The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 509: Lied to You

“Do you remember sending me to Children’s Palace[1] to learn math for the olympiad when I was in my fifth year in elementary school?”

“Of course I do.” Lin Yue smiled. “Your homeroom teacher said that you had talents in math and would be a good student, so I applied to the math olympiad class at Children’s Palace for you.”

“I don’t like math at all.”

Lin Yue was still smiling. “I know. You stop getting top scores in math after getting into middle school.”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded. “Actually, I didn’t go to Children’s Palace on the weekends. I went to the arcade to play games instead.”

“Heh, I knew already. Were you apologizing for that?” Lin Yue sighed in relief. “Do you think you could hide that from me?”

Gao Yang paused. “How did you know?”

“I knew as soon as I looked into your eyes.” His mother’s gaze softened. “You’re a terrible liar. It shows in your eyes every time you lie, just like your dad.”

Gao Yang was surprised again. “Do you know that Dad lied to you too?”

“I do.” Lin Yue smiled wryly. “Later, I asked him to take you to Children’s Palace to make sure you didn’t skip class, but he went to the arcade with you instead, and you lied to me together.”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang lowered his head. “Dad told me that I didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to, and he told me it would be a secret between two men, that I should hide it from you, Granny, and Xinxin.”

His head remained low as he added, “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I really didn’t like competitive math.”

Lin Yue sighed. “I know, silly boy.”

“Then why did you pretend to not know?” Gao Yang didn’t understand. “Why didn’t you scold me or beat me?”

“I didn’t have the heart. You’re my little boy,” Lin Yue said. “But I hope you understand that I have to be a good mother to you. If I indulge you like your dad and granny did, you’d never grow up.”

Gao Yang nodded. “I know.”

“Look where you’re now.” Lin Yue smiled, satisfied. “Our Yang Yang is all grown up. You’ll be a successful adult in the future. I don’t regret anything I’ve done for you.”

Gao Yang’s chest tightened. His mood quickly took a downturn. “But Mom, have you ever considered the possibility that I don’t want to be successful? I’m so tired...”

She didn’t say anything but watched him with eyes curved in a smile.

Gao Yang felt like a fifth-grader again. His nose prickled, and he burst into tears, sobbing. “Mom, I’m so, so tired...”

“Ah!” His mother was a little taken aback. She quickly stood up to come up to him, holding him gently. “What happened, Yang Yang? Did someone do something to you...”

Gao Yang could no longer keep his emotions in check. He threw his arms around his mother and broke down, bawling. “Mom, math olympiads are so difficult. I can’t do it. I don’t want to go to the class. Can I not go? Can I not learn it...”

His mother’s eyes turned red as well. She stroked his hair, letting out a long sigh. “Silly boy.”

...

Gao Yang had a good cry in his mother’s arms. At the end of it, he felt lighter than he had felt for a long time.

Then he washed up and went to bed, sleeping soundly until noon.

It was lunch time when Gao Xinxin knocked on his door, barging in and kicking his butt through the blanket. “Wake up, you sleepyhead! The sun’s high up already!”

“Hm...” Gao Yang struggled to wake up, his voice weak. “I rarely stayed at home. Won’t you be a little gentler with me...?”

“Ha, go look for your girlfriend if you want to be treated gently,” Gao Xinxin retorted. “She’s gonna be gentle and careful with you for sure.”

Gao Yang threw off the blanket and sat up, smirking. “Makes sense. I should ask her to go to the theater with me this afternoon...”

Gao Xinxin grabbed the pillow and slammed it into Gao Yang’s face. “Stay at home today and don’t go anywhere! Spend more time with Mom and Dad, you hear me?!”

“Aye, aye—”

Gao Yang’s mother had taken a day off today. She spent the morning busying about in the kitchen, preparing a full lunch.

Sitting at the dining table, Gao Yang’s father complimented his wife’s cooking as usual before starting a conversation. “I had a dream last night. It was really strange. I heard someone crying in the dream. They cried like they were totally heartbroken...”

“Ack, ack, ack...” Gao Yang almost choked on rice.

“When I got closer, I saw that it was a lamb.” Gao Shou looked at Lin Yue. “Sweetheart, I saw you holding the lamb and combing its coat while it wailed. It was shouting at the same time, ‘It’s too hard. I don’t know how to solve the problem...’”

“That’s all over the place.” Gao Xinxin couldn’t make heads or tails about the dream.

“Yeah, it’s utter nonsense.” Gao Shou seemed confused too. “Why would I have such a strange dream?”

He then turned to Gao Yang. “Don’t you know how to interpret dreams, Son? Explain it to me.”

Gao Yang suppressed an eyeroll and quietly shoved some rice into his mouth, rattling off casually, “Not every dream has a deeper meaning. Sometimes, we simply dream about what we’ve been thinking during the day.”

“The lamb you dreamed about must be the birthday gift sis and I gave Mom. The scarf is made of wool. The fact that Mom was combing the lamb coat must mean that Mom loves the scarf, right?”

“Makes sense!” Gao Shou blinked. “But why did the lamb speak, and what problems was it solving...”

“Haven’t you been watching The Awesome Brain or whatever it’s called every day and playing along with the contestants? Perhaps that leaves an impression on your subconscious.”

“Yeah.” Gao Shou seemed convinced. “That makes total sense.”

Gao Yang sighed in relief.

After lunch, Gao Yang did the dishes. Then the family went strolling together as physical therapy for Gao Shou.

It had only been a few days, but his legs had recovered well—it was all an act, of course.

The four of them walked around the gated community. Then Lin Yue and Gao Xinxin went to a new snack shop for some food, while Gao Shou and Gao Yang rested on a public bench by the road.

Watching his wife and daughter walk away, Gao Shou narrowed his eyes slightly. “What happened last night, Son?”

Gao Yang paused. “Nothing.”

“Don’t try to hide it. You cried so loudly in your mother’s arms. I couldn’t not get woken up.” Gao Shou smiled. “Did something happen? Tell Dad. I can help you.”

Gao Yang sighed and said quietly, “Auntie Mei died.”

“Huh?” Gao Shou was a little surprised. He looked around before leaning toward Gao Yang. “She died? How?”

“I guessed right. She’s a life monster.” Gao Yang summarized what had happened the past two days as simply as he could, replacing the keywords with euphemisms since they were in public.

Gao Shou’s expression grew heavy as he listened.

Realization dawned on him. His pupils contracted.

1. A public facility in China where children engage in extracurricular activities. ☜