"Wen, you should go to sleep. You don't need to keep us company."
"Who's keeping you company? I'm staying up for New Year's Eve, not sleeping."
The three of them thus sat rather oddly yet harmoniously on the same sofa.
It was New Year's Eve, and everyone else was at home celebrating. Late at night, the highway was completely clear. They had left after nine in the evening and reached the town just before three.
Qi Anlu received their message ten minutes in advance, and Aunt Wen drove him and his mother to the address provided in the location.
At three o'clock, even the sound of firecrackers had died down in the small town, and everything was quiet.
"Anlu, we're here!"
When the car window opened, Qi Anlu saw three "silly" smiling faces.
"Get in the car."
Zhou Xinfang patted her son, "Anlu, you get in first. Mom needs to talk to your Aunt Wen for a moment."
The two women walked a short distance away before Zhou Xinfang said, "Thank you, Wen."
"Nothing to thank me for. I thought you were going to remain foolish forever, but it seems you're not beyond help. Now hurry back, I'm leaving."
Without waiting for Zhou Xinfang's response, she turned and left.
When Zhou Xinfang got into the car, she saw her son already laughing and joking with his friends, which brought her first smile of the day.
"Thank you all for remembering my Anlu like this."
Qu Zizhou replied, "No need for thanks, Auntie. Anlu helps us too. We all help each other."
"Uncle Gao, let's find a hotel in the city to rest. You should get some rest too."
"Alright." Gao Feng nodded in agreement. This was what his boss had instructed – to rest well before returning, absolutely no driving while tired.
"By the way, have you eaten? Are you hungry? I have some good food here."
Nanny Zhang had prepared two boxes of dumplings, even thoughtfully including dipping sauce.
Qi Anlu and his mother were already full and could only eat a few, but Gu Zhijing and the others had gotten hungry during the journey and finished all several dozen dumplings between them.
It took another hour to reach the city. By then it was almost dawn, and no one was picky – they found a decent-looking chain hotel and prepared to rest.
Their group booked four rooms total, following their classroom seating arrangement: Qi Anlu shared with Chu Mingyan, while Gu Zhijing roomed with Qu Zizhou.
Zhou Xinfang paid for the hotel rooms – as the only adult, she couldn't possibly let the children pay.
Gu Zhijing and the others understood her feelings, so they didn't argue about paying.
In their room, Chu Mingyan asked Qi Anlu, "What are your plans after going back?"
During the few hours waiting for his friends, Qi Anlu had been thinking about what would happen after returning.
"First, we'll go home to pack up my mom's and my things, find a hotel to stay in temporarily, then find a lawyer to file for divorce between my mom and Qi Wenhan. After all that's settled, we'll figure out where to live."
He had asked his mom – the house was in Qi Wenhan's name alone, and regardless of how the property would be divided after the divorce, Qi Anlu didn't want to live there anymore.
Hearing this, Chu Mingyan knew his friend had thought it through, "As long as you've figured it out. Just let us know if you need any help, and if you need money, I have some – don't be shy with us."
"Alright, I know. I won't be formal with you guys."
Chu Mingyan immediately took out his phone and initiated an Alipay transfer.
"You'll need quite a bit of money for hotels and lawyers later, so take this first."
"I'll let you know if I need more, but not now."
"Come on, I know you too well. You definitely won't ask unless it's absolutely necessary. Take the money and find a good lawyer. You can pay me back after you get a good settlement."
After saying this, Chu Mingyan turned to his side, facing away from Qi Anlu, "Alright, alright, no more talking. I'm going to sleep."
They rested for a few hours and had lunch before getting back on the road.
Zhou Xinfang received a message from her sister saying that Qi Wenhan hadn't left home yet.
Qi Anlu also shared his thoughts with his mother.
"Mom, when we get back, let's first move our things out and find a place to stay. We can deal with everything else later."
Qi Anlu hadn't realized that he wasn't the only one who had been thinking about these things.
"I've already found a place to stay, near your school. Before going back home, I paid six months' rent in advance."
"Mom..." Qi Anlu wanted to ask if his mother had been planning the divorce for a while.
"Anlu, don't worry about these things. I'm your mother, I'll take care of everything. I just want you to be happy."
She had found the medical record in her son's desk drawer. At first, she thought he might have been sick and hadn't told her, but when she opened it, she discovered it was for moderate depression.
Before, she had only read about depression online and just knew it could lead to suicide in severe cases.
Afterward, she secretly visited hospitals, one after another...
The doctors told her that moderate depression would definitely worsen without treatment or intervention.
She began reading books and researching online whenever she had the chance.
She had actually known about Qi Wenhan's affair for a while, feeling heartbroken and angry but helpless.
Until later... she read that teenage depression was mostly caused by family issues.
That's when she realized that her own cowardice and Qi Wenhan's awful behavior had made her son ill and unhappy.
...
By the time they reached Jinjiang, it was already dark. Without taking time to rest, the three friends helped the mother and son return home, pack their belongings, and move them to the newly rented place.
Knowing the mother and son had a lot to talk about, they didn't stay long after helping them move in.
"Now that you live so close to school, we'll come visit when school starts," Qu Zizhou said with a grin.
Zhou Xinfang wanted to thank her son's friends but wasn't sure how.
Hearing this, she quickly said, "Auntie welcomes you all to visit. I'll cook something delicious for you. No need to wait until school starts – come over in a few days."
"Great! Auntie, I love fish."
"You're really not being shy about it, even ordering specific dishes."
"Why be shy? We're not strangers, right, Anlu?"
Qi Anlu nodded with a smile, knowing Qu Zizhou was saying this deliberately to help his mother feel less burdened.
After seeing his friends off, Qi Anlu began helping his mother unpack.
This apartment was much smaller than their previous home, and his room was only half the size of his old one, but Qi Anlu thought it was perfect.
Just thinking about how it would be just him and his mother here, without Qi Wenhan, made even the air seem fresher.
"Mom, let's not cook tonight. Should we order takeout?"
"Sure, I've never had takeout before."
"Son, shall we bring the kitten home tomorrow?"
"Yes, have you chosen a name for it yet, Mom?"