At this moment, the driver behind him asked Zhuang Long, “Brother, is that your mother?”
Zhuang Long shook his head in confusion.
“Isn’t it?” The driver was quite puzzled and even muttered something. After he finished speaking, he heard the man leaning against the car say softly, “I don’t remember what she looks like.”
The driver looked at him with pity.
The driver stared at the woman’s face as if he was sizing her up to see if there was any resemblance between her and Zhuang Long. After a moment, he said, “I think so. You two look quite similar.” He could not say why, but the feeling he gave off was very similar.
This was probably the legendary charm.
Zhuang Long was stunned. Did it look like it?
He stared at the woman’s face that was not considered young and smiled self-deprecatingly.
The woman stood at the entrance of the prison and looked around, as if she was waiting for someone. Like Zhuang Long, she did not know what the person she was waiting for looked like. A prison police officer in a police uniform was standing beside the woman and talking to her.
Seeing the prison policeman take out his phone as if he was about to call someone, Zhuang Long put out the cigarette in his hand and strode over.
A few meters away from the two of them, the woman finally noticed Zhuang Long. She stared at him in a daze, as if she was a little excited. She covered her mouth, and Zhuang Long saw her eyes gradually turn red. Zhuang Long’s expression did not change.
He walked forward and said to the prison policeman, “Hello, I’m Zhuang Long.”
The prison police seemed relieved.
“That’s great. I thought you weren’t coming.”
Zhuang Long said, “Of course.”
Zhuang Long then looked at the woman, who was also sizing him up.
When he stood close, Zhuang Long realized that this woman was actually quite short. She was only as tall as his shoulder and was at most 1.63 meters tall. Zhuang Long quickly looked away. He felt unfamiliar with this person who was his biological mother.
The woman saw Zhuang Long’s reaction and was a little embarrassed.
“You…” She wanted to say something but found it difficult to say the words.
The woman gave up the desire to speak.
The prison policeman’s sharp eyes swept across the two of them. Finally, his gaze landed on Zhuang Long and stopped moving. He said to Zhuang Long, “Mr. Zhuang, this is your mother, Madam Xiao Meng. She has been serving her sentence for 28 years and can finally be released from prison today. Mr. Zhuang, your mother has been in prison for too long and doesn’t know much about today’s society. I hope you can take care of her more in the future.”
Zhuang Long nodded calmly.
In his heart, he thought: So her name is Xiao Meng…
Such a gentle name, but a murderer.
Hearing the prison police’s words, Xiao Meng finally dared to believe that the handsome man in front of her was really her baby. She looked at her baby and felt sour in her heart. When she was in prison, Xiao Bao was only seven years old. He was so thin and weak, and he was always timid when he looked at people, unlike now, where his gaze was always filled with arrogance.
Her Xiao Bao had secretly grown up in a place she could not see. He was even taller than her.
Xiao Meng looked up at Zhuang Long with red eyes.
The prison police left quickly, leaving behind a mother and son that they had not seen for nearly thirty years.
Zhuang Long did not know how to address Xiao Meng. He could not call her mother. If he did not, he would feel terrible. After a long silence, he said, “The driver is still waiting for us. Come with me to the car.”
Xiao Meng was stunned.
She could sense Zhuang Long’s resistance. She felt terrible, but she could understand.
After all, she had not seen Xiao Bao for 28 years.
After getting into the car, the mother and son were speechless.
When they reached the city, they got out of the car at the entrance of a hotel. After paying the driver, Zhuang Long brought Xiao Meng upstairs. Standing in the elevator, Zhuang Long stood in front while Xiao Meng stood behind. Zhuang Long played with the lighter in his hand and lowered his head, not looking at Xiao Meng.
After a while, Xiao Meng could not help but break the awkwardness.
She said, “I heard that you’ve become a virologist. You developed an antidote to AIDS. Is that true?”
“…Yes.”
Zhuang Long told Xiao Meng everything he knew.
Xiao Meng was a little excited. She said repeatedly, “Xiao Bao is really amazing! You’re really promising.” She praised Zhuang Long a few times in one go, just like Auntie Xianglin.
Zhuang Long frowned and did not find her annoying.
Zhuang Long only opened a suite with a bedroom and living room. Zhuang Long pointed at the bedroom and said to Xiao Meng, “You sleep in here tonight. I’ll sleep in the living room. You can call me if you need anything.” He brought Xiao Meng into the bathroom and told her, “This is the bathroom. Take a shower first and change into new clothes later. If you don’t know how to do it, you can call me.”
Xiao Meng said, “I know these general knowledge.”
“Alright.”
Zhuang Long walked out of the bathroom and left the bedroom. He sat down in the living room and took out his phone. He asked a question in the Google browser—
How to get along with his mother, who he had not seen for 28 years.
No one answered his question. Perhaps this was an unpopular question.
That was true. How could there be a biological mother and son in this world who had not seen each other for twenty to thirty years?
Zhuang Long put down his phone. After a while, he heard the bathroom door open. He looked inside and saw Xiao Meng walking out. She was wearing a blue cotton dress. Her black hair was tied up with a rubber band, making her look plain.
Zhuang Long took another look. The figure of a beautiful and gentle woman suddenly flashed across his mind.
That person was also wearing a blue dress. He stood in the kitchen with a bag of new vegetables in his hand. He smiled and asked him, “Xiao Bao, what are you eating for lunch today? Mommy will make it for you.”
Zhuang Long was stunned.
Was that person Mom?
He came back to his senses and sized Xiao Meng up.
Xiao Meng tugged at her dress and was a little embarrassed. She said, “I haven’t worn a dress in many years. I keep feeling strange.”
Zhuang Long understood her discomfort.
Prison was a place that paid attention to discipline. People who were used to being tied up by pants were naturally not used to suddenly wearing a dress. It was the same logic as people who had lost their freedom would suddenly feel uncomfortable when they were free.
Zhuang Long felt that Xiao Meng looked good in a dress, so he said, “It’s good, you look better than you did just now.”
Only then did Xiao Meng believe him.
She wiped her head and was about to sit down when Zhuang Long’s face darkened.
“You have to dry your hair, or you’ll get sick easily.” After he finished speaking, he got up and went to the bathroom cabinet to find the hairdryer. Zhuang Long hesitated for a moment before walking to Xiao Meng’s side with the hairdryer. He turned the hairdryer on and said to Xiao Meng, “I’ve never dried someone’s hair. If it’s too hot, tell me.”
Xiao Meng’s heart melted.
“Okay.”
Zhuang Long turned on the hot wind and blew Xiao Meng’s hair clumsily.
