Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Of course, the three children had pulled their weight too, and the elders in the family took this to heart. So, every time they were driven around by their mom, the three children had completely different feelings.
“Don’t think about it after finishing the exam. You’re only in your second year of junior high school. Even if it’s an examination, don’t put too much stress on yourselves or let yourselves get too nervous.”
“Mom, relax. You’ve said this so many times. We can probably recite it backward.” Nervous? Them? What a joke! Even though he had never been able to overtake Da Bao and claim the first position in the level, he and San Bao were still equally matched. The second and third positions always belonged to either one of them, and they would take turns to hold those positions at any one time. But from this incident, Er Bao felt that Da Bao was no longer in agreement with him and San Bao.
He and San Bao were still taking turns to claim the second and third positions. Da Bao should occasionally give up the first position and let him and San Bao claim it too! Was it not boring to always claim the first position?
Knowing that Er Bao was going to start a rant, Da Bao gritted his teeth and forced a smile at Er Bao. It’s not boring! He could give in at anything, except for his academic results. Besides, was it a matter of giving in when Er Bao and San Bao fought for the second and third positions? It was clearly because the two of them were not as stable as he was in their studies. And they even had the guts to push all responsibility to him?
He was indeed the elder brother, but he refused to take on this burden.
Seeing Da Bao change his icy cold façade to reveal a smug smile, Er Bao fumed with anger. “This is inappropriate in Mom’s car. Why don’t we have a go when we get home?” He would have to teach Da Bao a lesson to let Da Bao understand that he should love and take good care of his younger siblings. It was his duty to do so.
Da Bao retracted his gaze indignantly. So be it. When had Er Bao ever won against him anyway? Perhaps, Er Bao would surpass him during the next examination and take the first position!
“Oh, right, why don’t I bring you to visit…”
“Mom, I’m hungry. I want to go home for lunch.” Da Bao cut Qiao Nan off because he knew what his mom wanted to say. Sorry, but he had not sorted out his own feelings and was unwilling to meet his grandpa. It might even be better if they saw less of their grandpa for the time being.
If they saw less of him, they would slowly forget all the mean things that their grandpa had said to their mom as time went by. But if they met him again too quickly, he was afraid that he would recall the incident and flare up even more.
“I can get something along the way…”
Er Bao refused to eat junk food. “Mom, don’t you always tell us that the food sold along the streets is unhygienic and dirty? Besides, they’re laden with MSG. Why are you changing your tone now? If you do that, we’ll learn from you too. Don’t regret it in the future.”
San Bao kicked her feet and said, looking all innocent, “Mom, I’m really hungry. Even before school ended, my stomach was already grumbling loudly. The food sold outside is either way too salty or too heavy for my palate. Mom, I want to eat what grandma cooks. Grandma is definitely cooking something delicious at home for us now. Mom, it’s not good to waste food. Grandpa and grandma won’t be able to finish all that food.”
If they were only three years old, maybe they would not have understood what their grandpa had said to their mom that day. At most, they would have felt that their mom was mad at their grandpa. Consequently, they would also be angry at their grandpa. But within a few days, they would be on good terms and playing happily with their grandpa again.
But the fact was that they were already in their second year of junior high school. Not only did they understand what their grandpa had meant, but they also understood how wronged their mom must have felt because of this incident.
She would much rather be labeled a bad kid than go visit her grandpa at this time. No! Definitely not!
The three children were resolute and Qiao Nan was afraid of making a fool of herself. Therefore, she went along with the children and returned straight to the Zhai family’s house instead of visiting Qiao Dongliang.
As expected, as soon as the three children reached home, they were immediately greeted with fragrant wafts of food.
Er Bao cheered loudly, dumped his schoolbag, and picked up a pair of chopsticks to stuff food into his mouth even before washing his hands. “It’s true that the nutritional value of the meals in our canteen is not bad, but grandma’s cooking skills are so much better! What I miss the most while I’m in school is always grandma’s food. I’m finally getting to eat it!”
“Rude.” San Bao made a funny face at Er Bao to tease him, but Er Bao knew that whatever San Bao had said in the car on the way home had been true. On the way home, he had really heard San Bao’s stomach growling as he sat beside her.
Er Bao said that he was her elder brother, so he would not be stingy with San Bao. With his chopsticks, he picked up an even bigger slice of food and stuffed it into San Bao’s mouth. San Bao, who had still been joking with Er Bao a second earlier, opened her mouth widely upon seeing the piece of food coming her way and swallowed it whole.
Er Bao said while feeding San Bao, “We should really let those fools in school see how their favorite goddess behaves at home. You’re opening your mouth so widely that I can see your tongue. Don’t you think it’s ugly? And you said that you were a young lady?”
San Bao slapped Er Bao on his elbow. “This is my house. When we’re at home, why would I need to pretend to be a young lady? That’s for outsiders to see. Anyway, grandma’s food is really too delicious. I can’t even stop myself from doing that.”
“You two have such sweet mouths! You’ve only just stepped into the house but you’re already coaxing your grandma like that. I’m telling you that grandma will take your words to heart. If there are any leftovers later, you’ll have to stuff them into your stomachs no matter what.” Miao Jing was overjoyed. She had initially learned to cook because of the three children, so there was nothing that would make her happier than hearing the three children’s praises.
“Ahem…” Da Bao coughed, reminding Er Bao and San Bao not to go overboard. Of course there was a need to please such a good elder like their grandma, but there was still another emperor at home who became jealous easily. Even if it was to coax their grandma, they had to know their limits.
Every time their grandpa coaxed their grandma and praised her cooking skills, their grandma was nowhere near as elated. When their mom or the three of them were not around, their grandma could not even be bothered to cook for their grandpa. It was their auntie who cooked for them.
Their grandpa resented them quite a lot within his heart. Their mom was next in line after them. It was all right for them to deflect some hate for their mom, but if they went overboard, they would have to face both their grandpa’s and dad’s wraths at the same time.
