"It's your turn again," reminded Mu Chenyan as she gazed at Mother Yue waiting for her question.
Mother Yue thought about it for a while before she typed on her phone and let the virtual assistant convey her question, "Are you still in contact with Raelle's parents?"
Mu Chenyan rubbed her eye as she replied, "I haven't seen her mother in years. But I do get to see her father every year."
Mother Yue looked surprised as she typed, "Every year?"
Mu Chenyan nodded her head and repeated, "Every year." Seeing the confusion on Mother Yue's face, she elaborated, "I always followed Elder Xiang back to our hometown on Madam Xiang's death anniversary. Ge always shows up there as well. Even though Elder Xiang never allowed him anywhere near Madam Xiang's grave, he still stubbornly shows up." She took a pause and sighed out, "I think stubbornness runs in their blood. Both father and son are equally difficult."
"What about Raelle's siblings? Have you met them?"
Mu Chenyan shook her head and replied, "Even though it was my turn, I'll still give you an answer. I haven't seen or met them."
"You don't like them?"
"It's nothing like that," replied Mu Chenyan. "It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I like my Elle a lot more. In fact, no one can take her place in my life."
"Even a blind person can see that no one can take Raelle's place in your life."
Mu Chenyan smiled at Mother Yue and patted her own cheeks before asking, "Now, it's my turn... And my question is... Don't you miss your home? Your family?"
Mother Yue pressed her lips together before she lowered her head and focused on typing her answer. Soon, Mu Chenyan was able to hear her reply, "I just miss my father. There is nothing else for me to miss. But now, I have gotten way too used to living without him as well." Mu Chenyan noticed a nostalgic smile on Mother Yue's face as she typed further, "When I went to study in Country F, I missed my dad so much that I ran back home every two weeks. And now, it's been 24 years and I still don't feel going back to see him."
Mu Chenyan snorted at her, "Isn't it because you can often see him on tv? You get to see that he is healthy, that's why you are looking so indifferent right now." She suddenly recalled something and exclaimed, "Aiyo, Yue Fai is just like you! He also didn't care about his scholarship and ran back to you from Country G just because he couldn't live without his mom."
Mother Yue chuckled silently and agreed, "He is indeed like me."
"Since you asked two questions, I'll do it as well," began Mu Chenyan. "My next question is... Is there anything you regret in your life?"
Mother Yue didn't respond for a long while. Her eyes stared at Hyson's photo that was hanging in the living room in a daze before she typed for quite a while and placed the phone before Mu Chenyan. This time, she didn't turn on the text-to-speech function. Instead, she made Mu Chenyan read her words on her own.
Curiously, Mu Chenyan picked up the phone and squinted her eyes at the string of words on the screen and her heart evoked a strange ache.
Before her eyes, it was written, 'I don't know if I should call it, regret or not. But I wish I hadn't lost my voice back then. If hadn't lost my voice, my son wouldn't have been bullied for his mother's shortcomings. If I hadn't lost my voice, my son wouldn't have looked at other kids' mothers who called out their names lovingly. He thought he could hide it, but he was still a kid. I could clearly see that my son yearned to hear his mother call his name. And if I talk about regret, it'd be that I never got to sing a lullaby to my son. It makes my heart ache whenever I think of how he used to look at me in silence and yet he never voiced out any of it.'
Reading her thoughts, Mu Chenyan didn't know whether it was because she was really drunk and her emotions were all over the place or were there some other reason but a lone tear slid down her face. She always lost control of her emotions only when it involved Raelle. Most of the time, she was too indifferent to the rest of the people around her.
As for why Mother Yue's words hurt so much must be because she had seen Hyson grow up with Raelle. There was more than one similarity between Hyson and Raelle. They both were extremely sensible from a young age and both weren't unreasonable. Maybe that's why they both never had any excessive demands from life or the people around them as well.
Mu Chenyan crawled over to Mother Yue's side and placing her arms around her shoulder, she pulled her in for a hug saying, "You know why I like you so much? I hate weak women who like to blame others for what happened to them. But you aren't like that. Instead of blaming people or life, you have always fought for yourself. That's what I love about you and trust me, Yue Fai also loves that about you. You have no idea how proud he is to have you as a mother."
Mother Yue looked up at Mu Chenyan with tears brimming in her eyes but she was resolutely trying to hold back her tears. Mu Chenyan patted her head as she went on, "You might think since you couldn't speak, it became a hindrance for Yue Fai but he thinks the opposite. It's because of you that he learned to be strong. You became his strength to face the world. That is why he worships you like God. It's because he knew he had to fight with the world for you that he had been trying his best to become strong." She offered her a smile and added, "So, don't ever call it a regret again."
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