Volume One, Chapter 16: Deceive Her Into Returning, Yet Refuse to Acknowledge Her as Mother!

Now it seemed that his mother still cared for him. He had come home as soon as he heard he was ill. Yet Xiaoyu remained unhappy. She was clearly in Nanlin but hadn’t come to see him. Could it be that Mom was secretly out having fun?

“Mom, why don’t you come home? Do you not have me and Dad in your heart anymore?”

Shen Shuhe didn’t reply.

Who really held whom in their heart?

Xiaoyu went on by himself, “Mom, what you’re doing is wrong. Dad and I are both angry!”

“Hmm… if you want us to forgive you, you can. But you have to do me a favor first!”

Shen Shuhe could tell. She had been called back only because they needed her help, after all that pretense.

No matter how patient Shen Shuhe was, now a surge of nameless anger rose within her.

“Xiaoyu, you can ask Mom to help you with anything, but you can’t use your health to trick me. Do you know how worried Mom was?”

Her tone grew colder. To Xiaoyu’s ears, it sounded like Mom was blaming him for not wanting to help.

“Mom! I didn’t do it on purpose! It was just a little lie, it doesn’t matter! Can you stop making such a big deal about it?” Xiaoyu pouted.

He turned his face away, suddenly his eyes reddened.

“Today at school, all the other kids had lunchboxes made with love by their moms. Only I didn’t!”

Hearing this, Shen Shuhe paused, “What lunchbox made with love?”

“The teacher assigned homework yesterday—to make a loving lunchbox together with family…” Xiaoyu added.

“Then why didn’t you call Mom?” Shen Shuhe frowned.

Xiaoyu avoided her gaze.

Actually, he had already arranged with Yinyin’s mom, but she had something come up last minute and couldn’t help finish the homework with him.

Anyway, Mom didn’t know!

“Because Mom doesn’t care about me at all! You never come to see me. Are you secretly out having fun? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you come home?”

“Fine then, Mom. How can you be like this! I’ll tell Dad! Are you seeing someone new outside, so you don’t come to see me and don’t care about my life?” Xiaoyu suddenly threw a tantrum, rolling on the floor.

He seemed convinced she was guilty of all this.

Shen Shuhe’s brows furrowed tighter. Something felt off. She suddenly caught Xiaoyu sneaking a glance at her.

That’s when she realized he was doing it on purpose.

So she followed his words and replied calmly, “It’s Mom’s fault. Xiaoyu, how can Mom earn your forgiveness?”

As soon as she spoke, the sadness on Xiaoyu’s face vanished.

He pushed himself up from the carpet, ran over to the table, and hugged a package of yarn, smiling brightly as he placed it in Shen Shuhe’s arms.

“Mom, if you help me finish the task, I’ll forgive you!”

---

Shen Shuhe looked down at the yarn in her arms.

Suppressing her sour mood, she asked, “Xiaoyu, what do you want to knit?”

“Well…” Xiaoyu said excitedly, “I want to knit Dad a scarf, Yinyin’s mom a hairpin, and gloves!”

“Yinyin’s mom’s hands are so pretty; she can’t let them get cold in winter!”

After hearing this, Shen Shuhe expressionlessly set the yarn down.

“Xiaoyu, wait until your dad comes back. You can ask him to help you knit. I still have things to do.”

With that, she got up without looking back.

Xiaoyu stared at her in disbelief, shouting, “Mom! You’re really not going to help me!?”

“Xiaoyu, you’re really angry!”

Still not turning around, Shen Shuhe reached for the door handle, but Xiaoyu had already run behind her.

Pointing at her, he shouted, “Mom! I’ll give you one more chance! If you come back now and help me knit this scarf, I’ll forgive you!”

“Otherwise, I won’t recognize you as my mom anymore!”

Hearing this, Shen Shuhe’s heart, already in pieces, ached anew.

This child she had borne with such hardship was now deceiving and using her, even threatening not to acknowledge her.

So, should she soften again?

Shen Shuhe turned her head, lowered her eyes to quietly look at Xiaoyu’s flushed, angry cheeks. “Xiaoyu, if you don’t want to recognize me, then… don’t ever recognize me again.”

“Think carefully about what you said to Mom today.”

Leaving those words behind, Shen Shuhe opened the door and left without looking back.

She only hoped he wouldn’t be so extreme.

…

Shen Shuhe hurried downstairs, only to meet Pei Jingmo stepping in from the night outside.

Seeing her, Pei Jingmo frowned instinctively. “You still know how to come back?”

“If I didn’t come back, wouldn’t you be happy?” Shen Shuhe shot back bluntly.

She didn’t believe Pei Jingmo was concerned.

He was deliberately mocking and reminding her, to prevent her from doing anything under the title of “Mrs. Pei” that might affect him badly.

Pei Jingmo frowned deeper, his eyes growing darker. Suddenly, looking at Shen Shuhe’s calm face, he sneered, “Shen Shuhe, have you really changed your strategy?”

“What, running away from home? Then scheming to let Grandma know, forcing me to beg you to come back?”

“Five years, and you’re still using Grandma.”

“Can you have a bit of conscience, Shen Shuhe?”

Shen Shuhe: “…”

She glanced at him silently, “Mr. Pei, forgive my frankness.”

---

Pei Jingmo waited for her to continue, then heard her say lightly,

“You’re just too dramatic.”

Pei Jingmo: “?”

Shen Shuhe had no intention of holding back anymore. She now spoke her mind freely.

“I don’t come back simply because I don’t want to. Don’t look at me with your narrow perspective.”

“A person who doesn’t respect others isn’t qualified to judge me.”

“Also, Xiaoyu has learned to lie now. I just hope you can guide him well.”

Shen Shuhe glanced at him. “Is that all? Then don’t block my way.”

With that, she stepped aside, bypassing him, and left directly.

Pei Jingmo stood there, puzzled.

Only when the sound of a car engine started did he come back to himself.

He turned in disbelief, but saw only the tail of a car disappearing.

Just now, was this woman scolding him?

Pei Jingmo laughed, though it was out of irritation.

Fine. If she’s unwilling to come back, then never come back at all!

Gritting his teeth, Pei Jingmo roughly yanked off his tie and strode upstairs.

Wrapped in a heavy cloud of low pressure, he was about to enter the bedroom when he heard crying from Xiaoyu’s room.

Pei Jingmo paused, his brow furrowed deeper.

He opened the door to see Xiaoyu sitting on the carpet, crying.

But in his hands was his own phone, chatting with Song Qingyin.

“Yinyin Mommy, I’m so sad! Mom won’t help me finish my homework! She even refuses to recognize me as her son!”

“Wah wah wah, could it be she really has other friends outside?”

Hearing this, Pei Jingmo’s expression darkened further.

So when she came over earlier, she was just babbling nonsense in front of Xiaoyu?

What on earth was this woman up to?

On the phone, Song Qingyin gently comforted, “Xiaoyu, don’t cry. Your mom definitely loves you! Maybe she was just in a bad mood and said the wrong things.”

Xiaoyu wiped his tears, “If she loves me, why won’t she help me finish the teacher’s homework! She’s just lying to me!”

“She’s just as annoying as Xiao Kai’s mom!”

“I don’t want to like her anymore!”