gyue’s parents."
If Guo Dongyue was not familiar with Zhang Zian’s personality, he probably would have fallen for that answer.
His mother did fall for that. She said nervously, "Is my son all right? Something wrong at school? Why isn't he home? It's so late."
Zhang Zian smiled calmly, "Oh, it's nothing. It’s his turn to be on duty today, so he will be home later."
"Okay, thanks for informing me." His mother finally felt relieved.
Guo Dongyue and Aunt Bai were stupefied because they observed that Guo Dongyue’s mother was really relaxed. She didn't look like she had before; instead, she looked calm as if her peace of mind was restored.
Guo Dongyue felt extremely surprised. Every time, he tried so hard to tell what was happening in reality to his mother, but it was torture for both for him and for his mother, and the effect was poor compared to the effect brought by Zhang Zian's white lie.
Guo Dongyue reflected on his mistakes. Every day at noon, his mother would look at the clock frequently, asking why young Guo Dongyue had not come back home. Why couldn’t he come up with some white lies to comfort her earlier?
Aunt Bai was also reflecting to herself. She took care of Guo Dongyue’s mother every day, and she had noticed that his mother would become restless every day at noon. At the beginning, she would tell her that Guo Dongyue had grown up and had his own job, and that she didn't need to wait for him to come back for lunch. But as days went by, Aunt Bai felt annoyed, and gradually ignored her vexation, or just made up some excuses casually to stop her asking.
"Mr. Zhang, please have a seat." Guo Dongyue’s mother invited Zhang Zian into the living room warmly.
Zhang Ziany acted like he was really a teacher, crossed his legs and sat on the sofa.
"Mr. Zhang, I don't think I've met you before. Which subject do you teach?" asked Guo Dongyue’s mother tentatively.
Zhang Zian answered, "I teach Chinese, and I'm also the teacher in charge of Guo Dongyue’s class."
"Isn’t Teacher Liu the teacher in charge of his class? Is there a substitution?" Guo Dongyue’s mother was surprised.
"Yes, I’m a new one, Teacher Liu is taking a maternity leave."
"Maternity leave?" His mother was surprised again, "Teacher Liu is a man."
Zhang Zian adapted his answer based on the information. "Yes, he is. And his wife is pregnant, so he’s taking a maternity leave to keep his wife company... Enough about that, let's talk about your child."
Guo Dongyue waved at Aunt Bai indicating her to continue cooking, while he stayed in the living room quietly watching Zhang Zian talk to his mother. His mother looked quite well. She was focused and thinking clearly, speaking appropriate language, and her reactions to Zhang Zian's words were the reactions a normal person should have, and she didn't look like a patient of Alzheimer's disease at all at that moment.
Guo Dongyue knew the reason why. She cared so much about his son's performance at school, so her remaining normal brain cells could function at maximum speed, like a bonfire that had been dimming gradually was rekindled by a sudden breeze of gentle wind. Unlike the bonfire that's burning was accelerated by the wind, brain cells functioning at maximum speeds were clearly beneficial to his mother.
Zhang Zian was not clear what Guo Dongyue was like when he was a middle school student, but it didn't matter. He just needed to keep appraising his son as she remembered, and every word he said made the wrinkles on Guo Dongyue’s mother's eyes blossom like flowers.
Sometimes, what Alzheimer’s patients needed was not the truth, because truth would be forgotten soon; what they needed most was caring and happiness. Guo Dongyue was a man who was too serious. He couldn’t do what Zhang Zian could do easily to make white lies. Because he was worried about his mother so much that he was always keeping in his face straight, sometimes he hated himself when he saw his stone-face in the mirror.
Time flew by. His mother remained sober for so long today. Guo Dongyue was hoping that time could slow down and freeze at this moment... if only it was him who was sitting in front of his mother and having that happy conversation.
Zhang Zian diverted the topic and inquired Guo Dongyue’s mother, "I heard that you have two parrots in your house, right?"
Guo Dongyue’s mother smiled, "Yes, Our parrots... Our parrots... Our parrots..."
Her thought experienced a breakdown. She kept repeating the same words, like a clock whose hands were stuck at the same place.
Chapter end
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