Transmigrated as a vicious stepmother, I raised a child who became a heartthrob.

Huo Wang didn't speak, he just nodded.

The physical fatigue was bearable, but the mental fatigue was more overwhelming, making him feel like he didn't even want to move.

Jiang Zhuhua led the person into the house; she always kept her house tidy.

Huo Wang looked at the room with a slight surprise; it wasn't quite what he had imagined.

Instead of black, white, and gray tones, the color scheme leans more towards warm orange. The collision of orange and white, a pot of gardenias blooming out of season on the small windowsill in the bedroom, creates a warm and natural scene. There are also a few dolls on the blankets laid out beside the bed.

The small tea table is also very simple.

He was too tired; he only glanced at it briefly and didn't want to know more.

"Sit on the bed."

Jiang Zhuhua picked up a plush toy from the bed. It was a two-dimensional toy, a train conductor plush toy. It was fluffy.

The fluffy texture was placed in his hand, and Huo Wang squeezed the doll before obediently sitting on the bed. He didn't want to say a word.

Jiang Zhuhua didn't expect him to say anything.

"Take off your slippers and get into bed."

Jiang Zhuhua's tone remained calm and steady, not like he was talking about something ambiguous, but rather like he was doing business.

Huo Wang gained a little peace. It was hard to describe the morbid feeling; he didn't have to use his brain and just had to follow the other party's instructions.

She had already changed into slippers when she came in, so all she had to do now was crawl into bed. Huo Wang was thankful that she didn't have smelly feet or any other special condition. She took off her coat and obediently snuggled into the light pink blankets.

She was wearing only a thin sweater underneath.

Jiang Zhuhua took off his slippers and lay down on the other side.

"come over."

It was still in a commanding tone, but not as forceful. Huo Wang wriggled closer. Jiang Zhuhua pulled him directly into his arms.

The two of them said nothing, but simply leaned against each other quietly. The temperature under the covers gradually rose, and their breaths mingled.

My body was gradually warming up, and my icy hands were starting to warm up.

Huo Wang wasn't sleepy; he just didn't want to think about anything. He remained quiet like this for a long time, I don't know exactly how long, before he finally felt his mind start to work a little.

It seemed like I had just come to my senses and realized what kind of situation I was in.

"You saw that leak too, right?"

"Right?" The question was undeniably feminine, and Jiang Zhuhua even sensed a hint of fragility in the other person. She simply didn't say anything, gently loosening her grip to create some distance between them.

Even though they're under the same blanket, and there's some distance between them, they're only about the size of a fist.

"Say it if you want to, don't say it if you don't. I'll take care of everything for you, if you don't mind."

Jiang Zhuhua's reply was very simple and blunt.

Having money and power is one of the advantages. Reasons are just a secondary factor; the real advantage is that you don't need to ask why, as you already have enough means to resolve this farce.

Jiang Zhuhua dared to say this because he believed in Huo Wang's character.

Whether it's helping to take care of children, or being helpful and courageous in daily life, it's enough to prove that the other person's heart is warm and kind.

A warm and kind person will never do anything to hurt others unless they are driven to the brink of desperation.

Do you know where my auto repair shop came from?

Huo Wang took the initiative to hug the other person back, but only around the waist, nothing more.

Jiang Zhuhua listened quietly to the other person's story.

"I was only nineteen back then, unlike now. I was very poor back then, and I had to stretch every penny I had to spend..."

As the voice slowly narrated, Huo Wang seemed to return to that year.

"Wangwang, Awang, don't go too far today! Come back as soon as you're done drawing!"

His mother was downstairs, covered in grease, waving with a gentle smile. A restaurant had opened next door, and the road in front of it was greasy; the smoke made it almost impossible for Huo Wang to see his mother's face clearly.

"Okay, Mom! You go ahead and get busy!"

Huo Wang rode his dilapidated bicycle, carrying his drawing board on his back, and shouted back at the top of his lungs.

The autumn sunset is exceptionally beautiful, almost as if it could burn half the sky red. The reeds sway back and forth in the cold wind, and a few green ducks burrow into the reeds.

The bright red sun was reflected in the water, and the surface of the water was rippled by the ducks.

Huo Wang slowly painted on the canvas, the orange paint spreading out in the water, making it impossible to tell whether it was the sun or the paint.

He seemed to have an innate sensitivity to color, and the imagery leaped off the canvas. He wasn't here to complete any task; he simply found the place exceptionally beautiful and wanted to experience the sunset.

I casually rinsed the palette in the water. Before it even dried, I rode my clanging bicycle back home.

My mother worked hard in her early years and her health is not very good. He can come out to paint for a while, but he can't stay outside all the time.

He also accepted commissions online to draw some pictures to earn some money to help support his family. The art academy sent him a message saying that if he studied that, it would cost a lot of money in the future.

You can't rely on your family; you still have to earn your own money.

"So, did you go to school?"

Jiang Zhuhua lowered his voice and asked softly.

“I went. Back then, nobody knew which professions were profitable. Everyone was just an ordinary person, a farmer. All we talked about was studying and going to university to find a way out. And everyone said that interest is the best teacher.”

Huo Wang also lowered his voice, and the two of them seemed to be whispering to each other.

That year, he still harbored beautiful hopes for the future. He stumbled and saved money, bought a second-hand mobile phone, and gradually figured out how to use it to draw while taking care of the farm work at home.

They just groped their way through it little by little, knowing nothing, but holding onto that hope.

Even when school actually starts, dressed in my best clothes, standing in the big city, I still feel out of place.

Studying art is very expensive, so Huo Wang could only try his best to fill the gap and not worry his family. He even made a name for himself in the process.

But a painting is worthless while the person is alive, unless you can make it to the highest degree.

For example, surrealism can depict details so finely that when enlarged, you can see every single hair and the texture of every inch of skin.

That boy filled his own void while striving to grow taller, hoping to become a towering tree. But this sapling eventually bent at some point.

It was raining heavily that day. Huo Wang, holding an umbrella given to him by the bank, returned to his cramped rented room. When he received the phone call, it felt like the sky had already darkened.

"Wang, come back for a moment. Your mother is in the hospital."

A thunderclap seemed to explode right next to his ears. Huo Wang felt his hands trembling, and he gave a bewildered reply.

After finally getting leave, I boarded the bus home, but in the cramped bus and crowded with people, I was still in a daze.

It felt both expected and unexpected.

No one would tell his mother about her condition unless the situation was serious enough.