Listen to Mother*

"Waah…" Rui Ye's heartbreaking cries echoed throughout the house as he stood in the middle of the living room, his fleshy hand clutching the hem of his shirt so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He cried so hard that his face turned blotchy, an endless string of tears rolling down his cheeks, looking extremely wronged and aggrieved.

On the side, Mother Rui sat on the couch with her elbows resting on her knees, her fingers buried in her hair, tightly pulling at her scalp. 

Under normal circumstances, she would be the first to soothe Rui Ye and kiss his tears away, treating him like a fragile treasure she held on the cusp of her palm, her heart breaking at the slightest sign of unhappiness on his face. But now… she couldn't. For God's sake, she couldn't even bring herself to look at him!