Shen Moyu put down his pen completely, turned around and looked at Su Jinning's drooping head, and said with a light laugh, "What can I do if I don't want to learn? It seems like there's no other way."
Su Jinning met his gaze, pondering his words. He understood what Shen Moyu meant; his family, his mother, all needed him to work hard to earn money for his studies.
After a long silence, Su Jinning, who had been thinking for a moment, asked, "How long have you been working while studying?"
Shen Moyu pursed his lips: "It's been almost three years." He stared at the slightly faded family photo on the desk: "After my mother broke her leg, this kind of life has continued."
"Are you tired?" Su Jinning asked gently.
"Hmm..." Shen Moyu responded without further concealment, his gaze sweeping over the family photo.
Su Jinning followed his gaze and noticed the photo. Curiosity compelled her to ask, "Is this your father?"
"Hmm." With a sigh, he didn't wait for Su Jinning to ask and continued speaking slowly and softly.
"They got divorced."
Su Jinning was momentarily stunned by his confession. Looking at his calm face, he was somewhat shocked that Shen Moyu would tell him this without hesitation.
"Yes, I heard it from Qin Zhi." Su Jinning leaned her head closer to Shen Moyu. "And the reason?"
“Eight years ago, my mom found out my dad was having an affair and made a huge scene at home. What’s even more ridiculous is that…” He paused here, then laughed self-deprecatingly.
"His child with that woman is seven years old. And I was only nine years old that year." He said the last sentence lightly, but his eyes became empty, as if he could see that scene again.
Shen Donghai and Xia Wei were married for ten years, but he cheated on her for seven of those years.
How ridiculous.
It was a rainy day, with thunder roaring outside the window and constant noise inside.
He had never seen such a volatile mother and such a sorrowful father, nor had he ever seen... the child tugging at his father's sleeve, and the heavily made-up woman beside him.
"You vixen! You deserve to die!" Xia Wei held a fruit knife in her hand, which was still covered with cream from Shen Moyu's birthday cake.
She screamed at the three people who seemed more like a family, her voice hoarse: "Shen Donghai, how could you do this to me? How could you do this to your nine-year-old son?!"
Shen Donghai slumped his head, rubbing his face in his palms, unwilling to face it.
The heavily made-up woman got excited: "I'm warning you! Donghai and I already have a son! Don't shamelessly keep bothering me. I'm rich and powerful, and I can provide Donghai with a better environment for development! Leaving this house to you is already the greatest leniency we can show!"
"The house?" Xia Wei's eyes trembled as she wildly brandished the fruit knife. "This house was bought with my parents' hard-earned money when we eloped! And now it's become your 'forgiveness'?"
Xia Wei clutched her stomach, which was throbbing with anger, her disheveled state a stark contrast to her usual arrogance: "I came to this unfamiliar city with him, we struggled together, we earned money together to support our family! Did you experience the hardships we went through with him? Huh?!"
With each sentence Xia Wei spoke, her emotions grew more and more agitated, until finally she couldn't hold back her tears and cried out, "We both have families! Why should your sudden appearance take everything away from us!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice shrill and piercing, completely shattering the warmth and tranquility that had once filled the home.
The woman couldn't believe it; her lips trembled slightly, yet she still stubbornly argued, "That's your own fault! You, you were the one who abandoned everything to run away to Shanghai with him, you..."
"Enough! Shut up!"
"My father, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke." Shen Moyu leaned back in his chair, narrating the story casually, as if it were a story that had nothing to do with him.
“They…” Su Jinning clenched her fists, her anger and heartache intertwined in her heart.
"They left with the child in their arms, leaving only my mother and me behind."
Her long eyelashes trembled twice, like the wings of a butterfly that had lost its way, fluttering helplessly. Her voice, as thin as a whisper, continued.
"I was terrified at the time. After they closed the door and left, my mother didn't chase after them. She finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed. Her pure white dress was covered in dust."
Shen Moyu looked at Su Jinning and said jokingly, "Back then, I was so naive that I asked my mother if my father would come back to celebrate my birthday with me. Actually, I already knew..."
His tone finally dropped, no longer soft and gentle, but low and somber: "Never again."
Looking into Shen Moyu's lifeless eyes, his heart sank completely, following Shen Moyu's gaze. He felt a suffocating feeling burning in his chest like a raging fire.
Shen Moyu shifted her gaze from the family photo: "Later, my father agreed to leave with nothing, leaving all the property to my mother and me. Over the years, my mother has saved quite a bit, and with my part-time jobs to supplement the family income, it's not too difficult for us to survive in Shanghai."
Looking at his face, Su Jinning felt a mix of emotions.
"It's all in the past, and it's fine as it is." Shen Moyu uncapped his pen again and smiled nonchalantly at Su Jinning.
The more nonchalantly he spoke, the more indifferent he seemed, the more Su Jinning felt the pain in her chest, as if a thousand needles were suddenly piercing it, then slowly being pulled out one by one, making her feel the pain of the needles being withdrawn from her heart, again and again...
"So, what are your plans for the future?" Su Jinning picked at her fingernails, trying to change the subject of this sad topic.
"Plans? Let's take it one step at a time. I'll try my best to study hard and get into a good university." Shen Moyu listed them one by one, talking about these seemingly simple, ordinary, but difficult-to-achieve wishes.
"What about you? Do you have any plans?" Shen Moyu asked him, tilting her head subconsciously, as if returning the favor.
"Me? About the same as you." Su Jinning didn't know how to answer, so she just gave a casual reply.
He had no plans, and he didn't know what to plan; no one had given him any answers. Without a guiding light, he was mostly lost.
Shen Moyu wrote down a word and then asked, "And what is your wish?"
"Wish?" He looked at him as if he hadn't heard him clearly.
“Tell me about the wish you wrote on the Kongming lantern the other day,” Shen Moyu said with interest.
Su Jinning leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling in thought: "I hope my mom comes back soon."
After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and smiled.
"Well, now I have one more wish." Shen Moyu looked at him, leaning on the table, looking a bit childish.
Su Jinning looked at him leisurely, chuckled softly twice, and wanted to hear him continue.
I hope your wish comes true.
Shen Moyu became serious again, and his words were also very serious; he was not joking.
Su Jinning met Shen Moyu's eyes with some surprise. His burning gaze was now filled with tenderness, like a wisp of blue on a calm lake reflecting the bright moonlight and touching his heart.
Su Jinning stared blankly for a while, then laughed and looked away: "Should I add another wish?"
Shen Moyu looked at Su Jinning's feigned conflicted expression and smiled gently, "Tell me about it."
"Then, I hope you are happy, and I hope your world is colorful." He turned his gaze back to Shen Moyu.