Chapter 4 — Mother Died, Father Repented

Dad ran from nowhere and kicked me out. I collided with the door frame, there was an immediate "beep" sound in the back of my head, blood flowed down my neck. But Dad didn't even glance at me, just focused on cuddling and comforting Tuong Vi.

“Huo An Ninh, I really spoiled you!”

"You and your mother are truly greedy, it's best to not need these five hundred thousand anymore!"

"I will freeze that card. This is the price you have to pay for bullying others. In the future, even if you starve to death, I will never be soft-hearted and give you another penny."

I struggled to get up from the ground, almost crying and begging him:

“Dad, don't, it's money to save my life!”

“Mom needs urgent surgery, without money, she will die!”

The noise was so loud that it woke up my mother who was lying in the hospital bed. Mom was both frustrated and hurt, but still forced herself to sit up and beg him:

"It doesn't matter if I die, please take my daughter away... I beg you!"

Dad's face darkened, his eyes filled with disappointment and disgust:

“Girls are always taught wrong by you, their mouths are full of lies!”

“Starting today, I will cut off your living expenses!”

“Until you bow your heads and admit your mistakes, swear never to hurt Vi Vi again!”

He slammed the door and left, not once looking back at my mother and me. After that, I worked everywhere. Although life is miserable, we still struggle to get through each day. The mother's illness was also temporarily controlled thanks to social support. Until... Thinking of this, I tried to suppress the bitterness in the corners of my eyes and raised my head to look at my father:

“Chief Huo, what exactly do you want to let us go?”

The whole hall fell silent. Even the people eating at the next table stopped chopsticks. Dad was silent for a long time, his face extremely unsightly. Finally, just say one sentence in a low voice:

“I want to meet your mother.”

A statement that made me laugh out loud. Hearing that sentence come out of his mouth, it really made me feel nauseous. Dad frowned at me, like he was looking at a crazy person:

“What are you laughing at?”

“I laugh at you.”

“Laughing at you even now, you can still be so calm.”

I wiped away the tears at the corner of my eyes, carrying deep hatred.

“My mother is dead.”

“Died five years ago.”

—

Chapter 5 Hearing this sentence, Dad stood up, his face extremely ugly:

"Are you crazy? Are you using this as an excuse to curse your mother to death?"

“She is the person best at pretending to be pitiful, how could she die so easily?”

“Did she induce you to lie?”

I just looked at him coldly:

"If you don't believe me, go find it. If you have the courage, dig my mother up from the ground."

Dad glared at me, as if trying to find a sign of lying on my face. But my eyes never avoided. He finally calmed down little by little, threw back a sentence "Don't regret it", then turned and left. After dad left, the store manager timidly walked over:

"That... you can go home first today."

“On the store side…”

He didn't finish his sentence, but I understood. I quietly packed my things and returned to my room alone. Returning to the motel room, I pushed open the door and entered. The image on the altar still lies quietly there. Next to it is bouquet of white chrysanthemums and incense burner. I walked over, reached out and caressed my mother's face in the photo. Tears poured down.

“Mom…”

“If only I could make a little more money.”

“Is Mom not going to die?”

I sat down on the ground, clutching the photo, my mind full of stories from five years ago. The doctor said, Mom can schedule the surgery. But first you have to pay five hundred thousand yuan. This is the last chance. As long as I have money, my mother will be able to live on.