On the way home, Mother asked Father suspiciously, "What's wrong with Little Sister? She's acting like she's on fire today."
Father replied while driving, "How should I know? She wasn't like this before. Why is she talking like this now? By the way, Lian, give me your phone. You're still a student; it's not appropriate for you to use a phone."
Lian, curled up in the back seat, hesitated and replied, "But Mom already told me to take it."
Mother sided with Lian: "Lidau, it's already been taken, so let Lian keep it. Do we need to worry about Lian's studies?"
That was true.
Ever since Lian was locked at home by his parents, his grades had never worried them. In the first half of junior high, except for physical education, Lian was almost always among the top students in his grade, though he was slightly unbalanced in some subjects.
He was extremely strong in humanities and history, but slightly weaker in science and engineering!
Thinking this, his father nodded. "Well… Lian, you can keep the phone."
Lian respectfully replied, "Thank you, Dad."
Throughout the journey, his mother, sitting in the front passenger seat, leaned over and asked Lian about his experiences at his aunt's house these past few days.
Lian naturally couldn't tell the whole truth, only giving vague accounts of cleaning and helping with cooking.
His mother then asked what had happened to his aunt these past few days.
Lian replied, "Nothing seemed wrong when I arrived, but it seems like on the second day, Auntie went to work in the evening… and came back in a bad mood."
He said it casually, like it was no big deal, but Dad heard something more.
Lian caught it: a tiny flinch in his father's eyes in the rearview mirror. He knows exactly why she was upset…
His mother nodded and returned to her normal sitting posture. Seeing that his mother wasn't asking any more questions, Lian took out the fitness plan his aunt had prepared.
"Mom, you and Dad have both seen this. This is the fitness plan Auntie made for me a couple of days ago. She said I'm weak, and just resting isn't enough. She wants me to follow this plan. What do you think?"
Mom took the plan and looked at it again. She couldn't help but say, "Your dad and I were just discussing it. There are so many activities, and the schedule is so tight. Can your body handle it?"
Dad chimed in, "Luan, Ana is an expert on fitness and exercise. She even has a fitness instructor's certificate. Let Lian follow it. You, as his mother, shouldn't get involved."
"I know, I'm just worried Lian's body can't handle it." Mom puffed out her cheeks, like a kid and gave Dad a playful glare.
Dad glanced at her sideways and said, "Tch… How old are you? Still making faces… Lian, did you see that?! That's just how your mother is…"
Seeing Mom turn to look at him again, Lian mimicked her pouting face exactly.
His mother spat playfully, sat up straight, and said, "The old one bullies me, and now the little one does too."
The car filled with their warm laughter: three voices, one fake harmony.
This laughter sounded particularly grating and hypocritical to Lian's ears.
A thought popped into Lian's mind: "My acting talent probably really is inherited from my parents. I just wonder, is it more from Dad or Mom?"
Once home, Lian immediately went to his room, which his parents considered perfectly normal and naturally wouldn't question.
Closing the door, Lian took out his phone, put it on silent and tried sending a text message.
Lian:
"Arrived, casually mentioned going to the Cultural Bureau the other day."
A short while later, he received a reply.
"Are you kidding me! Can you even mention that?"
Lian continued texting.
"I didn't mention I went, just that you went."
The reply: "You're clever, anyway, I've already made a fool of myself."
Lian read it and chuckled twice. He quickly pressed a few keys.
"I miss you."
The other person replied: "I miss your mother."
"I miss my mother too."
The other person replied: "Go to hell, you mother-obsessed pervert!"
"Being obsessed with your aunt isn't perverted, is it?"
The other person replied: "Even more perverted!"
Lian quickly became immersed in this exchange and forgot everything around him.
Until his mother called him out of the room for dinner.
Only then did Lian get up, press the "clear message history" command, and put away his phone.
After dinner, Lian didn't hide anything and practiced breathing exercises in the dining room.
His mother wasn't surprised, but his father quickly recognized it and asked, "This is a Taoist breathing exercise, Lian, where did you learn it?"
His mother, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, overheard and quickly answered, "Last time I took Lian for a walk, at that Taoist temple on Xiang Road, we met a Taoist priest. He heard that Lian wasn't in good health, so he taught him. What's up?"
"Oh…" His father nodded.
"It's nothing, it's good to exercise to improve physical fitness. Your dad went to Taoist preaching a few years ago and saw the Taoist priests there practicing. I wanted to learn, but they wouldn't teach me. Not bad." He finished speaking and went to watch the news on the living room sofa.
Before going to bed, Lian posted the exercise plan his aunt had made on his bedside table.