Chunhua sighed for the tenth time of the day.
"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Liling blinked. "Is everything okay?"
She pressed her lips together. "I don't know…Hai seems to be a bit disturbed these days. He is not telling me anything."
She gasped. "Did you two fight? But that's impossible."
"No, we didn't fight. But something is bothering him. It feels like he is always thinking about something and these days, he hardly comes home. Most of the days he remains cooped up in his office."
Her nostrils flared. "How dare he! Here you are pregnant and he is ignoring you!"
"No, no," she shook her head. "It's…I don't know how to explain this. I can tell something has happened, but I don't know what."
Liling held her hand. "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will talk to Bro and set him straight," she harrumphed.
She smiled. "Thank you. But it will be fine. I keep wondering…if it's about…"
Understanding the implication, Liling stiffened. "I mean…"
"Mom!"
A little boy of five years old came running to her side and hugged her waist. "I completed all my homework!"
"Aiyaaa! My Jianyu is so responsible!" Liling shone, squishing her cheek against his. "Just like Guiren. So sincere and earnest! The academics genes have surely come from him~"
Jianyu sheepishly grinned. Behind him followed Jinhai, who gave the same update to his mother.
"I am done with my homework."
"Good, good!" Chunhua pinched his cheek, earning a slight furrow of a brow from him.
"Aish, you don't like me pinching your cheeks, do you?"
There wasn't a visible change in his expression but a certain level of displeasure hid behind his impassiveness.
"If you tell Huian not to pinch my cheeks anymore, then I will be fine."
"Aww, Huian likes you," Liling chuckled. "Aren't you happy you made a new friend?"
"I am not too happy. I am not too sad. It's just okay, Aunt," Jinhai said plainly.
Chunhua said, "I heard from Hai that he, brother-in-law Guiren and Xiang Fei will be working on a new project together. Is brother-in-law doing fine?"
Liling chuckled. "He wants to wholeheartedly focus on teaching, but you know how Bro is. He keeps dragging him into his business proposals. That's how much he adores and trusts Guiren. Not like Guiren minds though. He doesn't show it, but flowers definitely bloom around his head when he works with Bro."
"It's a whole garden for Hai," they laughed.
Just then Chunhua received a call, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Ah, I am getting late!"
Liling pouted. "Do you really have to go to work? You should be resting more. You are already in your seventh month."
She sighed. "I know, I know. From next month it is. Once I complete my internship under my mentor's guidance, I can start applying for more planning projects. I cannot wait to lead a project on my own!" She shone.
Jianyu blinked. "Mom has to work too."
Liling's brow twitched. "Don't remind me of my deadline!"
"But you keep dumping your customer phone calls to me," he frowned. "They are waiting for their dresses."
Liling wiped the corner of her eyes in a dramatic motion. "Fashion is art, my dear. And art is a tough sea to sail through."
"But you just eat chips and watch TV the whole day. Where is the tough sea?"
"..."
Liling dropped a smack on his head. "See, this part of your personality is just like Bro Hai! Better stay away from him or your tongue will only get more poisonous."
Jinhai looked at his mother. "Mom, can I visit Dad?"
"At the office?"
He nodded. "I have nothing else to do."
Liling said, "Aiya, don't you always like to be with sister-in-law? Hehe, you follow her everywhere and protect her and your little sibling. Such a responsible son and brother," she sniffled.
If her compliments had made him shy, Jinhai certainly didn't show it one bit.
Chunhua smiled and ruffled his hair. "Yes, you should go. See if he is…doing okay."
—
When a light fingertap popped on the back of his hand, Hai's eyes opened at once - and stiffened at once as if frozen into a block of ice.
"...What are you doing here?"
"I did my homework and played with Jianyu too. Then I got bored."
"Office is even more boring."
"I wanted to see you working. Also, can you give me some money?"
"Money?"
Jinhai pursed his lips. "Huian wants a gift. She is insisting on a gift."
"Fei's daughter. You have become quite good friends, haven't you?"
"So-so."
"She likes you."
"I like her too."
Hai chuckled. "She likes you the way Chunhua likes me. I can tell that much."
"Really?" Jinhai glanced left for a moment and then back at him. "I don't think I like her the way you like Mom."
Hai beamed. "Oooo, do you like someone else then~?"
"No."
"Really?" He pouted. "Aren't you such a handsome young boy? No scandals in school?"
"No," he said after a pause, "she can like Jianyu."
Hai's brow twitched. "Feelings cannot be transferred like that, idiot. Your object of affection cannot be replaced like it's a toy. Would you like it if I like someone other than your mother?"
"I will kill you."
His eyes widened and a moment later, he burst into a hearty laughter. "Ahahaha! Good, good, that's the spirit…Death by your son's hands feels very poetic."
"What?" Jinhai tilted his head, confused.
He snapped back from his momentary daze and smiled. "Nothing."
Taking his wallet out, he handed over a thick wad of cash. "Here."
"I don't need this much."
"Take it anyway."
Jinhai stared at the cash and then at him. "You don't have to give me this much. I told you I have nothing to tell Mom."
He froze. Feeling an invisible noose tighten around his neck, his messy breaths struggled to make him feel sane.
"So you should start coming back home. Mom is worried that you spend your nights in the office almost everyday. I don't want you to make her sad. She is having a baby. I don't want you to be sad too because I have nothing to tell Mom."
Hai reached out and held his small shoulders, gently tugging closer to his side. His trembling lips parted, his void gaze searching for light in his son's beautiful eyes.
"Why do you…have nothing to tell her?"
"Because I know you love me."
