The next day I stayed at home with my mother. Someone rang the doorbell in the middle of the morning. I opened the door and saw my father standing outside. His hair was disheveled, his shirt was wrinkled, and he looked sad, as if he was the one who was hurt the most.
I kept silent and let my father in. I didn't know when my mother had come downstairs. She rushed over and gave my father a hard push. My father staggered and stood still. "I'm sorry, Xiaorong. I think there's some misunderstanding."
The mother yelled, and then scolded him harshly, each word was sharp, but very logical. She had been preparing for this battle for a long time. The father's face became more and more ugly, and suddenly he yelled, "Enough! ... Jiang Xiaorong, what do you want?"
I couldn't help but shudder. I never remembered my father being so angry.
"You tell me what I want, you tell me what I want?" His mother rushed over and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Look at what you have done! You are just making a big deal out of nothing!" The father pulled the mother's hands away, pointed at her face, and was furious.
The mother was stunned for a moment, then stopped, turned around and rushed into the study. She dug out a stack of seven-inch photos from somewhere and threw them at the father's face. The pieces of paper fell to the floor with a rustling sound. "Look at what you have done."
My father bent down to pick it up, and I saw his panicked face. I picked up one and was shocked. It was a close photo of Cao Lingxi and my father. They were sitting in a car, face to face, as if kissing. The photo was taken from the back of the car and taken five months ago. I didn't expect that my mother had already suspected it and secretly caught my father's handle. They were much smarter than I thought. Only I was still their child.
"You investigated me!" My father pointed at my mother's nose and said harshly, but she did not back down and looked at him with extreme irony. The two of them were like a pair of enemies, tit for tat, and their years of affection were gone. I was horrified and hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade them, but my father raised his arm and pulled me away.
"I want her to apologize to me! Get out of Chongqing." The mother shouted angrily.
"It's too much. It's impossible!"
"You never change your bad habits..."
My father slammed the door and left. As he was about to leave, a sofa cushion fell on his back, but it did not stop him. My mother fell into the black leather sofa and sank deeply into it. I suddenly realized that she was thin.
They couldn't stand each other anymore. The tender love they once had was worn away little by little with the passing of time. That incident many years ago made me believe that even if their love died, there was still affection and tolerance in their hearts. Now, even this little bit is gone.
I knew that the war at home had just begun, and I felt deeply guilty. I knew about this two months ago, but failed to stop the situation from developing in time. Zhao Qinqin was a timid daughter.
My father hadn't come home for two days. My mother seemed to have calmed down a lot. She would calm down after each hysterical outburst. She knew that he had left our lives, and what was left was resentment and resentment. I couldn't help but recall my father's betrayal many years ago. My mother was greatly shocked. She threw things, cried, and sometimes took it out on me. I often felt that I couldn't stand or sit. Now, her way of dealing with it is completely different, and I feel inexplicably worried.
On the third day, I went to work and met Li Shuming again in the tea room. He was brewing a cup of black tea with his back to me. His back was solid, tall and reliable. I was just hesitating about how to greet him, but he turned around and smiled at me, "Are you feeling better?"
It seemed like he was asking me, and also like he was concerned about my mother. I nodded.
"Don't worry, this inspection is complete. You don't have to work overtime in the next two days."
"Thank you, indeed."
"Zhao Qinqin, are you always so polite?" Li Shuming knew that I was still talking about what happened the day before yesterday, so he raised his eyebrows at me with a relaxed expression.
I suddenly felt like spring breeze.
When I got home from get off work that day, I saw my mother leaning in the study, deep in thought, as if she was preparing for a long battle. I knocked on the door gently, walked in and called her, "Mom."
My mother turned around and smiled at me, the bitterness in her mouth was clear, "It's time to get off work."
I hummed.
My mother twitched her lips, as if she wanted to say something. I looked into her eyes and said, "Mom, I have something to tell you."
The mother nodded and said, "It was a huge disgrace that day, and your leader saw it."
She was still concerned about her reputation, but she didn't seem to have the desire to confide her sorrow to me. "Did you hear people talking about you at work today?"
I shook my head. "No, he shouldn't be that kind of person."
"Invite Li Shuming to our house for dinner this weekend." Mother was actually very happy.
My mouth dropped open, she actually had the mind to plan such a thing, "Ah."
"Shouldn't we thank him?" my mother asked me.
"No, no, what I mean is that their business trip is short and they will be returning to Beijing soon."
"Tomorrow, then."
"I'll leave tomorrow."
My mother looked at me meaningfully and slowly walked into the room.
I gasped. It was a blessing that he didn't laugh at the ugly things happening at home. Besides, we were not familiar with each other, so how could I say anything
The next day when I went to work, I heard Qiufang and another colleague in the office talking together. One of them sighed, "Hey! These guys are finally leaving." "They're so annoying."
I knew who they were talking about, so I sat aside and listened without saying anything. Li Shuming and his friends were going back to Beijing, but it was impossible for me to invite him to my house for a visit.
I received a call from Li Shuming in the afternoon, asking me to meet him in a conference room. "Auntie invited me to your home tonight."
I was shocked that my mother would take the trouble to say this. "Really? It's too much trouble for you." I stammered.
"That's just a piece of cake. You don't have to keep it in mind all the time." Li Shuming looked at me, his brows emitting heroic spirit. I suddenly found that he had a kind of calmness that young people didn't have.
"My mother likes it this way. If you can't leave for something, I'll tell her."
"I have time." Li Shuming grinned, showing his white teeth. He should not be a person who likes to smoke or drink. But this answer was completely beyond my expectation.
I was stunned for a few seconds. How could there be such a man? In just a few days, he had found out the secrets of the Zhao family and became a guest of honor. Coupled with his leadership status, I suddenly felt a lot of pressure.
"I'll wait for you after get off work."
"You go back first, I'll leave later. It seems that your aunt hasn't told you about this." Li Shuming actually blinked at me, and that look contained a lot of deep meaning.
But this was not a beautiful encounter. On the way home, I was in a state of confusion. What kind of weirdo was this? He was obviously a very experienced man. Could he be a veteran who had been in the martial arts world for many years? (To be continued)