Zhang Yichen has been incredibly busy lately, so much so that he hasn’t had the slightest chance to notice what kind of state his wife is in. Because of this, no one realized his wife’s phone behavior or noticed the gradual self-isolation she was sinking into. She started burying all her feelings deep inside, unwilling to talk to anyone. Every day, she sat alone in her room, not leaving her house, not taking even a single step outside.
Today, Zhang Ni noticed that his mother seed entirely out of sorts. No matter what he said to her, she didn’t react whatsoever. This strangeness bothered him; his mother had never been like this before. Even in the past, when he made mistakes, she would cheerfully remind him of his errors. But now, her actions felt extraordinarily abnormal. What could have happened to make her this way?
He decided to go ask Zhang Yichen—his father—about it. He wanted answers: What had happened to his mother? If his father was at all involved in the cause of her current state, he was determined not to sit idly by. Though he couldn’t bear to see either of his parents suffer, the fact was that his mother had beco like this, and as her son, there was no way he could feel indifferent. He wasn’t capable of pretending nothing was happening; he just wanted his mom to live a happy, carefree life. Why had she beco like this? She had spiraled into isolation, seeming as though she were suffering from depression.
Zhang Ni was startled by his own bold assumption. If his mother truly was depressed, what could have triggered such a condition? Her personality had always been so cheerful, lively, and radiant. If depression were truly the case, it would have to stem from severe trauma—perhaps the repeated coldness and neglect she experienced from his father.
Zhang Yichen saw Zhang Ni arriving and assud his son had co to him for sothing important. He hadn’t anticipated being interrogated.
"Nai’er, why are you here?"
"Dad, I’ll get straight to the point. Do you even know what’s wrong with Mom? Or did you say or do sothing that caused her to beco like this? When I got ho today, I saw her acting completely differently than she used to. She doesn’t respond to anything I say; she’s sitting there like a puppet, unmoving. I suspect she’s suffered a major blow to beco like this. In this family, have you never once paid attention to her? Have you been so busy with your own affairs that you’ve completely neglected your wife, who also needs care and support?"
"I’ve been very busy these past few days and truly haven’t had the ti to look after your mom. Hasn’t she always been just fine on her own? How could she suddenly end up like this?"
"Then why haven’t you taken Mom to the hospital? Do you think letting her stay like this is helping her in any way? We need to take her to get checked out imdiately. Whatever the outco, we won’t know until we do sothing about it."
Zhang Ni was overco with anger. He had worked hard to co back ho to check on his mother, only to find her in such a state. Seeing her like this, he couldn’t possibly remain indifferent. Even though he didn’t enjoy returning to this house and enduring its cold atmosphere, as a part of this family, he couldn’t ignore the situation. His mom was suffering, and no one—not a single person—had noticed or cared.
He felt strongly that his father had failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband this ti. His wife had clearly deteriorated this badly, yet he didn’t even know what had happened.
"Dad, there’s sothing we need to talk about. No matter what, you shouldn’t have treated Mom so coldly. Regardless of the reason for her condition or whatever issues you’ve been dealing with, you should’ve cared about how she feels. She’s right there, but how could she possibly not feel hurt? She’s not a Saint; she needs love and concern from her family. You’ve been so consud by your own busyness recently, and now Mom has ended up like this—yet you’re still clueless. You’ve never truly cared about her. And now you’re blaming for not taking her to the hospital sooner? If I hadn’t co back, this might have dragged on endlessly. Who knows how much worse it could’ve gotten?"
Zhang Yichen was silenced by his son’s words. Ultimately, this was his fault. If he had paid attention to his wife’s condition earlier, perhaps it wouldn’t have escalated to this point. If he had taken her to the hospital sooner, it might not have beco so serious. Now, what right did he have to bla his child? The reality was clear. If they didn’t act imdiately, soon it might be too late to do anything.
"Son, let’s put aside the issue of who’s right or wrong between us for now. We should hurry and get your mom to the hospital for a thorough examination to understand exactly what’s going on. If there’s an illness, it should be treated as soon as possible. Letting this drag on will only harm her further—you understand that better than anyone, I’m sure. I know you’re upset with right now, and I don’t bla you. I didn’t fulfill my responsibilities as her husband; I’ve neglected her, which led to her becoming like this. And I’ve been completely oblivious to her struggles—I deserve your resentnt. But for now, what we need to focus on is getting her the help she needs. As her family, this is all we can do. I promise you, moving forward, I will put her first in everything and not prioritize my personal affairs over her wellbeing."
"I couldn’t care less about who you put first. What I care about is what you’ve done to Mom that made her like this. I guarantee you, the doctor is going to say it’s depression. I can see it plain as day. She’s closed herself off entirely—she doesn’t want to speak a word to anyone. She’s beco like a puppet controlled by invisible strings, sitting there, motionless. Her inner world has completely shut down. Maybe this is what you wanted all along, isn’t it? You’ve never really taken a liking to her, have you? Every ti you’ve acted, you’ve never considered how deeply it might be hurting her inside!"
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