Qiao Qingyu had seen Li Fanghao angry before, but her mother now seemed like a stranger. Two deep tear troughs crawled up her face with alarming speed, her entire face as pale as if doused with lime. Before her eyes, Li Fanghao aged visibly.
“Mom…”
“Where did you learn this?” Li Fanghao’s eyes were devoid of light, her voice so cold it seemed to freeze the air. “Huh?”
Qiao Qingyu stood dumbfounded.
“Bring me your schoolbag.”
Qiao Qingyu’s expression changed slightly. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Feeling guilty?” Li Fanghao suddenly turned to her, her gaze sharp as a knife. “Bring it here.”
The N95 was lying in the hidden pocket at the bottom of the schoolbag, impossible to find with a casual search. But Li Fanghao was determined to turn the bag inside out. Sure enough, a minute later, she pulled the phone from the hidden pocket.
“Where did you get this?”
“I found it,” Qiao Qingyu replied without batting an eye.
Li Fanghao snorted. “How much did you pay for it?”
“I found it in the school library, last week I…”
A sharp “crack” interrupted her words—Li Fanghao had risen and slapped her across the face.
“I’ll ask you one last time,” Li Fanghao stared at her intently. “How much did you pay for it, or who gave it to you?”
Her left cheek burned as if on fire. Qiao Qingyu bit her lip, forcing back tears. “I found it in the school library.”
“If you found it at school, then it belongs to a student or teacher,” Li Fanghao nodded. “Tomorrow I’ll go to school and ask who lost their phone.”
It wasn’t until the store closed that Qiao Qingyu learned why Li Fanghao had searched her bag—a gold bracelet was missing from the safe.
The bracelet had been an engagement gift from Qiao Lusheng to Li Fanghao.
Without a doubt, Qiao Jinyu had taken it, though he repeatedly denied it when questioned over the phone by Qiao Lusheng.
Meanwhile, Qiao Qingyu also refused to admit that she had instigated her brother’s misdeeds. Enraged, Li Fanghao raised her hand to slap her again, but Qiao Lusheng blocked it.
“Stop hitting her…”
“If I don’t, she’ll end up just like Xiaobai, you’ll see?” Li Fanghao screamed hysterically. “I regret it now—when Xiaobai misbehaved, I couldn’t bear to hit her. I should have hit her, hit her hard, hit her until she learned her lesson!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Fanghao crouched down and burst into loud sobs, forcefully pushing away Qiao Lusheng when he tried to comfort her. The two looked as if they were wrestling.
Frightened, Qiao Qingyu fled to her room. She had never seen her parents so out of control.
A vivid scene flashed through her mind—Li Fanghao rushing onto the school’s main platform during flag-raising. She did not doubt that Li Fanghao would bring the phone to school. Tomorrow would become her life’s nightmare.
Li Fanghao had confiscated the phone and would surely examine it thoroughly. Besides the profile photo Qiao Jinyu had secretly taken last night, there was nothing else to worry about—fortunately, she had been vigilant and habitually deleted messages and photos. Mingsheng’s homework was already completed, so he wouldn’t send any more messages. They had never spoken on the phone. There wasn’t a single contact in the address book.
In the photo Qiao Jinyu had snapped, her long hair was casually tucked behind her ears, her eyelashes casting arc-shaped shadows on her eyelids, her face translucent and soft in the warm yellow lamplight. Seeing herself like this for the first time, Qiao Qingyu found herself captivated by the serene detachment the photo conveyed—Qiao Jinyu had deliberately avoided the clutter on the desk, using the empty white wall as background, making the girl’s pure loneliness as evident as the moon in the night sky.
Lying in bed tossing and turning, occasionally touching the light green notebook under her pillow, Qiao Qingyu secretly anticipated Li Fanghao bursting into her room at any moment to demand who had taken the photo and where. She was prepared to confess everything. As consciousness grew fuzzy and she drifted into nothingness, she thought vaguely that she wouldn’t go to school tomorrow.
But things never went as she wished.
When the alarm went off, she reached out with closed eyes to find the clock, but unexpectedly touched another hand, startling her eyes wide open.
“Get up,” Li Fanghao said while turning off the alarm. “Mom will go to school with you today.”
By the time she finished washing up, Li Fanghao was already waiting by the door with her purse.
“We’ll buy two buns for breakfast on the way,” Li Fanghao watched Qiao Qingyu’s every move coldly. “Your father went to the sports school to find Xiaoyu.”
Following Li Fanghao down the stairs, Qiao Qingyu bit her lip and gently tugged at Li Fanghao’s clothes. “Mom, I didn’t take the gold bracelet.”
“You instigated Xiaoyu to take it.”
The light green notebook was in her school bag. It wasn’t fully light yet. A powerful force pushed Qiao Qingyu forward two steps to block Li Fanghao’s path—she felt that if she could explain everything, dawn would break.
“I did instigate Xiaoyu to search the safe,” Qiao Qingyu blurted out, “but not to steal from home.”
Li Fanghao’s gaze was sharp as a knife, as if she might cut Qiao Qingyu open the next second.
“I just wanted to know how sister died,” Qiao Qingyu said. “When sister died, did she have AIDS, and also…”
Through her schoolbag, her hand touched the hardcover of the notebook, but her words faltered. Across from her, Li Fanghao’s face suddenly turned deathly pale, the sharp look in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a lost yet forcibly composed expression that made Qiao Qingyu’s heartache.
“And what else?” Li Fanghao’s voice trembled slightly.
“And I thought Jinyu wanted to know the truth too,” Qiao Qingyu said softly, “that’s why I asked him to help.”
“What kind of sister are you?!” Li Fanghao berated her. “I know Xiaoyu—he’s always cheerful, not deep and scheming like you! You dragged him into this! I’m a mother to both of you! You think I don’t know?!”
As if struck hard several times, Qiao Qingyu’s scalp buzzed. Two young people hurried past, quickly glancing at the mother and daughter standing in the middle of the road. After they were gone, Li Fanghao grabbed Qiao Qingyu’s wrist. “Come on, let’s go home first!”
Qiao Qingyu had never known her mother’s grip could be so strong, her pace so quick. Though she didn’t resist, she was still essentially dragged into the house.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Li Fanghao slammed the door shut and turned to yell at Qiao Qingyu. “You think those little schemes of yours can fool me? I noticed something was off with you long ago! Tell me, have you been thinking about that Mingsheng in your class all day, wanting to be friends with him?”
Qiao Qingyu was stunned. “Mom, what are you talking about…”
“That Mingsheng, I’ve already asked around about him from students who come to eat at our shop. He looks fine, grades are good, like a celebrity at school, especially popular with girls,” Li Fanghao continued. “Look at yourself, all absent-minded! Sending him messages as soon as school started—you’re a girl, how old are you? Have you no shame?”
This was absurd.
“That Mingsheng is just a good-for-nothing, a scoundrel! Throws money around, always fighting and causing trouble, don’t think I don’t know!” Li Fanghao roared. “If you make friends with that kind of worthless person, your life is over, I’m telling you!”
Qiao Qingyu was so angry she wanted to laugh.
“Tell me honestly, did you learn from that thug Mingsheng, corrupting your brother and stealing from home?”
To be honest, Qiao Qingyu didn’t think Mingsheng was the type to steal money from home. Of course, there was no point arguing this with Li Fanghao—explaining would only dirty herself, making it seem like she cared about clearing Mingsheng’s name. With her sister’s precedent, what Mom feared most was her getting involved in romance too early, Qiao Qingyu understood this.
“Speak up!!”
Li Fanghao’s voice was like thunder. Qiao Qingyu slowly spoke: “Mom, it’s not what you think. I have no feelings for Mingsheng.”
“Then why did you initiate sending him messages as soon as school started? Since when have you ever voluntarily spoken to a boy?”
It was for He Kai. Qiao Qingyu thought, realizing Li Fanghao’s intuition was accurate—she had done this because she had feelings for a boy.
“I didn’t think much of it then, Mom,” Qiao Qingyu said. “I could remember his number only because it was simple and easy to remember, it was unintentional.”
“Keep lying, let’s see how long you can keep it up!”
“Me asking Xiaoyu to open the safe has nothing to do with Mingsheng,” Qiao Qingyu looked into Li Fanghao’s angry eyes, and paused, her heart in her throat. “I wanted to find Dad’s lawsuit documents, or sister’s medical records, to know how sister passed away…”
“Everything was fine for two or three years, then suddenly this—you think I’ll believe your nonsense? Why didn’t you care before?”
“Because,” Qiao Qingyu opened her schoolbag, took out the light green notebook, and turned to the pages with Qiao Baiyu’s fragmented diary pasted in, “I found this at our old house.”
Li Fanghao snatched the notebook, held her breath as she looked for several seconds, and then suddenly leaned weakly against the wall.
For a moment Qiao Qingyu thought Li Fanghao was about to collapse—her lips were white, her face ashen, her hand clenched in a fist against her chest as she took large, rapid breaths. “Mom,” called the panicked and helpless Qiao Qingyu, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Li Fanghao’s voice was barely a whisper: “Get me some water.”
When Qiao Qingyu returned from the kitchen with a cup, Li Fanghao had already gone back to the bedroom and was sitting slumped against the headboard. After taking two sips of the warm water, some color returned to her face, and she gestured with her chin for Qiao Qingyu to sit down.
“Where did you find this?”
The light green notebook was closed now, held tightly by Li Fanghao at her waist. Qiao Qingyu suddenly felt this would be the last time she’d see this notebook.
“During National Day when we went back home,” Qiao Qingyu answered, her gaze lingering on the notebook. “That, the crazy woman… Aunt Qin ran out and threw something down, it was their sister’s diary. Everything else was burned, just these few pages still…”
Her voice gradually faded as her gaze moved upward. Li Fanghao had her eyes tightly shut, two large teardrops sliding down that pale face, silent yet heart-wrenching. Qiao Qingyu was so frightened she dared not breathe.
After a while, Li Fanghao waved her hand: “I understand.”
“Mom,” Qiao Qingyu said carefully, “what sister wrote, it’s true, isn’t it?”
Seeing Li Fanghao’s unchanged expression, she composed herself and explained softly: “This is actually what’s been on my mind. Sister was so pitiful, I used to just blame her, but I didn’t know she had already…”
Qiao Qingyu stopped, observed Li Fanghao’s unchanging expression, and changed course: “Now I understand her, and regret not communicating more with her before. I never took her seriously… Outside, they spread all sorts of rumors about my sister’s death, I know not to listen to outsiders, but I didn’t dare ask you… I just want to know what happened to my sister, I don’t want to be indifferent like before…”
“Your sister is already dead,” Li Fanghao dimly interrupted Qiao Qingyu. “What good does knowing do?”
“I just, want to know the truth,” Qiao Qingyu bit her lip. “Mom, I’m grown up now, not a child anymore. You don’t need to hide family matters from me, I can help bear the burden with you…”
As she spoke, Li Fanghao’s eyes opened, her pupils devoid of light, showing a despair Qiao Qingyu had never seen before.
“Actually,” Qiao Qingyu probed, “sister died because she had AIDS and developed complications during appendicitis surgery, right?”
“What complications, what nonsense?” Li Fanghao demanded harshly. “Where did you read all these strange things?”
“I already know my sister died at Provincial First Hospital, not Weiai Hospital,” Qiao Qingyu steeled herself. “And, Dad didn’t win the lawsuit against Weiai Hospital.”
Li Fanghao’s pupils rapidly dilated, then transformed into a ball of fury directed at Qiao Qingyu: “You think you’re so capable now that you know these things? Your sister, no matter which hospital she died in, was just a liar! An ungrateful white-eyed wolf! Your father and I, which of you three children did we not give our all to? For your sister, how much effort did we spend? When she was here, didn’t we provide the best food and care every day? When did we ever shortchange her even a bit? With you two, I still occasionally say a word or two, but here? With that temper of hers, how dare I say anything to her? How did I treat her, and how did she treat me in return? She never let me see her diary, but gave it to a madwoman! She never considered me her mother at all!”
“Mom…”
“Don’t call me mom, I’m not your mom!” Li Fanghao screamed like a madwoman. “And you’re no better! Finding your sister’s things and hiding them, teaching your brother to do bad things, you think you’re so capable? How many more things are you hiding from me? Am I your mother, huh?!”
Qiao Qingyu was too shocked to speak.
“Fine, let’s say you’re telling the truth, that the gold bracelet was Xiaoyu’s idea and had nothing to do with you,” Li Fanghao changed tack. “Then what about this phone? Really found it? Such a coincidence that you found a new phone?!”
“I…”
“No need to explain, I can figure it out myself,” Li Fanghao stared at Qiao Qingyu, grinding her teeth. “I’m your mother! You can’t fool your mother, no way!”