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Chapter 18: Laying It Bare with Mother
"Don't know if Mom came home." Qi only realized the problem when he reached the door.
Though he'd heard her leave the cheap motel with two men last night, he couldn't be sure she hadn't gone elsewhere afterward. After all: car sex, karaoke, then a motel was she satisfied? He didn't know. He hadn't known, until now, that she was this debauched not just cheating with many men, but taking two at once; not a mother, but a bitch in heat.
The thought filled him with disgust. He shook it away, took out his key, and opened the door.
The home was quiet. He didn't think much of it, rushed to the kitchen, and gulped cool boiled water. He was parched. Then he hit the shower. From dodging Beigong's pursuit to having sex with that stranger, he'd sweated over and over. He could smell himself.
After the shower, he felt a bit restored. He stepped out naked and nearly jumped: Mother stood there, furious.
"Mom…" He froze, then covered his groin at once.
She had been ready to lash out, but when she noticed his nakedness, she turned away in a fluster. "Go to your room and get dressed."
He ran to his room, shut the door, dressed and thought fast. He took too long. She stomped over, pounding his door.
"Qi done? Come out."
Silence.
"Smack, smack."
…
"Qi, don't play games. Come out. Mom is angry!"
Still no answer.
"Thud, thud, thud!" She pounded the door. "Qi, get out here! Think you can hide in there forever?"
"Forever?" He shivered. No. He couldn't avoid this forever. He gritted his teeth. What was there to fear? She had leverage on him but he had leverage on her. If it came to it, he would go all the way. He steadied himself, opened the door.
She snapped immediately: "Explain where were you last night?"
He was eerily calm. "Out with friends."
"What friends? Where?" She stared, unblinking.
"Mom…" he drew the word out. "Do you really want me to say it?"
"Of course. Say it all, honestly." His tone and posture sent her temper soaring.
"Alright, I'll say it."
The look in his eyes and the set of his mouth turned her face red.
"Drop the act! Speak!"
"First, I went to the coastal boulevard lots of cars rocking there. Then I went to the karaoke with friends. Cops came midway; heard they nabbed a few. It got late… I went to a motel to sleep. It's cheap eighty for the night, or fifteen an hour…"
He took his time, watching her eyes. Her expression was a show: confusion, then shock, then fear.
"You… you… you…" She went pale and could barely speak. Finally: "…You were tailing me!"
Qi felt a twinge of pity. But if he didn't settle this now, once Father returned, his "overnight absence" would cause endless trouble.
"Mom, don't put it so harshly. Tailing? I just took a certain route, that's all." He felt the reins in his hands.
"You… you saw?" She trembled all over.
He didn't answer right away. He weighed his words. "See what? That depends on you."
She blinked, thinking. He watched her heaving chest and, unbidden, imagined the scene beneath her clothes.
"Mom doesn't know what you mean." Her voice was cold; her clenched jaw betrayed her shift. It was enough.
"Mom, I'm not little anymore. Some things, let me decide. Don't try to manage everything." His tone softened to their usual. "Your life is yours. I've no right to meddle, and no need. And don't worry about me talking I'm not that stupid. So… from now on, don't interfere with what I do, okay?" He lowered his head give and take. Don't push to the breaking point. Averted eyes signal retreat; she wouldn't miss it.
She stared at him as if seeing her son for the first time. They stood there in the doorway. Her breathing slowed from harsh to even. After a while, she turned, walked into the parents' room, and shut the door.
Qi exhaled, went back to his own room, and collapsed on the bed, hands behind his head, mind tangled. He didn't know how to face her now. He was sure of only one thing: she wouldn't press the "overnight" issue, nor tell Father. But her attitude toward him that hurt.
No matter what life they led, his parents had always loved him. He'd read enough to know that. And now? He felt they had torn the veil. Could he still remain here? A crazy thought came: run away.
To Aunt's? She would shelter him even support him. She knew him, knew his family. But that would force her into outright opposition to his parents. He couldn't do that to her. Then what wander? Before, he would have mocked himself: a middle-schooler, no skills only begging. But after meeting Beigong, he wasn't so sure. Wasn't she, in a way, homeless? He was a man could he do less?
A heavy thud sounded from the parents' room something crashing to the floor. He sat up, stunned, then bolted to the door. Locked.
"Mom? What happened? Open the door open up!" He pounded; no answer.
"Forget it " He threw his shoulder into it. After several slams, the lock gave.
Mother sat collapsed on the floor, a bruise rising on her forehead, unconscious. He rushed over pressed her chest, pinched the philtrum. After a while, her breath settled; she opened her eyes. When she saw him, disgust filled her face. She tried to push him away but had no strength.
He didn't hesitate lifted her onto the bed, pulled off her shoes and socks, tucked her in, then stood aside. Perhaps the care softened her; her face was still cold, but less so.
"Mom what happened?" he asked gently.
"Hmph." She turned her face away.
He scanned the room and spotted a clear dent on an open wardrobe door. Remembering the sound, and her bruise, he guessed: she'd smacked her head closing or opening the wardrobe hard enough to knock herself out.
He thought, then spoke: "I know you're mad at me. But you shouldn't bang your head over it." Before she could respond, he turned and slammed his own forehead into the same edge.
Thud. Stars burst behind his eyes. He didn't know why he did it only that she had suffered and he was the cause. Suffering the same pain felt… right.
"Qi are you crazy?!" she cried, trying to sit up but too weak to rise. Seeing he hadn't fainted, she relaxed then saw the bleeding welt on his brow and tensed again. "What are you doing come here, let me see."
Dizzy, he stumbled to the bed. She laid a hand on his forehead. "Thank goodness no bone. It's okay." Her voice overflowed with care.
Clarity returned slowly. Her touch was soft, warm like childhood, when she stroked him to sleep. His eyes drifted shut. He slept.
He didn't know how long. He jerked awake; Mother still sat as before, her hand on his brow, now gentle, her expression back to its usual warmth.
"I'm tired," she whispered. "I want to sleep a while. Qi, go on out."
He nodded, stood, and at the door turned. "Do you want to eat something?"
She paused, a faint smile twisting her lips. "You can cook?" Skepticism colored her voice.
He grinned. "First time for everything." He left, checked the clock in the living room late afternoon already. He'd slept for hours. He shut her door gently and headed for the kitchen. He'd bragged; now he had to deliver. But he truly didn't know how. Pots and gadgets he didn't even know their uses.
He would have to ask Aunt.
He hurried to his room and grabbed his phone from where he'd tossed it by the pillow before Mother fainted. Several unread texts. The first two from Aunt:
"The little girl's gone home telling you so you don't worry! You big liar!"
"No reply? Sleeping in? Brat, just wait skip training and I'll kill you when I see you!"
He smiled. Aunt worried for him.
Then an unfamiliar number: "Handsome boy, call me when you can."
He blinked then checked call logs. The number appeared twice: once for that text, once as an outgoing call on his phone. The timestamp: the small hours last night. He hadn't used his phone in the motel.
In a flash, he understood. "That tramp used my phone while I slept!" Rage flared. He texted back: "Get lost."
That vented some heat. He called Aunt. Her scolding hit immediately:
"What the hell? Only now you call? Did you slack off? Finished today's training?"
"No. I didn't go out." He couldn't lie to her.
"What? Are you kidding me? You think I drew that plan for fun? You have to finish it "
"Aunt, listen Mom fainted." He cut in.
"What? Your mom fainted… Didn't she sneak out on a date last night? Played too hard?" Aunt, surprised, couldn't resist a jab.
Qi could only give a bitter smile. Aunt's view of Mother had sunk low. "It's not what you think. She probably hit the wardrobe while tidying."
"Oh see? As if going out could make you faint. I'd like her to introduce her man to me, haha." Aunt laughed, then relented. "How bad? Serious? Is she awake?"
"Just scrapes. She woke earlier and is sleeping now."
"I see. Alright Aunt won't chase you about slacking this time. Need me to come help?"
"No need. I can manage. Um… Aunt I wanted to ask something."
"Oh? What? Why so polite?" Suspicion edged her tone.
"I… I want to cook something for Mom. How do I… do that?" He blurted it out, and Aunt went quiet. After a while, she asked, out of nowhere, "Would you cook for Aunt, too?"
He was taken aback then smiled. She was jealous. The more she cared, the happier he felt. He was falling for her more every day.
"Of course. Once I learn, the first I cook is for Aunt."
"Yeah, right. Liar. Your Mom will be first."
He winced he had walked right into that one. Weren't women in love supposed to be fools? Aunt caught that instantly. He faltered, and she relented:
"Alright I'll stop teasing. She shouldn't eat greasy stuff. You won't manage more anyway. Make congee. First wash the rice…"
He followed her instructions: wash rice, into the cooker, add water, hit "porridge."
Only after he'd finished did she hang up. Now he had to wait.
The unknown number chimed again: "Little brother, so fierce… Sis is scared. Sis is so lonely. Come keep me company."
He frowned and nearly blocked it. But the word "lonely" tugged some small string in him. In the end, he only deleted it.
The cooker's light finally blinked. He filled a bowl, grabbed a spoon, and carried it to Mother's room.
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