Iris at Dusk

Mother Zhou sternly reprimanded Zhou Han: "How could you two get married —such a major life event— without notifying either set of parents? What was the point of us raising you all these years? It was simply to see you get married and have children. Yet, you didn't even let us know about the wedding! Did you ever stop to consider our feelings as parents? What you did was absolutely outrageous!" Perhaps genuinely furious, she abandoned her usual dignified demeanor; her words came out as a near-roar. Lin Li was taken aback and stared fixedly at Mother Zhou. In their previous meetings, Mother Zhou had always treated her kindly—her sincerity and genuine warmth were palpable. This was the first time Lin Li had seen her lose her temper; while she wasn't exactly frightened, she was more startled. It wasn't just Lin Li who was stunned by Mother Zhou’s outburst; Lin Li’s parents, who were sitting nearby, were also dumbfounded and took a long moment to collect themselves. R...

Lin’s parents were completely bewildered by the situation and turned in unison to look at Lin Li. Meanwhile, Zhou Han stepped forward to take the items from his mother’s hands, asking, "Mom, what brings you here today?" Mother Zhou rolled her eyes at her son with a touch of exasperation. "I missed my grandson—can't I come over to see him?" She grumbled, "You and Xiao Li never bring the child home for your father and me to see. I missed him terribly; since you wouldn't come, I had to come myself. After all, he is my precious grandson." As she spoke, she smiled and waved at the little one standing beside Lin Li. Then, looking up at Lin Li with a slight frown, she asked, "Xiao Li, have you lost weight again?" Lin Li glanced at her own parents, then offered a sheepish, awkward smile to Mother Zhou and shook her head. "No... no, I haven't." Mother Zhou didn't take her word for it; instead, she turned to scold Zhou Han: "...

"What is it?" Zhou Han’s slightly deep voice came through the phone—brief and to the point, true to his style. "It’s like this: my parents arrived from home today and are at our place right now. I was just trying to figure out how to explain the situation quickly..." Lin Li began, but Zhou Han cut her off mid-sentence. "I’ve met your parents." Zhou Han’s voice was steady and calm—so calm, in fact, that he sounded as if he were merely mentioning he’d just finished a meal; his composure was almost surreal. Lin Li, however, was practically startled out of her skin by his incredibly calm statement. She shrieked into the phone, "What did you say?"  Had she misheard? Did he really say he’d met her parents? But wasn't he supposed to be at the office? How could he have run into them? "I’ve just arrived home. Come out here," Zhou Han said steadily before hanging up, ignoring Lin Li’s reaction. Lin Li stared blankly at her phone for a moment ...

In the end, Lin Li didn't take her father to the hospital. Before she had even called her daughter, her parents had already been there; however, the attending physician who had performed her father's surgery was off for the weekend, meaning they would have to wait until the following Tuesday for his specialist clinic hours. Lin Li drove her parents home. As she unlocked the door and stepped inside, she deftly retrieved slippers from the shoe cabinet—a series of actions that caused her parents, following close behind, to exchange a puzzled glance. Once inside, Lin Li asked her parents to sit on the living room sofa and brought out two glasses of water from the kitchen. All the while, her brow remained furrowed with worry over her father's condition. Her parents took the water and glanced around the house, taking in its general appearance. Just as they were about to ask their daughter about it, Lin Li spoke first: "Mom, Dad, have a seat for a moment. I need to make a pho...

Zhou Han left immediately after speaking, without wasting a single extra word. His departure was effortless, but it left Lin Li feeling conflicted. His apology had been straightforward and sincere; if she refused it, she would seem overly coy or difficult. Yet, if she accepted and went to eat noodles with him—sitting face-to-face—it felt rather awkward. However, if she didn't go, she would be going hungry. For some reason, her appetite had improved over the past couple of days; although she still couldn't eat large portions, it was a significant improvement over the recent past, and the bouts of nausea and vomiting had subsided. After a brief internal struggle—and driven by genuine hunger—Lin Li ultimately made her way to the dining area. By the time she arrived, Zhou Han had already eaten more than half his meal; he glanced up at her as she approached. Flustered by his gaze, Lin Li pulled out a chair and sat down, offering an awkward explanation: "I... I just didn't w...

The cool breeze outside the window blew past her face, which made her a little dry. Lin Li drove the car slowly and followed the large group, pausing for several minutes. After more than half an hour, she actually drove less than fifty meters. Her chest was still tight and uncomfortable, and she was still uncomfortable with what Zhou Han had just said. In fact, after calming down and thinking about it, he was right. They were not a couple in the first place. Not only could they not be called husband and wife, they could not even be called friends. She did not realize her identity and was careless. Lin Li did not deny that she did regard the little guy as her child who had not had time to be born. Thinking of the fateless child, the soreness and pain in her heart became a little more. She raised her head slightly and pushed back the tears in her eyes.  After a while, she heard the urging sound of "Papa -" from behind. Lin Li looked up again and saw that the long queue in fr...