Yang Haoran turned to look at his mother as she wished, allowing Liu Ruoxi to see his haggard face and bloodshot eyes. For a moment, Liu Ruoxi didn’t know what to feel and asked coldly, “How long have you been kneeling?”
“I don’t know!” Yang Haoran shook his head. Right now, he truly didn’t want to think about anything. His worn-out spirit made him want to collapse and sleep. His mother’s arrival had briefly revived him, but now endless exhaustion was washing over him again.
“How long do you plan to keep kneeling?”
“I don’t know.”
“Have you eaten?”
“I don’t… no.”
“Your father is traveling. If you want to apologize, wait until he comes back and apologize to him face-to-face. There’s no need to put on a show here—he can’t see you.”
Her son’s appearance made Liu Ruoxi both angry and heartbroken. Her face was stern as she spoke in a cold tone: “Get up. Go back to your room and sleep.”
She tugged at him, trying to get her son to stand up, but Yang Haoran’s exhausted body now seemed as stubborn as a mule, drawing on the last of his strength to resist. In his heart, he knew this was the most critical moment—he must not collapse now, or all his efforts would be wasted.
“Get up, do you hear me?”
“Leave me alone.”
“Are you getting up or not? Do you really think I want to deal with you?”
“Then just don’t deal with me!”
Liu Ruoxi struggled with him for a while. Seeing her son desperately resisting and determined to keep kneeling, her anger flared up again. Her stunningly beautiful face was icy cold as she said sharply: “Fine. You like kneeling, is that it? You don’t want me to care about you? Who do you think I am?”
“I’ll count to three. If you don’t get up, I will leave this house. As you wish, I will never bother with you again.”
“One—”
……
Hearing his mother’s threat, Yang Haoran panicked instantly. Before Liu Ruoxi could even count to two, he tried to scramble to his feet. However, after kneeling for so long, his legs had long gone numb. As he struggled to stand, he stumbled and fell.
“Two—”
Liu Ruoxi’s expression remained cold as she continued counting, instantly amplifying the panic in Yang Haoran’s heart. He hurriedly braced himself against the door, using both hands and feet to frantically try to support himself and stand. But his feet were tingling as if electrocuted, weak and limp, and he fell once again. In desperation, he cried out: “Mother… no need to keep counting… I was wrong… I’ll get up… I want you to care about me…”
Yang Haoran’s disheveled state cooled Liu Ruoxi’s anger slightly. She demanded: “Are you going to keep being stubborn?”
“No, no… ‘Only a mother loves best, a child with a mother is treasured like gold~~’”
Seeing that he couldn’t get up on his own, Yang Haoran gave up. Hearing his mother’s question, he shook his head and began to sing.
He really was a mischievous genius!
His comical appearance made Liu Ruoxi break into a smile, though she quickly put on a cold face again. As she knelt down to rub his legs to stimulate blood flow and relieve the numbness, she said coldly: “You never learn until you’re faced with consequences. You’re just as stubborn as your father.”
Watching his mother diligently massaging his numb legs and feet while keeping a cold expression and saying things she didn’t truly mean, Yang Haoran grinned and said: “Mother, aren’t you also someone with a sharp tongue but a soft heart?”
“Shut your filthy mouth.”
Yang Haoran wisely fell silent, not wanting to provoke his mother into anger. After five or six minutes, he finally felt sensation returning to his legs. He tried to stand up and said: “Alright, Mother, that’s enough. You don’t need to rub anymore. Let me get up.”
With Liu Ruoxi’s support, he managed to stand. Although his legs still felt somewhat numb, he finally had some strength back.
“I’ll help you to your room to sleep. Let me be clear—this isn’t over. Once you wake up, I’ll settle this with you.”
Liu Ruoxi spoke coldly, making Yang Haoran let out a pig-slaughter-like scream: “Ah… Mother… you might as well kill me now.”
“I really want to sew your mouth shut!” Liu Ruoxi said through gritted teeth.
“Hehe… Mom, when will Dad and Yaoyao be back?”
“In a few days.”
Once Yang Haoran was lying in bed, endless drowsiness overwhelmed him, and within seconds, he was fast asleep.
After Liu Ruoxi tucked her son in, she looked at his peacefully sleeping face and sighed softly, murmuring to herself: “You do look more pleasing to the eye when you’re asleep.”
Yang Haoran slept straight until past 10 p.m. The reversed day and night cycle left him still lethargic when he woke up, his face slightly pale and looking as if he had a kidney deficiency.
“Mom, I’m hungry.”
Yang Haoran walked out of his room and called out. He was so hungry he felt his stomach touching his backbone. He hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice all day—he couldn’t take it anymore.
Hearing Yang Haoran’s shout, Liu Ruoxi came out of the master bedroom and walked toward him: “What are you yelling about? If you’re hungry, go eat.”
She had only gone out once today to buy meat and vegetables. After preparing the dishes, she had waited at home for her son to wake up.
The food had been kept warm all along. Yang Haoran ate voraciously, praising between mouthfuls: “Mmm, Mom, your cooking is just so good. Aunt He’s skills aren’t as good as yours.”
Liu Ruoxi sat at the dining table accompanying her son. Upon hearing Yang Haoran’s words, she raised an eyebrow: “Who is Aunt He?”
Yang Haoran’s mouth was stuffed with braised pork and rice, grease dripping from his lips. Breaking into a cold sweat, he hurriedly explained: “Mmm… oh… Mom, I meant Aunt Shen.”
“My ears aren’t deaf.”
After saying this, Liu Ruoxi looked at her son’s flustered explanation, feeling suspicious. She asked: “Why are you so nervous? Do you have some kind of relationship with that Aunt He?”