Chapter 28: Mom's Getting Married

  After work, I started packing up my things.

  My personal belongings are very few, only filling a small box. Inside, there is a towel that has lost its fluff, a steel pen from my university days, and an old photo of me with my parents. When I saw the photo, I forgot what time we took it together. Looking at the people in the picture, I was still young, about 7 or 8 years old, with two small braids sticking out, staring with a pair of small eyes wrapped in thick eyelids, looking very confused, with no smile on my face. My parents were on either side of me, their faces also without smiles, their young cheeks tightly clenched, as if they had just finished fighting.

  Looking at this old, yellowed photo, my eyes are hot and almost tearful. I once had a home too, although it wasn't harmonious, but after all, it was a place to live, and there were still Dad and Mom. What about now?

  Took a last look at the photo, stuffed it into the box, turned off the light, and let out a deep sigh in front of the familiar company building. Farewell, my former nourisher, the source of my past sorrows and joys.

  Walking in the empty corridor, listening to the hollow and lonely sound of high heels knocking on the ground, I decided to go home and see my parents.

  Sitting on the bus going to my parents' home, I felt anxious in my heart. I didn't know who this so-called home belonged to now, whether it was Dad's or Mom's? Would the house be like an uncleaned battlefield, messy and desolate? And how sad would Mom be, her eyes must have been red and swollen from crying?

  What should I do after going back? How to face the newly divorced father or mother? How to comfort their inner wounds?

  The familiar crimson door was right in front of me, but I hesitated to open it, as if once opened, ferocious monsters would rush out. Maybe it's Dad hunching his back, or maybe it's Mom with tears all over her face?

  After hesitating for a long time, I slowly pushed open a slit. Summoning up the courage to peek through the gap.

  The first thing that caught my eye was the pale pink wall, just like a light pink sky in a dream, or a bride's veil. I was amazed, as the last time I came home, it was still the same old dirty wall that had been there for years, but now it looked like magic had been cast on it. I couldn't help but push open the door and walk in, and above my head, there was a huge round chandelier emitting colorful lights, changing into dreamlike colors. The brand new red leather sofa, the brown glass coffee table, and the yellow floor-length curtains seemed to be showcasing the owner's inner joy.

  I have never lived in such an environment since I was a child. Moreover, now that my parents are divorced and scattered apart.

  Is this my home? I couldn't help but wonder. And the unfamiliar, spotless and smooth milky white floor made me hesitant to take a step forward.

  "Huh, Xiaomei, you're back?" Just as I was spacing out, my mom came out of the kitchen with a steaming plate of dumplings and exclaimed excitedly upon seeing me: "Zhìqiáng, come quick! Xiaomei is back!"

  As mother's voice fell, a middle-aged man wearing a blue apron came out of the kitchen with a body full of greasy smoke.

  "Oh, is this Xiao Mei? She's really grown up." The man looked around fifty years old, with half his hair white and very stiff, standing upright. He wasn't tall but had a sturdy build, thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a square-shaped face full of smiles, and an air of deep happiness written all over it.

  My heart suddenly sank, a bad premonition churned and rose within me.

  "Mom! Where's Dad?" I asked somewhat stiffly.

  Mom's face showed a hint of embarrassment, but it was immediately covered up by a smile full of wrinkles. She seemed to have not heard my question and said: "Xiao Mei, this is your Uncle Li... I originally wanted to tell you that we are planning to hold the wedding ceremony this Saturday, can you come attend?"

  "I'm asking you, where's my dad?" I changed my tone and said fiercely.

  "Hmm... your dad said he'd be the one to tell you... we're getting a divorce. Hasn't he told you yet?" Mom said in a hushed tone, avoiding eye contact.

  "Is he in charge of informing me? Did you arrange that? In charge of informing? Ha! How ridiculous! You've taken over the house, why didn't you also arrange for him to inform me? Is it because you drove him out of this room, and you want to marry another man?"

  "Xiao Mei, I didn't mean anything else, just hoping you can attend..."

  "I won't attend, and you don't have the face to let me attend! You abandoned Dad! Abandoned me! How selfish you are!"

  "Xiao Mei, it's not like that... This matter can't be explained clearly for the time being. Please sit down and listen to me explain, okay?" Mom became flustered and looked at me with a pleading expression.

  "What else is there to explain? The fact is already here! It's you who ruined this family, you're the culprit! Dad was so pitiful, he was actually driven out of this house by you. I blamed him, I deeply hurt him!" Thinking of Dad's hopeless and sorrowful eyes, my throat choked up.

  "Xiao Mei, your Uncle Li is not a bad person, and Mom is not what you think she is. Listen to Mom's explanation, okay?"

  "I won't listen!" I shook my head fiercely, staring at her with a hostile gaze. It was only then that I noticed Mom had dyed her hair, and the fiery red locks blazed before me, almost scorching my eyes, while the flames of anger in my heart burned even more violently.

  "You're just the kind of woman who brings shame to her family! You've let me down so much! I won't recognize you as my mother from now on!"

  "Xiao Mei! How can you say such things about Mom? I'm your mom! Do you know the bitterness in my heart? You're so disappointing, I thought you'd understand me!" My mom yelled at me with her big red eyes.

  "Hum, joke, you're really delusional, thinking I'd understand? Understand what? Understand how you abandoned your husband and now look for a new lover at the age of fifty?"

  Her mother's face turned alternately red and white, like the ugly buttocks of a monkey in the park, and her head with its fiery hair slowly sank down before me.

  A wave of disgust in my heart, I twisted my body, turned my head and walked out.

  "Xiao Mei!" Her mother rushed over, with tears in her eyes. "Mom's good daughter, don't blame Mom, I've done my best. These years, Mom has lived too miserably."

  I turned my head and looked at my mother's face, which was right in front of me. She had actually gotten a makeover, her previously dull yellow skin now radiating a bright white glow under the colorful lights, presenting a smooth and lustrous sheen. The puffy eye bags had miraculously disappeared, and her eyes were brighter than they had ever been before. Her body also emitted a faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers.

  Is this my mother? A flirtatious and irresponsible woman?

  I gazed at her with disdain, now young and beautiful, a cold smile flashing in the depths of my heart. She was no longer my mother. I struggled to free myself from her grasp, feeling desolate inside. Without looking back, I went downstairs and walked onto the street.

  The city's lights are like the eyes of a monster, emitting red, green, blue and purple glows. They leer and laugh in the wind, this is a monstrous world where black and white are reversed and ugliness knows no bounds.

  I trudged along, my footsteps uncertain in this kind of night, clearly unable to find direction. At some point, the wind blew against my cheek, cool and refreshing, and when I touched it with my hand, I only then discovered that my entire face had already been soaked by tears.

  On such a night, who will comfort me? Who will warm me up?