Zheng Wei stayed at Chen Xiaozheng's home for two days. As the Spring Festival was approaching, she reluctantly bid farewell to them. When she left, Xiaozheng and his mother saw her off to the bus station until the bus departed before leaving.

  At night, Ah was building his model under the dim light in his room. Many models had been shaped by his hands, but this one was different. It wasn't a new concept of commercial and residential building, nor a waterfront villa, but a small house he planned to give to Zheng Wei. He never gave her flowers, nor could he give her any expensive gifts. All he could give was this - their little house, a promise about the future.

  The small cottage had a table and chair, every detail showed great effort, he was completely absorbed in the work in his hands, to the point where someone standing behind him didn't even notice.

  "A Zheng."

  It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice that he suddenly turned around. His mother had somehow entered his room without him noticing, and he had no idea how long she'd been standing there.

  "Mom, aren't you sleeping yet?" Mom usually sleeps early, so Ah Zheng felt quite surprised to see her at this time.

  "I was sleeping but couldn't fall asleep. I saw your room's light on and came over to take a look. What are you so absorbed in? What is this model for?"

  Chen Xiao Zheng avoided the topic and said, "It's too late, you should go to sleep first, aren't you going to work tomorrow?"

  His mother didn't leave, but instead smiled inexplicably and touched the model in her son's hand with hers. "What a beautiful house."

  He suddenly stopped his actions and stared at his mother, "Mom, is there something you want to tell me?"

  "A Zheng, come here."

  He hesitated for a moment, then followed his mother out of the room and came to stand in front of his father's portrait. He stood by, watching as his mother lit an incense stick with practiced ease, then carefully wiped away the almost imperceptible dust from the frame.

  "Kneel down, Ah Zheng," she said. After a while, she turned back to look at her son who was still standing there, expressionless.

  "Are you not even listening to me?" Her voice was tired and bitter, from childhood to adulthood, Chen Xiao Zheng had always been afraid of seeing his mother like this. Every time she looked like this, the bleakness of their past life would be vividly remembered, yet he still didn't intend to kneel down.

  "I won't kneel because I didn't do anything wrong. Mom, of course I'll listen to you, but I have my own judgment."

  "Yes, you've grown up and started having your own judgments of what's right, so after submitting the application form, you began to regret it."

  Chen Xiao Zheng heard this and smiled bitterly. He knew he couldn't hide it from her. Since primary school, she had never given up on finding ways to contact his school and teachers, and even when he went to university, she didn't make an exception. She must have called his class teacher. Such a big thing, of course, she would know about it. However, he had expected this day to come, so he wasn't too surprised.

  "Yes, I regret it. I think I should have had other options. Going abroad isn't necessarily the path I must take." He said in a lowered voice.

  "After all, it's still for Zheng Wei." Mom's voice was dull.

  She had known all along, but during those two days when Zheng Wei was there, she didn't mention a word. Chen Xiao Zheng didn't know if he should be grateful, but he couldn't deny his mother's hypothesis, so he could only say, "That's right, I admit that she is the most important reason."

  "You never used to be like this, my son was so ambitious, from the first day of university, wasn't studying abroad always your goal? If not, why did you work so hard on your oral English and take on part-time jobs with such difficulty? We've had a tough few years, saving every penny, what was it all for? Now that the opportunity is finally in front of you, your class teacher said that there are only 3,000 national scholarships available this year, but at this moment, you're giving up and telling me it's just because you've fallen in love, so you want to throw away this chance to be with her. Zheng, look at me and your father and say loudly, is this really your decision?"

  "I've always wanted to go out, abroad has more advanced technology and a better academic atmosphere, but at that time I didn't think I would meet Zheng Wei. It wasn't until after being with her that I realized I could also have such simple happiness." He looked at the person who gave birth to him and raised him, "Mom, I know you've been working hard all these years, and I've always tried my best to do well, but even in front of Dad, I'm not afraid to tell the truth. Maybe I don't live up to your expectations, but I indulge in the happiness she gives me."

  His mother's hand unconsciously rubbed the cold surface of her husband's photo frame, her voice hoarse like a sigh. "A Zheng, you tell me about happiness? I'm not someone who doesn't understand happiness. In the past, when your father was still alive, you were in my belly, and our family of three was together. I felt like I was happier than any other woman in the world. Your father's career was so successful, a state-owned enterprise with 2,000 people, and before he turned 30, he became the chief engineer from being the head of the technical department. At that time, during holidays, one guest would leave, and another would arrive, walking in the big courtyard, who wouldn't be smiling? It's my bad luck, I was born to lose good things, you were only four months old when your father had an accident at the construction site and never came back. A person died, died on the construction site, the memorial service was held grandly, with wreaths filling the entire mourning hall, but after the memorial service ended, people dispersed, tea went cold, and the little compensation money we received, you got sick when you were not even a month old, and nothing was left. That's okay, what's difficult is that I'm a single mother raising a child, your health wasn't good when you were young, my job kept changing, my position kept getting lower, and I had less time to take care of you. I went to find the factory director, the trade union chairman, just asking them if they could transfer me to a department that didn't require rotating shifts, but they would only say with difficulty, telling me about the difficulties in the factory, asking me to talk more about sacrifice and less about demands. As a widow, all I asked for was to be able to take care of my son who hadn't started kindergarten yet at night, this demand seemed excessive? When you were in kindergarten, you had a high fever at midnight, the factory clinic couldn't treat it, I carried you on my back and walked almost three kilometers to get to the hospital. For that little bit of hospitalization fee, I don't know how many relatives' doors I knocked on, they would only say, why not find another man? Why bother raising a child alone? A Zheng, I promised your father at his funeral that I would spend my life taking care of you, I couldn't find another man, I still had memories with him and our son. Luckily, you were filial from a young age, when you got into college, all the money we had at home, plus the salary I borrowed in advance, wasn't enough for tuition fees, we asked your uncle to lend us 500 yuan, he was willing to help us out, but after lending us the money, he took away our TV set. An old TV set is worth how much? He just calculated that we didn't know when we could return the money, and it would make up for a little loss... You all knew about this, I kept saying, you only felt annoyed, but this is life, A Zheng, I'm telling you these things, just to tell you, poverty has no happiness."

  She remembered every detail of her memories, and Chen Xiao Zheng couldn't forget the hardships he suffered when he was young. That's why he cherished the small happiness in his hands even more. He tried to make his voice sound calm, "I remember all these things, mom, but I don't think that if I didn't go abroad, I would definitely be poor. Believe me, after I graduate, our lives will get better and better, and you'll have a happy day too."

  His mother turned around and looked at him, her eyes full of wrinkles but not a single tear. Ah Zheng remembered that when he was young, his mother would often cry behind his back, but now she didn't shed tears anymore. "I don't believe you," she said. "You used to be my pride, so sensible and reliable, but now you're giving up such a great opportunity for a girl? You need to understand that your family can't help you in any way with your career, everything has to rely on yourself. There will be many good girls in your life, but how many shortcuts can change your fate? You don't even have the simplest judgment, how can I believe that things will get better? Look at you, the old you always knew what to do, but now you're up all night thinking about unrealistic things. What's the use of that small house of yours? Can it provide for you and her in the future?"

  Chen Xiao Zheng refuted with difficulty, "Mom, you and dad have such a good relationship, you should know that some people can only meet one person in their lifetime."

  Her mother looked at her own rough and cracked hands, shaking her head slowly. "I didn't read as many books as you did, and my understanding of things is very simple. Emotions are like MSG - they can only be used to add flavor, not to fill your belly. If you think I'm a cruel mother who's trying to break up your happiness with every trick in the book, then you're wrong. I don't dislike that girl you brought home, Zheng Wei. I admit I'm selfish and would rather have you stay by my side forever, but you've grown up and this day was bound to come. By the way, her name is Zheng Wei, isn't it? You like her, I get it - at your age, how could you not like a girl who's pretty and lively? But did you see how delicate she looks? Has she suffered before? Can she stick with you through thick and thin before your 'good days' arrive? Even if she's willing to tough it out with you, will your heart be at peace? A poor couple has a hundred worries. Once you've tasted the bitter pill, you'll understand. You've been smart since you were young, so you should know that for someone from our background, there are only two kinds of women who are suitable: one is someone whose family is well-off enough to pave your way, and the other is someone who may not have a good background but is intelligent and down-to-earth, able to work hard with you and let you have no worries. Zheng Wei is neither - she's the kind of girl who needs to be pampered and coddled. Ah Zheng, you don't have that qualification yet."

  "A Zheng's hands clenched into fists at his sides, 'I don't want to hear this, mom, don't force me, why do I have to choose between you and her?'"

  The person in front of him smiled silently again, "I'm old, even if there are good days, how many more days can I live? From the day your dad died, my life was over. And your life is yours, even if you're my son, even if I wish you had a promising future, I have no way to replace you. You don't want to hear me say those things because the logic I speak, you understand it all, and you've thought about it yourself, that's why you're afraid of it now. When you were three years old, I held you in my arms, playing with the neighbor's kids, they teased you, asking what you wanted to do when you grew up? The other kids said nonsense, but only you, you said you wanted to do great things. We all laughed, a three-year-old kid knows what it means to do great things? But I knew you were born with ambition, so everything had to be done better than others, and you had to have a promising future. You worked so hard, hoping to stand out one day, was it just for me? Didn't you feel pain in your heart when you gave up this opportunity? Today you love her, you think love is the most important thing, but once you fail in reality, you'll eventually hate her. So, your choice has never been between me and her, it's always been between yourself and her."

  It was very late, and after his mother finished speaking, she seemed infinitely tired. As she walked back to her room, her figure appeared old and hunched, and Chen Xiao Zheng vaguely remembered that when his mother was young, she had been beautiful and elegant, and even now people still remembered the couple his parents had made, saying they were a perfect match of talent and beauty. In the crevices of time and reality, youth and beauty were equally fragile, like paper dried by the wind.

  She closed the door, leaving him standing alone in front of his father's portrait. With no one to pressure him now, he leaned against the edge of the old five-drawer cabinet and slowly knelt down on the cold concrete floor, looking at the calm and wise father in the photo. Like a lost child, he was faced with countless paths ahead, which one should he take?

  "Dad, come and tell me, did I do something wrong?"