“I’m talking about you! Your endurance is low!” Lu Man sounded smug as well.
“You…” Pei Zichen did not know how to retort that.
He sneered and turned against her. He refused to look at her,
“Are you angry?” Lu Man raised her eyebrow.
Pei Zichen snorted and ignored her.
“Fine, go to sleep then. Otherwise, you won’t grow anymore.” Lu Man refrained from joking with him anymore.
“It’s none of your business! I just don’t want to go back and sleep!” Pei Zichen was rebellious.
“Fine! Stay with me then. I’m afraid of being alone here!” Lu Man wanted to use another tactic now because he did not do what she asked. If that was the case, he must be…
“Fine! I’ll stay with you! I’m not a coward like you!” Pei Zichen replied, proudly.
Lu Man was stunned. Why did he stay? Did he stay because of her?
Did he not hate her?
“Xiao Chen, stop messing around! Go back and sleep now!” He should not be staying with her no matter what the reason was.
But, Pei Zichen did not leave her. On the other hand, he kneeled not far from her too.
Lu Man was surprised. Why was he so much like his father? They always did the unexpected things.
“Why are you kneeling there? To punish yourself?”
“I’m praying to my ancestors. I wish that they’ll get rid of you for me!” Pei Zichen was a filial kid. He regretted what he did when he saw how furious his great-grandmother was. His endurance was indeed low since he was only six years old. He could not endure that kind of guilt and tension.
He was punishing himself but surely he would never admit that.
“Why do you want to get rid of me so badly? If you get rid of me, another woman will come too. Do you think that they will be better than me?” She wanted him to know that there would still be someone else if he really did get rid of her. He could not get rid of everybody.
“I’ll find my real mother before the appearance of another woman! Nobody could cling onto my father anymore when my real mother is back!” Pei Zichen sounded confident.
“Your mother…” Lu Man wanted to tell him the truth that he could never meet his mother because she had passed away. But, she saw the eagerness reflected in his eyes and she could not bring herself to tell him the truth…
“This is my mother. Isn’t she gorgeous?” Pei Zichen took out a photograph from his pocket with extreme care. It was obvious how much he cherished that photograph just by looking at the way he handled it.
Lu Man wanted to take the photo for a closer look.
“I’ll hold for you.” He did not want her to touch his mother.
Lu Man pouted. Fine, she would not touch that.
The beautiful woman in the photograph had long wavy hair. She was wearing an apron and holding a plate of dish in her hand. She seemed like a gentle woman. Although it was only a photograph, it was clear that she was happy and grateful from her smile.
“Yes, she is beautiful.” Lu Man agreed.
“Of course! My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world! You can never be compared to her!” Pei Zichen exclaimed proudly.
Lu Man’s lips twitched.
She felt that she was not any less from the woman in the photograph. But, it was normal for a kid to think that his mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, just like her would. She always thought that her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world. For her, her mother was the most gentle and nicest mother in the world.
Pei Zichen stared at the photograph for a long time before putting it back into its photo set. Then, he put it back into his pocket. Then, he suddenly frowned in front of her. He had started to get nervous. Then, he exclaimed loudly, “Don’t tell Dad you’ve seen my mother’s photograph!”
“Why?”
“It’s none of your business! You just cannot tell him!” Pei Zichen was quite firm on that.
“If you don’t tell me why, I’ll definitely tell him.”
“Why are you like that?” Pei Zichen stared at her angrily.
“I’m sorry. I’m like that.” Lu Man seemed like she could not help it. Suddenly, she felt like she was quite childish in bullying a kid like that when she saw how angry he was!
She wanted to say that she would not tell his father but before that he had said something else.
“I have secretly made a copy of that photograph in my father’s study. My dad doesn’t know that I have it. So, you must not let him know about it!”
“Why did you do that?” Lu Man did not understand why.
Pei Zichen’s face darkened. “My father has never told me anything about my mother. He wouldn’t say anything no matter how I ask him. So, I went to look for it on my own. I sneaked into his study one day and found a lot of my mother’s photographs in one of the drawers. I planned to steal one of them but I was afraid that he might find it out. So, I snapped them with my phone and asked the butler to help me print them out.”
“How do you know that she’s your mother? Just because there’s a lot of photographs of her?” What if she was only one of his father’s ex-girlfriends?
“The butler’s face darkened when I showed him the photographs. He asked me where I got them from. So, I told him the truth. He asked me never to let my father know about it. Initially, he had wanted me to delete the photographs. But, I insisted on printing them out. I had even asked him whether she is my mother and he said yes. He’s been a butler in our family for a long time and he would surely know about it!” So, he believed that she was his mother.
“Did the butler tell you anything about your mother?” The butler might not tell him everything because he was afraid that Pei Zichen would be sad.
“I asked the butler why my mother had abandoned me. He said that she left me because she was forced to do so. She wanted me actually. The butler even told me never to show the photographs to my great-grandmother. So, it might be related to my great-grandmother. I had even inquired about my mother’s family. The butler told me that my mother has no family. So, my assumptions are true.” Pei Zichen explained what he learnt like a little Conan.
Lu Man was curious. “What are your assumptions?”
“It’s just like what they show in the drama. My mother’s background does not match my father’s. So, my great-grandmother had prohibited them from being together. She was forced to leave after I was borned…”
Lu Man was speechless.
Kids nowadays did think a lot.
“I’m not sure where my mom is now. I don’t even know whether she has anything to eat, a place to sleep or is she washing the dishes everyday? Is she exhausted everyday? Does she miss me every night until she cries herself to sleep…” Pei Zichen’s voice became shaky when he voiced out his worries.
Lu Man did not know whether to laugh at his wonderful imagination or pity him for having such thoughts. He missed his mother very much. He was eager to meet his mother. It was obvious that he loved her dearly.
“Why did you marry my father? My mother is very pitiful! She’s forced to leave her lover and son. She’s living out there all on her own. She’s waiting for me to go get her when I’m all grown up. But you have come and taken her place. What if my mother comes back?” Pei Zichen looked at her. He was blaming her.