of the garage.

Having just obtained her driver's license two months ago, she could now drive on the road.

Though not very skilled yet, by driving slowly she'd managed to avoid any accidents so far.

Upon arriving at the venue, Liu Xiazhi grabbed her things and hurried toward the backstage area.

Meanwhile, An Yuanyao parked the car and took the three noisy children into the venue.

Finding their assigned seats, she had them sit neatly in a row.

The three children were visibly excited.

They knew exactly how long their sister had been preparing for this competition.

Even while other performers were still on stage, the children kept asking their mother when their sister would appear.

To avoid disturbing others, An Yuanyao had to repeatedly remind them to be quiet.

Time passed minute by minute.

Until Liu Xiazhi finally took the stage.

The moment they saw their sister appear, all three children jumped up from their seats simultaneously, waving their arms wildly trying to catch Liu Xiazhi's attention on stage.

Startled by this, An Yuanyao quickly stood up to stop the children's antics.

She apologized profusely to those around them.

The children finally settled down.

Their attention now fully focused on the stage.

An Yuanyao did the same.

As the music started, Liu Xiazhi began her dance performance on stage.

Watching her daughter's dance...

An Yuanyao's memories drifted back to her younger days...

That year, Li Wanran had danced the exact same routine...

Just like Xiazhi on stage now.

————————————

University campus.

Just after class, as Liu Zhiyue and Zhou Shiyan prepared to leave the classroom, they found themselves blocked at the door once again.

Only this time, his face showed surprise.

Looking at the grinning woman before him.

He smiled.

Seeing Liu Zhiyue smile, Zhao Xuanwen standing in front of them waved her hand in greeting.

Then she suddenly grabbed Zhou Shiyan's arm.

With a mischievous expression, she said cheerfully:

"Hehe, surprised you, didn't I!"

[The End]