CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 68

~Fan Xiao~

The doctor looked at me like I was personally shortening her lifespan.

"Mr. Fan," she said, tapping her pen on her clipboard like she wanted to stab me with it instead, "he’s cleared for discharge today. But please...please....don’t stress him. His blood pressure spikes every time you speak."

I blinked. "Are you blaming me for his fragile system....."

"Yes," she cut in. "Very much."

Lee Know snorted from the bed. "Told you."

I glared at him. "The only thing fragile here is your attitude."

The doctor raised a hand like she was blessing us with silence. "Both of you, stop talking before I admit myself."

She turned to Lee Know. "You can go home today. Slowly. Gently. No fighting. No yelling. No emotional conflict."

He stared pointedly at me.

I stared right back.

The doctor sighed again, like she regretted her entire career, then walked out.

The second she left, Lee Know sat up straight. "You heard her. No stress."

"I don’t stress you," I said.

"You literally are stress."

"Rude."

"Accurate."

I packed his things while he complained about how I folded his hoodie wrong even though he wasn’t wearing it anytime soon because I was not letting him move around the house like a newborn giraffe. We got in the car, and for once he didn’t fight me about wearing the seatbelt.

Well. He fought a little.

But only verbally, which for him counted as cooperation.

***

When we finally pulled up in front of the house, he leaned his head back against the seat and sighed. "I can’t believe we’re finally home."

"Yeah," I said. "Safe. Quiet. Peaceful."

The universe heard that sentence and laughed so hard it choked.

Because the moment we stepped inside....

There was a woman sitting on the couch.

A woman I had NEVER seen before in my ENTIRE life.

Wearing fancy clothes, pretty hair, legs crossed like she owned the place.

Lee Know froze at the entrance.

I froze mid-step.

The woman stood up with this warm smile that felt... fake? Too stretched? Too practiced?

Then she said, "Xiao’er."

My soul left my body. "What."

Lee Know turned SO slowly it was like he was buffering. "Who?"

The woman walked toward me like we were in some cheesy family reunion video. "It’s me," she said. "Your mother."

Lee Know whipped around to me with an expression so loud I could HEAR it screaming EXPLAIN. RIGHT. NOW.

I lifted both my hands. "Okay, before anyone panics..."

"WHY IS THERE A WOMAN CLAIMING TO BE YOUR MOM IN OUR LIVING ROOM?!" Lee Know yelled.

"DON’T YELL, THE DOCTOR SAID NO YELLING," I yelled back because priorities.

The woman frowned. "Xiao’er, is that how you speak to your mother?"

I pointed at her. "ARE YOU EVEN MY MOTHER?!"

She blinked. "Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?"

BECAUSE I HAVEN’T SEEN MY MOM IN YEARS AND SHE LOOKED NOTHING LIKE THIS AND ALSO SHE GOT RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY AND DISAPPEARED AND ALSO SHE MARRIED MY ENEMY.

But okay. Sure. Tell me I’m wrong.

Lee Know grabbed my arm. "Fan Xiao. Explain. Now."

I leaned closer to him, whispering through clenched teeth. "I DON’T KNOW WHO THIS IS."

"You said your mom doesn’t talk to you!"

"She doesn’t!"

"You said she LEFT the country!"

"She DID!"

"You said she MARRIED the man she betrayed you to!"

"I MEANT IT!"

"So who is THIS?!"

"I DON’T KNOW!"

The woman watched us like we were doing a comedy show for her entertainment.

Then she smiled sweetly. "I see you still haven’t learned manners."

Lee Know gestured violently at her. "She’s literally scolding you. Moms do that."

I glared. "Anyone can scold me, that doesn’t mean they’re my mom."

The woman exhaled like she was suffering deeply. "Xiao’er... I know it’s been a long time. I know you’re upset. But I came because I want to fix things."

I squinted at her. Hard. "If you’re really my mom, what’s my favorite food?"

She tilted her head. "You never had a favorite. You ate whatever was in front of you."

I flinched.

Lee Know frowned. "Is that true?"

"...Yes," I muttered.

"But that doesn’t prove anything. ANYONE could guess that."

"How would anyone guess you were weird like that?" he snapped.

"WOW, THANKS."

The woman stepped closer. "Xiao’er, you look healthy. Taller. Still as stubborn as ever."

Lee Know watched my face so intensely it annoyed me. "Okay, you’re making the face you make when you’re thinking too fast and lying."

"I’m NOT lying."

"You lied to me about your family."

"That’s DIFFERENT."

"It’s STILL lying."

"It’s PROTECTIVE lying."

"There’s no such thing!"

"There IS! I invented it!"

The woman coughed politely. "You two seem... close."

"WE’RE BUSY," we both said instantly.

She smiled like she found that cute. Which was disturbing.

Lee Know crossed his arms. "So you’re saying you’re his mom. The same mom who disappeared. The same mom who cut all contact. The same mom he said he hasn’t seen since... what, middle school?"

I shrugged. "Around then."

Lee Know slapped my shoulder. "YOU TOLD ME IT WAS HIGH SCHOOL."

"It FELT like high school."

"That’s not how years work!"

"Oh my God, can we focus on the stranger in our house?!"

The woman sighed deeply. "Xiao’er, I know you’re confused. But I came because... I heard what happened."

I froze. "What happened?"

"The kidnapping. The threats. The hospital."

I looked at her sharply. "Who told you that?"

She hesitated.

Lee Know grabbed my sleeve. "SEE? SHE’S SUSPICIOUS."

"I KNOW."

"SO WHY AREN’T YOU PANICKING?"

"BECAUSE I’M THINKING."

The woman stepped forward again. "I’m your mother. I have a right to know if my son is in danger."

"Funny," I said. "You didn’t care before."

Her expression cracked. "Xiao’er..."

Nope. Not letting that land. Not today.

Lee Know pulled me to the side, whispering harshly, "Fan Xiao. Seriously. Tell me the truth. Is this your mom or not?"

"I told you...I don’t know."

"You SAID she did reconstructive surgery!"

"Yeah, she did."

"And you said she disappeared!"

"She did!"

"So..."

"So how the hell am I supposed to know what she looks like now?!"

He opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

"...Okay, that’s actually fair."

"THANK YOU."

"But the lying is still messed up."

"I KNOW."

"You owe me an apology."

"I owe you MANY."

"And you’ll give ALL of them."

"Later, we have a bigger problem...."

The woman suddenly said, "Xiao’er, I understand if you’re unsure. You can take your time. I’ll wait."

Lee Know whispered, "That is a VERY mom thing to say."

I grabbed his hand to shut him up, then regretted it because he gave me the "why are you touching me" face.

"Sorry," I muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "Just handle this."

I walked toward the woman carefully. "Why are you really here?"

She looked away. "I missed my son."

"Try again."

Silence.

Then:

"Your stepfather heard rumors that you were involved in something dangerous."

I laughed. Loudly. "Oh, so the man who ruined my life suddenly cares if I die?"

She winced. "He’s still... family."

"NO, HE IS NOT."

Her jaw tensed, but she didn’t argue.

Lee Know stood behind me, arms crossed, disgust written all over his face. "She’s lying."

"I KNOW."

"Are you going to kick her out?"

"Maybe."

The woman raised a brow. "I can hear both of you."

Lee Know: "Good."

I rubbed my face because today was apparently hell.

"Okay," I said. "If you’re my mom, tell me something only she would know."

She hesitated again.

Not good.

Then she said quietly, "You used to sleep sitting up because you were scared someone would break into your room if you lay down."

My chest tightened.

Lee Know looked at me slowly. "Is THAT true?"

"...Yes," I whispered.

"Oh my God," he said. "That just made me sad."

"SHUT UP."

He touched my shoulder lightly. "That’s... really sad."

"I SAID SHUT UP."

He squeezed gently. "I didn’t know."

"Well I didn’t tell you."

He didn’t say anything else.

He didn’t have to.

I hated that he understood me so quickly.

I turned back to the woman. "So what? You remember one childhood thing and suddenly I trust you?"

"No," she admitted. "But I’m still your mother."

"Prove it."

She didn’t flinch. "A DNA test?"

I snorted. "Cute."

Lee Know muttered, "Is this turning into Maury?"

I elbowed him.

The woman stepped closer. Too close. "Xiao’er... I know you’re angry. I know you hate me. And you have every right to. But you don’t have to do everything alone anymore."

My stomach twisted.

Because she didn’t know. She didn’t know how alone I actually was. How long I’d carried everything. How many lies were sitting between my ribs like bricks.

She didn’t know.

And she didn’t deserve to.

So I stepped back. "Look. I don’t know who you are. Maybe you’re my mom. Maybe you’re not. But I’m not trusting anyone without proof."

She nodded slowly. "I expected that."

"Good."

"But," she said, raising a finger...

And then she SMILED.

That smile scared me more than the kidnapping, the debt, the death threats, ALL OF IT.

"Xiao’er," she said sweetly.

"What."

"There’s something else I came to tell you."

Lee Know whispered, "Oh God, more?"

I braced myself. "What now?"

She folded her hands. "She’s back."

"Who’s back?" I asked.

"My sister?" I joked to myself because I obviously love suffering.

No.

The woman looked me straight in the eyes.

"Your fiancée."

Lee Know CHOKED.

I choked.

Then BOTH of us yelled, "MY WHAT?!"

She blinked calmly. "Your childhood fiancée. The girl you were promised to ten years ago. She just returned from America."

I grabbed the wall.

Lee Know grabbed me.

I grabbed him back.

"WHAT FIANCÉE?!" I shouted.

"You were children," she said lightly. "It was arranged between families."

"WHAT FAMILY I DON’T EVEN HAVE..."

Lee Know snapped, "WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS?!"

"BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW THIS!"

"YOUR MOM JUST DROPPED A FIANCÉE ON US LIKE IT’S A SIDE DISH!"

"WHY IS THIS MY LIFE?!"

The woman clasped her hands. "She wants to see you."

I stared at her.

Then at Lee Know.

Then at the house.

Then at the sky like maybe God would explain something.

He didn’t.

Lee Know whispered, "Fan Xiao... you’re going to die. I’m going to kill you if this goes on."

I whispered back, "I KNOW."

And that’s exactly where everything ended.

With a stranger claiming to be my mother.

A fiancée I didn’t know existed.

A boyfriend glaring at me because apparently I "lie too much."

And me, wondering why the hell I ever woke up this morning.