Extra: One
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Sitting in the last row of the classroom, Lin Nan was absentmindedly nodding her head, her eyes glued to the class teacher on stage.
“My daughter has always been exceptional. While other kids were busy playing, she knew to hit the books. So, her grades are no surprise. In a couple of years, she should really give Tsinghua or Peking University a shot.”
“You must be Chen Jing’s parent, right? My daughter often mentions him at home.”
“How about we hang out this weekend? A new mall just opened nearby.”
The man next to her was occasionally chatting her up, bragging about his child’s first place in the monthly exam, while trying to coax Lin Nan into a weekend outing. It was beyond tedious for Lin Nan.
What could she say? Her kid was already sixteen, and she still looked like she was in her twenties. If it weren’t for that married woman aura surrounding her, she could pass off as a student in this school wearing that uniform.
“Chen Jing, thirteenth in the class this month.”
Finally hearing her child’s name made Lin Nan breathe a sigh of relief.
The kid’s grades were better than she expected! After all, Chen Yao used to be such a slacker in high school, consistently landing near the bottom of the rankings. Lin Nan barely scraped by at the same level because she was too busy skipping classes with Chen Yao.
Chen Jing’s above-average grades were quite satisfactory.
If he could maintain this, getting into a good university should be a piece of cake.
The slightly short and chubby class teacher paused and then looked directly at Lin Nan: “Lin Nan, Liu Yuxi’s parent, please see me after class.”
“Liu Yuxi?” Lin Nan shot a strange glance at the uncle beside her.
The uncle’s expression darkened immediately.
Lin Nan’s face lit up with mirth as she playfully asked, “The teacher calling us isn’t about the kids’ early romance, is it?”
“I’m actually against early romance; with everyone trending towards late marriage and childbearing nowadays, and the kids in high school, dating isn’t great for their studies.”
She sighed gently, “It’s a pity this kid doesn’t listen to me.”
The uncle was already done entertaining Lin Nan’s chatter.
Lin Nan felt particularly grateful her child was a boy. If it were a girl at this age of raging hormones, who knows how many little punks would come knocking? That would break her heart!
Even if she were in her twenties dating other men or marrying and having kids, that would still be heart-wrenching.
And just like that, the parent-teacher meeting came to an end.
Chen Jing was quite the model student, neither getting in trouble nor stirring the pot, and his grades were solidly above average…
Lin Nan followed the uncle to the front of the room, seeking out Chen Jing’s class teacher.
Sure enough, the topic was about early romance.
“Recently, Chen Jing has been spending too much time with Liu Yuxi.” The teacher looked seriously at both parents, focusing especially on the uncle, “Particularly your daughter, who is always hovering around Chen Jing. You need to keep an eye on that.”
“Ah?” The uncle looked completely bewildered.
His daughter was so forward?
Lin Nan chuckled, resigned to the situation.
As the saying goes, boys take after their mothers while girls take after their fathers; Chen Jing’s looks were mostly inherited from Lin Nan, giving him a refined appearance, while a faint hint of Chen Yao peeped through, preventing him from looking too girly.
Plus, thanks to years of dragging him to interest classes, Chen Jing could play the guitar, paint, and dance. Though he was just a dabbler in them all, he had a certain artistic aura that attracted the girls his age.
Seeing her own son getting tangled up with someone else’s daughter was strangely delightful.
Maybe this was how she and Chen Yao felt when they first brought their son home to meet the in-laws?
After chatting with the teacher, the uncle, who had been trying to woo Lin Nan, lost all interest and left to prepare a stern talk with his daughter, while Lin Nan cheerfully drove her way to Chen Yao’s company.
Coincidentally, when the parent meeting ended, Chen Yao was just finishing work, so Lin Nan picked him up on the way home.
However, when the couple arrived at home, they found Chen Jing sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, playing with the cat and the parrot.
Cola had long since aged, and now the two cats at home were Cola’s descendants: one named Pepsi and the other Coca-Cola.
The house still had the same three parrots; the original Lemon had become somewhat immobile, fur all messy, and now resembled a “floor chicken,” strutting around the house like an old bureaucrat, bullying the other parrots and the two cats, and sometimes even Chen Jing.
“Your mom is back to scold you~” Lemon exclaimed, feigning calm yet relishing the moment, “You always get a beating after these parent-teacher meetings.”
Clearly, the Xuanfeng parrot wasn’t the type known for talking, but Chen Jing found his family’s parrot overly chatty.
If he hadn’t later looked up Xuanfeng parrots online out of curiosity, he would have assumed all parrots were this clever.
Ignoring Lemon, Chen Jing stood up with a beaming smile and hurried to the door, eagerly taking Lin Nan’s handbag and Chen Yao’s briefcase.
“Mom, the teacher didn’t say anything bad about me, right?” Chen Jing asked nervously, testing the waters.
“Not really, just that you didn’t improve your grades.” Lin Nan replied with a cold face.
Chen Jing immediately perked up, his smile shifting to something more ingratiating: “Mom, let me cook dinner tonight! I see you two have been working hard lately.”
Perhaps because he felt more like a brother than a son to Chen Yao, Chen Jing didn’t seem too intimidated by his father but was it scared of Lin Nan.
It was probably that coffee table incident from ages ago that left him traumatized.
“Enough, enough! Your mother already told me. The teacher didn’t complain.” Chen Yao chuckled, ruffling Chen Jing’s hair.
Lin Nan nodded approvingly: “So what’s the deal with you and that Liu Yuxi girl?”
At the mention of Liu Yuxi, Chen Jing burst into an aggrieved rant: “That girl is always clinging to me! I really don’t want to date!”
“It’s all good; we don’t mind if you date early.” Chen Yao chuckled, “Just don’t bully her without taking responsibility… by the way, do you have any pictures of Liu Yuxi? Let me see?”
Truth be told, he didn’t really have the right to say anything against early dating. After all, his own high school years were spent in either fights or skipping classes, easily racking up over ten thousand in damages throughout the six years. Compared to that, an early romance felt much less concerning.
“I’m not that kind of person, and I don’t like that girl.”
Chen Jing muttered, but just then, Lin Nan gave Chen Yao a light smack on the forehead: “What are you saying! He needs to focus on his studies right now! His grades aren’t good as is, what if dating ruins his chances at college?”
“Yes, yes, yes, whatever my wife says is right,” Chen Yao conceded, though a smirk danced on his face.
Seeing that grin, Lin Nan shot him an annoyed glare, then flipped her ponytail and turned to go play with the cats.
This couple showing affection was a regular occurrence; Chen Jing remained unfazed and headed for the kitchen, ready to whip up dinner for his parents.
It was tough living in a house full of lovebirds!
