Lin Fengyi opened the door. He looked haggard, and his hair was a little disheveled. Seeing Yan Heqing carrying a schoolbag, he wanted to take it but then pressed his hand down. "Come with me."
Yan Heqing changed into slippers and followed Lin Fengyi to the living room.
The living room was silent.
Mother Lin and Father Lin sat on the sofa, Lin Fengzhi stood in the center of the living room, and Lin Fengyi stood beside the sofa.
None of the four spoke. Mother Lin seemed to be out of her body. When Yan Heqing arrived, Lin Fengzhi was first surprised, then lowered his head and stared at the tip of his shoe, his eyes red, barely managing to hold back his tears.
At this moment, Mother Lin finally showed some warmth; she forced a smile and gestured for Yan Heqing to sit down.
Yan Heqing nodded politely, "I'll be fine standing."
Mother Lin didn't force her. She finally looked at Lin Fengzhi, her eyes filled with memories, melancholy, reluctance, and also determination.
" Lin Fengzhi," she said, "You should go abroad."
She hadn't discussed it with the Lin Family, and their reaction shocked them. Lin Fengzhi looked up, panicked, and said, "I won't go! Mom, I was wrong—"
"It's fine if you don't want to go," Mother Lin interrupted him, her tone still calm. "You're 18 now, you can make your own decisions. You can move out, and I'll pay your tuition and basic living expenses until you graduate from university."
Her words were tantamount to severing all ties with Lin Fengzhi. Father Lin tugged at her hand, "You..."
Mother Lin shook her head, signaling Father Lin to be quiet.
Lin Fengxian and Lin Fengyi were also stunned.
They only knew that Lin Fengzhi going to jump off the building, but they didn't know the content of the conversation on the rooftop.
Lin Fengzhi was completely panicked this time. He took a step towards his Mother Lin, but Mother Lin shook her head, "You don't need to come over. I've thought it through very carefully."
"For him?!" Lin Fengzhi completely broke down, pointing at Yan Heqing excitedly, "You abandoned me for him!"
He suddenly lunged at Yan Heqing, a scene no one expected, and Yan Heqing let him pounce on him.
Lin Fengzhi grabbed Yan Heqing's collar, tears streaming down her face, "Tell me quickly, what kind of bewitching spell did you cast on my mother, you..."
Just as Lin Fengyi was about to pull Lin Fengzhi away, Mother Lin stood up, clutching her chest and panting, "You're still blaming others! I spoiled you and turned you into a devil! I truly regret adopting you!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Fengzhi froze. Feeling wronged and unsure of what to do, he kept crying.
Father Lin felt that Mother Lin's words were too harsh, so he said in a low voice, " Xiaoqin, don't say anymore."
Mother Lin swallowed her tears. "I have to tell you today what a failure I am as a mother."
She closed her eyes, no longer looking at Lin Fengzhi, unwilling to soften her heart again. "The day he threatened Yan Heqing with jumping off a building, he said himself that for Lu Lin, he could abandon his parents and his brothers."
His voice was tinged with bitterness, "I originally wanted to adopt Heqing, but he hid himself to let Lin Fengzhi know. Lin Fengzhi found out because of Lu Lin, and he blamed Heqing."
"Tell me, haven't I raised him into a monster who doesn't recognize his own family?"
After she finished speaking, the living room fell into a deathly silence.
At this moment, Lin Fengzhi as if he had been stripped naked. His whole body was ice-cold, and dark shadows overlapped before his eyes, making it difficult for him to see clearly.
His head was buzzing. After a moment, he released Yan Heqing, mechanically shook his head, and turned to run out.
Chapter 112
Mother Lin found it even harder to breathe. She instinctively reached out to chase after her, but then she clenched her fist, suppressing her wavering.
In the past, whenever Lin Fengzhi threw a tantrum, he would either go back to his room and lock the door, or run out of the house.
By avoiding communication, you can force everyone to compromise.
"Don't go looking for him." Mother Lin wasn't sure if she was speaking to someone else or to herself, "We can't give in this time."
After saying that, Mother Lin called Yan Heqing and went to the garden.
The hydrangeas that were so vibrant just a few days ago are now withered and their blooms have shrunk. They might not even last until the day after tomorrow; they will be completely withered.
Mother Lin stared blankly at the flower, as if looking at herself, her eyes devoid of any light. "I'm sorry, this is the only solution I can think of. I simply can't face him."
Yan Heqing didn't continue the topic. He walked to the flower bed, squatted down, examined the hydrangeas for a while, and then turned back to say gently, "Would you like the hydrangeas to bloom for a longer period?"
Mother Lin's attention was slightly diverted. She was in a daze for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Yan Heqing found a pair of scissors.
As dusk fell, he squatted down in front of the flower bed and carefully cut off all the flower branches, trimming off the stems and leaves.
Mother Lin thought of a possibility, "You want to make them into specimens?"
Preserve their beauty by using dried flowers.
Yan Heqing looked up, and in the dappled sunlight, a faint light shone in his eyes. "No, it's just a change of scenery so they can continue to grow."
Yan Heqing placed the hydrangeas into the pond in the garden.
Mother Lin thought it was just her imagination, but she did feel that the flowers had regained some vitality.
She exclaimed in surprise, "Does this mean hydrangeas are to be planted in water?"
"Hydrangeas are grown in soil, but they absorb a lot of water. After the first bloom, you can make them into cut flowers and keep them in water to prolong their flowering period." Yan Heqing's calm and clear voice soothed even the oppressive, suffocating weather. "The physiological structure of hydrangea sepals makes them disease-resistant and robust, and they don't easily rot when kept in water."
Mother Lin stared blankly at the pond full of hydrangeas. After a while, she turned to look at Yan Heqing, "You're not just talking about flowers."
Yan Heqing didn't deny it, "Human physiology is the same, both fragile and strong." He fell into his memories, "My mother came from a water town, and her health wasn't very good. I remember that she would always fall ill during seasonal changes, and it was difficult for her to lift heavy objects."
"On the day of the fire, she fainted but managed to wake up and carried my brother and me out of the fire."
Yan Heqing put down the last hydrangea, watching it slowly seep into the water. "You will be stronger than you think."
Mother Lin finally shed tears. She turned away and covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.