Chen Youbin's eyes were filled with tears as he cautiously called out "Mom." His mother reacted strongly, shrieking, "I'm not your mother, you murderer."
"I'm not a murderer, I just... I just love Mom too much."
"This is how I raised you, when did you become like this? You're nothing like my son."
"But I..."
"Shut up, get out. I don't want to see you again."
Chen Youbin looked pleadingly at Chen Dawei, who impatiently pushed him aside.
He could only walk out, turning back thrice, and sat alone on a chair in the corridor.
"But Mom said she loved me the most, why is it like this? Why doesn't she keep her word? I hate you both."
After his mother was discharged from the hospital, Chen Dawei sought various folk remedies to help her recuperate. She did gain some weight and looked healthier, but a child remained elusive.
Chen Dawei was busy with various matters, while Chen Mu chose to ignore and antagonize Chen Youbin. Chen Youbin had become noticeably thinner recently and had stopped talking altogether.
"Coming home all day and not even saying hello, I might as well keep a dog, at least it barks. You just lock yourself in your room when you get back, don't greet anyone, no manners at all."
Chen Youbin was already numb to it. He quickly returned to his room with his schoolbag and locked the door.
He opened his little notebook and wrote down his mother's wrongdoings, using pinyin for characters he couldn't write, and then added a line of vicious curses.
At the kindergarten graduation ceremony, every child's parents came happily. Chen Youbin sat alone on a stool, constantly looking outside.
He sat on the stool dejectedly until school ended. When his classmates asked curiously, he could only hold back his tears and say they were busy.
He returned home like a soulless puppet. As soon as he opened the door, he was met with his parents' ferocious glares.
"Well, well, the young master finally remembers to come back to our humble abode."
He lowered his head, remaining silent.
"Are you deaf? Your mother is talking to you."
"Good afternoon, Mom and Dad. I'm going back to my room to do my homework."
As he finished speaking and took a step forward, a teacup was immediately smashed in front of him, the flying shards cutting his cheek. He covered his mouth, trying not to cry out.
"Are you going to do homework or curse me and your mother? Who is providing for you, feeding you, and you repay us like this?"
A diary was thrown at Chen Youbin's feet. He immediately picked it up and clutched it to his chest.
"How could you read my diary?"
"And you feel wronged? Everything on your body is from this mother. Even the money to buy this notebook was given by your father. Why can't we read it? If we hadn't read it, we wouldn't have known you hated us so much. We raised you, and you turned into an enemy."
"Kneel down and apologize to me."
"I'm not wrong, everything I said is true, and those are all my real thoughts. Why don't you just die? If you gave birth to me, why didn't you treat me well?"
"You little brat, I think you're tired of living."
Chen Dawei walked over and kicked Chen Youbin's knee. Chen Youbin knelt on the ground, his eyes full of defiance.
"You unfilial son, I'm going to teach you a lesson today, so you know that pots are made of iron."
As he spoke, he violently whipped Chen Youbin's back with his belt. Chen Youbin writhed on the ground.
Chen Mu stood by with her arms crossed, watching the spectacle. "He deserves to be taught a lesson like this. We were too indulgent before. How did a good child turn out so twisted? He even dares to curse his parents."
Chen Youbin glared at her fiercely. "Isn't it all your fault I turned out this way? You praised me for my strength when I hit someone, and called me brave when I stole something... You indulged me before, why didn't you continue?"
"I doted on you and it turned out wrong? Wasn't it all for your own good? You don't know gratitude at all? And you blame everything on me, you yourself have a dark heart. You still have the strength to talk, looks like your father didn't hit hard enough. Old Chen, hit him harder."
*Slap, slap...*
"I will say it, it's all your fault I went astray. If I had apologized properly to Zhao Meimei that day and begged for her forgiveness, she wouldn't have retaliated against me because her father was detained. Then I would still be a normal person, not worrying about being ridiculed."
"See, you're talking nonsense again. How could a 6-year-old child be so rough? You are inherently bad, hating others, hating your parents, and even daring to push your own mother down the stairs. How could I have given birth to something like you?"
"I did nothing wrong, you taught me. As long as I'm happy, that's all that matters. If I didn't have a younger brother, I would be happy. You are my mother, why don't you fulfill my wishes? Didn't you say you would do anything for me?"
"I think you are beyond saving."
Chen Dawei only stopped when Chen Youbin was beaten unconscious. Chen Youbin's jacket was stained with blood. The flesh on his back was torn open, looking extremely gruesome.
Chen Mu dragged him back to his room, applied some external medicine to his back, and after bandaging it, left him to fend for himself.
Chen Youbin woke up in the middle of the night, extremely thirsty, but his whole body ached so much he couldn't even get up. He didn't want to call his mother for help, so he endured it himself.
He clenched his teeth tightly and gripped the quilt with all his might. He thought to himself that when he grew up and became stronger than them, he would surely get revenge.
...
"Old Chen, why don't you go to the hospital to get checked? That unfilial son, Chen Youbin, what can we rely on him for when we get old?"
Chen Dawei slapped her without even thinking. "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm useless? I'm definitely fine, otherwise where would Chen Youbin have come from?"
Chen Mu, covering her face, felt a little hurt. Chen Dawei had never hit her before. She didn't know what was wrong with him recently, as he would hit her over the slightest remark.
"And you feel wronged?"
"No, no. I said the wrong thing, I didn't mean it like that. Tomorrow, I'll go to another hospital for a check-up and try to give you a healthy baby boy again."
"That's more like it."
Chen Dawei had been unable to control his temper lately. Not only that, but he had also gained a lot of weight and was losing a lot of hair.
A quick search online pointed to symptoms of kidney deficiency, and he felt a bit guilty. He had indeed been willing but unable recently, sometimes needing medication, which was why Chen Mu had touched a sore spot just now.
He thought that if he exercised properly, he would probably recover in some time. He was just worried about his son's issues.
"Old Chen, what should we do about Youbin? He has such a bad temper and hates us so much."
"Children forget easily, he'll be fine in a while. While he's still young, let's try to correct his bad habits."
"I don't know who the damn person was, but Youbin's life is ruined."
"Alas, it's all fate. We'll just have another child, and everything will be alright."
"Old Chen, today is my ovulation period, let's try."
"Let's skip today. Go to the hospital tomorrow and we'll talk about it. I'm very sleepy, I'm going to bed."
With that, he pushed Chen Mu's hand away and turned over, pretending to sleep. Chen Mu had no choice but to sleep dejectedly. She wanted to get pregnant soon to avoid any outside temptresses taking over.