A mother who always frowned

"Ding-dong~"

Song Shiwei rang the doorbell outside apartment 1605 in one of the residences at Pearl River Imperial View.

Before long, the security door opened, and a woman of about fifty poked her head out. She wore an apron, and her hands and feet were a little rough.

Seeing Song Shiwei home, she greeted her warmly and politely. "You're back, Weiwei."

Then she took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet in the entryway and carefully set them on the floor.

"Thank you."

After changing into the slippers, Song Shiwei went into the living room, where a middle-aged woman sat on an expensive, elegant sofa.

She was probably in her early forties, though she looked a little younger thanks to taking good care of herself. She wore gold-rimmed glasses, and Song Shiwei bore some resemblance to her.

By all rights, she should have been very beautiful, but the faint lines between her brows from her habitual frowning detracted a little from that beauty.

She was Song Shiwei's mother, Lu Man, a professor at South China Agricultural University. Her students had even voted her the most beautiful female professor in the university's ninety-eight-year history.

Seeing her daughter return, Lu Man picked up her phone from the rosewood coffee table, glanced at it, and suddenly frowned.

"Why are you home ten minutes later than usual?"

"I got held up in the classroom."

Song Shiwei seemed used to her mother's tone and answered without expression.

"If you were in the classroom, that's fine."

Lu Man put down her phone. She sounded as though she were talking to herself, yet there was also a sarcastic edge, and even a touch of self-pity. "Just don't be like your father. To avoid seeing me and arguing, he buries himself in work and disappears for ten days or half a month. He even sleeps in his office."

Song Shiwei did not respond. She quietly returned to her room.

At once, the enormous, luxurious living room fell silent again.

Lu Man sat on the sofa for a while, then unconsciously frowned again. There was some regret on her face, as though she were reflecting on how she should not have spoken to her daughter that way.

Eventually, another housekeeper emerged from the kitchen and said respectfully, "Professor Lu, the bird's nest soup with snow fungus and lotus seeds is ready."

"Oh, how long has it been cooking?"

Lu Man tapped her phone screen to check the time, then went into the kitchen.

On the phone's wallpaper, before the screen quickly went dark, a delicate, graceful little girl in a white dress sat among flowers, her lips gently pressed together.

Beside her was a line of text: In celebration of Weiwei's tenth birthday.

The apartment covered nearly three hundred square meters, and the kitchen alone measured over forty. An ornate chandelier hung like a dazzling curtain of pearls, bathing the kitchen in a brilliant glow.

A bowl of bird's nest soup with snow fungus and lotus seeds sat on the marble counter.

Lu Man walked over, scooped up a little with a spoon, and tasted it. Then she shook her head. "Let it cook a little longer. The lotus seeds still feel a bit firm. It's so late; Weiwei needs something easy to digest."

"Of course."

The housekeeper promptly agreed and put it back over a low flame.

Lu Man returned to the living room. The furniture and decorations were all exquisite, but none of them could speak. They were silent, lifeless objects.

The kitchen was so well soundproofed that not even the range hood could be heard from the living room.

Once again, it felt as though the only sound in the house was her own breathing.

After sitting alone for a while, Lu Man suddenly felt terribly stifled, so she quietly went out onto the balcony.

Her home was spacious, and its layout offered a broad view, allowing her to see clearly into some of her neighbors' daily lives.

On the eleventh floor opposite, what appeared to be a young married couple were cuddled together on the sofa watching television.

On the eighth floor was a mischievous little girl who still refused to sleep at this hour. She was learning to ride a bicycle in the living room, her father staying close to support her while her mother watched from behind with a smile.

On the fourteenth floor, there seemed to be an elderly couple. The wife was cutting her husband's hair, while he held a mirror and tilted his head this way and that, as though lamenting the passage of time.

As Lu Man watched, a lonely look suddenly came over her face.

These people might not be as wealthy as her family, but they all seemed to have someone beside them.

Only when the housekeeper came to tell her that the bird's nest and lotus seed soup was ready again did Lu Man return to the kitchen. She tasted it and said, "That's fine. I'll take it to her."

Carrying the tray, Lu Man went to her daughter's bedroom and knocked a couple of times. Song Shiwei came to open the door.

"Have something to eat first."

Lu Man set the tray on the desk, then suddenly tapped her forehead as though she had remembered something and hurried out again.

When she returned, she was holding a new set of pajamas. "The new housekeeper apparently didn't know that all the clothes you wear next to your skin have to be washed by hand. She put your pajamas in the washing machine. I'm throwing those out, so just wear these new ones."

"Oh."

Song Shiwei kept her eyes lowered and ate in small mouthfuls.

Lu Man sat beside her, watching her beautiful daughter as she asked, "Have the Second Mock Exam results come out yet?"

Song Shiwei paused briefly, then shook her head. "Not yet."

In fact, if nothing had happened that evening, the Second Mock Exam papers should have been handed back already.

But results for monthly exams sometimes did come out a day late, so Lu Man did not suspect anything. She merely frowned again without realizing it. "I still don't really understand why you refuse to study abroad. Your English is so good. You wouldn't have any trouble communicating."

Whenever she was asked something she did not want to answer, Song Shiwei would pretend she had not heard. This time was no different.

"Fine, forget studying abroad."

Lu Man sighed, but still would not let it go. "You won't go to Tsinghua and Peking Universities either. You insist on attending university in Eastern Guangdong! I just don't understand. Is there something here you're so attached to?"

"I'm finished."

Song Shiwei suddenly put down her spoon and spoke in a quiet, flat voice.

"You're just like your father. You're determined to drive me mad!"

Lu Man picked up the tray, but as she was about to leave, she could not help adding, "Don't stay up late tonight. You have to go to bed before midnight."

"I know."

Song Shiwei's reply was cool.

After Lu Man left, Song Shiwei lowered her head and went back to her practice questions.

Before she knew it, midnight had come again. Right on time, a knock sounded at the door. "It's about time you went to bed."

"Just a little longer."

Song Shiwei still had one question left to finish.

"Fifteen more minutes at most!"

There seemed to be irritation in Lu Man's voice. She was probably frowning again.

"I want to see your lights off in fifteen minutes."

Lu Man stood outside the door for a while, then left after that final remark.

This time, Song Shiwei said nothing. A desk lamp stood on the round rosewood table, its light falling across her jade-like face, bright on one side and shadowed on the other, outlining her delicate, graceful features.

Only when her mother's footsteps had faded did Song Shiwei raise her head and look at the photograph on her desk.

I don't know who's right or wrong when it comes to the problems between you and Dad.

But if I leave Eastern Guangdong, won't you be the only one left at home?

You're always saying you don't understand what there is in Yuecheng that I'm so attached to.

Have you ever considered that it's you?

In the photograph, her beautiful mother had an arm around her daughter's shoulders, and both were smiling radiantly.

When Song Shiwei got up the next morning, the housekeeper had already prepared breakfast, and her mother, Lu Man, was up as well.

"You got up five minutes later than usual."

Lu Man checked the time and frowned again.

Song Shiwei said nothing. She sat down at the dining table and began eating breakfast.

Having already finished her own breakfast, Lu Man went into her daughter's room to pack her schoolbag. When she fetched her shoes, she noticed some dirt on one corner of her daughter's white sneakers.

The housekeeper was busy tidying the kitchen, so Lu Man found a tissue herself, bent down, and carefully wiped the shoe.

Only after it was clean did Lu Man let out a soft breath. She glanced at Song Shiwei and said, "I'll go downstairs and get the car. You..."

Without realizing it, she frowned slightly again. "Don't rush your breakfast. When I said you got up five minutes late, I wasn't telling you to eat faster. Can't I just drive a little faster?"

(There will be another chapter at eight tonight.)

(End of chapter)