As his thoughts drifted, Yang Haoran also sorted through his emotions. Tomorrow, he would go to school first to see if Yaoyao would come. If Yaoyao was still attending school, it meant that Mom had not yet left this city.
As for Mom’s company, Yang Haoran felt that even if he went, he would just be wasting his time. If he could think of it, wouldn’t Mom have thought of it too?
When someone doesnβt want to see you, it feels like mountains and oceans lie between you!
He went downstairs and waited a while. Dad finished cooking the noodles, and the father and son each had a bowl, hastily finishing their meal.
Yang Haoran knew Dad was also in a low mood, but as the one responsible for causing this, he felt guilty and didnβt dare say much.
After the simple dinner, Yang Haoran was about to go upstairs when Dad stopped him:
βHaoran, if your mom wants to divorce me, who would you want to live with?β
The voice behind him sounded steady, yet also somewhat hoarse.
Yang Haoran hadnβt expected Dad to suddenly ask this. Perhaps the unusual situation with Mom today had made Dad sense something.
Until now, Dad still mistakenly believed that Mom had gone to see some nonexistent lover!
Yang Haoran took a deep breath. He didnβt turn around, afraid that his guilt would only grow stronger, and said softly:
βDad, I want to live with Mom. You and Auntie Zhuang have your own lives. Iβm almost an adult now, and I want to spend more time with Mom.β
There was no response from behind him. After a moment of silence, Dad finally spoke.
βYouβve grown up. I donβt blame you for having your own ideas.β
βIf he treats your mom poorly, I hope youβll be a man and take your mom away from him.β
βYeah!β
Yang Haoranβs nose tingled with emotion, and his heart felt clogged. Did Dad not know that Mom, with her decisive and strong-willed nature, would never become dependent on another man?
No⦠Dad knew better than he did. He just⦠wanted him to take his place and take care of Mom!
If that lover really existed and treated Mom poorly, Mom would leave him. And by having him take care of Mom, thisβ¦ was Dadβs real intentionβnot wanting Mom to belong to another man!
But Dad would never imagine that the lover was him, his own son. Even if he treated Mom poorly, Mom would never leave unless he made a mistake Mom couldnβt tolerate!
Just like now!
Yang Haoran returned to his room and lay on the large bed, his thoughts in turmoil.
Mental exhaustion made him not want to move, so he just lay there quietly.
Dad and Mom getting divorced was inevitable!
Yang Haoran knew that even if Dad didnβt mistakenly believe there was a lover, he would still force Mom to divorce Dad.
Because, just like Dad, he didnβt want Mom to belong to another man, even if it was just a marriage in name only!
Mom should belong entirely to him. This was Yang Haoranβs selfishness and a manβs possessiveness at work. Even if he treated Mom like a breeding animal, a bitch, a sowβdegrading and humiliating her, making her wear a collar and leash, turning her into a vessel for his desiresβhe would never allow another man who treated Mom well to take her away!
Even if that man was his own father!
So, Yang Haoran wouldnβt be like his childhood friend Shiwen or his close friend Wei Ming, willingly handing over his mother to someone else.
Even if he were in their situations, he wouldζ―«δΈηΉθ±« take back what was hisβhis mother!
Take Shiwen, for example. Aunt Shen was willing, but in Yang Haoranβs eyes, whether Aunt Shen was willing or not didnβt matter. If he were Shiwen, and Mom was going to be some random guyβs bitch, why couldnβt she be his bitch?
If Yang Haoran could somewhat understand Shiwenβs cuckolding fetish, his close friend Wei Ming was a different case. Wei Ming clearly had motherly desires but, out of so-called brotherly loyalty, handed Aunt He over to him.
In Yang Haoranβs philosophy, such a thing was absolutely unforgivable. He couldnβt care less about brotherly loyalty. When it came to his own birth mother, he could turn on anyone in an instantβto hell with that nonsense!
But people are selfish. So, even if it went against his conscience, Yang Haoran kept his close friend Wei Mingβs beautiful mother, Aunt He, as his sex slave under his control rather than returning her to Wei Ming.
That night, Yang Haoran thought about many thingsβhis childhood friendβs Aunt Shen, his close friendβs Aunt He, homeroom teacher Gu Qingying, Xiao Shaowan, his girlfriend Ji Youxi. The faces of Mom and Yaoyao flashed through his mind until finally settling on Momβs exquisitely beautiful, picture-perfect face as he slowly fell asleep.
The next day, Yang Haoran woke up early. Mom and Yaoyao hadnβt come back last night. Dad seemed mentally prepared and didnβt ask too many questions, just made him breakfast.
Without Mom, the food tasted like cardboard to Yang Haoran. Dadβs cooking couldnβt compare to Momβs at all. Even if it wasnβt bad, it just lacked that certain flavor.
Your taste buds always clearly tell you that sometimes whether food tastes good depends on who made it.
After finishing breakfast, Yang Haoran took the bus to school. Since he arrived relatively early, the classroom was sparsely populated, with more than half the seats empty.
His girlfriend Ji Youxi hadnβt arrived yet, and neither had Yaoyao. Shiwen, Xiao Mingzi, and others were also absent. Yang Haoran sat alone at his desk, thinking about taking out a test booklet to pass the time but unable to focus, so he gave up.
He picked up the book his girlfriend Ji Youxi had given him, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and started reading it as leisure reading. He hadnβt taken this book home; heβd left it in the classroom.
The book began with the story of its founder, JosΓ© Arcadio BuendΓa, narrating how this family repeated similar names, personality traits, and even tragic fates across generations. They experienced prosperity and decline, war and peace, love and betrayal, until finally, following the Gypsyβs prophecy, the family met its destined dissolution. Macondo was swept away by a hurricane without a trace, as if it had never existedβ¦
Unconsciously, Yang Haoran became absorbed in the book, forgetting everything else. So, it really was his own superficial understanding. This book was never about one personβs hundred years of solitude.
For some reason, discovering this truth made Yang Haoran feel inexplicably relieved, dispelling the melancholy brought by Momβs departure.
As his focus slightly shifted, Yang Haoran noticed the noise in the classroom. He looked up to see his girlfriend Ji Youxi sitting beside him at some point, her beautiful eyes fixed on him: βIt seems you really like this book?β
The corners of her lips lifted slightly, seeming pleased.
Yang Haoran: ββ¦β
He knew his girlfriend had misunderstood. It wasnβt that he liked this book for some bullshit sentimental appreciationβit was just that the earlier misunderstanding had been resolved, making him feel it was a good omen.
Yang Haoran smiled without explaining and chatted with his girlfriend Ji Youxi for a bit. Then, his eyes shifted, and he suddenly saw Yaoyao. She was looking back at him, and their eyes met.
Yaoyao was here?