教父的诞生

Part 2

Xie Wendong didn't know how long he had been walking, but he finally made it home. He opened the door to find his father and mother inside. When they saw the injuries on their son's face, they hurriedly asked, "Wendong, what happened to your face?"

Xie Wendong's pride prevented him from admitting that he had been beaten. He mumbled, "It rained outside, and I slipped and fell."

His mother, concerned, asked, "Are you okay, Wendong? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Just forget about it!" Xie Wendong retreated to his room and shut the door behind him. His mood was chaotic, and he didn't want to see anyone.

His father knocked on his door and said, "Wendong, come out and have something to eat before going back to your room!"

"Dad, I already ate outside," came the impatient reply from inside. Xie Wendong's father turned to his wife and said, "I feel like there's a growing generation gap between us and our child. Wendong rarely talks about his own things anymore."

"Yes, this child..." his mother replied.

By ten o'clock, Xie Wendong heard that his parents had gone to bed. He emerged from his room, went to the bathroom to clean himself thoroughly, then found the toolbox on the balcony and took a utility knife back to his room.

In his room, Xie Wendong stripped off all his clothes and stood naked in front of the mirror, holding the utility knife. Looking at himself in the mirror, Xie Wendong spoke coldly, "Xie Wendong, remember, from today on, no one will ever bully you again!"

He extended the blade of the utility knife, extended his left hand, and made a cut in his palm. The sharp blade sliced through his palm, creating a wound over three inches long, and blood flowed out immediately. Xie Wendong gritted his teeth to keep from making a sound, watching his distorted face in the mirror, and said through clenched teeth, "Xie Wendong, if you can't even endure this kind of pain, what hope do you have of not being bullied?" The pain in his palm stimulated every nerve, and he unconsciously let out muted groans of agony.

Perhaps due to the pain or the excessive bleeding, Xie Wendong began to feel dizzy, but he still tightly gripped the utility knife. Hearing noises coming from his son's room that sounded like illness, Xie Wendong's parents, not understanding what was happening, opened the door to his room and were stunned by the scene before them. Xie Wendong lay naked on the floor, covered in blood, with weak sounds coming from his mouth.

Xie Wendong's father quickly wrapped him in a blanket and headed outside, with his mother following closely. They rushed to the hospital.

A week later, Xie Wendong returned to school as usual with his backpack, but his left hand was wrapped in white bandages.

Entering the classroom, he ignored his classmates' curious stares and quietly took his seat. The students felt that Xie Wendong seemed different after being absent for a week, but they couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed; it was just a peculiar feeling.

Seeing his desk mate, Xu Na, ask with concern, "Xie Wendong, I heard you were hospitalized recently. What kind of serious illness did you have?"

"It's nothing," Xie Wendong replied with a slight smile. "I just accidentally cut my hand."

Seeing the bandages on Xie Wendong's hand, Xu Na nodded in understanding and said, "You're grown up now; how can you be so careless?"

Xie Wendong laughed and said, "Okay, I'll be more careful next time." Seeing the smiling Xie Wendong, Xu Na felt that he really was different, at least much more cheerful.