The last hope of He Jin vanished, and his heart became totally dead. Right, that’s how a relationship looks like when you’re young. You get together, you separate, and you move on. And in the end, everyone survives without the other person.
He’s almost home, and He Jin started collecting his thoughts. These three years, he was staying with his parents, and his mother had got much better.
When he first returned home, He Jin also suffered from his mother’s illness. During several occasions, he almost went insane, especially when his mother started insulting him and threatening him about committing suicide.
At first, he was worried that his mother wouldn’t be able to accept that she had a mental disorder, and He Jin hid this fact with his dad. Her mother also never realized that her illness had caused serious damage to her family. He Jin then decided to look for a solution. He visited many hospitals in the city, and had learnt more about depression with dozens of doctors. Finally, he came to understand that many similar patients were not particularly afraid of “knowing the truth”, but the fact that their families “didn’t care” or “looked at them differently”. Since He Jin had run away from home before, such an action would cause the most serious damage to patients like his mother. As that’s what scared her the most. That’s why she always kept controlling the finances at home to keep her husband and son around.
After figuring out the root cause, He Jin decided to tell his mother the truth, then persuaded his mother to go to see a psychiatrist. He also started accompanying here every day by eating, talking with her, and taking her for walks. He Jin no longer tried to run away and he had also started making efforts in correcting his mother’s prejudice. Whenever there were arguments, he started talking to his mother calmly over and over again, without giving up.
After returning home, there were hot dishes waiting for him on the desk. His parents were waiting for him. The atmosphere was no longer tense at home, and sometimes, there were laughters too. He Jin felt that he had spent so much effort, and he had sacrificed so much, it was rewarding somehow.
It’s only that there’s still something that he had to face – blind dates.
“He Jin, a relative of your father’s ex-colleague has a daughter. She’s very pretty. I’ve heard that she’s working for a TV station and she’s the same age as yours. She’s still single, are you interested in meeting her?” After taking two bites, He Jin’s mother started suggesting a blind date again.
“Well, okay then.” In order to take care of his mother’s emotions, He Jin never refused to agree on these blind date arrangements, he also acted very cooperatively.
He mother gave him a piece of braised pork, then started murmuring, “at first, I wanted to look for a girl for you two years ago, and if that succeeded, you would have been married by now. I don’t understand it, how come the girls are so demanding these days? How come not one them agreed during these 3 years? This one is also not young anymore, she’s already 27, she should have gotten married two years ago.”
Right, He Jin’s 27 years old, he graduated from Hua University, he’s gentle and kind. He’s working as a director in an institution, he had a stable job, his parents were healthy and he had housing...with such conditions, he’s supposed to be very popular among the girls. During the past three years, He Jin’s relatives never stopped finding a girlfriend for him. However, due to some reasons, no one ever succeeded, and every time, it’s the girl who refused.
He Jin calmly said, “Mom, nowadays, it’s a trend to get married and have children late. There’re lots of girls who’re 27 years old that are still single. It’s completely normal.”
He Jin’s mother smiled, “you haven’t met her and you’re already defending her. Let’s see if it works this time.”
He Jin also jokingly said, “the rate would be higher if you’re not too picky. But it’s still hard to say, maybe I’m just not lucky.”
He Jin’s mother stared at him, “when have I been picky? It’s been three years, I can’t be picky anymore. Whatever it takes, as long as it’s a girl that you’re bringing home, I will thank God!”
He Jin smiled bitterly, for him, even bringing a guy home would be impossible.
During this conversation, He Jin’s father kept drinking his wine in silence, and he sometimes looked at He Jin thoughtfully.
After the meal, He Jin’s mother was cleaning up, and He Jin’s father invited his son for a small talk at the balcony.
“He Jin...” His father lit a cigarette. He had wanted to say something, but he stopped immediately. He Jin was silent on the side and he had no idea what his father was going to say.
After smoking half of the cigarette, his father slowly said, “are you still...thinking of that person?”
He Jin’s thumb twitched subconsciously, and he pretended to be confused, “what person?”
He Jin’s father sighed, “you know who I’m talking about. The guy whom you were with three years ago.” At that time, He Jin’s father only wanted his son to cut ties with that person entirely. He had never asked who he was, and he had never seen him.
He Jin tried to answer lightly, “it’s been a long time. I’ve already forgotten about it.”
He Jin’s father, “...”
He Jin, “moreover, I’ve already promised mom to see the girl.”
His father didn’t say anything, and after a long while, he said again, “tell Dad about that person.”
He Jin felt cold all over and he lowered his eyelids, “why talk about him? It’s in the past.”
His father, “tell me, even though it’s in the past, it’s your experience and Dad wants to know more about you.”
He Jin’s heart felt sour and his hands started shaking. He put his hands back in his pocket and took a deep breath, then said lightly, “he’s good.” And after half a minute, He Jin said again, “he’s very good to me.”