『Your adoptive mother's feelings for you seem a bit different...』
"Does not relying on Mom count as growing up?" "It counts as Mom being useless." Image source: 🍠kk🐟 (The following is narrated from Su Yunheng's perspective) My name is Su Yunheng. I have a stable job, a good income, a house and a car in my name, and savings; I just want to live a peaceful life on my own. However, my parents keep pressuring me to start a family, constantly bringing up the fact that I'm already thirty. But thirty is exactly the stage to focus on one's career; there's really no need to be in such a rush to force me into marriage. Once, when my mother was nagging me again, I couldn't take it anymore and made up a lie to appease her. I told her I had been married once years ago but was now long divorced. I even fabricated that my ex-husband and his ex-wife had a child, and after the divorce, the child was left in my care. I originally intended to use this story to make my mother think I had poor judgment and had met the wrong person; I planned to confess everything was a lie once she started criticizing the "ex-husband's" character. But things didn't go as I expected. Instead of blaming me for choosing the wrong person, my mother felt sorry for the non-existent child and insisted I bring the child home for her to see whenever I had time. I should have refused then and there, but by some strange twist of fate, I agreed. The next day, I simply took a day off and went straight to an orphanage, intending to actually adopt a child to deal with my family. Among the children, there was a girl who looked much older than the others. I asked the director and learned her original family was extremely poor and could not afford to raise her, so they had no choice but to send her to the orphanage. She was just sixteen then, fully capable of taking care of her own daily needs without me having to worry much, so I decided right then to adopt her. After completing all the adoption procedures, I brought the girl back to my place and told her the whole truth. She was exceptionally sensible, nodding quietly and expressing her willingness to cooperate with me in this act. I took her home to meet my mother. Seeing that the child was so old, my mother was momentarily shocked, so I brushed it off by saying my "ex-husband was older," and she eventually accepted it. Thanks to this girl, my mother stopped nagging me every day about blind dates and marriage; she probably thought my taste was so bad that she feared I would meet the wrong person again. From then on, whenever my mother arranged a blind date, I could simply decline if I didn't want to go, without having to expend effort to talk my way out of it. Since then, I have lived with this girl. Technically, I am her adoptive mother, so she should call me "Mom." She is very well-behaved and calls me that obediently every time. At first, hearing those words made me feel awkward all over, but once I got used to it, I would reflexively answer when I heard them. In the blink of an eye, she reached her senior year of high school; by then, she was already an adult. To prepare for the college entrance exams, she stayed up late every night to review. One night, she couldn't hold out any longer and fell sound asleep at her desk. I walked over quietly, wanting to cover her with a light blanket, and caught a glimpse of her face. She looked so gentle and quiet in her sleep. I suddenly realized how beautiful she had become. Perhaps because we spent every day together, I hadn't noticed that she had already matured, losing her youthful innocence as her features became more refined and beautiful. I snapped out of it, straightening up and touching my cheek—it was burning hot. I rushed into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face repeatedly, but my thoughts remained in turmoil. How could I have such thoughts? I am clearly her adoptive mother; how could I harbor such strange feelings for her? But an uncontrollable, absurd thought surfaced from the bottom of my heart: If I'm only her adoptive mother... I quickly cut off the thought, not daring to think any further. That night, I was restless, my mind filled with that scene, and I lost all sleep. Later, she successfully graduated from high school and entered university. My place isn't far from her school, so she mostly lives at home. Ever since she started university, I've become a bit strange. I get anxious when she comes home late, and for that reason, I set a curfew for her, which she accepts without complaint. Seeing her interact with the opposite sex makes my chest tighten with a suffocating feeling, but I have no way to express this bitterness, let alone a standing to interfere; it's just doubly agonizing. ... I think I really have fallen in love with her.