[The Present]

East or west, home is the best.

Vasari Li is standing at the door. Looking at Tye Zhang, who is sitting on the ground in the room and writing something on a notebook, she is distressed and heartbroken. She shakes her head and signs for several times, feeling as if a knife was being twisted in her heart.

"Tye...Dinner is ready. Have dinner first, ok?"

She forces a smile and says patiently to her son.

Tye Zhang becomes defensive immediately as if she were his enemy. He grasps the notebook in his chest and glares at Vasari Li with red eyes. He is so nervous that he acts as if he were a child whose candies are going to be snatched.

It has only been three years, but Vasari Li and Ekin Zhang are already having gray hair because of worrying about their son.

Tye Zhang woke up from the coma six months ago.

When he just woke up, he didn't know how to speak or move. He was like a newly-born baby who could just listen and see.

Recently, he can finally write some words, but he has been acting like a lunatic. He found a notebook and a pen, and keeps scribbling with them all day and all night. He doesn't allow anyone else to look at it except him and regards it as his treasure!

"...The professor said that this is a normal phenomenon. As long as he continues taking the medicine, he will get better after a while." Ekin Zhang wipes his eyes and says with heartaches.

Tye Zhang takes the notebook with him and moves to the corner little by little.

He turns his back to face the corner. He suddenly starts to stare at the white wall blankly.

He has been sitting there for two hours.

When he stands up, his legs are numb.

All of a sudden, he loses his balance and kneels down to the ground directly. There's a clear sound of joints clashing coming from his knees.

"It hurts..."

Tye Zhang says the word "hurt".

He heard a sound suddenly.

Someone once said "hurt" to him.

Who said it...

Who said that it hurt...and asked him to stop...

Tye Zhang growls and feels a splitting headache! The more he thinks about it, the more blurred the sound becomes! It hurts so much! His head is hurt, and so is his heart!

"...Who is it!" He fiercely hits the wall with his head! There is a clashing sound coming out!

He has hit the wall for several times. The physical pain temporarily relieves his mental pain.

He covers his chest with hands and sits down on the ground in a panic. His temples have turned blue and been severely swollen.

"Who...Who!"

He asks with a low-pitch growl!

The sound in his mind is haunting him like a spell and driving him crazy.

When Vasari Li comes to check up on him, Tye Zhang is crying with his hands covering his chest!

"...I'm hurt. My heart is hurt!"

Tye Zhang's face is full of tears and snots. There're already bloodstains on his head.

He is panicked and grieved. He grabs his chest and cries louder and louder.

"I'm hurt!" His face is twisted. He is wailing with blue veins showing up on his neck!

"...Tye." Vasari Li slowly approaches Tye Zhang and hugs him. She cries with her son. She feels sorry for him. He is now in such a mess, making her heartbroken.

When will this torture be finished exactly?

How much more pain does her son have to suffer before he can repay his debt?

Ekin Zhang, as the father and husband, looks so old and powerless at this moment.

He walks over to his wife and son step by step and squats down to hug them. He comforts them silently.

It will pass...It will pass.

Toy Zhang just finished the call with his mother. On hearing that his brother has woken up and is getting better, he feels relieved to some extent.

Cole Wu doesn't live in his place. He has persuaded him to stay, but he didn't agree.

He is a tough man and a strong father.

He is living in a newly-rented small apartment in the downtown area with his little child Seth Wu. Although they are living a bitter life, they are actually living it to the fullest.

Jack Fang seems to be awake at all times, at least...he never takes rest while Toy Zhang is awake.

He is waiting for Toy Zhang to speak. He knows that he needs someone to unburden himself.

"Tye has woken up..."

Jack Fang listens to him quietly.

"I only hope that he can get better soon." Toy Zhang lights up a cigarette and starts to smoke it.

"But my mother said that although he had woken up, he was also mad. There's something wrong with his brain and he can't remember anything. Moreover, he would often flip out..."

He starts to secretly shed tears under the cover of the smoke.

"I am to blame for what he has become now. If it weren't for me...If I haven't been so cruel...I have ruined my brother's whole life!"

He suddenly starts to cough. He is choked to shed tears by the smoke that enters his trachea!

"It's not your fault." Jack Fang looks tender. He emboldens himself to walk over to Toy Zhang...Then he pats him on his nape.

Three years have passed, and Seth Wu has learnt about walking and jumping. He can also call "Dad".

He is very clingy and always wants to be with Cole Wu.

Because he has to take care of his son, Cole Wu quit his job and borrowed a sum of money from Toy Zhang. He repays the money monthly. He has rent a shop near his apartment to run a small bookstore, where he sells some novels and comics. The business is quite good. Many young people, especially students, are willing to come to his bookstore.

"Dad, Dad...Seth is pooping..." Seth Wu squats down. His little penis is exposed from the open-seat pants. His chubby little hands restlessly pat his knees and his plump face is so red that it's like a steamed bun that is going to cooked thoroughly.

Under his butt, a stick of poop is giving off the awkward smell.

"..." Cole Wu has to put down the book and takes off the glasses. He puts the glasses on the table and stands up.

He walks over, looking serious. On seeing the "crime scene" of his son, he gets angry.

"You are just incorrigible! I've told you for so many times that you should raise your hand if you want to pee or poop. Why don't you just listen! I'm gonna punish you this time. I won't wipe your butt and I'll let you be smelly for the whole day!"

"...Don't...Please don't, Dad..." Seth Wu immediately pouts his lips and starts to cry!

"Seth doesn't want to be smelly...Seth wants to be fragrant...Dad, Seth don't want to be smelly...Please wipe my butt for me. Wipe my butt. Dad, please..."

Seth Wu lifts his butt and moves over to Cole Wu. He is shedding tears with red eyes and looking at him piteously.

"Don't give me this look. I don't buy it! You were so naughty! You have to be punished for being naughty!" Cole Wu is still cold and detached.

Children can't be spoiled, otherwise it'd be difficult to discipline them. Rewards and punishments have to be equally given. They can't be left with the impression that all problems can be resolved by crying.

"Dad...Dad..." Seth Wu has been crying for a long time and even his voice has become hoarse. But Cole Wu just won't wipe his butt. He only cleaned up his "crime scene" and then pays no attention to him.

"Seth wipes his butt." Seth Wu moves his butt a little bit. He has been lifting it up at the time, so he feels sore on his butt. He kneels down and crawls on the ground. After he finds the tissue, he takes out one piece of the tissue as Cole Wu usually does. He first pouts his lips with disfavor, then he sends the tissue to his little butt to wipe it.