Autumn here is always a bit of an inexplicable melancholy. In the middle of the night, the neon of the city gradually dimmed, and everything seemed to be quiet, but for Zhang Hua, the night was extraordinarily long and tormenting.
Zhang Hua is not unaware of the recent changes in his wife Li Hong, WeChat is always muted, and as soon as the phone rings, he walks to the balcony to answer it, and the number of overtime hours suddenly increases on weekdays. As a veteran of the marketing department for many years, Zhang Hua is even more sensitive to people's subtle emotions. However, in the face of all this, he chose to remain silent.
"Dad, why hasn't Mom been doing my homework with me lately?" Xiao Ming bit the pen and asked in a low voice. Xiao Ming is the only son of Zhang Hua and Li Hong, and he just entered elementary school this year.
Zhang Hua gave his son a look and motioned him to continue doing his homework: "Mom has been busy with work recently, you have to understand Mom, Dad accompany you." ”
In the evening, Li Hong received the call of "overtime" again. She hurriedly packed her bags, her steps were hurried, and she didn't forget to explain to Zhang Hua in her mouth: "Xiao Ming's dinner, you got off work early today, so I will trouble you." Having said that, Li Hong's eyes did not dare to look at Zhang Hua.
Zhang Hua lit a cigarette and took a deep breath. The smoke was swallowed up by the night, just like his mood.
Lying on the couch, he remembered the scene when he and Li Hong first got married, when Li Hong's eyes were full of smiles, and now, their relationship is as dry as the fallen leaves of this autumn, and the color has faded.
"Dad, when is Mommy coming back?" Xiao Ming dragged the homework book to Zhang Hua's side, his innocent and ignorant eyes full of anticipation.
"I'll be back soon, you go to sleep first." Zhang Hua tried to squeeze out a smile and stroked Xiao Ming's head.
Xiao Ming rubbed Zhang Hua reluctantly, and was finally coaxed to bed by him. Zhang Hua was left alone in the living room, late at night, the world outside the house became more and more silent, only the table lamp in the living room was still on, just like the doubts in Zhang Hua's heart that refused to be extinguished.
The smoke had burned to the end, Zhang Hua closed his eyes, Li Hong's voice was in his ears, and Xiao Ming's longing eyes were in front of him. He knew he couldn't go on like this, but he hadn't figured out how to break the dull peace. Time is like a slowly flowing river, quietly taking away the clarity in Zhang Hua's heart. Since Li Hong's frequent late returns, Zhang Hua has often felt anxious and uneasy. As much as he tried to drown out these emotions with his work, there were moments when he felt suffocated.
On this day, Zhang Hua returned home unusually early. One quiet afternoon, sunlight poured through the windows into the living room. Xiao Ming was sitting on the sofa, holding a brand new mobile phone and playing happily.
"Xiao Ming, where did this phone come from?" Zhang Hua frowned slightly, he didn't remember that he had bought such a new mobile phone for Xiao Ming.
"Oh, my uncle gave it to me." Xiao Ming replied sincerely, with a smile on the corner of his mouth when he played with his mobile phone.
"What uncle?" Zhang Hua chuckled in his heart, he had never mentioned anything about "uncle" to Xiao Ming.
"It's my mother's friend, he always comes to our house." Xiao Ming didn't notice the strangeness in Zhang Hua's tone, and still focused on the game in his hand.
Zhang Hua deliberately softened his voice: "Xiao Ming, then can you tell your father what Uncle looks like?" ”
"Hmm... The uncle is tall, wears glasses and speaks loudly. The last time he came, he took me out to dinner. Xiao Ming's memory is very vague, but these details seem to be enough to turn the doubt in Zhang Hua's heart into conviction.
"And when will he come again?" Zhang Hua tried to find out more.
"I don't know, Mom didn't say it." Xiao Ming replied impatiently, obviously wanting to concentrate on the game.
That night, when Li Hong returned home, Zhang Hua decided to face all this.
"Red, we need to talk." Zhang Hua still used the most stable tone, trying his best to suppress the surging in his heart.
Li Hong put down her bag a little tiredly, took off her high heels, and replied casually while changing into her home slippers: "Well, what's the matter?" ”
"It's about Xiao Ming." Zhang Hua bluntly mentioned the main point.
"What's wrong with Xiao Ming?" Li Hong's voice was a little vigilant.
"He told me today that an uncle gave him a new phone." Zhang Hua's eyes were pinned straight to Li Hong's face, trying to find clues from her expression.
Li Hong was obviously a little caught off guard, and only replied after a while: "Ah, that... It's my colleague, he... He just thinks Xiao Ming is cute. ”
"Red, we have been married for so many years, and you have never hidden anything from me." Zhang Hua's voice began to tremble a little, "If there is anything, we should be honest with each other." ”
Li Hong was silent, avoiding Zhang Hua's searching eyes, her voice getting lower and lower: "Hua, I..."
"Whatever you have to say, please tell me. With me and Xiao Ming at home, we can face it together. Zhang Hua held Li Hong's hand, his eyes full of anticipation and pain.
Li Hong finally turned her head slowly and stopped making a sound, and Zhang Hua understood that this silence was heavier than any words.
In the days that followed, Zhang Hua began to observe carefully, he collected clues from Xiao Ming's words and Li Hong's behavior, but Li Hong seemed to be more careful, his mobile phone did not leave his body, and even the WeChat password was changed. Zhang Hua's heart also sank more and more, until that decisive day came. Golden sunlight shone over the city of Beijing, piercing the tranquility of the morning. Zhang Hua packed his luggage and told Li Hong that he had a sudden business trip. Li Hong looked a little surprised, but didn't ask much, just hurriedly sent him out.
After leaving the house, Zhang Hua did not go straight to the airport, but sat down in a nearby café, looking at the pedestrians outside with complicated eyes. Finally, as time passed, Zhang Hua's heavy mood became heavier and heavier.
In the afternoon, he returned home with heavy steps. His instincts told him that today might be the day when the answer would be revealed. In fact, deep down he had already guessed the truth.
The door was gently pushed open, but there was no sound. Zhang Hua slipped to the corner of the living room, hiding behind the half-hidden study door, and cast his eyes into the living room through the crack in the door.
Li Hong's voice came from the back room: "Xiao Ming, why did you lose your homework again!" Are you playing games again? ”
"Mom, no, I really don't know where the homework is..."Xiao Ming's voice was full of tears, obviously frightened.
"Get on your knees! Promise me never to do it again! ”
Then, there was a burst of crying and begging, Xiao Ming knelt on the floor, his clothes were pulled crookedly, and the knees of his pants were worn out.
At this time, suddenly, a male voice interjected: "Red, there's no need to be so strict, children, it's easy to make mistakes." ”
Li Hong seemed to have some scruples, and lowered her voice a little: "You are here, I can't educate him." ”
Zhang Hua saw through the crack in the door that the owner of the voice was Wang Qiang, who lived next door, a man who had just divorced. He poked his head out, as if peeping, and a sarcastic smile hung over his lips.
A wave of anger rose in Zhang Hua's heart, he could no longer pretend not to know, he couldn't let his son suffer such grievances, and he couldn't let the neighbor peep into his family. He rushed out of hiding place and strode angrily towards the living room.
"Stop!" Zhang Hua's roar shook the entire room.
Li Hong and Wang Qiang turned their heads and looked at Zhang Hua who suddenly appeared in dismay, while Xiao Ming looked at his father with tears on his face.
Zhang Hua glared at Wang Qiang angrily, and his tone was firm and unquestionable: "Wang Qiang, I ask you to leave my house now." Don't be in my family again. ”
Wang Qiang wanted to say something, but under Zhang Hua's cold gaze, he didn't say anything in the end, and out of embarrassment, Wang Qiang retreated.
Li Hong's face was as earth-colored as earth, and he couldn't look directly at Zhang Hua: "Hua, I..."
Zhang Hua didn't ask immediately, he first walked to Xiao Ming's side, leaned over, and gently stroked Xiao Ming's hair: "Xiao Ming, it's okay, Dad is here." ”
His anger has not completely dissipated, but he knows that at this moment, what he needs to do is to appease the children and stabilize the family. The atmosphere in the room was heavy and tense, Li Hong's eyes were full of guilt and panic, and Xiao Ming wiped his tears and looked at everything that happened in front of him in confusion. Zhang Hua sent Wang Qiang out of the house, which also symbolized his determination to solve the crisis, not run away.
Back in the house, Zhang Hua took a deep breath and tried his best to calm his tone: "Xiao Ming, you go to your room to play, Mom and Dad have something to talk about." ”
Xiao Ming nodded and walked away.
Li Hong lowered her head and said in a subtle voice: "Hua, I'm sorry, I was wrong...... I ......"
"If it's wrong, it shouldn't last." Zhang Hua interrupted her, "Have you thought about Xiao Ming?" Ever thought about this home? ”
Looking at Li Hong's silent posture, Zhang Hua knew that talking alone could not solve the problem. He decided to call the police, not only to punish Wang Qiang, but also to let Li Hong understand that no matter what difficulties there are, hurting his family is never the way to solve the problem.
The police soon arrived and took Wang Qiang away. It turned out that Wang Qiang not only emotionally intervened in other people's families, but was also suspected of other illegal acts. Faced with the facts, Li Hong burst into tears and was speechless.
In the days that followed, Zhang Hua took Xiao Ming to participate in psychological counseling and worked hard to heal the child's inner wounds. At the same time, he did not give up on Li Hong, but took her to family relationship counseling to try to rebuild the trust of marriage and family.
After a long time of communication and understanding, Li Hong finally understood her mistake and reflected deeply. The atmosphere of the family is slowly improving, and Xiao Ming's smile is getting more and more.
One day, Xiao Ming asked Zhang Hua: "Dad, are we all okay now?" ”
Zhang Hua hugged Xiao Ming and said with certainty: "Yes, we are all right now, home is a harbor of love, no matter what difficulties we encounter, we will face them together." ”
Since then, Zhang Hua has spent more time at home. He would accompany Xiao Ming to do his homework and take the family to the park on weekends to fly kites. Li Hong has gradually regained her sense of belonging to her family, and she is more involved in her children's education to better balance work and family.
In this way, night after night, the little family regained their warmth under the stars, and they learned tolerance, respect and communication. In all these daily lives, Zhang Hua always reflects: if we have not faced difficulties, how can we understand the meaning of home?
This content is a fictional short story, please read it rationally, and do not sit in the right seat