"Jiang Xinnian, are you going to tell me or not!"
"Son, I was planning to, but since you just kicked me, your old man’s decided to teach you a lesson!"
Jiang Xinnian sprinted ahead while Jiang Liu chased after him, the two of them dashing past a group of kids playing in the dirt.
"So it’s true that I have a girlfriend?"
"Damn right, son!"
Jiang Xinnian quickly hopped into his beat-up second-hand Sagitar, honked at his son, and sped off.
Before leaving, he even shouted:
"Make up some nice stories about your old man in front of your little girlfriend! When you get married, I’ll sell everything I own to impress the in-laws!"
"I don’t believe a word you say!"
The streets, nearly at rush hour, might as well have been an amusement park to him—he vanished around the corner in two minutes, leaving no trace.
...
Outside the Ginza Supermarket.
"Anyway, Dad’s idea is for us to move out."
Jiang Liu took his mom’s backpack, which usually held a thermos and a big roll of toilet paper from home.
But today, it was clearly different.
Unprepared, Jiang Liu nearly stumbled from the weight when he took it.
Why is it so heavy?
Mom was still mulling over the move.
"Did he say why?"
"No, but I bet he just wants some money."
Jiang Liu wasn’t telling the whole truth. Forget the fact that his deadbeat dad spoke in riddles.
Even if there really was some weirdo targeting him,
this was something he’d keep to himself.
Families are different.
Some are the strongest support for someone drifting alone in the world—solid and unshakable.
But others are barely holding up appearances, collapsing at the slightest breeze.
Ji Chunhua didn’t dwell on it too much, perhaps already used to her ex-husband’s antics.
Her small frame stopped amid the rush-hour crowd.
She just took the bag back from her son and gave him a once-over:
"Sorry, son. I was supposed to pick you up from the hospital, but my shift got changed last minute. Aunt Liu swapped to take her kid to get some paperwork done..."
"I’m a grown man, perfectly fine on my own. I should’ve just discharged myself."
"Let me make it up to you tonight. I asked the butcher this morning to save the best spare ribs for us. I’ll stew some fish too, and I bought some blueberries..."
"Those things are expensive. Why’d you get them?"
"You used to love them. The doctor said we should jog your memory with familiar things, so I’ll buy whatever you liked as a kid from now on."
Mother and son walked side by side on the sidewalk, surrounded by dog-walkers, giggling couples, and flickering streetlights.
Their conversation held no earth-shattering emotions, no clichéd sacrifices, not even a hint of anything beyond ordinary family chatter.
Real love is in the everyday.
Jiang Liu took the heavy bag back.
Sometimes, the most material things insist on feeling spiritual.
The bag weighed like a rock, but suddenly, it didn’t seem so heavy anymore.
The pair ambled home, their shadows stretching long under the streetlights.
"Mom, don’t overthink it. We’ve got a home—that’s already good enough."
"I’m just worried your dad’s gotten himself into trouble. What if it drags you down?"
"Even if that’s the case, we can’t hide forever."
Walking behind his mom, Jiang Liu glanced back instinctively.
A silver Ferrari weaved recklessly through the congested traffic.
Even wilder than Jiang Xinnian’s driving!
It overtook Bus No. 272,
pulled up beside Jiang Liu, and honked.
Jiang Liu grinned. He didn’t recognize the car.
Or the driver.
But he still flipped them the bird.
Inside the Ferrari,
the man in the passenger seat yelled at the driver:
"The boss said to keep a low profile! Why’d you honk?"
"Relax, a little honk won’t blow our cover."
"Then at least slow down! This isn’t your damn living room!"
"Funny you mention it—I’ve hit 200 on this road. Might as well be my living room!"