Li Rui obviously didn’t have autism.
In his previous life, he had some mild autism and social issues, along with a slight stutter caused by psychological factors, but he knew for sure that he didn’t have autism.
However, he understood very well that unless he played the role more convincingly, he’d probably end up with the same result as his previous life, living alone with a nanny while his parents occasionally visited, with his father always unhappy with him.
In his previous life, when he was eleven, the situation wasn’t too severe, but even after he managed to escape from his grandparents, he still ended up alone. During holidays, his father would take him to his grandparents’ house, and he would be treated even more unfairly!
Since that’s the case, this time, he decided to make things worse. He had been back in Hangzhou for five full days now, and not once had he spoken a word.
The doctor came to give him injections and IV fluids, and he remained silent. When his parents spoke to him, he ignored them.
If he were a teenager, people would definitely think he was faking it, but he was only six years old! Zheng Xiao Qing had met many people and could usually see through lies in an instant, but she never thought her six-year-old child would deceive her.
The injury on his finger was gradually healing, and seeing his parents’ anxious expressions made him feel a little guilty. However, this guilt was quickly suppressed when he thought of the treatment he received in his previous life.
Moreover, these five days were the longest he had ever spent with his parents in either of his lives!
In his previous life, no one ever attended his parent-teacher conferences. The only people his teachers could contact were his grandparents, and he was once even thought to have been raised in a single-parent household. To be honest, those children from single-parent families at least had one parent around, didn’t they?
Li Rui lay on the bed, next to a seven-year-old boy who had broken his leg, crying out for this and that while his parents ran around. Originally, he was supposed to have a single room, but later, Zheng Xiao Qing remembered Zhu Yun Xuan and thought that Li Rui had spoken to that boy quite a bit, so she arranged for Li Rui to share a room with another child of his age. Unfortunately, Li Rui still didn’t react.
When the other family first entered, they praised Li Rui for being well-behaved and called their own son a little troublemaker. But after spending a day together, they quickly noticed that something was off with Li Rui. When there were no adults around, they overheard them discussing how children should be a bit noisy. At the same time, they no longer had the patience to meet their child’s demands and didn’t like their noisy behavior. They would look at their son with satisfaction and then glance sympathetically at the silent Li Rui next door.
Li Rui could only smile bitterly to himself about this.
In his previous life, he had long gotten used to being alone. After he turned eleven, there were no more people who bullied him, and he became even lonelier… During those days, he would lock himself in his room and easily spend two weekends in a row, becoming so reclusive that he didn’t even feel bored anymore.
However, his appearance made others unable to bear it.
Li Yue sat by the bed, peeling an apple. Once it was done, he cut it into small pieces and handed it to his son. He would nudge him, and after a brief moment of hesitation, his son would eat the apple. This situation made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
At first, Li Yue truly thought his son was just making trouble for no reason. Even though he was already in the hospital, he still felt like giving him a few good slaps.
He had food and clothes, and even though his parents weren’t around, wasn’t that enough? Furthermore, every time he came home, his parents would inevitably complain about Li Rui causing trouble again. He had never thought of his son as obedient.
But now? No matter how disobedient Li Rui was, he was still his son, his only son. How could he not feel hurt seeing him like this?
When Li Rui was first hospitalized, Zheng Xiao Qing went to cause trouble with his parents. Li Yue felt very displeased, and all he could feel was anger when he saw his son. But as the days passed, he began to feel increasingly guilty.
Because he had more free time, Zheng Xiao Qing would often ask him to come home and check on his son. Many of the things that Zheng Xiao Qing had bought for Li Rui, his parents would mention that Jia Jie had never seen them and Jia Huan had never eaten them, so Li Yue would give those things to his niece and nephew. Over time, he got used to it. Things that were supposed to be for his own son, he would give to his niece and nephew. Like this time, when he came home and saw his niece being bullied, he had divided the items into two halves, with his son supposed to get his half. But in the end, he gave everything to his niece and nephew. Yet even then, his son lacked nothing, he had good food, good clothes, and didn’t have to do chores like Li Yue had when he was young. Why was he still dissatisfied?
But despite all this, when facing his son, who wouldn’t say a word, Li Yue felt even more guilty.
Even if his son used to complain and make trouble, it was better than being silent… Thinking about this, Li Yue suddenly realized that he seemed to always scold his son.
But could he scold someone else’s child the same way? What he was doing seemed normal, right?
Suddenly, the boy in the bed next door started shouting, waking Li Yue from his thoughts. Only then did he realize that his son had refused to eat and was stubbornly keeping his mouth shut.
When he was young, it was rare for him to get an apple. He would share it with his two brothers, and he would always save the biggest piece for himself, unwilling to eat it. Nowadays, kids…
“That’s mine! I’m not giving it to him!” The boy in the next bed was still shouting. Li Yue looked over and saw a girl being carried by her mother to look at him. The mother had given the boy a banana, but he refused.
There were so many bananas, why was he refusing to give even one to the other kid? Li Yue frowned. He thought the boy’s parents would scold him, but to his surprise, the mother just tried to coax him.
Children’s moods come and go quickly. After a few words of coaxing, the boy stopped shouting. A little while later, he was playing puzzles with the girl.
Seeing this, Li Yue thought about the behaviors of the child in the next bed these past few days. Was this how children should be?
When he was with Zheng Xiao Qing, many people thought he was just the “kept man” of Zheng Xiao Qing, but he knew that there was genuine affection between them.
Back then, he didn’t know how to fit into this big city. He was a newly graduated university student, completely at a loss, while she was a confident, successful career woman.
He only learned about Zheng Xiao Qing’s family situation after they had already confirmed their relationship, but at that time, he never felt any difference between him and her. Even though she had already built up a family business, he was also a university graduate from one of the top schools in the country!
Later on, the attitude of Zheng Xiao Qing’s family became unbearable for him, and he couldn’t fit into her social circle. He couldn’t bring himself to eat a meal that cost several months’ worth of someone else’s salary, but for them, it was just routine. Despite this, he still liked Zheng Xiao Qing. Maybe it was because she wasn’t domineering, and he liked women like that.
But no matter how much he liked her, he was still a man with his own pride. When others looked down on him, he couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied and angry. He didn’t dare show his anger toward Zheng Xiao Qing, but it inevitably came out when he was with his son…
“Li Yue!” Zheng Xiao Qing stormed in, and seeing the people in the bed next to them, she suppressed her anger and sat beside her son, looking at him. “Rui Rui, are you feeling better? What’s going on?”
Of course, Li Rui didn’t respond.
Zheng Xiao Qing took a deep breath, turned to her husband, and said, “Li Yue, let Xiao Hui stay here. Let’s go out and get Rui Rui some lunch.”
Xiao Hui was the nanny Zheng Xiao Qing had just hired. Li Yue glanced at the girl, who was under twenty, and knew Zheng Xiao Qing wanted to talk to him, so he followed her out of the room.
As soon as they left the room, Zheng Xiao Qing’s eyes reddened.
This time, she was determined to get to the bottom of her son’s situation. And indeed, she found out a lot, most of which Li Rui himself had probably forgotten!
“I know your parents don’t like me, but Rui Rui is their grandson. How could they be like this?” Zheng Xiao Qing’s voice wavered, sounding off.
Li Yue, being tall, could still see the top of Zheng Xiao Qing’s head even when she was wearing high heels. Seeing his usually strong and decisive wife like this, looking at him with such a tone, he didn’t know what to do. He instinctively reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.
Zheng Xiao Qing began to recount what she had discovered. She had always thought that Li Rui was timid because he resembled Li Yue. Now, after seeing the truth, she realized that it was actually the pressure from his parents that had forced him to become this way!
She gives them so much money every month. They know it’s for saving up to buy things for the two sons, but don’t they know they should be taking better care of their grandson?
“I went to the kindergarten Rui Rui used to attend. The teacher there said Rui Rui has always been quiet and unsociable… Your parents, they’re always the last to pick him up! They have to pick up the eldest grandson from elementary school and the granddaughter from another kindergarten first!” The kindergarten that Li Rui attended was found through Zheng Xiao Qing’s connections. Originally, Li Jia Huan was supposed to attend as well, but she was too willful and still couldn’t dress or sleep on her own, so she was rejected.
“Xiao Qing…” Li Yue furrowed his brows. His parents were getting older, and with three kids, maybe they couldn’t handle everything?
Zheng Xiao Qing sharply noticed Li Yue’s mood: “What, do you feel bad that your parents are struggling with the kids? Who was it that turned down the nanny? The money I give each month could pay for five or six nannies! Li Yue, do you even know how much savings your parents have?”
“Savings? My parents are careful with their money, so I guess the money we give them has been saved up…” Li Yue’s face changed slightly. They gave money during the holidays, and he sent them two thousand yuan every month for living expenses. But his parents always said the kids’ spending was too much…
“Two hundred and thirty thousand! Two hundred and thirty thousand in savings. Your two older brothers also have ten or so thousand at home!” Zheng Xiao Qing didn’t say much more but looked at her husband. Although she had money, for an ordinary family, two hundred thousand was not a small amount, especially for elderly people from a rural background who hadn’t worked.
Her husband always thought it was difficult for his parents to send him to university, but with two hundred thousand, it should have been enough, right?
“Xiao Qing…” Li Yue didn’t know what to say. Seeing their son like this, he regretted it. Now, hearing his parents cry about not having money and complaining about his two brothers, they had this much savings…
“I won’t give them a single cent anymore, and you shouldn’t either. Also, I’m taking Rui Rui to Shanghai!” Zheng Xiao Qing said firmly.
Li Yue didn’t speak.
“Rui Rui’s in this condition, in another month, he probably won’t even be able to attend elementary school…” Zheng Xiao Qing’s eyes filled with tears.
Li Yue remained silent for a while, then moved his mouth: “Xiao Qing, we also have some responsibility for Rui Rui’s situation…” His parents didn’t take good care of the children, but did they, as parents, do enough? Zheng Xiao Qing was fully focused on her career, and he, the husband running around behind her, was always ignored. Let alone Li Rui, what about him? Hadn’t he been too hard on his own son?
It was true that he was kinder to his nieces and nephews than to his own son, but that was an issue of face… If he thought about it, Li Rui was his only son. How could he not care?
Zheng Xiao Qing widened her eyes. She had already argued with her in-laws several times these past few days. That’s why she had sent Li Yue to take care of Li Rui, so they didn’t know the full story.
But while she blamed her in-laws, she had truly forgotten about herself.
Every time she left in the past, Li Rui would desperately cling to her and cry. Yet her eldest son would act politely as though she were just a guest…
Sometimes people only realize their regrets after they’ve lost something. But while Zheng Xiao Qing and Li Yue regretted it, they didn’t realize that another battle was waiting for them.