True or False - Chapter 12

The phone screen went dark and then was pressed bright again by Shen Hengxi; he actually made himself laugh with the repetition. After much hesitation, he finally dialed the number. The call only rang twice before it was answered. In that moment, people on both ends of the line slowed their breathing.

“Is that you, Hengxi?” The voice on the other end was cautious.

Shen Hengxi lowered his eyes. “Mom.”

“Ah,” she replied instinctively. “Why the sudden call? Is it cold over there? How are you handling your meals?”

Hearing her voice, Shen Hengxi suddenly smiled. “Did my mom get replaced? You weren’t this gentle when I was at home.”

Lin Shiyan chuckled after a long pause. “When do you plan on coming back?”

“Miss me?” Shen Hengxi asked.

“Of course. My son ran away from home without a word; you tell me if I miss you.” Lin Shiyan paused, unable to stop herself from scolding: “How old are you? Still playing these childish games. If your brother hadn’t come clean, were you really planning to never come back?”

Shen Hengxi rubbed his nose. “President Lin, you’re taking this to a very high level of seriousness.”

“I’m the one taking it too far?” The female voice on the phone couldn’t help but rise in pitch.

“No, no,” Shen Hengxi quickly corrected himself. “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be back in a while.”

The two hadn’t yet reached the core of the issue. After a long silence, Shen Hengxi asked, “Is Grandmother doing well?”

Lin Shiyan let out a sigh. “I thought you were going to keep beating around the bush and never ask.”

“How could I?”

“She’s fine,” Lin Shiyan said, sighing again. “You have such a stubborn temper. Your father was just caught up in the heat of the moment and said some harsh things; why did you have to leave directly?”

Shen Hengxi let out a laugh. “No, really, I don’t blame anyone. I just wanted to come out and clear my head.” Before she could reply, he smiled and changed the subject, “But this small town is actually quite interesting.”

“What’s interesting about it?” Lin Shiyan followed his lead.

Shen Hengxi lay lazily on the sofa, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I met a kid more like a little adult. He takes me out for good food every day.” He continued, “I don’t know how kids these days end up with so many thoughts in their heads.”

Lin Shiyan huffed a laugh. “Different experiences lead to different minds.”

Shen Hengxi grew quiet for a moment. No one knew what he was thinking, but he said softly, “Yeah.”

After chatting for a bit longer, Shen Hengxi said goodbye and told Lin Shiyan to put her heart at ease.

The small town at night was always silent. Even if a car passed by occasionally, it only stirred up a corner of the peace before returning to tranquility. Shen Hengxi looked at the scenery outside; it was still unfamiliar. This place didn’t belong to him, nor did it belong to anyone who had ties elsewhere.

Having realized this, Shen Hengxi suddenly felt a sense of relief. When he first drove here, he was curious about the unfamiliar environment. But as the days stretched on, the so-called novelty had passed, and the questions lingering in his heart gradually surfaced. He wondered what his grandfather had been thinking during the ten-plus years he lived here.

Thinking of this, he recalled the kid saying, “This place can’t hold people.” But who could say for sure who stays and who leaves?

Chu Xi-ang passed over the large bridge on his way back from school. He was late returning; only the streetlights were flickering. There was no wind tonight. The river water was deep and dark, unable to stir up any waves. But as Chu Xi-ang stared at one spot, he felt as if a hand were reaching out from the darkness, carrying countless veins that eventually converged into the arguing faces of his parents.

Vividly clear.

He didn’t want to go home, but if he didn’t, where could he go? Even he didn’t know. He dragged his feet to the building. As he reached the final step, the nearby door opened.

Light spilled out, stretching the person’s shadow very long. Chu Xi-ang looked up, squinting uncomfortably at the brightness.

“Why so late?” Shen Hengxi paused for a second upon seeing him, then asked.

Chu Xi-ang lowered his head again. “Teacher went over time.”

It had only been three days since they went for their drive, but even in the shadows of the hallway, it was obvious the boy had lost weight. Shen Hengxi used the light to look at Chu Xi-ang’s face and asked softly, “What have you been doing? Why have you thinned out?”

Chu Xi-ang touched his own face. “Did I? I don’t think so. My classmates actually praised me for being more handsome.” He smiled after saying that. Seeing Shen Hengxi observing him seriously, he cleared his throat and crinkled his eyes. “Brother, you know I’m a senior. Even if my grades are good, the pressure is huge.”

“Speaking of which, I have to ask Grandmother to make something delicious this weekend to nourish me. We’ve only been apart for three days and you could tell I’m thinner, Brother?”

Shen Hengxi listened silently, his eyes resting on the prominent bone at the back of the boy’s neck as he lowered his head.

“Are you free this weekend, Brother?” Chu Xi-ang asked.

“I am,” Shen Hengxi said.

Hearing this, Chu Xi-ang’s eyes crinkled again. “Then I’ll call you for a meal this weekend. Let’s go have hotpot.”

“Alright.”

“Then it’s a deal. I’m going in now.” Chu Xi-ang waved, but as he turned to walk away, he stumbled.

His wrist was firmly caught. He heard Shen Hengxi’s voice echoing in the stairwell, “Be careful.”

“Mhm, thanks Brother.” Chu Xi-ang didn’t look back; he kept walking forward.

But the feeling of loathing and nausea was impossible to ignore. For a moment, Chu Xi-ang wanted to vomit, yet he took a deep breath and opened his door. In that instant, the purple bruising on Gu Xiaoyan’s face flashed before his eyes, a constant reminder

Stepping into this apartment was stepping into something long since shattered.

In truth, he had known for a long time that this apartment could never be called a home. It was a cage. The moment a crack appeared, everyone inside fought desperately to get out. Staying or leaving was just a thought away.

Chu Hui had run away. It happened three days ago.

That day, when Chu Xi-ang opened the door, the house was silent, but he sensed something was off. For the first time, he walked to Gu Xiaoyan’s bedroom door and pushed it open without knocking. The room let in no light. Gu Xiaoyan was curled up under the quilt.

Gu Xiaoyan, who had always faced the world with strength, was showing such a fragile side.

Chu Xi-ang walked up slowly and called softly, “Mom…”

The person under the quilt moved. Gu Xiaoyan turned her face; her voice was raspy. “Your father is gone.”

Chu Xi-ang said nothing.

“Ran away with a woman,” Gu Xiaoyan let out a laugh. “Tell me, such a cowardly man, running off with a woman… isn’t it hilarious?”

“I’ll go get dinner ready,” Chu Xi-ang said, turning to leave the room.

When he re-entered the room later, Gu Xiaoyan was still in the same position, staring blankly at the ceiling. In that moment, Chu Xi-ang felt as if he saw a spider crawling inch by inch across her face, weaving a web that was gradually becoming visible. He couldn’t help but take two steps forward; looking closer, he realized many wrinkles had appeared on her face.

“Mom, eat.” At that moment, he couldn’t describe what he was feeling.

The person sitting on the bed slowly turned her head, her eyes vacant and hollow. “Yes, eat. After eating, we’ll go find your father and bring him back. I heard someone say he’s in the neighboring city with that woman. Xiao Ang, you’re his son; he’ll definitely come back for your sake.”

Chu Xi-ang helped her off the bed but didn’t answer. Constant retreat in the face of disappointment, coupled with the beautification of that retreat, is called “tolerance.” But Chu Xi-ang loathed this; unhealthy tolerance is, at its core, a subversion of reality.

He opened his mouth but could only say one thing: “Mom, I have school.”

But strong as Gu Xiaoyan was, no matter how much she disliked or cursed Chu Hui, she still felt he belonged to this home. She wouldn’t allow a single person to escape, clutching tightly to the small crack in the cage, trying to block the breach with her own body.

When Chu Xi-ang returned the next day, the first thing he saw was the bruise on Gu Xiaoyan’s right eye.

He frowned, stepped forward, and asked, “You went to find him?”

Gu Xiaoyan’s hair was draped over her shoulders; she slowly moved her pupils. “Yes, I found him. I went to find him.”

“He actually helped that woman hit me. Did you see? This eye… he actually hit me to help that woman? He kicked me out? Has he forgotten who spent all this time with him? Aren’t you his son?”

Chu Xi-ang watched as Gu Xiaoyan’s body began to slump. He stepped forward and firmly caught her hands, helping her stand straight. “Mom, we don’t want him.”

Even though he had stepped into the room, he still felt he couldn’t breathe.

Today, Gu Xiaoyan’s state was much better. When he entered, she was mopping the floor. Hearing the movement, she turned and looked. “You’re back.”

“Mhm.” Chu Xi-ang hadn’t looked back toward the hallway outside.

The moment the door closed, the room fell into silence. Chu Xi-ang carried his bag toward his own room.

“Go with me this weekend,” Gu Xiaoyan said suddenly.

Chu Xi-ang frowned. “Where?”

“To find your father and bring him back.” She didn’t stop mopping.

The scales in his heart finally tipped, and the sand inside scattered in a cloud of dust.

“I’m not going!” Chu Xi-ang’s voice was low.

Gu Xiaoyan threw the mop aside. Her face was the most animated Chu Xi-ang had seen it recently. “Not going? Why the hell wouldn’t you go! He’s your father! If you don’t bring him back, you won’t have a father anymore, do you know that? You’ll have no father!”

Her tone grew increasingly agitated; her chest heaved.

Chu Xi-ang didn’t want to argue with her; he turned his face away. “I’m not going. We both know how he treated you. Now that he’s finally left on his own, why would you want to bring him back?”

“Why?” Gu Xiaoyan suddenly shrieked. “You’re asking why! Because this was his home! He ran off with a woman  where does that leave my reputation? Didn’t you see my face? Huh? He hit me for that woman! Hit his own wife!”

Chu Xi-ang felt a sudden wave of helplessness. “And then?”

She was annoyed by the question. “What ‘and then’?”

“Bring him back so I can help you hit him?” Chu Xi-ang continued. “You won’t let go, and he won’t let go. You both think because you raised me, I can’t lift a hand. So we just let him hit us? Hit us whenever he wants, bring people back whenever he wants, take money whenever he wants?”

“Mom, do you think there’s any meaning in this? How many times have I rebelled since I was little? You think it’s ‘disrespect.’ I try to reason with you and you think I’m ‘disobedient.’ I’ve done everything I could; no one thinks it’s right.” Chu Xi-ang turned his back. “So I’m obedient. I do whatever you say. But I finally wished him away, and you want him back?”

“He doesn’t love this home…”

“Bullshit!” Gu Xiaoyan interrupted him. The sound of her voice was accompanied by the sound of a teacup smashing against the floor.

The hair at the back of Chu Xi-ang’s head was completely soaked. Tea dripped down his back.

“Chu Xi-ang, I’m the one who raised you! I’m the one who provided for your schooling! I sent you to learn, not to talk back to me!” Gu Xiaoyan was like a madwoman, throwing anything she could reach at him.

“Truly the seed of his loins! One by one, you’re all turning against me! This home can’t hold you anymore, can it? You just want to leave, don’t you? Ran off with a woman! Why the hell don’t you just go die!”

Chu Xi-ang stood there without moving, silently letting her hit him. He realized that the most vicious words from the people closest to you are wounds that never heal.

“Get out! Get the hell out! Ungrateful dog, just like your father! Get out!” Gu Xiaoyan grabbed his arm and shoved him outside.

Kicked out of the house, Chu Xi-ang opened the hallway door, only for a shadow to fall over him. He looked up. Shen Hengxi had lowered the hand he was about to use to knock. Without a word, he grabbed the boy’s wrist and led him into his own apartment.

In that moment, Chu Xi-ang felt warmth slowly return to him. A towel was draped over his head, and Shen Hengxi’s voice came from outside the “cage.”

“Stay put. I’ll get you some water.”