"No, Auntie Wan, I’m starting school again tomorrow." Pei Yining declined and had the family driver take her home.
Wan Hongxing returned to the dining room where Pei Guozhong sat with a stern face, clearly angry, while Pei Yijian sat there uneasily, saying, "Mom, Dad and sister had a fight."
"It’s alright, Yijian, be good. Dad and sister were just talking a bit loudly. Eat your meal, and later you can go watch TV," Wan Hongxing soothed Pei Yijian.
As soon as Pei Yijian heard he could watch TV, he started eating his meal in big bites.
"Guozhong, eat up. Don’t let it go cold," Wan Hongxing sighed, "I’ve prepared a whole table of dishes, and none of you are eating. It’s really in vain."
With her words that were part complaint, part reproach, Pei Guozhong’s initial anger softened. He said, "We’ll eat. Eating is most important; we can’t waste Hongxing’s kind intentions."
Pei Guozhong started eating heartily.
"I’m done," Pei Yijian stuffed the last bite of rice into his mouth and darted off to watch TV.
"Slow down, don’t choke," Wan Hongxing watched Pei Yijian’s rapidly retreating figure, a gentle reminder escaping her lips as her eyes filled with indulgence. She said, "This child, once there’s TV, nothing else matters."
"Kids will be kids." Pei Guozhong had also begun to calm down.
Wan Hongxing didn’t bring up the issue with Pei Yining. Instead, she started to clean up the dishes. Only after Pei Yijian was asleep and the couple had both retired to their room, did Wan Hongxing speak up, "Guozhong, why don’t you like the girl Yicheng likes?"
"She can’t help Yicheng," Pei Guozhong answered without even thinking.
Wan Hongxing, with a tone of dejection, said, "I can’t help you either."
"Hongxing, that’s different. I can rely on myself now, and for you, taking care of our home, looking after Yijian, and ensuring that when I come back each day, I’m coming back to warmth and joy—that’s enough," Pei Guozhong said earnestly, wrapping his arm around Wan Hongxing’s shoulder.
"How is it different?" Wan Hongxing shook off his hand and sat sideways on the bed’s edge. The wall lamp in the room was dimmed, its light not bright but very soft. She pursed her lips and said, "You can rely on yourself, providing for me. Yicheng is your son. Why can’t he?"
"By disapproving of the girl Yicheng likes, you’re also disapproving of me," Wan Hongxing said, her eyes downcast as she raised her hand to rub them.
Pei Guozhong immediately said, "No, I haven’t disapproved of you."
"Guozhong, Yicheng has been without a mother from a young age, which is pitiful enough. For all these years, it’s the first time he’s fallen for a girl. Do you have the heart to break them apart?"
"And there’s Yining. Yining is also very fond of her."
"The last time at the hospital, I met her, and I really took a liking to her too. A girl that Yicheng likes can’t be that bad."
With a soft and gentle tone, Wan Hongxing said, "Guozhong, children have their own fortunes. In the future, that girl will live a lifetime with Yicheng. His happiness is what matters most. You and your son already have misunderstandings; do you really want to push him even further away by watching silently?"
"What misunderstandings? He sees me as an enemy!" Pei Guozhong became irritably annoyed even at the mention of it. What misunderstandings? In Pei Yicheng’s eyes, he was less than a stranger, indeed an enemy.
"You are father and son, no matter what. If we approach him step by step, we can eventually clear up the misunderstandings one day," Wan Hongxing said, taking his hand. "If your father were still alive and he disapproved of our marriage, disapproved of me, would you be happy?"
Pei Guozhong pursed his lips, reflecting on Pei Yining’s unusually intense reaction earlier, and fell silent.