Telephone Duel

The unknown future. What will you bring? Could you give me a preview?

All the dramas on national TV have a preview for the next episode, yet as a director, she will never know what she might encounter in the very next moment, nor will anyone ever tell her.

Sitting with Qin Yu, Mu Qingxi blurted out, rather out of the blue, “Weiyu, what do you think we’ll become in the future?”

Qin Yu didn’t understand why Mu Qingxi would ask such a question, but she still answered, “I don’t know, but it certainly won’t be who we are now.”

“Mmm. People change, hearts change, even the friends by our side change,” Mu Qingxi mused thoughtfully.

People change—that’s something anyone can see, plain as day. But when hearts change, there’s no way to tell. It’s impossible to discern a change of heart at a glance; only after much time together does one come to know—knowing what was, understanding what is. Friends around us change too. For example, right now: Qin Yu, Xiao Gang, Chen Bin—they didn’t know each other before, weren’t close. Yet because of this environment, they met, and now they know one another.

Mu Qingxi was at home, still brooding over “big matters” from school.

Shen Yali, dressed in a dark red woolen coat, black leggings, and a pair of black high heels, curled up on the sofa. It seemed she had just come home and hadn’t had time to change before making a call. “Hello, Yuncheng, tell me about what’s going on with Xiaoxi. Why is she taking that medicine?”

On the other end, Mu Yuncheng replied calmly, “She said she can’t sleep well, often stays awake all night until dawn, and asked me to bring her some medicine.”

Hearing Mu Yuncheng’s indifferent tone, Shen Yali gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. Didn’t he know she shouldn’t be taking that medicine so often? Shen Yali shouted angrily, “Mu Yuncheng, what is it with you people? Why is everyone keeping things from me? Mu Qingyang runs wild like a lunatic, Mu Qingxi clams up like a block of wood and only tells you what’s going on, and now you won’t tell me either.”

On the other end, Mu Yuncheng frowned deeply, his tone becoming heavier. “Shen Yali, stop yelling like some shrew. Is this how you raise your children? Do you think you act like a mother at all?”

Shen Yali flared up when she heard this. He was away all the time, the children were her responsibility—how was it always her fault? “What’s wrong with me? How am I not a mother? If you’re so good at raising them, why don’t you do it?”

Sitting in his office, Mu Yuncheng rubbed his eyes and replied wearily, “Is that really how you should talk to your child?”

Shen Yali straightened up and said, “Then what about you? That medicine isn’t something you can take at will. Why didn’t you ask her why she can’t sleep? Why not take her to the hospital, instead of letting her take medicine on her own?”

“Why can’t she sleep, don’t you know? Search your heart—think about what you’ve done. Would the hospital help?” Mu Yuncheng was getting angry too, though his voice hadn’t changed—only grown heavier.

Shen Yali’s tone softened a little, “How would you know what the hospital can or can’t do if you haven’t gone?”

“The hospital can treat any physical ailment, but it can’t cure the ailments of the heart.”

“An ailment of the heart? Isn’t it just a headache?” Shen Yali asked, perplexed.

“Because her heart is troubled, she can’t sleep, and that’s why her head hurts,” Mu Yuncheng replied gravely. “You can’t raise a child with just scolding and hitting. We all grew up as children once. When we were young, we were all afraid of our parents’ constant scolding and threats. Over time, it only breeds rebellion. Adolescence is a rebellious time to begin with; parental scolding can change a child’s whole life.”

After hearing this, a ripple of emotion stirred in Shen Yali’s heart. “I only want what’s best for her, but she won’t listen no matter how much I say. All she does is doodle all day, and when I get angry, I hit her.”

Mu Yuncheng sighed. “That’s exactly why she never tells you anything. Even when I try to mediate, it never works. You’re both too stubborn, neither of you will back down. She even threatened me not to tell you—said that if I did, she’d stop confiding in me.”

A bitter laugh escaped Shen Yali. “They say daughters are their fathers’ sweethearts from a past life—seems it’s true. She’s always been close to you, even as a baby, only you could soothe her when she cried. I get it now. Go eat, I’ll go make dinner too.”

Mu Yuncheng cautioned, “Don’t ask her about it. She won’t tell you. She says she’s controlling it, and only takes a pill when she can’t stand it anymore. Don’t worry.”

Shen Yali agreed, “Alright, I won’t ask. I’m hanging up now.”