"Just take it that your mother is begging you!"
She said almost tearfully, "Dongyu is your Dad's and Mom's only hope! He must not be ruined by your ideas. Do you understand? Just take it that Mom is begging you to be obedient, go abroad to study, okay?!"
My soul seemed to drain out of me at once. I gave up struggling and nodded.
That night, my mother did not take me home. Instead, she took me on a bus to Shanghai.
When my aunt arrived in Shanghai the next day, my mother couldn't wait to see me off. She didn't even convey my last goodbye to Dongyu.
I remember hearing someone call out to me as the bus began to accelerate.
A child sitting in the next compartment pointed out the window and said in astonishment, "Dad, someone is running after the bus!"
I couldn't help but follow the child's gaze and looked out of the window. What I saw was just a desolate scene.
Perhaps, at that point, my heart had already withered.
…
