Chapter 49

My heart tightened as I stood up.

Tuotuo had already come running in, thump-thump-thump.

Then he locked the door behind him.

Tuotuo was crying his eyes out, burying his face in my arms.

“Mommy, I don’t like Grandma! I hate her!”

I tried to soothe him. “What’s wrong?”

Tuotuo blew a snot bubble. “Grandma said she’s signing me up for English tutoring! And she wants to change my school!

“I don’t like English! And I don’t want to change schools!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I handed him a tissue. “Wipe your own nose.”

Tuotuo was still throwing a tantrum.

I said sternly, “There will be many things you won’t want to learn in the future, and even more things you won’t want to do.

“But you need to understand that these are necessary parts of life.

“Especially with Grandma—you can’t talk to her like that anymore.”

He looked at me with his mouth agape in disbelief.

It was as if the mother who used to always be on his side had suddenly stopped supporting him.

“Now, go out there this instant and apologize to Grandma.”

He refused, so I gave him a smack on the bottom.

Tuotuo cried even harder.

I sat at the other end of the bed, no longer looking at him.

Once he’d cried himself out, he silently went to open the door.

He walked out quietly.

I heard the sound of him apologizing to Jin Lan’s mother.

And then, I started to cry.