After parting ways with Wang Hao, the two brothers soon arrived home.
Hu Fan pulled out his keys to open the door, and saw his mom sitting on the sofa wearing disposable plastic gloves and eating durian. Looking slightly surprised, he asked, "Mom, how come you're back so early?"
Liu Xing followed right behind him, and upon catching the smell of durian, immediately covered his nose and bolted straight for his bedroom—he simply couldn't handle this chemical weapon.
Liu Mei looked at her eldest son and replied, "Didn't I go with your dad to get our divorce papers this morning, and then straight to work at the hospital? But the department hasn't been too busy these past few days, so I got off on time."
Hu Fan pulled out his phone in surprise and glanced at the time. It was nearly ten to six. "You've got to be kidding," he couldn't help exclaiming. He wouldn't have known if he hadn't checked, but it was already so late. They had gone out to eat a little after two, and had been eating for nearly four hours.
Realizing why his mom was back so early, Hu Fan hurriedly changed his shoes and headed for his room. Mostly, after playing basketball and eating hot pot for so long, he reeked all over and needed to get back to his room to shower and change clothes.
Besides, the living room was full of the smell of durian, and he wanted to escape it too. Although he didn't bolt for the hills the second he smelled it like Liu Xing, he could only tolerate it a little better; in this whole family, only their mom Liu Mei thought it smelled wonderful.
Watching her eldest son's hurried retreating back, Liu Mei found it rather amusing. She lowered her head and continued eating the sweet durian, feeling somewhat puzzled as to why she loved it so much, yet both of her sons couldn't stand the smell of durian.
……
Saturday, clear skies, a day auspicious for moving.
"Phew, finally all packed up."
Hu Fan had packed everything in his bedroom into moving boxes. After working all morning, it was finally done.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he pushed the cardboard boxes out one by one, walked over to the water dispenser in the living room, and gulped down several cups of water in one go. Needless to say, after working for so long without a single drop of water, he was desperately thirsty.
"Bro, pour me a glass of water too." Liu Xing panted as he walked out of his room after packing the final box, just in time to see his older brother guzzling water like mad.
"Here."
Hu Fan leaned back against the sofa.
"Is everyone packed?" Liu Mei's voice preceded her appearance as she called out into the apartment the moment she stepped out of the elevator.
Hearing their mom's booming voice, Liu Xing slumped limply on the sofa and gave a weak reply, "All done."
Watching his mom walk in, he pouted and couldn't help complaining, "Mom, why didn't the moving company you hired come upstairs to pack things? We've been packing luggage since we woke up this morning, we're exhausted."
Seeing the pout on Liu Xing's face that could hang an oil jug, Liu Mei turned her head and glared at him. "There's barely any stuff, we can pack it ourselves. Besides, if the moving company comes upstairs to move things, doesn't that cost money?" With that, she gave Liu Xing another sideways glance.
Watching the clash between his mom and his younger brother, Hu Fan resignedly got up and started carrying the boxes. Partly, physical labor like this wasn't bad for him at all.
Whether it was a perk of getting a second chance at life, his physique was exceptionally great, and he was the epitome of looking lean in clothes and muscular without them.
Carrying the last box downstairs, Hu Fan turned to take one last look at the apartment he had lived in since birth, then got into the car.
As the car started up, it sped past the roadside buildings, slowly shifting from familiar to unfamiliar, stirring a faint ripple in the depths of his heart.
Shifting his gaze from outside the car window back inside, Liu Xing's youthful face displayed a very rich array of expressions—holding both the anticipation of heading to a new home and the reluctance and bewilderment born of leaving a familiar place.
Hu Fan raised a hand and patted Liu Xing's little head in a comforting gesture, which noticeably pacified his somewhat jittery emotions.
Having arrived at the destination, Hu Fan got out of the car and looked around, thinking to himself: *Ah, it's that familiar neighborhood, that familiar feeling. I never thought I could become a part of it.*
"Hey, what are you two doing? Hurry up and move the things!" Liu Mei was dragging two boxes and preparing to enter the unit door when she saw her two sons standing there like big bosses, scanning the surroundings with their eyes, and shouted impatiently.
Liu Xing turned his head and glared at his mom defiantly. "Why isn't *that person* coming over to help move things? We're dying of exhaustion packing everything."
"What 'that person'? You need to call him Dad! He has an emergency today and couldn't come. Besides, didn't I hire a moving company? Hurry up and move!"
Liu Mei spoke like a machine gun. Before the two brothers could even react, she dragged two boxes and turned right back inside.
"Let's go," Hu Fan patted his younger brother's shoulder and turned to go get the luggage from the car.
Seeing the two brothers slumped limply on the sofa, Liu Mei brought them each a glass of water. "Drink some water and rest for a bit. Mom's going to go make dinner in a bit." She paused, looking at the two of them. "I've unpacked your luggage and put it in your rooms. The middle room is Liu Xing's; you'll be sharing it with your new little brother, Xiaoyu." At this, she gave Liu Xing a few extra pointed looks.
Liu Xing understood his mom's warning. A look of defiance flashed across his face, but seeing his mom's narrowed eyes, he instantly sensed danger and wisely nodded in obedience.
Liu Mei looked at Liu Xing with satisfaction, then turned to her eldest son, smiling as she said, "Fanfan, your room is a bit further down. Just a few steps and you're there. Mom's already got it all set up."
"Oh, and the room near the door is reserved for your sister. Don't go in messing around," Liu Mei pointed at the pink bedroom door. With those instructions given, she got up to go cook.
Liu Xing reached out and poked his older brother's arm. "Let's go take a look in our room. Wonder how mom set it up?"
Hu Fan was quite interested himself. Besides, there wasn't much worth watching on TV right now, so it was a good time to check out their future living space. He figured his own room would be the old study, though it wasn't one anymore.
"Let's go, let's take a look."
Liu Xing sprang up eagerly, rushing ahead to his bedroom door and pushing it open. Hu Fan followed behind, thinking to himself that the setup wasn't bad at all. The two beds were positioned just right, along with a desk and quite a few toys—especially Xiaoyu's bunk beds from back then, which everyone had drooled over; I'm not naming names.
Seeing the upturned corners of his younger brother's mouth, he knew the kid still liked it, even if he was probably a bit ticked off about having another brother share his room.
"Let's go, bro, let's see how your room is. Mom definitely set it up great." After scanning his own room with his eyes, Liu Xing curiously urged Hu Fan to go check his.
Glancing at his younger brother without a word, Hu Fan took the lead and stepped out. Walking a few paces further inward brought him to his room. Pushing the door open, he saw that the old study space had indeed undergone a drastic transformation.
Right at the back was a large bed for sleeping, along with a massive wardrobe. His mom had already laid out a brand-new set of bedding and neatly packed all his clothes into the wardrobe.
Near the entrance of the room was a desk-and-chair set that looked extremely comfortable to use—presumably bought specifically for his computer work and such. Lined up against the wall was a whole row of bookshelves filled with all sorts of books of his, mostly textbooks, some computer-related ones, and a small portion being novels. It looked quite impressive overall.
All in all, this room was decorated in the minimalist style he loved. His mom really did understand her own son.