Keluctantly, my mom withdrew some money from the house sale ahead of time.
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She lost a bit of interest because of it and
nagged about it for a long time.
I couldn’t hear her complaints anymore–I was already numb.
My hard work paid off.
I got accepted intoYale, just as my mom had
always dreamed.
On the day of my acceptance, my mom took me
back to our hometown.
The head of the education bureau treated my
mom to a meal, and she became the “most
successful mom” in our county.
She no longer said I inherited my intelligence
3:42
83)
She no longer said I inherited my intelligence from her, implying I was naturally smart.
She changed her tune, claiming I was born
dumb, and it was her relentless discipline that made me who I was.
The officials present all nodded in agreement.
“The old sayings from our ancestors are always
true.”
A journalist was there that day too.
One reporter asked me, “Mary, do you have
anything to say to your mom?”
The rebellious seed buried deep inside me for
over twenty years stirred.
Playfully, I asked my mom, “Mom, can I date
now?”
<
3:43
There was a moment of awkwardness.
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With officials and journalists around, she didn’t hit me.
Instead, she said, “If there’s someone suitable,
let mom check them out first. If I approve, you can date.”
I pushed further, “Mom, can I go to Yale for
grad school by myself?”
My mom was stunned.
She knew I was cornering her in front of others.
She cried, “Honey, if I hadn’t kept a close eye on you all these years at NYU, would you have gotten into Yale for graduate school? How can you think of abandoning mom now that you’re successful?”
Everyone at the table began to criticize me.
<
3:43
I sighed.
((
“Alright, mom, if you want to go, then go.”
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That night, in front of everyone, my mom asked the waiter to pack the leftovers.
While waiting, she told everyone how she gave
me milk, eggs, and fish oil every day, while she herself ate wilted greens.
Her words moved the journalists and officials to
tears.
“What a great mother!”
“So difficult! We need to promote such
educational experiences!”
July was scorching hot.
But my heart felt drenched in a storm of cold
rain and hail.
<
3:43
At the cashier, my mom tried a piece of mint candy from the counter.
“This is really delicious. I’ve never had such
good candy. Can you pack some for me?”
She asked humbly.
The waiter quickly filled her pocket with a handful.
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Everyone’s eyes on me grew more
disappointed.
In their eyes, I was just a parasitic daughter.
I achieved academic success by leeching off my
mom.
And my mom was so poor she couldn’t even
afford a piece of ordinary mint candy.
I felt a chill all over.
<
At that moment, a couple entered the
restaurant.
They were chatting and laughing, clearly in love.
Even after all these years, I recognized him instantly.
Back then, he had given me two rabbits,
treating them like treasures.
But my mom had turned them into a chair cushion.
They walked over to us.
I realized his girlfriend was also my middle
school classmate.
They recognized me too.
The girl greeted me first.
3:43
He smiled at me in acknowledgment.
My mom remembered him too.
She bluntly said, “Our Mary got into Yale for grad school. If I hadn’t intervened back then, your relationship would have ruined her
studies!”
83)
She glanced at his girlfriend and said to me, “Look at him, apart from dating, what else can he do?”
The girl’s expression changed immediately, “Auntie, enough already. So what if Mary got into Yale for grad school? We both got into Harvard for grad school, and dating didn’t
affect our studies at all!”
She then dragged the boy away.
Halfway through, he turned back to look at me.
<
