The Secret After the Parent-Teacher Meeting

Lin Man never imagined she would lose control at her son’s parent-teacher conference. A mother of three, gentle and restrained, she nonetheless harbored an inexplicable partiality for her youngest son, Shen Zhou. That night’s unexpected lapse was like a key that opened Pandora’s box. Shen Zhou’s eyes remained innocent and clear, yet held a sharpness that none of his peers possessed; he saw right through the fissures beneath his mother’s composed exterior. At this moment, they were sitting across from Teacher Su, the homeroom teacher, and Lin Man’s hand had already quietly settled where it shouldn’t be.