56: Chapter 56 Memories! The Past! My Mother in My Memories!

Strange as it was, despite several earthquakes, the small house in the backyard seemed isolated; everything inside remained perfectly in place. Except for a tiny crack in the ancient bronze coffin, everything was fine.

Especially that magical piece of wood!

It could actually burst with lightning, making even the terrifying female zombie inside the ancient bronze coffin stay as quiet as a cicada in winter, not daring to move an inch and honestly shrinking back into the coffin.

"Hiss!"

"Where did the old man find this piece of wood? It's simply a Divine Wood for suppressing evil and dispelling misfortune!"

"So miraculous, could it be the ancient Divine Wood from myths and legends?"

Chu Xiao was beyond shocked.

Afterward.

He opened the Family chat group and @Chu Nantian: "Dad! Where did Grandpa go lately? Do you know? I can't reach him by phone! By the way, there was an earthquake in Jianghai City. How are things with you in Jingdu? Is everything okay there?"

After waiting for a few minutes.

Chu Nantian sent a message: "I don't know, your grandpa told me he went traveling! Earthquake? Is Lingyin okay? Don't run around! Stay at home properly! I'm sending a private jet to pick you up right now!"

Chu Xiao immediately replied: "No need, we're doing great in Jianghai City! Whatever you do, don't send anyone to pick us up!"

He was joking; he was free and easy in Jianghai City, doing whatever he wanted. If he went to Jingdu, not only would he be scolded all day, but there was also a very difficult stepmother and a half-brother...

Getting along with them would be so awkward!

Besides, Chu Lingyin didn't want to go to Jingdu either; she hated that stepmother and hated that brother even more.

Waiting another few minutes.

In the Family group, Chu Nantian replied dominantly: "I'm not discussing this with you! If you don't listen, I'll freeze your bank cards immediately!"

Seeing this message...

Chu Xiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Three years ago, it was because his economic lifeline was controlled by his father—and the man would constantly threaten to freeze his bank cards—that he used the excuse of opposing an arranged marriage to run away from home.

Three years ago, he didn't bow his head and chose to leave!

Today, three years later, it was even more impossible for him to bow his head!

Although he knew his dad was sending a plane for him and Chu Lingyin for their own good, he simply didn't need it!

Chu Xiao replied: "Dad! Did you forget? You froze my bank cards long ago! The card I'm using now was given to me by Grandpa! Besides, I'm not short on money! A few billion is still enough to spend!"

Seeing this message, Chu Nantian, far away in Jingdu, was momentarily stunned. He pushed up his glasses and quickly typed a reply: "Send your sister over, and you can go wherever you want! If you're so capable, don't ever come home!"

These words carried a lot of weight.

Chu Xiao also had to weigh things. Actually, he had a very good relationship with his father, Chu Nantian, when he was a child, with deep father-son affection. But as he grew older and became more rebellious, and Chu Nantian became busy with his career, the father and son often quarreled. Over time, they became estranged.

This estrangement didn't mean they had a bad relationship!

Rather, it was like a state of mutual spite!

In the three years since he left home, neither side had made a single phone call. Although they occasionally chatted in the Family group, that was all.

Usually, they wouldn't say more than two sentences before the conversation went cold, just like today.

Nearby.

Chu Lingyin, holding her small pink phone, looked up with a grin and asked, "Big brother, what are you and Dad chatting about?"

She was eight years old this year and should have been literate by now. But this girl was a natural foodie and loved to play; as soon as schoolwork was mentioned, she would get noisy and restless.

As a result, she only recognized a mere few dozen characters...

Chu Xiao pinched her chubby little cheek and said, "Dad wants to take you to Jingdu! I have no choice, I've already agreed!"

Chu Lingyin's expression instantly froze, turning from happy to sad in less than a second, tears shimmering in her large, dark eyes.

"Big brother! Let's run away! I don't want to go to the stepmother's place!"

"Why? Did the stepmother mistreat you?"

"Mm-hm, she forces me to study every day. If I don't do well, she won't give me snacks!"

"Oh! In that case, she's doing it for your own good!"

"I don't want to go! I want to be with big brother!!!"

The little girl made a fuss.

Chu Xiao took a video with his phone and sent it to the Family chat group.

Waited for a few minutes.

No response.

There were only five people in the group: Grandpa Chu Jianghe, Dad Chu Nantian, Chu Xiao, Chu Lingyin, and the other was his mother, Jiang Yuying, who had been dead for many years.

As for that stepmother he had never met, she wasn't in this group!!!

Perhaps this was the one thing his father, Chu Nantian, had done right. Given Chu Xiao's personality, if that stepmother really joined the chat, he would leave the group without hesitation.

Thinking of this.

As if possessed, Chu Xiao clicked on his mother's WeChat. The photo from her last Moments post was from eight years ago, set in a hospital delivery room.

His mother, Jiang Yuying, stood by the bed with her large belly, holding a bouquet of flowers. Chu Xiao was happily hugging her, making a peace sign at the person taking the photo.

The smiles of both mother and son were incredibly sweet and happy.

He vaguely remembered that on the day Jiang Yuying entered the delivery room, she smiled and said to Chu Xiao, "Son, how about Mom gives you a little sister?"

She did it.

She really gave Chu Xiao a sister, but she herself stayed in that delivery room forever...

From then on, 'Mother' became just a word—a cold word without warmth.

At that time, Chu Xiao's world had collapsed!

His mother's sudden passing caused a drastic change in Chu Xiao's personality during his adolescence. He became withdrawn, stubborn, preferred to be alone, rarely smiled, and his grades plummeted.

And his father, Chu Nantian, also began to focus entirely on his work and career from that time on, using it as a way to numb himself every day.

The bond between father and son gradually faded.

It had been so long that Chu Xiao didn't remember many things anymore. He didn't want to remember, and even less did he want to reminisce.

In truth, in Chu Xiao's heart.

Home!

This word had long since become very unfamiliar.

If it weren't for Grandpa still being around, it was hard to imagine what Chu Xiao would have become over the years.

"Sigh!"

As Chu Xiao scrolled through Jiang Yuying's Moments, tears unconsciously flowed down.

The Moments were full of photos and videos of his mom recording the Family's happy Moments!

In Chu Xiao's memory, his mom was someone who loved recording life. She was also a stay-at-home mom, busy every day making delicious food for her son, taking him on various trips, attending all sorts of concerts—basically, all kinds of fun.

Childhood Chu Xiao was incredibly happy and blessed!!!

By contrast.

Chu Lingyin, from the moment she was born, didn't know what kind of person her mother was and had never felt what motherly love was!

But there's a saying that goes well!

If you've never had it, you naturally won't understand the pain of losing it!

Chu Xiao suddenly snapped out of it, gave a self-mocking laugh, and muttered, "Sigh! I really should go to Jingdu... It's been a long time since I visited Mom! I wonder if Dad has gone to visit her grave."