After that unpleasant parting, the two of them didn't contact each other for a week. Wu Liu likely realized she had crossed a line and invited Qiuyun out for dinner, but Qiuyun declined. It wasn't that she was holding a grudge; she truly had become busy. The museum was launching a Northern Wei mural exhibition the following week, and she spent half of every day in the warehouse, performing manual labor alongside her male colleagues. When she finally finished work, Lin Shaohua essentially claimed all of her remaining time. Qiuyun was too busy to think, and only in the fleeting moments of silence at the cinema did she reflect on her current life, thinking that this was probably what a normal life was supposed to be like.
Or so she thought, until that day happened.
The Northern Wei exhibition was set to begin on Tuesday and run for two weeks. As per routine, the museum was closed on Monday. That day, Qiuyun was the last to leave. She went over the checklist for the next day one last time to ensure everything was perfect before driving home alone. It was past ten when she arrived, and the house was empty. She hurriedly washed up and was drying her hair with a towel when Chen Liping returned, clutching her handbag.
She was wearing a long, burgundy coat. Despite it being late autumn, she didn't seem to fear the cold, wearing high heels that left the tops of her feet exposed. Her hair had been styled at some point, making her look young and fashionable.
Qiuyun glanced at her casually and noticed her face was unusually flushed.
Scrubbing her hair, she asked, "Home so early today? Did you win?"
"Ah... oh..." Chen Liping gave a noncommittal grunt and walked into the bedroom to change.
Qiuyun didn't think much of it and went back to the bathroom to blow-dry her hair. Amidst the mechanical roar of the dryer, she thought she heard Chen Liping saying something to her.
"Mom, what are you saying? I can't hear you," Qiuyun said, switching off the dryer and turning around.
"I..." Chen Liping looked hesitant.
"What is it?"
"I..." Chen Liping’s eyes darted away, and she stammered for a long moment. "I... I lost some money today..."
Qiuyun froze, understanding dawning on her. Chen Liping was usually silver-tongued; it was only when she lost money that she became timid and hesitant. After all, one is soft-spoken when they've eaten another's food, and short-handed when they've taken another's money.
Qiuyun expressionlessly closed the cabinet door of the vanity. "How much did you lose?"
"Twelve hundred."
"How much?" Qiuyun’s eyes widened. "How could you..."
Liping remained silent.
Qiuyun walked straight to the sofa, picked up her phone, and transferred twelve hundred yuan to her.
"That's my salary for the month. I only have five hundred left now," she told Chen Liping.
"I... I didn't... actually, I..." Liping tried to argue.
Qiuyun raised her hand, impatiently cutting her off with a gesture. "Mom, I've been very tired these past few days. The museum exhibition opens tomorrow, and I have to be there early. If there's anything else, let's talk tomorrow."
"Qiuyun..."
"If your luck is bad, don't go. At least don't let Dad come home to find the house penniless." The more Qiuyun spoke, the angrier she became, and she went straight into her room and shut the door.
The living room suddenly fell silent.
Chen Liping stared at Qiuyun’s closed door, her eyes slowly turning red.
Qiuyun actually knew that her last sentence had been a bit harsh. Over the past year or so, Chen Liping had become fond of leisure and play, her focus no longer on the home, but she rarely reached out to Qiuyun for money. The mahjong games she played were usually small—just a few cents or a yuan—with wins or losses amounting to a few dozen, and she mostly won. In Qiuyun’s memory, there were only two times Chen Liping had asked her for money. Once was when she had been cheated out of eight hundred yuan; she had come home with eyes red from crying and didn't touch a mahjong tile for a month afterward. The second time was this instance, losing twelve hundred. Qiuyun wondered if she would learn her lesson this time.
Qiuyun’s alarm was set for seven. When she opened her bedroom door in the morning, she found that Chen Liping had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for her at the table. She was surprised; since Chen Liping had become obsessed with mahjong, she had basically stopped making breakfast for her.
*Perhaps she feels guilty about losing the money yesterday,* Qiuyun thought.
She didn't stand on ceremony and sat down at the table after washing up. It happened to be her favorite: shrimp wontons.
"Mom," Qiuyun said, offering an olive branch, "I spoke too harshly yesterday. Don't take it to heart."
"Mm," Chen Liping responded, lowering her head to drink her soy milk.
"If your luck hasn't been good lately, just don't go. You could go out dancing instead," Qiuyun added.
"Mm."
Qiuyun observed her. This morning, Chen Liping was particularly submissive. It seemed losing that much money really had weighed on her conscience.
Qiuyun felt a bit awkward and tried to further signal her reconciliation. "These wontons are quite good. Did you make them fresh this morning?"
"Mm," Chen Liping replied, still with her head down.
Qiuyun looked up, feeling strange. "What's wrong today? You seem off."
Chen Liping only said, "Just eat. If you like them, have more. There's still some in the pot."
"Mom?" Qiuyun felt something was wrong. "What is it?"
Chen Liping remained silent.
"Mom?"
"Qiuyun, this might be the last time I make shrimp wontons for you," Chen Liping suddenly said in a low voice.
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
Chen Liping didn't speak, but a tear fell without warning into the bowl of soy milk in front of her.
Qiuyun turned pale with shock. She hurriedly set down her utensils and grasped Chen Liping’s hand. "Mom, what's wrong? What happened?"
Only then did Chen Liping look up, her eyes bloodshot. "Qiuyun, don't call me Mom anymore."
"Mom!" Qiuyun panicked. She didn't know what had happened to Chen Liping, and in an instant, every terrible scenario flooded her mind: A tumor? Cancer? Loan sharks? A crime? She tried to find the answer in Chen Liping’s eyes, but Liping only turned her head away, refusing to look at her.
"Mom!" Qiuyun shouted again. "What on earth happened?! Did you... did you owe a lot of money yesterday? More than twelve hundred? Even more?"
"No..." Chen Liping shook her head through her tears.
"Then what is it? Are you... are you sick?" Qiuyun asked again.
Chen Liping still shook her head.
"Then what is it?" Qiuyun was frantic with worry.
"I..." Chen Liping hesitated for a long time before finally making up her mind. She looked into Qiuyun’s eyes. "I... want to divorce your father."
Qiuyun was stunned.
"...What... what did you say...?" Qiuyun felt it was almost laughable.
"I want to divorce Sima Feng," Chen Liping repeated.
Her eyes were still filled with tears, but her gaze was incredibly firm.
"But... but..." Qiuyun was frightened by that look. She couldn't believe her ears and didn't know how to respond. She stammered, "How is that possible... Dad will be out in four years... Last time we saw him, he said his sentence was reduced by another two years... You've always had a good relationship. You made it through the first few years, and you even said you wanted to have a child..."
"Qiuyun," Chen Liping interrupted her. She closed her eyes, and two streams of hot tears fell. "I'm pregnant."
Those two words were like a meteorite crashing into the earth.
The many "whys" Qiuyun had been about to ask could no longer find their way out.
She stared blankly at Chen Liping.
"He's a fellow mahjong player, two years older than me... You know I've always wanted a child, and your father won't be out for several more years..."
"Stop it!" Qiuyun covered her ears and interrupted with a sharp cry. She thought of Sima Feng’s kind face. "How... how could you do this! How could you do this to my father!"
"Qiuyun, it's my fault... but..." Chen Liping grabbed Qiuyun’s hand. Qiuyun recoiled instantly. She stood up and said haltingly, "No, you... you go and get rid of it. I... I won't tell my father..."
"Impossible..." Chen Liping blurted out. "I had trouble conceiving to begin with. If I lose this one, I'll never have one in this lifetime!" As she spoke, she began to sob. Suddenly, she stood up and fell to her knees before Sima Qiuyun with a *thud*. "I've failed you, I've failed Sima Feng. In the next life, I'll be your servant to repay you, but in this life, just treat me as..."
Without thinking, Qiuyun swung her hand and slapped her.
All sound seemed to be severed by a blade, coming to an abrupt halt.
Qiuyun was also stunned. She looked at her right hand in disbelief; it was trembling uncontrollably. Then she looked at Chen Liping, who was clutching her face, staring at her blankly, her eyes filled with shock and terror.
Before Liping could speak, Qiuyun grabbed her bag and fled the house as if running for her life.
