"Please… I'm really asking you."
When those almost pleading words slipped softly from Su Rui's lips, Li Kai froze.
It was the first time he had ever seen "his mother" look at him like that—without the usual calm and certainty, but instead with a trace of cautious vulnerability and expectation, as if reaching out for a straw that could slip away at any moment.
In that instant, something subtle deep within him stirred.
The gate of memory quietly opened.
He thought back to his childhood—
His mother, Lin Yueying, always busy running around the village, her figure darting along the ridges between the fields as she arranged marriages for others;
His father working late into the night at the factory in town, coming home smelling faintly of oil and rust.
From a young age, he had learned to take care of himself—cooking meals, cleaning the house, doing homework, independent like a little adult.
But one night, half-asleep, he heard muffled arguing in the living room.
His mother's voice was sharp and urgent, his father's low and restrained.
He curled up under his blanket, not knowing what they were saying—only feeling the air so heavy it was hard to breathe.
Not long after, his mother left the village.
That day, she crouched down so her eyes met his, gently ruffling his hair. Her smile hid a hint of barely noticeable tremor.
"My little Pistachio, Mama's going to work far away… to find your sister. Be good, and listen to your father at home."
From then on, she seldom returned—maybe once a year, at most.
…
The sound of the present pulled him back.
Li Kai lifted his eyes to look at Su Rui—that face was undeniably his mother's, but in her gaze, her tone, her expression… there was a new and unfamiliar warmth.
He looked away, his lips pressing tight for a moment before he finally spoke—
"Alright, I'll help you."
He paused, then added in a low voice that left no room for refusal, "But on one condition."
Su Rui blinked, meeting those dark eyes.
"What condition?"
"Starting tonight, you have to tell me a story… until I fall asleep."
The request was so simple it caught her off guard.
Su Rui chuckled softly, agreeing with ease. "Alright, no problem."
Inwardly, though, she couldn't help but think—Already in middle school, and still needs bedtime stories to sleep. How stubbornly adorable.
Li Kai only gave a quiet "Mm" in response, offering no further explanation.
But his mind had already wandered to another evening—
On his way home from school, he had passed the small shop and overheard a few adults whispering—
"That Lin Yueying… abandoned her husband and son just to go find some daughter. What an unfaithful woman."
In that instant, blood rushed to his head.
That small figure had charged right up to them, eyes burning red, his voice sharp as a blade—
"My mom went to find my sister! And I love my sister too! Mama isn't a bad woman—she's the best mother in the whole world!"
In that moment, he had protected his mother's dignity with all he had.
And now, Li Kai knew—no matter who the person in front of him truly was, her face and her voice were still the most familiar home he had ever known.
Outside, the evening sun spilled through the window, coating them in a gentle golden glow.
In the quiet of the old house's living room, the three of them—each in their own way—had, quite unexpectedly, found a long-lost sense of reunion.
And that warmth felt like it could last… for a very, very long time.