Healing His Paranoia

chapter 03 : A surname

Lin Xuechun and her mother sat side by side in front of the door, their eyebrows furrowed as they confronted a table full of delicious dishes.

Unexpectedly, Lin Xuechun spoke up, “Aren't you feeling any pain in your head?”

Ating paused in peeling the sweet potato, his clear eyes gazing at her.

“Just a little.”

“Are you still thinking about eating meat?”

“No.”

“Do you want to go to the city?”

“No, I don't want to.”

Lin Xuechun picked up the Chinese textbook at the corner of the table and randomly flipped through a few pages.

When she was young and the youngest sister, her grades were among the best.

But in this book, she recognized very few characters, and for a moment she was a little dazed.

Was it that she couldn't recognize the characters, or the characters couldn't recognize her?

Never mind.

Maybe it was fate not recognizing her, or the Tathagata Buddha in the sky not recognizing her.

Putting down the textbook carefully, Lin Xuechun's tone became heavier:

“While your dad isn't here, let's mother and daughter talk openly.

If you have any hidden agendas, don't hide them anymore, tell me about them.”

Ating sensed the suspicion between the lines, put down the sweet potato, and carefully combined many phrases in her head.

“Speak up, don't be like your dad and keep your mouth shut!”

A brief silence followed by Lin Xuechun suddenly losing her temper, slamming the table and standing up, turning her back to Atin.

She muttered angrily, “Forget it!

I don't need to see a doctor, and I don't want to stay with relatives in the city.

I will prove myself.”

Atin spoke slowly, each word carefully enunciated, both clear and determined, “I will take good care of my health, get into a good high school, and not become a laughingstock.”

Lin Xuechun was taken aback, quickly realizing that her heartfelt words from last night had been seen as weak and pathetic.

Atin, her spoiled daughter, had grown up overnight, experiencing the same struggles as she had in her youth.

Atin, her darling daughter.

Lin Xuechun wiped her face silently, then turned around with a fierce expression, “How many points did you get on the exam?”

Ating looked at the test paper in his canvas bag and honestly responded, “Four hundred points.”

“Song Tingting got five hundred and sixty points, her mom was so proud, showing off everywhere, but still didn't dare to mention the high school entrance exam.”

“What is a good high school?

Only the top high school in the county is considered good.

Even as the birth mother, I dare not even think about it.

It's surprising that you dare to say that.”

Lin Xuechun poked Ating's head with her finger, “You little chicken, flapping around and can't even fly half a meter high.

You'll end up with a head full of bruises if you fall.”

Her words were filled with an interesting sense of poetry, with a hint of earthy flavor.

Ating smiled with raised eyebrows, only to be lightly poked again, “Smile, smile, smile.

All you know is to smile foolishly.

If you don't do well on the exam the day after tomorrow, watch me punish you.”

“I found out that Willow Branch is the most efficient in thrashing people.

Wang Jun gets beaten by her mother every day, and you haven't heard it before--” Before the words were finished, a earth-shattering scream came from the next room:

“Oh, Mom, I was really wrong!

Please go easy on me!

What a perfect demonstration.”

The mother and daughter in this room exchanged glances and laughed.

Accompanied by Wang Jun's pleading like a singing opera, Lin Xuechun finished half a bowl of rice porridge and two sweet potatoes, and swept away many dishes like a tornado.

Ating didn't eat much, chewing slowly.

When she finished eating, Lin Xuechun had already finished showering.

Ating also wanted to shower.

Three households shared a two-square-meter bathroom, small but clean and well-ventilated.

Of course there is no shower gel, Lin Xuechun brought a basin of warm water, which had been sun-drenched during the day.

The soapnut has a light fragrance.

After taking a bath and walking out, a cool breeze blows, bringing a refreshing and fragrant feeling to the whole body.

As the sky completely darkens and the light bulb lights up, Ating opens his book again.

“Alright, alright, there's no rush to study hard at this moment.

Don't strain your eyes.”

Lin Xuechun, exhausted, casually reminds Ating to go to sleep early.

Ating asks about his father.

“He must be helping the brothers at the distillery keep watch again.

That's his way.

He treats other people's business as his own, but remains silent about his own matters.”

Lin Xuechun impatiently says, “Just leave the food for him, he knows how to eat it himself.”

After saying that, I went to sleep.

Atin continued reading.

In the 1980s, there were many inconveniences, but the biggest advantage was the leisurely pace.

There were no rushing traffic, no bustling lights and wine.

Time flowed slowly, with a gentle breeze rustling through the hair, cicadas chirping intermittently, blending with the soft croaking of frogs.

Countless lights turned off, countless villagers went to sleep, and in the dusk, there was only one last waiting light in the village, guiding the person who had not yet returned.

Song Yuzhou finally came back, half asleep like a camel, watching his daughter prepare food.

He knew that Lin Xuechun was the best daughter-in-law in the world.

No matter how poor they were, she had the ability to make their lives vibrant.

The only flaw, if any, was her cooking skills that had not improved in years.

Taking a bite of the potato strips with chopsticks, the taste was slightly sour and spicy, with endless flavor.

“What did you do?”

This was the first thing he said to his daughter today, but he didn't look at her.

Atin nodded.

After finishing the meal, Song Yuzhou quickly cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks.

He filled two basins with water, and Atin could tell that the pink plastic basin was hers.

After thanking him, she brushed her teeth and washed her face.

As she stepped on the stairs, Song Yuzhou was still not asleep.

The silent father sat on the doorstep, gazing at a crescent moon, lost in his thoughts.

His figure seemed lonely.

Song Yuzhou entered the house late, and Lin Xuechun turned her back to him and said, “I want to take Atin to the hospital in the city.”

This matter has been brought up more than two or three times, and she often stubbornly gives people a headache.

Song Yuzhou closed his eyelids and his sore muscles sank down.

“Did you hear?”

he replied indifferently, “Not counting living expenses, Xiaodong's tuition and accommodation fees next year amount to 120 yuan.”

In this day and age, a salary of 30 yuan is common, while state-owned enterprises earn 50 to 60 yuan at most.

The couple is not afraid of hard work, but the house belongs to their parents, so they still have to pay rent, and only allow more, not less.

They have to grin and bear it, calling it filial piety money, which they have no choice but to leave for their elders.

Their son is studying at a university, so he always needs some money.

Their daughter has an extravagant heart, and if other families have something good, she must have it too.

Pressured by two generations above them, they have become the meat squeezed on the chopping board, struggling to survive.

They have thirty yuan on hand for emergencies, and two hundred yuan buried in the backyard, which is far from enough for their children's future dowries and wedding gifts.

Lin Xuechun also understands this logic, she coils her hands against the wall and mutters, “Ating's high school entrance exam is in a few days.

I'll buy a pork rib tomorrow and get two bottles of Vitasoy.”

It turns out to be a well-dug trap, if they can't go to the hospital, they at least need to buy meat and milk, and they won't allow any objections.

“We're out of powdered milk at home?”

“Vitasoy is better.”

Vitasoy is a specialty of the northern city.

The northern city is a hundred thousand miles away from Rimo Village, and this scarce commodity that can't be easily obtained is hard to find in the whole county.

There is a famous “Miss Fu” at the west end of the Rimo Village.

Her grocery store sells all kinds of rare goods, and they are cheaper than elsewhere.

But her reputation is not good.

“Don't let people see you,” Song Yuxiu fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, when the moon hung in the sky, the cursing next door started again.