Chapter 285: Li Wanran’s Question |
“Is that so.”
Hearing her son’s response, Li Wanran withdrew the box containing the fountain pen. Then, as if she were tossing away something trivial, she casually flung the beautifully wrapped box to the side.
It landed with a thud.
Liu Zhiyue’s eyes followed the box before returning to her emotionless face. He didn’t want to waste any more time on this pointless encounter.
“Is there anything else? If not, I’m going back to class.”
“What do you want now?”
“What?”
“I’m asking, what gift do you want right now? I can buy it for you.”
Listening to her words, Liu Zhiyue stayed silent for a moment. Then, a deep sense of helplessness rose in his heart.
Always thinking that others would be happy just because she offered them favors.
Like a child who never grew up.
Looking at Li Wanran’s face, it hadn't changed a bit from his memory, yet to Liu Zhiyue, she seemed to be growing further and further away from him.
When he was young, he used to do things on purpose just to get his mother’s attention. But whether he did good or bad, she always had the same indifferent expression.
In those eyes of hers, it seemed like there was never room for anyone.
And this woman... was his biological mother.
His hands slowly clenched into fists. Liu Zhiyue shifted his gaze away and looked up at the night sky.
Tonight was so dark.
“What I want now… is just a complete family.”
“…”
It took Li Wanran quite a while to process her son’s answer. His words clearly caught her off guard.
When she looked at her son again, she could clearly sense that there was something new in his eyes.
Something called unfamiliarity.
“Pick something else.”
“I don’t have anything I want anymore. And even if I did, it would’ve been something I wanted as a child. As I’ve grown up, what I want has changed.”
Looking at Li Wanran in front of him, Liu Zhiyue continued.
“When I was in first grade, I wanted a toy, and you told me to go ask Dad. In third grade, I wanted to play marbles with my classmates, and you told me not to play with poor kids. In fifth grade, I fell behind in my studies and said I wanted a fountain pen, but you said you didn’t have time and told me to ask Dad again…”
He paused, taking a deep breath, then went on.
“Since then, I never asked you for anything. Now I’m in the third year of middle school, and suddenly you remember to buy me a fountain pen? But what I wanted back then wasn’t a pen… I just wanted to talk to you a little more.”
“Zhiyue…”
“When I was young, while my classmates chatted about where their parents were taking them on the weekends, I stayed quiet. Just because I didn’t like banquets and parties, and because I would always act like a fool and stay silent at those events, you simply stopped taking me.”
“In my memory, I’ve never had a complete home.”
“…”
“So… if you came today just to make up for something, I think it’s enough. After all, when you divorced Dad, you didn’t choose me or Xiazhi.”
“…”
Li Wanran listened to every word without missing a beat. As her son spoke, the scenes from the past slowly resurfaced in her mind.
But… they were blurry. She couldn’t remember them clearly.
All she knew was, just as her son said, little Liu Zhiyue really did those things…
But she couldn’t recall the details.
Standing in front of her, Liu Zhiyue himself wasn’t even sure what he was expecting.
Maybe, he just wanted to hear this proud and distant person say one thing.
Even something as simple as—
“I’m sorry.”
Time ticked away.
The mother and son stood there, motionless, like a frozen painting.
Until, in the quiet schoolyard, Li Wanran finally broke the silence.
“Is An Yuanyao… living with you now?”
His eyes widened sharply. Liu Zhiyue stared at the expressionless Li Wanran, and the last shred of hope in his heart completely crumbled.
His head lowered as he stared at his feet.
Liu Zhiyue suddenly felt like laughing.
It was like he wanted to laugh at himself, laugh at how he ever held the slightest hope for this person.
It seemed… she didn’t even come today just to give him a gift.
This must have been her real purpose all along…
The feeling of disappointment flooded Liu Zhiyue’s entire being. When he lifted his head again, there wasn’t even a trace of hope left in his eyes as he looked at Li Wanran.
He looked at her as if she were a complete stranger.
He said softly,
“Not only is she living with us, she and Dad registered their marriage. Just today.”
The news of Liu Changqing and An Yuanyao registering their marriage had been told to him and his sister two days ago. The two siblings, already used to this patched-together family of four, didn’t find it surprising.
To Liu Zhiyue, it was only a matter of time…
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that Li Wanran could no longer maintain her usual facade. Her expression finally changed.
This was the first time Liu Zhiyue had ever seen shock on her face.
What shocked Li Wanran was hearing directly from her son that the two had already registered their marriage.
If it was just cohabiting, Li Wanran might not have reacted this way.
What she never expected was that the two of them had actually gone and registered.
They had become legally married, just like how she and Li Chongming had once been legally married.
She was confused, deeply confused. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out why An Yuanyao would do this. In terms of time spent with Liu Changqing, she had far more than An Yuanyao.
For over ten years, she had never thought there was anything attractive about Liu Changqing. So why would An Yuanyao, who had grown up with her, fall for someone so ordinary?
What was she thinking?
Surely, An Yuanyao knew that if she was marrying Liu Changqing just to get back at her, it wouldn’t make her uncomfortable in the slightest.
If that’s the case… what was An Yuanyao’s real intention?
Just like when she went to visit Li Chongming in the hospital, these past few days, this question had been on Li Wanran’s mind.
That was exactly why she didn’t go home after leaving the hospital.
Instead, she came straight to her long-unseen son’s school—
Because what she truly wanted was to get the information she was looking for.
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