Finishing three laps he jogged back to the front of the house. He was just in time to see his parent’s car pull up. He should have gone for another lap.

A servant held out a towel and he took it drying off his sweat. Wrapping it around his neck he walked forward opening the door for his mother.

Ping An was dressed elegantly. Not a hair shifted out of place. From head to toe, she was dressed in designer clothes. It was more like she was going for a meeting than to deliver her daughter to her father’s house.

Still, his mother was a timeless beauty. With a fragile air around her, it caused people to want to pamper and indulge her. This was a skill she passed on to Bai Wei later in life.

"Where is Wei Wei?" Bai Li asked. He managed to have the right amount of disappointment in his voice. He caught the brief compression of Ping An's lips before she started smiling. He would have missed it if he hadn't been focusing on finding inconsistencies in her behavior.

Ping An pushed an imaginary stray hair back into her slicked-back bun. She tilted her head and made you feel that she was sad despite the smile on her face.

"Wei Wei is staying with your grandpa for a while. He doesn't feel well." Ping An's face carried a devastated expression.

Bai Li would have sworn that she couldn't bear to part with his sister. Maybe that was the truth. If she wanted to groom and guide Bai Wei's behavior this would be a critical time.

Bai Wei was too young to know better but old enough to understand all of their mother's words. Dread filled him. They were together all summer. He should have been clear-headed enough to separate them from the start.

Clenching his fist he shook off the feelings of responsibility that wanted to take hold of him.

His mother reached out and held onto his arm. He looked in his father’s direction but Bai Tao was ignoring him as usual.

Though he knew it was probably an act it still hurt, poking at wounds and insecurities he had carried for ages. His father entered the house first. He and his mother followed behind at a slower pace.

"Did you eat?" Ping An squeezed his arm. "You are too thin," her words held a note of sorrow.

Looking at his mother’s side profile. Bai Li could make out the distress in his mother’s eyes. She should have been an actor. There was no film queen, who could compete with her.

"Father didn't want to leave any food for me but I ate what you set aside," he said trying to make his voice sound petulant. He didn't even know how he viewed his father when he was a teenager much less to replicate his behavior. Whatever he did must have worked. His mother turned tearful eyes his way.

"Don't be mad at your father. Your grades were bad and he is feeling disappointed," she said.

Wasn't it this woman who told him to barely pass his exams?

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"If I didn't need to look useless in front of him who would bother failing. It would be a problem if I did well or if I did badly." His winey tone made him cringe.

Ping An reached up to ruffle his hair. "Don't be made. Your father will soon understand your efforts. Work a little bit harder this term. Your father will be away a lot for business so he won't be here to put a lot of pressure on you. He will stop by on the weekends to visit so just bear with it."

Will power alone kept his mouth shut. Was this how she was going to explain their separation. This level of acting was a different realm.

Could this still be considered as providing misleading information? Without him to use as a scapegoat she wouldn't admit that her husband had left?

"Good riddance." These words applied to himself. He would follow right behind Bai Tao. "Why is Wei Wei staying with grandpa?" He was curious as to what she would say.

They stepped into the house and she released his arm.

"Your father insisted she stay there. He thought that with your grades and the friends you hang out with it might negatively impact Wei Wei." Ping An grasped both his hands and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Drawing small circles on the back of his hand, she continued speaking. "Don't worry she can't stay at fathers and still go to school. She will be back before you even have a chance to miss her. Remember my mighty protector you have to always look out for and give your all for your sister. You are all each other has."

Looking at their joined hands he fought the urge to flee. She was gaslighting him. Not even to a small degree. It was repetitive, systematic, and deliberate.

"I know," he said in a small voice.

"Aren't you coming for lunch?" Bai Tao asked, breaking the moment apart.

Bai Li was never happier to see anyone in his life.

The moment was broken. They moved to the dining room in silence. He was going to develop stomach problems if he kept having to deal with these tense situations.

They sat as the food was served. Throughout the meal, all that could be heard was the clink of cutlery.

Bai Tao put down his cutlery and they paused eating. "Send Bai Li to my office after he is finished eating.

Ping An's body tensed up. "Why do you need to speak to him?!" For the first time, her voice sounded less than pleasant.

"Ping An!" Bai Tao raised his voice. "Mind your own business."

"He is my son. Everything about him is my business. Don't think that I will just let you blindly bully him. Li is trying his best in school. He has promised to work harder in school. He is not useless." Reaching out she held his hand. Trying to comfort Bai Li.

Bai Li stared at their connected hands. He was incredulous. Who was she peddling her motherly virtue for?

It sounded like two different conversations were happening. If this was his last life. How angry would he have been listening to this?

The moment he went into his father’s office he would have started yelling, not even giving his father a chance to raise the point he was called into the office to speak about in the first place.

Was this how their relationship deteriorated to the point of being strangers?

His father shot his mother a look of disdain before walking off. His mother sobbed quietly beside him.

"Even if you don’t excel, aren't you still his son?" Her shoulder shook and her voice cracked. The look on her face spoke of the anguish she felt on his part.

Did he reach over and comfort her in the past? No. He would have been so angry he would storm after his father to pick a fight.

Part of him wanted to see what would happen if he stayed, but the desire wasn't so great that he would take the chance of derailing the plans he had already made.

Pushing back from the table, the chair he was sitting in toppled over. He stormed towards the stairs and stomped to his father’s office door. Pushing open the door he slammed it behind him.

The anger on his face melted away as soon as the door closed. "I am embarrassed at my past behavior." He buried his face in his hands.

Storming around and shouting. The skin on his face heated. Was this another hormonal thing? He hadn't blushed in years.

"Would it make you feel better if I said you were just a child?" Bai Tao asked, unable to control his laughter.

"Not really," he said, doing an accurate depiction of a sullen teenager. The indulgent smile on his father’s face was just as irritating. He turned his head so he wouldn’t have to see it.

He fought the smile that formed on his lips in response to his father’s laugh.

What was this feeling in his chest? It wasn’t uncomfortable but made it hard for him to breathe. He didn’t have the answer so he could only put it aside to think about later.