Like Ayuan and his mother, the kind of parting that happened today is something working-class mothers face every single day. Children are born of their mothers, and by nature, they are attached to them, hoping to stay by their side. But a mother must work, and the child must wait for her to return; that is simply the way of the world. In most households, however, the father is not as responsible as Ayuan’s. A father’s love is like a phantom coming back from the dead—occasionally remembered when it’s convenient, but usually, he is less useful than a corpse.
With his wife gone off to have fun at the casino, Nie Zhao couldn't imagine how much fun she was really having, but he still had to patiently coax his son, explaining why he couldn't go, where he would be taken to play instead, and so on. Ayuan was angry, his little fists clenched tight; if anyone else had tried to coax him, he would have surely thrown a punch. But because it was his father, and because his father had reasoned with him—making him understand that he had to wait and that his father had important business today that required his company—Ayuan felt aggrieved but ultimately followed him.
Back to Chen Rou. When she arrived at the original hotel, it was the oldest casino still operating in Macau. A group of people got out of the car, and before the doorman could react, two hoodlums stepped forward to open Chen Rou's door. "Good evening, Miss," they said. It was A-wei and A-bao, likely sent by Master Er and Maste…
Chapter 634