He began to look around, not daring to look directly into Zhang Chunxue's eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, and his mouth became clumsy: "Mom... that... that was... that was borrowed from a friend! Yes, I borrowed it from a friend!"

Zhong Chengren raised his voice suddenly as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw.

Zhang Chunxue's lips curled up into a cold smile, but that smile didn't even reach her eyes. "Oh? A friend? When did you, Zhong Chengren, make such a rich friend? How come I didn't know? And he's willing to lend you money to buy a gold chain for a woman?"

Zhong Chengren's forehead was already covered in sweat. He waved his hands hurriedly, "Oh, Mom, it's not just one friend, it's... it's several! I just got them here and there. I just want to... I want to make sure I don't treat them unfairly!"

He spoke vaguely and his eyes flickered.

To prevent Zhang Chunxue from asking further questions, he quickly held out the oil-paper package in his hand and forced a flattering smile on his face again: "Mom, look at this meat! What a wonderful piece of pork belly! It's fat and lean. Please make us some braised pork for lunch to satisfy our cravings!"

Zhang Chunxue glanced at the piece of meat, the coldness on her face still lingering. "Noon? The sun is almost overhead, how can we even have time to make braised pork? Let's talk about it tonight."

Zhong Chengren nodded immediately upon hearing this: "Okay, fine! We'll eat whenever Mom says! It tastes better at night!"

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, having finally gotten away with it. His eyes rolled, and as if he remembered something, he casually asked, "By the way, Mom, where's Mingli? Why can't I see her?"