Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Warmth of Home

Home is a warm harbor, a resting place that shelters the soul of the traveler. No matter how dazzling the world outside may be, it can never compare with the comfort of home. Home is forever the place we long for most, where our dearest loved ones live and where the deepest ties in our hearts can never be let go.

A taxi drew near and stopped beside a residential complex.

"Yuqing, we're home. See? My place is on the third floor of that building," Xiao Lin said, pointing to the nearest apartment block.

Wang Yuqing glanced over and gave a slight nod. Xiao Lin had originally meant to take her home first, but she refused, insisting on seeing him back to his own door before anything else, because she thought he was injured and should rest properly. She was usually obedient, but at times she could be stubborn, and Xiao Lin could not talk her out of it, so he had to agree.

"Heh, Yuqing, why don't you come upstairs with me? Meet your future mother-in-law," Xiao Lin said with a roguish grin.

At his words, Wang Yuqing blushed furiously. She shoved him toward the car door with both hands. "Go on, go on. You just keep talking nonsense."

Xiao Lin chuckled and said nothing more. He opened the taxi's trunk, took out his luggage, then walked to the window and told the driver to make sure Wang Yuqing got home safely. After waving to her, he was about to head upstairs when she suddenly called out to him.

Xiao Lin turned back in surprise. Wang Yuqing had pushed open the car door and, on tiptoe, hurried to his side. She gently touched her lips to his cheek, said, "Help me send my regards to Auntie," and then, red-faced, dashed back into the car.

Xiao Lin touched the spot where she had just kissed him, watched the taxi disappear into the distance, and could not help murmuring to himself, "That girl really knows how to surprise people."

Inside the taxi, Wang Yuqing covered her burning face and secretly scolded herself in her heart. She did not even know why she had kissed Xiao Lin just now; it had been an impulse. But after only a moment, she stopped thinking about it. She was almost home, and the joy of returning had already eased away the embarrassment from moments before.

Carrying his suitcase, Xiao Lin bounded up to the third floor. The injury beneath his ribs was now having almost no effect on him. He took out his key, unlocked the door, set down his suitcase, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mom, your son is home!"

No sooner had he spoken than a middle-aged woman hurried out of the kitchen. She looked to be in her thirties, a little plump, fair-skinned, of average height, and most striking of all were her eyes, which had a very captivating look to them.

Xiao Lin's mother was named Xu Qiaoling, and she taught art at a university. She painted beautifully. Back then, Xiao Lin's father had fallen for her because of one of her paintings. Of course, that later divorce had never been something Xiao Lin's father had expected.

"Linlin, you're finally back. Mom missed you so much," Xu Qiaoling said with delight when she saw Xiao Lin. She ran over in a few quick steps and gave him a big, tight hug.

"Heh, Mom, haven't I come back already? Is dinner ready? I'm starving," Xiao Lin said, clutching his stomach and putting on a pitiful expression.

Seeing his act, Xu Qiaoling tapped his forehead lightly and smiled. "You haven't even spoken to your mother a little longer before asking for food the second you walk in. It'll be ready soon. Your favorite sweet and sour carp, and seafood congee."

Hearing that his mother had made his favorite dishes, Xiao Lin could not help swallowing. He was about to head into the kitchen to steal a bite, but Xu Qiaoling caught him by the arm.

"Look at how impatient you are. Go on, wash your hands first. It'll be ready in a moment."

Xiao Lin scratched his head with a grin, took his luggage to his room, and then went to wash up. By the time Xu Qiaoling had finished all the dishes and brought them to the table, Xiao Lin was already too eager to wait. He grabbed his chopsticks and began eating with gusto. Xu Qiaoling watched her son and did not move her own chopsticks at all, only looking at him with loving eyes.

"Mm... Mom... why aren't you eating?" Xiao Lin asked after choking on a large piece of meat and taking a sip of soup, only to realize that his mother had not touched her food.

"You eat, you eat. Mom likes nothing better than watching you eat," Xu Qiaoling said indulgently.

In the end, Xiao Lin patted his full stomach and let out a loud belch. "That hits the spot!" he said with heartfelt satisfaction.

"Are you full?"

"Mm-hmm, full. I haven't had Mom's cooking for half a year," Xiao Lin said with a cheeky grin.

"Hmph, you even have the nerve to say that. You haven't come back to see me for half a year. Just look at what a fine son I raised," Xu Qiaoling said, huffing a little in complaint.

Hearing that, Xiao Lin immediately ran over to her side, placed his hands on her shoulders, and began massaging them.

"Aw, Mom, I'm back now, aren't I? I even brought you a gift."

"Save it. Don't try to fool me with a gift." Xu Qiaoling snorted. "If you dare stay away that long again, I'll give you a beating. By the way, how's your grandmother's health?"

Xu Qiaoling was not truly angry. She knew Xiao Lin was in his senior year of high school, and with his studies so tight, it was not easy for him to come home. "Your grandmother's doing very well. This time, when I went back to Snow Village with her, she was very happy."

Xu Qiaoling nodded. Although she had divorced Xiao Lin's father, the divorce had come out of anger. Her husband had only ever known how to busy himself with business, and sometimes he would not even come home for the New Year. Xu Qiaoling had grievances in her heart, but she got along very well with Xiao Lin's grandmother. Even after the divorce, she often worried about her mother-in-law. If it had not been for the fact that Xiao Lin was in Beijing with no one to look after him and that she herself had teaching duties and could not leave, Xiao Lin's grandmother would have been living in East Sea. Besides, when the divorce happened, Xiao Lin's grandmother had scolded Xiao Lin's father mercilessly, firmly taking her daughter-in-law's side.

"Oh, right," Xu Qiaoling said suddenly, as if remembering something. "Your grandmother told me you have a girlfriend now, and she even gave that girl the family jade bracelet. Looks like the girl is pretty good. Why didn't you bring her home for me to see?"

"Uh..." Xiao Lin gave a helpless chuckle. That old grandmother of his had told his mother so quickly.

"Um... Mom, I took a car all day and I'm tired. I'll go back to my room and rest first." To avoid being pressed further, Xiao Lin laughed awkwardly and was about to make a run for his room.

"You brat, explain yourself clearly!" Xu Qiaoling frowned as she watched him flee.

How could Xiao Lin possibly stop? He slipped back into the bedroom in a flash and even locked the door behind him.

"This boy... I'm not stopping you from dating, so what is the big deal?" Xu Qiaoling shook her head helplessly and went to clear the dishes.

Back in his room, Xiao Lin let out a long breath and flopped onto the bed in a spread-eagle sprawl. Fortunately, he had escaped into his room. If his mother had caught him and started asking questions, it would never have ended. Thinking of Wang Yuqing, Xiao Lin took out his phone. He first called his grandmother to let her know he had arrived home safely and to reassure the old lady. Then he dialed Wang Yuqing's number.

It rang several times before Wang Yuqing's gentle voice finally came through.

"Yuqing, have you gotten home?"

"Mm, I have."

"Right, I'm eating now. I'll call you back later. And make sure you take your medicine on time. Be careful with your injury."

Xiao Lin had just begun to say a few more words when the call was suddenly cut off. That girl... Xiao Lin wrinkled his nose. Then he vaguely heard a man's voice on the other end: "Qingqing, who was that?" He guessed it must have been Yuqing's father, otherwise she would not have hung up so quickly. Xiao Lin thought to himself.

In fact, that was exactly the case. Wang Yuqing was at dinner when she answered the phone, and the moment her father heard it, he asked who was calling. Afraid her father would detect something from her tone, Wang Yuqing had no choice but to end the call after only a few words. Her father was rather stern, and he did not allow his daughter to date before university. So whenever an unfamiliar number called, he would always ask.

"Nothing, just a classmate," Wang Yuqing said, taking a bite of rice with a very casual tone. Of course, that calmness was only something she was deliberately pretending.

"A classmate? A boy classmate, or a girl classmate?" her father asked right away.

"Mom, look at Dad. My classmate calls, and he has to ask so many questions," Wang Yuqing said, pouting as she turned to the woman beside her and acted spoiled.

"It's fine, Qingqing. Eat your meal. Ignore your father," the woman said with indulgent warmth, then shot Wang Yuqing's father a hard glare. "Old Wang, my daughter has only just come home, and you're already questioning her about this and that. Eat your own dinner and stop bothering my daughter."

Wang Yuqing's mother was named Liu Mei. She was a sales department manager and had a bit of the bearing of a strong, capable woman. Wang Yuqing's father, on the other hand, was a deputy-level city official. Though he carried great authority outside the home, his standing at home was not very high. Liu Mei held the most say in the family, so whenever anything came up, Wang Yuqing would act spoiled with her mother, and Liu Mei doted on her daughter the most.

Seeing that his wife had spoken, Wang Yuqing's father could only say helplessly, "Spoil her all you want. You're going to spoil her rotten sooner or later."

"What do you mean, spoil her? It's only right that I pamper my own daughter. Why do you have to stick your nose in?" Liu Mei shot back.

Her husband was left speechless and had no choice but to shut his mouth.

Seeing her father suffer a setback, Wang Yuqing could not help quietly smiling to herself. Her mother was the trump card she used against her father.

"The blue-green sky waits for the rain, while I wait for you."

His phone rang. Xiao Lin immediately picked it up, only to realize at once that the caller was his father. He had thought it was Wang Yuqing.

"Hello, Dad."

"Son, did you get home safely?" A deep voice came through the line.

"Mm, I got back a while ago. I just finished dinner with Mom."

There was a pause on the other end. "So... how is your mother?"

Hearing his father's question, Xiao Lin could not help laughing. "Dad, why can't you just lower your pride and apologize to Mom already? You're an old married couple, and you're still acting like children, holding grudges. If you ask me, you should hurry up and remarry."

At his son's words, a few awkward laughs came from the phone. "Son, let's talk about that later. I'll be going back this year, back to East Sea, so don't tell your mother. That's all for now. I have to hang up."

Don't tell Mom? Heh, Dad, do you really think that's possible?

After putting down the phone, Xiao Lin smiled smugly.