Chapter 1
I was gently woken from my sweet s leep by someone stroking my face. They squinted at the window and looked out, b ut it was still pitch black. The lights in the room weren't on. They fumbled for my ph one to check the time.
I felt something soft and warm. It w as a hand. I didn't press it. I kept touchin git and finally touched it. I lazily held it in front of my eyes and glanced at it. It was 3:20 in the morning. Holy crap, who's so mean?
Wait a minute, only my mom and I ar e in this house. Could it be that a thief br oke in?
My left hand frantically searched for the light switch. With a "click," the light tu rned on, the glare so bright I didn't want t o open my eyes.
Suddenly I was pulled up, and then I felt as if I had entered a warm embrace fi lled with the fragrance of jasmine.
Opening my tired eyes, I saw a head of smooth, long black hair, and heard a w oman's soft sobbing. As a mother and so n who had lived together for nearly fourt een years, I knew this person in front of me all too well-my mother, Lu Ningyue.
What's wrong with Mom? Is she havi ng a nightmare?
I've never been like this before, I'm s o sleepy.
"Mom, what are you doing so late at night? I have class tomorrow."
No, it should be today.
My mother held me tightly without s aying a word, so tightly that I could hardl y breathe.
Completely bewildered, I could only gently stroke her soft, long hair. After a w hile, my mother separated from me, placi ng her hands on my shoulders. Her large, watery eyes, which had just been crying. appeared even more pitiful. Her eyelids were slightly red and swollen, her pupils were dilated, and she stared intently at m e, her lips curving upwards in a smile, loo king very excited.
I believe that any male's protective i nstincts would be strongly aroused by he r current appearance.
"Oh my, my super beautiful mom, wh at's wrong? Why are you crying here in th e middle of the night instead of sleepin g? Did you have a nightmare?"
"Pfft, hmph, Mom is happy, she's cryi
ng tears of joy, don't you understand?" "Why don't you tell me what's makin g you happy during the day? You're cryin g and laughing all the time. I just want to sleep now. I have to go to school when it gets light." After saying that, she lay back down on the bed, pulling the blanket with one hand, ready to get some rest.
"Get up quickly, get dressed, and go somewhere with Mom."
"No, I'm so sleepy." "I'll give you five minutes. Hurry up a nd get up. Wear something warmer." Afte r saying that, Mom went back to her roo
m to tidy up. I had no choice. It's the dead of wint er, and I'm trying to wake someone up. E ven though the air conditioning is on at h ome, it's so cold outside. I think a bit of a ir conditioning will blow away my sleepin
ess.
I've finished washing up, but my mo m hasn't come out for ages. I lay down on the sofa again, closed my eyes to rest, and my eyelids started t o droop.
After a while, Mom finally came out. She wore a gray trench coat over a white long-necked sweater, her long blac k hair was tied up, with a few strands falli ng on either side of her rosy cheeks. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and w as carrying a plastic bag in her hand. It w as impossible to guess what she was goi ng to do.
Let's go, hurry up!
"Mom, where are we going? It's so la te at night."
"Don't ask, you'll know when we get t here. Go put on your scarf and gloves, M om's packing a few things and we're leavi ng." The moment I opened the door, a biti ng wind whipped my face, and my sleepi ness vanished instantly.
"Hiss!" The Chinese textbook is truly not deceiving me.
Mom brought out her beloved car, a white Maserati Quattroporte that she che rished dearly and even named Little Pega
SUS.
Sitting in the passenger seat, I aske d my mom, "Mom, won't you get pulled o ver for driving while fatigued?"
"I've never felt this energetic in a sin gle day!"
After leaving our residential area, M om drove quickly towards the suburbs. A t this time of day, there were basically no other vehicles on the road.
Driving to the foot of Zipan Mountai n, the wind was stronger and it was very
cold.
After parking the car, Mom took a ba8:33 PM X
Chapter 1
After parking the car, Mom took a ba g and led me to the mountain god templ e at the foot of the mountain. She placed the offerings on the platform for worship ping the god, lit a pair of candles, three in cense sticks and paper for the sacrifice, and pulled me to bow three times to the mountain god and kowtow three times. What are you doing?
Bowing to Heaven and Earth?
My mother clasped her hands toget her and muttered something to the statu e, such as "Thank you...for returning to th e present...for educating people." I could hear her prayer clearly at the end becaus e it was quite loud.
"I pray that the gods will bless my so n with a peaceful and safe life, free from disasters and hardships. May he be hum ble and kind, and meet virtuous people. My son and I will come here to worship y ou every year."
Seeing my mother's devout expressi on, I clasped my hands together and pray ed, "I hope Mom will always be this beaut Iful and successful in her career. I hope Mom and I will never be separated."
"Xiaoyu, the gods are very powerful, don't talk nonsense in front of them."
"Isn't it supposed to be that you say whatever you think? That's exactly what I think."
"Mom will help you change it. You s wear before the gods that you will never | eave Mom no matter when or what the ci rcumstances are, and that you will never make Mom sad, or else... you'll get a spa nking.
"Isn't a bruised butt the result of bein g beaten?" I asked, puzzled.
"Oh, why do you care so much? Just say what you're told."
"Then I'll say it, may the gods bear w itness, I swear on my character as Li Cha oyu: I will definitely take good care of my mother from now on, never leave her, and never make her sad, otherwise I'll get a s panking.
Actually, I don't really understand wh at personality is, but that's how it's portra yed on TV, so I just follow suit. My wishe s are still the same, but I'm afraid my mo ther will scold me if I say them out loud, so I just silently repeat them to myself.
"Mom, does going to university coun
"You're going to university, it's not lik e you're never coming back. It's not like I'm chaining you up like a puppy. What M om is saying is true. Anyway, just don't le t your mind wander too far. Before you d o anything, remember that Mom is still b y your side, okay?"
I agreed, though I didn't quite unders tand. Then my mother told me to wait in t he car while she tidied up and did one m ore prayer before heading back. I got home around 5 p.m., and the c old air had chased away my sleepiness. I'll probably doze off in class today. Oh w ell, it's almost finals, so there's not much new knowledge to learn, just practice pro blems
What a bizarre night. I pinched myse If, and sure enough, I wasn't dreaming. "Come sleep at Mom's tonight." "Mom said calmly."
What?
I can't remember sleeping in the sa me bed with my mother when I was little. The last time I slept with her was after m y father passed away. After I turned ten, my mother said I was grown up and shou Id be independent, so I stopped sleeping In the same bed with her. And often whe n she came home in the afternoon, after dinner, she would chat with me, watch so me shows, and then go into her room an d lock the door. The house is very sound proof, so I don't know what she was doin g
Was it really a dream?
Let it be a dream. I still really like bei ng able to sleep with my mom again.
My mother's room is clean and tidy, with a warm style. There are many kinds of clothes in the wardrobe, but they are c learly categorized and each type of clothi ng is neatly placed in its place. Whether f olded or hung, they are all very neat. Ther e is a 1.8 x 2.0 cm Simmons bed with gra y sheets and blankets. There is a small c abinet on the inner side of the headboar d, and her computer is placed directly op posite the bed.
The room has a private bathroom, b ut perhaps because it's just the two of us at home, she sometimes watches TV in t he small living room upstairs after show ering, wearing her bamboo leaf patterne d bathrobe. Her hair is wrapped up, and h er fair, jade-like skin on the back of her n eck is exposed, highlighting her feminine beauty and exuding an alluring aura.
It's been a long time since I slept in t his room. Mom must have been sleeping alone in bed for a long time too. I took of f my coat and scarf and put them on Mo m's bedside table. I sprawled out on the8:33 PM X
Chapter 1
d bathrobe. Her hair is wrapped up, and h er fair, jade-like skin on the back of her n eck is exposed, highlighting her feminine beauty and exuding an alluring aura.
It's been a long time since I slept in t his room. Mom must have been sleeping alone in bed for a long time too. I took of f my coat and scarf and put them on Mo m's bedside table. I sprawled out on the bed, feeling a little excited.
Her mother hung her coat on the wal 1, took off her boots, sat on the edge of th e bed, and reached out to untie her hair ti e, letting her long, black hair fall down.
Then she slowly took off her trouser s. I have to say, watching a beautiful wo man take off her trousers is a real visual treat, even though she is my mother and even though she was wearing thermal un derwear underneath.
"Go inside a little, go sleep in there." After hearing this, I shifted my body slightly to the inside. My mother pulled th e blanket over me, and then with a "smac k, darkness engulfed me.
"Go to sleep quickly and catch up on some sleep. But once you're awake, it's not so easy to fall asleep. There are just t oo many questions today. I tried to force myself to sleep, counted sheep several ti mes, but the sheep ran to the mountain g od temple and were sacrificed. No, my th oughts are wandering too far.
"Mom, are you asleep?" I gently poke d' my mother's waist.
"Can't you sleep?" Mom asked softly.
"Hmm, something's strange today.
Why did Mom drag me out of bed so late at night to go to the mountain god templ e to pray? Can't we pray during the day? Why did we have to go at night? And why was Mom crying and laughing in my roo m so late at night?"
"Xiaoyu, do you believe in gods?" My mother threw an even more conf using question at me: Did she dream of a god and suddenly have a whim while trav eling through a fairyland?
"I don't know, there probably isn't on e, but maybe there is, somewhere I don't know. What's wrong, Mom, have you see
nit?"
"Mom has never seen it, but no one but a god could do something like that." "What's wrong?"
My mother's explanation only confu sed me more.
"It's nothing, Mom just said it casuall y. The reason Mom is taking you there so late at night is to fulfill a vow, to pray, and also because I was thinking about your f ather and grandfather. Your father was o
nly a year older than you when your gran dfather passed away. Your father was rai sed by your grandmother and your uncl e's family. Six... no, more than four years ago, your father also passed away, and t hen your grandmother couldn't bear the s hock and passed away not long after. Mo m is scared, scared that all of this is a dr eam, and that the dream will shatter whe n I wake up tomorrow. Son, do you kno
w? You are Mom's only hope. If somethin g happens to you, Mom can't go on livin g. Just now, Mom dreamed of a deity. Th at dream was so real, so real that it mad e me despair. He told Morm to take you to the mountain god temple immediately, a nd he promised you a long and peaceful I ife
So Mom was thinking of me?
"I don't know about Grandpa's case, but wasn't Dad's accident an accident? B esides, Uncle's family is doing just fine, h uh?" Mentioning my uncle makes me feel uncomfortable, not because of him, but because of his wife, who is sharp-tongue d and mean, a typical shrew.
"They are them, and you are you. Mo m doesn't ask for anything else, just that you are safe and sound. As for your uncl e and his family, well, never mind, other p eople's families are not our concern."
The mother also felt somewhat unc omfortable when her family was mention ed.
"Mom, tell me what's going on betwe en our family and theirs. Why are we acti ng like enemies instead of relatives?" Why are you asking so many questio
ns about adult matters?
"Mom, please tell me, I can't sleep if you don't."
Actually, I had this question for a lon g time, but I didn't dare to ask, and my m other naturally didn't say anything either. "You really want to hear it?" When my mother said that, I knew th
ere was a chance, so I honestly replied, "Yes, I've been thinking about it for a long time."
"Your uncle, well, to put it nicely, is a kind and honest man; to put it bluntly, he has no opinions of his own and listens to his wife in everything. When your grandfa ther passed away, your father was still yo ung, but he was a good student. Your gra ndmother was a typical rural woman wh
o couldn't afford to support your father's