Chapter 158

A five-hour flight.

Landing in Haishi, Shen Li dragged her suitcase, followed Yu Lizhen to the parking lot, put the luggage in the trunk, and took the initiative to sit in the back seat.

The front passenger seat was Shen Zhaozhao's exclusive spot. Ever since elementary school, because of one comment about motion sickness, Shen Li hadn't sat in the front for all these years.

After Shen Zhaozhao sat in her spot and closed the car door, her tone was intimate and carried a hint of being spoiled: "Mom, when is Dad coming home today? Sister is back, let's go out to eat."

Shen Li looked out the car window and didn't speak.

Yu Lizhen was driving: "Restaurants outside aren't very clean. I'll go buy groceries in a bit, we'll eat at home."

"Okay, I'll listen to Mom."

At this time, Shen Zhaozhao suddenly happily told Yu Lizhen a piece of good news: "By the way, Mom, the computer programming competition I signed up for last time, our group won first place for creativity."

Yu Lizhen smiled: "Mom knew you could do it."

"Did you tell your dad about this?"

Shen Zhaozhao: "I did. Dad even gave me a thousand yuan in pocket money; he said it was to reward me."

Yu Lizhen's tone softened a bit, and the topic shifted slightly: "Mom means, have you been back to your hometown to see your dad? His health hasn't been very good lately."

When this sentence was spoken, no one noticed that the expression on Shen Zhaozhao's face became a bit stiff, but it was fleeting and disappeared quickly. She pretended to be calm and happy as she said: "Yeah. I've already told my dad, too. I plan to prepare to go back and see him during the New Year."

Yu Lizhen continued to urge her: "Even though your dad has remarried, no matter what... he still has a blood relationship with you. You should go back and see your dad at least once."

Shen Zhaozhao gripped the seatbelt tightly: "Okay, Mom, I'll remember."

Shen Li listened quietly to their conversation and didn't make a sound. In front of them... she couldn't get a word in anyway, so she simply didn't say anything.

When they returned to that familiar home, Shen Zhaozhao pressed her fingerprint to unlock it and trotted over to flop onto the sofa. "Phew~ finally home. It's still most comfortable in one's own home."

Yu Lizhen waited until her attention was on the other daughter.

Shen Li didn't say a word, just dragged her suitcase back to her room, then gently closed the door, shutting out the sounds from outside.

Touching the switch on the wall, looking at this cramped room that didn't let in air or sunlight, a familiar sense of oppression surged up.

It was no different from when she left.

The room was still clean and tidy, and the sheets and quilt cover on her bed had been changed to new ones.

She took a simple look, then took the clothes out of her suitcase and organized them one by one. When she opened the wardrobe to hang them up, she found a few extra pieces of clothing inside, still with the tags on.

In the corner, there was also her high school uniform.

Looking at these extra clothes, Shen Li just gave them a casual glance; she didn't have much of a feeling inside.

She sighed slightly in her heart, a trace of imperceptible fatigue flitting by.

It was probably more clothes Shen Zhaozhao had bought online, tried on, didn't like, and shoved to her.

It was always like this; Shen Li was used to it.

Her luggage didn't have many things either; besides a few books, it was just the few clothes she usually wore, nothing else.

After she finished tidying up, her bag was placed on the desk, and the phone that had run out of battery and shut down was also put into the drawer.

She sat at the desk and took out the national exam papers for the math competition from her bag.

Just then, the room door was opened.

Shen Li turned her head to look: "Is there something you need?"

Seeing that cold, expressionless gaze, Yu Lizhen's heart was still stung: "I'm going to buy groceries with your sister. What do you want to eat tonight?"

Shen Li moved her gaze away from her again and landed on the papers: "Anything is fine."

She had never had a say in buying groceries or cooking at home. Even if she said something, it was useless; she would only cook the meals Shen Zhaozhao liked.

"Since you're back, study well for your retake. Don't be half-hearted and make friends with some messy people. Give your phone to Mom; I'll keep it for you for the time being. During this winter break, for the courses you've fallen behind on, once my school is on break in a couple of days, I'll find a good tutoring class to help you review your past knowledge."

Shen Li looked up: "I bought that phone with money I earned through my own ability; I won't give it to you. As for the retake, I don't need a tutoring class. You can put your focus on Shen Zhaozhao; I don't need you to manage me."

These words instantly caused a wave of anger to surge into Yu Lizhen's chest, and even her tone became stiff: "Been out for a few months and your wings have gotten stiff? You dare talk to me like this now!"

"Don't think I don't know what you want to do by keeping that phone!"

"You must hand the phone over to me."

Saying this, she directly took action, starting to search through her bag. When she didn't find it, she opened the drawer and finally found that somewhat old phone.

Shen Li didn't stop her actions, watching helplessly as she took the phone away.

"I'm telling you, when you retake the exam and get recommended to Qingbei, I'll give the phone back to you." Yu Lizhen gripped the phone and said angrily, "Before that, you aren't allowed to do anything else."

Shen Li lowered her head, staring at the test paper pressed under her hand. The fingers holding the pen pressed down with increasing force, and she said in a very light voice: "I want to participate in the math competition."

Yu Lizhen's footsteps as she turned to leave paused: "Zhaozhao needs to study abroad, which requires a lot of money. There will be other opportunities for the math competition! What you need to do now is focus on preparing for your retake!"

Shen Li pressed her lips into a faint arc and told her: "I don't want to retake!"

Yu Lizhen didn't respond to her, and the next moment she slammed the door shut with a loud "bang."

Only dead silence remained in the room.

Shen Li only felt as if a heavy stone were pressing on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

Evening.

Yu Lizhen made a table full of dishes. The atmosphere was slightly stiff. Shen Zhaozhao was scrolling through her phone while eating, watching short videos.

Yu Lizhen: "Zhaozhao, have you messaged your dad?"

Shen Zhaozhao said without even lifting her head: "I've already called Dad. He said he has to supervise the evening self-study at school tonight, so he won't be coming back."

No one noticed Yu Lizhen's ugly expression: "Okay."

After dinner, Shen Li stayed in her room and didn't go out.

Yu Lizhen didn't pay her any mind, and didn't even come in to see her. In the room that wasn't soundproof, separated by a wall, she could hear her mother in the room next door, in Shen Zhaozhao's bedroom, asking her with concern about some things at Qingbei University, caring for her in every detail, afraid she wouldn't be used to the food in Di Du.

Listening to these conversations, she felt more like an outsider in this family.

Ten-thirty at night.

Shen Li, who had already fallen into a light sleep, heard voices outside the room door.

Yu Lizhen: "A-Li is back."

"So she's back," Shen Wenqing's voice was nonchalant, even carrying a hint of impatient perfunctoriness. "She's such a big person, she won't get lost. Besides going to Mom's, where else could she go? Mom can take good care of her."

"A-Li has been gone for so many days, aren't you worried at all?"

"Mom already called me earlier and said A-Li was with her, telling me not to worry." Shen Wenqing's voice remained flat.

"You knew A-Li was in Wuchuan, why didn't you tell me!"