Extra
: Five
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Even though Chen Jing had returned to his bedroom, lying in bed trying to sleep, he could still faintly hear Aunt Li Lisi’s screams from the balcony, accompanied by strange words like “magic” and “magical powers.”
He had already witnessed the level of middle school syndrome from the two aunties… sisters in the afternoon, and now lying in bed, his brain couldn’t help but start wandering.
He imagined that the two sisters and his mother actually came from a magical otherworld, accidentally arriving on Earth, where his mother was tricked by his father into getting married, and then had him…
About two hours later, the door to Chen Jing’s bedroom was quietly unlocked with a key.
Lin Nan peeked in, then tiptoed over to the bedside and covered Chen Jing with a blanket.
She knew boys his age needed their privacy, so even though she secretly entered this room, she wouldn’t touch any of Chen Jing’s things.
Of course, she also remembered being that age herself; even without looking, she could guess what kind of secrets Chen Jing was hiding.
He probably had a stash of weird novels on his phone, a few gigabytes of videos on his computer, and his browser history was likely filled with visits to Macau casinos… Recently, his use of paper had significantly increased; it was easy to guess why.
But right now, she merely stood there from a motherly perspective, worried about Chen Jing catching a cold.
After setting the air conditioning to 26 degrees, she tiptoed out of the bedroom again.
“He’s already asleep; he even kicked off the blanket.” Lin Nan complained to Chen Yao, who was standing behind her. “This kid has kicked his blanket since he was little and can’t sleep peacefully. Why hasn’t anyone invented a machine to cover kids with blankets yet?”
Chen Yao shrugged. “When he turns 18 and goes to college, you’ll have it easier.”
“You always say that.” Lin Nan continued her complaints. “When I was pregnant, they said it would be easy once he was born; then they said once he started kindergarten it would be easy; then again in high school…”
Worrying about Chen Jing’s physical health at first had now shifted to concern for his mental health. To be honest, Lin Nan was seriously worried that Chen Jing might end up watching some inappropriate videos on his computer, leading him to become a bona fide weirdo.
“I’ve got to go to work tomorrow,” Chen Yao yawned. “Li Na, Lilith, where are you two sleeping tonight?”
“We’ll just sleep on the sofa,” Li Na replied with a smile.
But Lilith suddenly raised her head, glaring fiercely at the couple: “You both have to compensate me! You must! Otherwise, I’ll turn your son into a girl!”
“As if you have that power right now.” Lin Nan mumbled, turning and heading back into her own room.
So Lilith went back to her expression of utter despair, looking pitifully at Lin Nan leaving, her face resembling a borrower of millions staring at a cocky lender, while Lin Nan strutted away like a proud debtor.
Chen Yao shrugged at Lilith: “You both can snack on whatever’s in the fridge tonight, and if you want to play the game console downstairs, go ahead, but keep the volume down; I’ve got work tomorrow.”
After traveling for half a month, Chen Yao was absolutely exhausted. After giving his instructions, he too yawned and headed into his bedroom.
The next day around seven, Chen Jing woke up.
Looking up at the air conditioning temperature, he realized his mother snuck into his room again last night. Although he didn’t know if she had peeked at his private stuff, he didn’t dwell on it much.
Walking out of the bedroom, he glanced at his parents’ bedroom door before slowly making his way down the stairs.
“Chen Jing, make me breakfast!”
Lilith, hearing his footsteps, looked up and immediately ordered.
Who do you think you are? How rude!
Chen Jing yawned and glanced at Lilith, noticing that the two guests were each holding a game controller. Clearly, they had stayed up all night gaming in the living room.
Upon a closer look, the coffee table was piled high with snack bags, almost forming a small mountain.
His expression changed instantly as he rushed into the kitchen and flung open the refrigerator.
“What the heck! Where are the snacks I bought?!”
All the snacks at home were basically bought with his pocket money, and it was one thing for his parents to sneak a few bites, but now two guests had devoured everything!
Honestly, they didn’t leave a single crumb! Not even a box of ice cream in the freezer!
Eating that late at night, aren’t you afraid of an upset stomach?!
Chen Jing glared furiously at the two girls in the living room.
You two are like pigs!
He sighed deeply and got to work on making breakfast. During vacations, he usually handled breakfast for his parents. At first, it was exciting, but over time, breakfast turned into just bread and milk to appease them.
However, today, even the bread and milk were gone.
By eight o’clock, Chen Yao came downstairs.
He hadn’t slept well, having been drained by Lin Nan last night.
If it weren’t for work today, he could have slept until noon.
“Chen Jing, is breakfast ready yet?”
He ignored the two girls in the living room and headed straight for the kitchen, where he found Chen Jing holding a bag, pouring its contents into a bowl, and also putting some fried eggs from the pan into the bowl.
He was clearly too lazy to make breakfast, so he had run downstairs to grab a few takeout orders, trying to cover it up with fried eggs, pretending he made it himself.
Seeing Chen Yao, Chen Jing immediately grew wary: “Dad, you can’t say anything to Mom; otherwise, I’ll let her know about your secret stash of money.”
Chen Yao paused, looking at Chen Jing with righteous indignation: “Don’t spout nonsense, am I the type to hide money? Your mom’s monthly allowance is enough; what do I need a secret stash for?”
“Then how come when you guys were on vacation, I found thousands under the couch?”
Without hesitation, Chen Yao approached and covered Chen Jing’s mouth, looking around cautiously. Not spotting Lin Nan, he finally sighed in relief.
Even though Chen Jing was only sixteen, he was already around 180 cm tall, a bit taller than Chen Yao, yet still couldn’t move under Chen Yao’s grip.
With a serious expression, Chen Yao advised him, “A man should always have a little pocket money; just don’t tell your mom.”
“Dad, why do you need pocket money?” Chen Jing inquired, nodding along.
“Isn’t your mom’s temper becoming increasingly fiery?” Chen Yao sighed, “Maybe she’s hitting menopause; having a bit of pocket money can help me escape to a hotel for a couple of days if we argue.”
“Certainly wouldn’t want to go back to your grandparents’ house, right? That would be embarrassing.”
Though he said that, Chen Yao was mainly thinking about surprising Lin Nan with something big when their marriage hit the twenty-year mark using that stash.
“Dad, you said Mom’s hitting menopause.” Chen Jing’s eyes sparkled mischievously, “Give me three hundred in pocket money, or I’ll spill the beans to Mom.”
“……”
This kid! When did he turn so sly!
Chen Yao gritted his teeth: “Go ahead and tell her! If you do, I’ll make sure your mom sees all that weird stuff on your computer!”
Let’s both go down together!
Chen Jing’s expression changed; suddenly, he grasped his father’s hand sincerely: “Dad, let’s not hurt each other; let’s form a defensive alliance, just the two of us!”
“Great idea!”
Just as they were discussing this, Lin Nan came downstairs.
Chen Yao suddenly dashed out of the kitchen, and at that moment, Chen Jing realized and hurried out too, calling out as he ran.
“Wife! Your son…”
“Mom! My dad said you…”
The two yelled half-sentences, but both got choked in their throats, stopping in their tracks and glaring at each other.
What about that alliance we talked about?!
Chen Jing questioned with his eyes.
Who said anything about the two of us?!
Chen Yao shot back with a glare.
Lin Nan looked at the two of them in confusion, not understanding the situation: “When did you two get so close?”
Chen Jing knew he had missed the best moment to strike, awkwardly pouting: “My dad said you’re beautiful; marrying you is a lifetime blessing.”
“Did he really?”
Lin Nan walked up, genuinely delighted, tiptoeing to ruffle Chen Jing’s hair and warmly linking her arm with Chen Yao’s.
Meanwhile, Li Na from the living room sighed dramatically: “Your family’s atmosphere is truly wonderful; a loving father and obedient son, a virtuous mother and dutiful child.”
“Yeah,” Chen Yao chuckled awkwardly.
——————
I’ve written enough; I’ll wrap this up with another extra tomorrow and focus on writing my new book!
