Chapter 26: Mother's Love

—a rugged, wild aroma that disorients and tightens her body with tension.The hot palm pressed onto her shoulder and then pulled open her pajamas. Anticipating what he might do next, she fiercely resis...Chapter 26 Mother's Pain

"Look at yourself, you're scheming again!" Li Haonan stretched out his hand and slapped Li An on the head: "The lady is shy and hesitant to agree immediately; saying she needs time to think is just an excuse. But you! You’re still as unpredictable as ever. The slightest thing that doesn’t go your way, and you start concocting underhanded schemes. If I had known you wouldn't change, I shouldn’t have bothered to propose on your behalf!"

Upon hearing his father's words, Li An’s lips curled up into a smile again, a smile tinged with the happiness of enduring through hard times. He let out a deep breath and leaned against Li Haonan like a child: "Dad, you’re still the best!"

Li Haonan felt a myriad of emotions at once for having given in to his wife’s persuasion and betrayed his younger son's sincere intentions.

Since Yan Luoxi needed time to think, Li An had moved downstairs to give his mother and Yan Luoxi the comfortable master bedroom. He was staying upstairs in Yan Luoxi’s room, while his brother slept in the study and their father stayed as a guest.

Despite being physically fit from a day of relentless mental torment followed by physical beatings, Li An was exhausted, especially after imagining that Yan Luoxi had probably accepted his father's proposal, which lightened his mood considerably.

Lying on the bed and thinking about Yan Luoxi’s face, he started to feel sleepy when someone knocked at the door.

"Who is it"

Li An asked warily by habit.

"Your mom!" came an indignant voice from outside.

This voice was like a royal decree, and Li An dared not ignore it. He shouted repeatedly: "Mom, come in! Come in quickly, Mom…" as he jumped up from the bed barefoot to open the door.

Gu Xiaobei carried a glass of milk and a box of medicine while pushing the door open. Hearing her son sweetly call out 'Mom,' although it was something she heard frequently, there was an unusual sparkle in her heart that made her feel special.

She naturally knew that the reason why Li An, who usually annoyed everyone, could be so cute and cheerful was because Gu Xiaobei felt somewhat guilty, thinking he might have been too harsh on the child.

Gu Xiaobei smiled as she looked at her son, her clear eyes lingering on Li An's slightly raised buttocks. She asked with concern: "Son, does your bottom still hurt"

Li An was tall like his dad, standing over 180 cm and casting a shadow over the petite Gu Xiaobei. He casually put his hand on his mother’s shoulder, pouting like a child as he complained: "Mom… My bottom hurts so much… You tell me why Dad is being such a bully! It feels like he wants to beat me up… Mom, you have to take my side!"

"Okay, I’ll take your side!" Hearing this, Gu Xiaobei felt even more worried and turned around to untie Li An’s belt: "Come on, son, let me see how badly hurt your bottom is."

“Mom!” Li An was alarmed and tried to stop his mother with some embarrassment: “No need for that! There’s nothing interesting to see anyway!”

"What do you mean no! Don’t be shy with me!" Gu Xiaobei tugged at the belt: "Besides, how can I take your side if I don't examine your injuries"

“Mom, I don’t want you to take my side!” Li An pleaded.

"But I still have to see!" Gu Xiaobei insisted firmly.

"Mom, you’re being inappropriate!" Li An cried out in protest.

Gu Xiaobei rolled her eyes exasperatedly: "Inappropriate You were born from me. What haven't I seen about you"

“What’s wrong with that I’m an adult now! I have a right to privacy!” Li An dodged left and right, afraid of hurting his mother if he pushed back too hard but also wanting to avoid her seeing the injuries on his bottom.

Failing repeatedly, Gu Xiaobei suddenly sneered twice before yelling unexpectedly: "Li Haonan, your son is driving me crazy! Come here quickly, Li, , Hao,, Nan!!!"

"Don't shout, you're my own mother! I submit..." Li An really couldn't deal with this childish mother. With a grumpy expression, he jumped to the bedside and uncomfortably lay on his stomach for Gu Xiaobei to examine his injuries.

The moment Gu Xiaobei saw her son's bleeding buttocks that had already been injured for half a day, she felt an involuntary twitch in her heart. Her eyes immediately turned red as she kept sniffing.

Li Haonan, when I see you again, how will I deal with you How could hitting your own son be so hard!

Li An tilted his head to smile at her indifferently: "Mom, my skin is thick and tough, it's fine. Anyway, sacrificing a buttock for a wife is still worth it!"

Gu Xiaobei applied the Li family’s special ointment for treating external injuries on Li An's wounds while listening to her son speak. She first silently wept, then quietly sobbed, and finally started crying out loud.

Sons are a mother's flesh and blood; how could she not feel pain when her son is suffering But could she really make things worse for him Thinking carefully, Lu Xi was even more pitiful than her son. However, looking at the state of her son, her heart tightened in pain.

This is exactly what a mother's dilemma looks like.

Gu Xiaobei’s sorrowful crying frightened Li An to no end; after all, Gu Xiaobei was the queen-like figure in the Li family who nobody dared to provoke into tears.

"Mom, what's wrong Why are you crying! I'm fine, really!" Li An fidgeted awkwardly, anxiously rubbing his hands on the bed. "Mom, stop crying, or else Dad will be upset and my buttocks will have another flower blooming on them."

Gu Xiaobei knew she had lost her composure; she forced herself to hold back her tears and looked at her son's injured buttocks. In addition to a mother’s love in her eyes, there was also pity and guilt.

Seeing that his mom finally stopped crying, Li An giggled and made some indifferent jokes to cheer her up.

After applying the medication, Gu Xiaobei carefully helped Li An sit up and, with a resolve that seemed monumental to him, handed him a glass of milk from the table: "Son, come here and drink this glass of milk! You haven't eaten properly all day!"

Li An was deeply moved; he had never expected his somewhat scatterbrained mother to be so considerate. A sense of maternal love enveloped him...

Gu Xiaobei waited until Li An finished drinking the comforting milk before she left, and in no time, Li An drifted off into a peaceful sleep with a faint smile on his lips—perhaps he was dreaming about marrying someone.

Around the estimated time, Li Haonan went downstairs to call Gu Xiaobei and Yan Luoxi. They were already prepared. Upon meeting each other, they quietly left without exchanging any words.

In the vast villa, everything was silent except for the continuous chirping of cicadas.

Li Yi stood on the dark balcony watching his parents take Yan Luoxi away secretly and couldn't help but frown; he had already felt something strange about tonight's events. It turned out that his parents were indeed deceiving Li An together.

Li Yi sighed silently.

The moment his parents got involved, the matter became much more complicated, leaving almost no chance for Li An to find Yan Luoxi again.

In truth, Li Yi didn't care whether or not Yan Luoxi would stay; he only cared about how Li An felt.

Li Yi walked into his brother's room in the dark and slowly approached his bed. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw Li An hugging a pillow on his stomach with a faint smile on his lips.

In this moment, Li Yi even harbored some resentment towards his parents; how could they be so heartless to their own son He softly sighed and covered Li An with a thin blanket. With Yan Luoxi gone, who knew what kind of tantrum Li An would throw tomorrowde-and-seek. She got lost in the garden, and then the Samoyed started chasing her for some reason. She tried to climb onto the rockery to hide from the dog but ended up falling down." Li An blinked hi...