Hello, my name is Lin Qijiu. Picking up where I left off, my father cheated, and his affair was with a man, which I found unacceptable.
However, running away just because of this would make my emotional resilience seem too weak. If it were only that fleeting glimpse that day, I could perfectly well stay at home, biding my time to look for evidence of my father's cheating.
The real problem arose half a year after that incident, with another surprise.
A phantom thief who once played the world like a fiddle said: "If a phantom thief is a highly skilled, creative artist who steals treasures, then a detective is merely someone who nitpicks and follows behind, at best a critic."
Only when I personally experienced the role of a "detective" did I realize how profoundly true that statement is.
All cheaters are experts in this field; they are the true phantom thieves.
That day was during the Golden Week holiday. I didn't go out to buy questionable books and run into a vampire, but my parents took me to a gathering with their friends.
I mentioned last time that my mother has a bunch of inexpressible friends. That statement wasn't entirely accurate, as my father is also a close friend to this group of people.
These individuals are all at least a generation older than me. The youngest of them looks like a primary school student, but she's actually nearly ten years older than me, and I have to call her 'Auntie.'
Most of them aren't married, so they dote on me, the only junior in their circle, treating me like their own child. Some taught me knowledge, some passed down Shenzhou martial arts, some cultivated my aesthetic sense, and others... taught me how to cook.
Like my mother, they are all accomplished individuals in various fields, so I held them in high respect before that incident occurred.
Until that day.
I don't remember the specifics of what happened, but I vaguely recall someone with red hair pulling people everywhere and forcing them to drink, causing everyone to fall over drunk. When I slightly sobered up, I saw "bodies strewn across the floor" and the room reeking of alcohol.
But I noticed two people were missing among the heavily sleeping crowd.
One, you already know, was my father, that strange guy who wears a mask even when drinking.
The other was an Auntie I had always respected, and even somewhat feared.
She was the one who taught me knowledge. Since childhood, I learned various advanced subjects far beyond my age in her lab. Eighty percent of the reason I effortlessly rank first in my grade is thanks to this Auntie.
But even though I am an exceptionally brilliant expert among my peers, she is still not satisfied with me. My mother told me that when this Auntie was my age, she had already obtained her Ph.D. and presented a paper at the highest-level knowledge seminar on the Continent of Mu, speaking before experts from around the world. This is why she is displeased with my current status of just routinely attending high school without even skipping grades.
The main reason I fear this Auntie, besides the fact that she is very beautiful but always reminds me of a snake flicking its tongue, is her extreme strictness and harshness towards me. I believe you also have a teacher you both respect and fear; she was the first such person in my life.
In my impression, this Auntie had a very good relationship with my mother. My mother would always visit her lab to hang out. Her relationship with my father, however, was not good. Their meetings would always start with sarcastic remarks, and she would ridicule him without reservation.
Later, I found out I was wrong. The most widely known concept of tsundere originated decades ago with Asuka from EVA. In this current era where tsundere is no longer fashionable, I forgot that genuine tsundere actually exists in the real world.
When I sobered up and found those two missing, an ominous feeling arose in my heart. I wobbled to the window and saw a scene I will never forget.
That beautiful, green-haired Auntie had helped my father into a taxi. Then, as if sensing my gaze, she looked up and smiled coldly at me, before closing the car door and leaving.
That night, Father did not come home.
A man and a woman, one of whom is married, spending a night together, and the man not returning home—what does that imply?
Oh my god, even the trashiest novels nowadays wouldn't write such a plot!
Afterwards, I couldn't help but severely scold and question my father about what happened between him and that Auntie that night, but the only response I got was his usual cold stare. After seemingly giving it some thought, he answered that it was nothing, just some academic matters.
Academic?
Did they spend the entire night researching quantum mechanics, then?! What a joke!
I went to ask the Auntie, and she gave the same excuse, even observing my reaction with interest.
Powerless, I could only seek help from the other uncles and aunts, but what awaited me were lines they had clearly rehearsed together!
They stood in lockstep, completely keeping my mother in the dark.
Later, I gradually noticed more and more shady interactions between my father and a few of the pretty Aunties. Being extremely perceptive to girls' admiring glances, it was not difficult for me to discern what was in their eyes when they looked at my father, which only fueled my anger.
So, I once interrogated the Auntie who taught me swordsmanship. She normally carried the sharp, imposing demeanor of a master swordsman, but when I asked her about this issue, she suddenly avoided my gaze and stammered, completely unlike herself.
Therefore, I confirmed that this group of people was deliberately working together to deceive my mother.
I am utterly helpless against these people alone. I am already exceptionally gifted, but my mother is trapped in an information cocoon. As long as they don't let their guard down, I stand no chance.
Thus, I have chosen to run away from home, using this method to protest against my father, and using this letter and my determination to make my mother realize the truth.
But before that, I have one thing to do, and that is to teach my father a lesson!
Hmph, though I disapprove of the way the uncles and aunts are harming my mother, the things they taught me are genuine. Especially the Auntie who taught me martial arts; she told me to use it only for fitness and never for seeking conflict, which I have always taken to heart.
My mother privately told me that with the martial arts the Auntie taught me, I can now take on ten people alone. My father, that gloomy, perpetually melancholic fellow, couldn't possibly beat ten people.
I'm not seeking conflict; I'm merely getting justice for myself and my mother!
Before I leave, I am going to tear that mask off his face!
Besides these preparations, I also have a helper...
Darn it, Mother is knocking on the door to call me for dinner. I'll write the rest on the day I leave.