Chapter 56: A Mother

Zhu Guangfa always appeared simple-minded in front of Du Xiuzhi, but that was only the demeanor he showed to the one he loved; he was not stupid.

He was not as innocent as an underage child, nor did he possess the fresh-faced foolishness of a recent college graduate.

He had entered society in his teens and did not believe in love without reason in this world.

Every surprise and gain must come with a price paid.

That was why he had spoken those words, filled with worry.

Upon hearing this, Du Xiuzhi rolled her eyes at him and said, "Nonsense, don't slander Mr. Shen here. You don't know how formidable Mr. Shen is; he is simply kind-hearted and pities us."

Zhu Guangfa scratched his head; clearly, Du Xiuzhi's words had not convinced him.

Du Xiuzhi sighed and explained again, "What do you think Mr. Shen could possibly want from you?"

Zhu Guangfa looked at Du Xiuzhi.

Du Xiuzhi instantly understood his thoughts; if she were still alive, her face would probably be flushed red with anger.

"What nonsense are you thinking? With Mr. Shen's ability, if he truly had any ill intentions toward me, he could simply abduct me and would never let me return to see you."

"Xiuzhi, don't be angry; I watch too much television; it's mainly the influence of TV." Zhu Guangfa hurriedly apologized.

Du Xiuzhi glanced at him and then said, "Later, buy some things, and when Mr. Shen gets off work, we will go together to properly thank him."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Guangfa immediately broke into a brilliant smile.

He knew perfectly well that his wife was trying to reassure him.

Zhu Tingting had just arrived at school and taken out her textbooks when she saw the teacher enter from outside the door.

The originally noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

"Zhu Tingting," the teacher called out while standing at the doorway.

Upon hearing this, the students' gazes all instantly turned to Zhu Tingting.

Zhu Tingting's face instantly turned crimson, and she became at a loss for what to do.

"Your father is looking for you; he is waiting for you at the entrance." Upon hearing this, Zhu Tingting hurriedly stood up.

"Take your schoolbag too; your father has requested leave for you."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tingting hurriedly packed the textbooks and stationery she had just taken out back into her schoolbag.

Because the students kept watching her, her face burned intensely; she felt prickly all over and hurried out of the classroom. She stumbled, nearly falling, which caused another round of laughter from the classmates.

From far away, she could still hear the students discussing.

Is her father really a member of the triad?

Will her father be escorted by the police to see her one last time?

Will her father be holding a knife, hacking from the south of the city to the north?

Zhu Tingting felt both aggrieved and angry in her heart.

Carrying her schoolbag, she hurried to the school gate and indeed saw her father straddling an electric scooter, waiting outside the gate.

At this moment, students were still entering the campus, so she walked over in a huff.

Suppressing her anger, she spoke in a very unpleasant tone, "What are you doing here?"

"Hehe, I requested leave for you from the teacher; we are going home today so the whole family can gather properly."

"I don't want to take leave; don't come looking for me at my school."

Zhu Tingting sniffled, tears swirling in her eyes, but she did not notice a faint blue aura being inhaled into her abdomen.

"You shouldn't speak to your father like that," a gentle voice said from beside her.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tingting could no longer suppress the anger in her heart and, with tears flowing, said, "I will speak like that; what do you care..."

Then she froze, staring blankly at the woman before her who was gazing at her gently.

"It's okay, but why are you crying all of a sudden?" Zhu Guangfa, somewhat at a loss, didn't know how to comfort his daughter.

"Mom... Mom?" Zhu Tingting stammered.

"What, don't you recognize your mother anymore?"

Du Xiuzhi's voice also trembled slightly as she spoke, holding back her tears.

"Mom..." The schoolbag in Zhu Tingting's hands dropped to the ground, and she threw herself directly into Du Xiuzhi's arms.

Zhu Guangfa hurriedly got off the electric scooter, picked up his daughter's schoolbag, and half-embraced her, saying, "Let's talk when we get back, let's talk when we get back..."

People came and went at the school gate, and since others couldn't see Du Xiuzhi, Zhu Tingting's behavior would make people think she had a mental problem.

But with Zhu Guangfa's embrace, others would only think she was hugging her father while crying.

"Yes, let's talk when we get home." Du Xiuzhi gently patted her daughter's back.

Sorrow and tenderness filled her heart, causing her tears to fall unconsciously, then vanish quickly like water droplets under the scorching sun.

Zhu Tingting held her schoolbag, standing on the footboard; her father held her in his arms, using his two legs to block both sides, while her mother sat on the rear seat, and the family headed home.

This made Zhu Tingting recall when she was very young; her parents often took her out to play like this.

She chattered nonstop in front, while her mother held her father's waist, resting her chin on his shoulder, talking with her.

Zhu Tingting felt somewhat dazed; time seemed to flow backward, and everything was merely a dream of hers.

She kept looking back, seeing her mother always meet her gaze with a warm smile.

"Mom~"

Zhu Tingting called out softly and instinctively lifted the hand holding her schoolbag higher, blocking her chest; this was actually a sign of great insecurity.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

Du Xiuzhi rested her chin on Zhu Guangfa's shoulder.

"Dad smells bad; it's all sweat and sour odor," Zhu Tingting said.

"No, your father says this is the scent of a man," Du Xiuzhi said.

Zhu Guangfa burst into laughter at these words, and Zhu Tingting's lips also curved slightly upward, revealing a faint smile.

"Mom... I... I..."

Neither Zhu Guangfa nor Du Xiuzhi spoke; both waited quietly.

Zhu Tingting finally mustered her courage and said, "Mom, I missed you very much."

"Mom missed you too."

Du Xiuzhi reached across Zhu Guangfa and touched her daughter's cheek.

The motorcycle moved slowly, there were few people on the road, a gentle breeze brushed past, and the afternoon sunlight bathed the three of them...

They all wished it could go on like this forever.

But every road has an end, and they finally rode to the foot of their building.

Zhu Tingting couldn't wait to get off the motorcycle and reached out to pull her mother.

Then she let out a long sigh of relief.

"What's wrong?"

Du Xiuzhi reached out and smoothed a strand of hair from her temple.

"I was afraid I was dreaming, but, Mom, why... why..."

When her mother passed away, she was already five years old; although she was still in kindergarten at the time, she already knew what death was.

She saw her mother being wheeled out of the ward.

She saw her mother lying on the funeral bier, her face pale and devoid of any color.

She saw her mother being pushed into the crematorium.

They said Mom was dead; she would never have a mother again.

She just kept crying...

Since then, she had never seen her mother again.

But now, Mom had reappeared before her.

Mom bent down and gently tapped her nose.

"That's a secret," Mom said with a soft laugh.

She became even more curious.

At that moment, Dad parked the car, walked over, and said, "Let's go home."