Chapter 11

Heath didn't move.I tried to pull him up, but he jerked his arm away weakly."Liam." The pillow muffled Heath's voice, and his stuffy nose made it hard to understand him. "Why did you come? You said you weren't going to care about me anymore… You said you were done with me…" His shoulders began to shake. "You said you wouldn't care about me anymore. How could you go back on your word…"My eyes stung, but I didn't allow the tears to fall. I crouched beside him and looked at the back of his head. His messy hair was spread across the pillow, and a small patch of new growth showed at the roots.Back when he lived at home, I was always the one who cut his hair with clippers. He used to complain that barbershops were too expensive and say, "Dad can cut it just fine."I said, "Heath, let's go to the doctor first. After that, if you still want to cut ties with me, I won't stop you. You're running a fever of 102.9 degrees. If something happens to you in this windowless room, what am I sup

Chapter 12

Heath began to say, "I…"I said, "You can leave after your fever subsides tomorrow. Come home tonight."Heath fell silent.The cab drove through the night. Neon lights passed by the window, flickering across Heath's face.When we arrived home, I unlocked the door. Heath stood at the entrance, slowly taking off his shoes. He looked at the plain, dark blue slippers in the shoe cabinet. I'd washed them and left them where they always were.He stared at them for a few seconds, then slipped them on.Heath's eyes scanned every inch of the house as he entered, taking in the dining table, the couch, the TV stand, and the kitchen sliding door. His room door was closed.He paused briefly as he passed it but didn't open it.I led him to my room. I found a clean T-shirt and a pair of shorts in the wardrobe and laid them on the bed, then dug an ear thermometer out of the medicine kit and placed it on the nightstand."The clothes are yours. I bought them before, but you never wore them, so

Chapter 13

Health abruptly lifted his head.I said, "I'm not trying to force you into anything. I'm just relaying the information. If you want to repeat your final year, do it. If you don't, then don't. You can decide for yourself."We were silent for a long time. Heath lowered his head and stared at his feet."You weren't like this before." His voice was soft, almost as if he were talking to himself. "You never used to ask me what I wanted. You just told me what I was supposed to do."I didn't say anything."You were always telling me to get first place and get into a top university. It was always, 'Heath, you have to do this. Heath, you have to do that.'" Heath's eyes turned red. "You never asked me what I wanted. You've changed."His voice shook. "You're not my dad… My dad would never talk to me like this. He would never agree to let me skip the collage entrance exam. He would never take me to the doctor in the middle of the night. He would never cook soup for me…"Heath trailed off, te

Chapter 14

I got up from the couch and paced around the living room before sitting back down. I opened my notes app, copied the reminders I'd put together previously, and sent them to Heath.Then I added, "I have your documents. I'll go with you during registration."He replied, "Okay."That night, I made three dishes and cooked an extra serving of pasta. Halfway through dinner, after briefly hesitating, I took a picture and sent it to Heath. "I cooked too much. I can't finish it."A minute later, he sent me a picture of a bowl of instant noodles topped with a fried egg. The egg was a little burnt around the edges, but the yolk was still whole. He wrote, "I fried the egg myself."I zoomed in on the photo. The egg white was definitely a little burnt, but the yolk was perfectly intact. It was almost like he'd used a mold to shape it.Heath had never fried an egg before. Whenever he tried to join me in the kitchen, I'd chase him out, telling him that the cooking fumes were bad for him and that

All Chapters of I Agreed to Let My Son Skip Exams: Chapter 11 - Chapter 14

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14