Chapter 95 The Timid Him (Part 7) I'm Proud to Have My Motherland by My Side…

Song Mingyuan and Song Ce were stunned when they heard Chen Mei's question.

Song Ce was the first to react and said softly, "Today is Dad's birthday, and I was discussing with him what to cook for lunch."

Song Mingyuan raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mei, his tone unconsciously carrying a hint of detachment: "He didn't say anything. Xiao Ce said he's going to show off his skills today and let us taste his cooking."

Chen Mei was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and the tense expression on her face eased a little. Her gaze fell on the neatly arranged pile of fresh ingredients not far away, including tomatoes, green vegetables, and fresh shrimp... Chen Mei opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing the harmonious appearance of the father and son, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

In the past, she always bought these things herself. But today, her son not only said he wanted to celebrate Song Mingyuan's birthday, but he didn't even wake her up to go grocery shopping... Thinking of this, Chen Mei felt a mix of emotions.

Watching his wife's forlorn figure, Song Mingyuan unconsciously pursed his lips. In the end, he said nothing, but silently walked to his son's side and began to help wash the vegetables.

After preparing the ingredients, Song Ce moved back and forth between the stove and the cutting board, his stir-frying movements quite skillful. Soon, an enticing aroma wafted from the kitchen. Then, six dishes and a soup were ready.

Braised pork ribs, steamed grouper, braised prawns, shredded pork with green beans, blanched bok choy, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Song Ce picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of pork rib, tasted it, and nodded. It seemed his cooking skills hadn't deteriorated; the taste was quite good. Song Mingyuan, who was standing nearby, helped his son set out the food. Seeing this, Chen Mei hurriedly went into the kitchen, turned on the rice cooker, and started serving rice.

At lunchtime, the family sat around the table, the aroma of the food filling the entire house. Song Ce kept putting food on Song Mingyuan's plate and telling him jokes about the things his classmates had done at school, making Song Mingyuan laugh heartily.

Chen Mei sat to the side, quietly watching the interaction between the father and son, occasionally laughing along.

"Xiao Ce, I heard from your teacher that you got first place in the whole grade in the midterm exam?" Song Mingyuan asked, taking a big gulp of his drink and beaming.

"Yes, Dad. Thanks to the complete set of study guides you bought me last time, my grades improved quickly." Song Ce swallowed the food in his mouth and answered earnestly.

"It's good that it's useful! You failed math last time, but you got a perfect score this time! Son, you're really doing great! Keep up the good work! When you get into a top university and have a good degree, you'll have more security when you're looking for a job. Dad believes that your future achievements will definitely surpass mine!" As Song Mingyuan spoke, his eyes gradually reddened.

In the past, when he spoke these words to his son, his son would always look impatient. Sometimes, before he could even finish speaking, his son would turn around and walk straight to his room, slamming the door shut and shutting him out. But now, his son was willing to listen to him attentively, and the annoyance on his face was gone. How could he not feel moved?

"I understand, Dad. I will definitely study hard and get into a good university." Song Ce nodded vigorously in response.

Before Song Mingyuan could speak again, Chen Mei picked up a piece of pork rib and gently placed it in Song Ce's bowl, saying softly, "Mingyuan, stop nagging Xiao Ce about getting into a good university and getting a good degree! Xiao Ce is still young! I don't expect him to do well in his exams, I just want him to be safe and happy. Besides, haven't you seen in the news that some Tsinghua University graduates end up raising pigs, and some Ocean University graduate students are selling food at street stalls? I don't think grades determine everything, so please say less!"

As soon as Chen Mei finished speaking, the dinner table fell silent.

Song Mingyuan's expression visibly turned serious, his brows furrowing tightly. He simply couldn't understand why Chen Mei always interfered when he was disciplining his son. Didn't she understand the principle of "no pain, no gain"?

Sensing the tense atmosphere at the dinner table, Chen Mei habitually turned her pleading gaze to her son, Song Ce, hoping to hear words of approval from him. However, Song Ce simply lowered his head, silently picking up a piece of pork rib and placing it in his bowl, seemingly oblivious to his mother's gaze.

Seeing this, Song Mingyuan sighed deeply, his voice full of helplessness and exhaustion: "Alright, I won't say anything more, let's eat."

After the warm atmosphere was broken, the family ate their meal in silence. Afterwards, Chen Mei offered to wash the dishes. She cleared the table and went into the kitchen to get busy.

Song Ce picked up a rag and wiped the dining table clean. Then he said, "I'm going back to my room to read a book," and turned around to go back to his room, closing the door behind him.

Song Mingyuan sat on the sofa in the living room, fiddling with the new cell phone his son had given him, a contented smile on his face.

After Chen Mei finished her work, she hesitated for a long time before finally sitting down next to Song Mingyuan.

“Mingyuan, have you noticed that Xiaoce has changed a lot lately? He... he seems less close to us.”

Song Mingyuan frowned upon hearing this. He understood Chen Mei's implication: their son wasn't distant from them, but rather from his mother. Thinking this, Song Mingyuan put down his phone and said calmly, "I think Xiao Ce has become much more sensible lately. Don't overthink it."

"Don't you feel that Xiao Ce has become distant from me? He used to tell me everything," Chen Mei said dejectedly.

Song Mingyuan smiled faintly, "Perhaps the child has grown up and has his own ideas, which is normal."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mei abruptly raised her head. Seeing her husband's cold and distant expression, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, and her eyes instantly reddened. She suppressed the ache in her heart, turned her head to look in the direction of Song Ce's bedroom, and said nothing more.

She didn't know when it started, but her son, who always defended her, became increasingly indifferent to her.

A few days passed peacefully. On Thursday after school, Song Ce casually told Zhao Mingjun that he had something to do and asked him to go home first. Although Zhao Mingjun was puzzled, he still agreed. He patted Song Ce on the shoulder, then left alone with his schoolbag.

Song Ce slowly packed his schoolbag and left the school alone. As he passed through an alley, he was stopped by a man with tattooed arms and a fierce-looking face.

"You're Song Ce?" the man asked, staring at him fiercely.

Song Ce calmly sized up the man in front of him and immediately recognized him as a low-level thug who hung out with Liu Xiangtian's cousin.

“Yes, that’s me.” Song Ce smiled slightly and said.

The man smiled darkly upon hearing this: "Come here, our boss wants to talk to you about something."

Song Ce shook his head, feigning fear, and said, "I...I'm not going."

"You're not going? That's not up to you!" the thug said, waving his hand fiercely behind Song Ce.

Soon, more than a dozen thugs with roguish looks sprang out of the narrow alley, completely blocking Song Ce's escape route.

Song Ce's gaze swept across the crowd, and he spotted Liu Xiangtian's fierce expression among the thugs. He immediately smiled slightly. Sure enough, after making Liu Xiangtian suffer such a great loss last time, he certainly wouldn't let it go so easily.

At the very front of this group of thugs stood a man in a blue jacket. He had a menacing look on his face; he was none other than Li Xingping, Liu Xiangtian's cousin and the gang leader.

Li Xingping snorted coldly, stepped forward, and asked, "So you're the one bullying my brother? You're pretty arrogant, aren't you?"

Song Ce didn't speak, he just watched them quietly.

"Are you fucking deaf? Didn't you hear Brother Ping talking to you?" one of the thugs said arrogantly.

"I'm sorry, Brother Ping, I didn't mean to last time," Song Ce said, taking two steps back with a frightened expression.

"Weren't you so arrogant a few days ago? How come you're acting like a coward now?" Liu Xiangtian slammed the cigarette in his hand on the ground, ground it under his foot, and sneered.

"Xiang Tian, ​​we're all classmates, can't we talk things out?" Song Ce took two steps back, inadvertently revealing the watch on his wrist.

Liu Xiangtian snorted coldly, his face full of disdain, and said, "Now you know you're scared? Let me tell you, it's too late! If I don't teach you a lesson today, how am I supposed to face anyone at our Fifth Middle School? Brothers, get him! Let's teach him a good lesson!"

Liu Xiangtian had barely finished speaking when he was interrupted, "Wait!"

When Li Xingping saw the watch on Song Ce's wrist, his eyes lit up. He waved his hand, and the thugs behind him, naturally following their boss's lead, retreated to the back with gloomy faces.

"Cousin!" Liu Xiangtian rushed forward. "What's wrong? Let's beat this kid up while no one's around so I can vent my anger!"

Li Xingping ignored Liu Xiangtian, staring intently at Song Ce's watch with a greedy look on his face, and asked, "Kid, where did you get this watch?"

Song Ce paused, then smiled and said, "This was a gift from a relative of my friend's family; it's quite valuable!"

Li Xingping swallowed hard, stepped forward, and asked, "This isn't fake, is it?"

Upon hearing this, Song Ce's face showed a defiant expression, and he said indignantly, "My uncle is the boss of a big company, how could he possibly give me a fake watch?"

Li Xingping was taken aback and immediately turned to look at Liu Xiangtian.

Liu Xiangtian frowned slightly upon seeing this and said, "The big, clumsy guy who usually hangs out with him is quite wealthy. Last time, some of my brothers and I saw them go to Fulangyuan for dinner. The day that kid bullied us, he was indeed carrying a particularly exquisite gift box."

"Kid, since you've messed with my brother, be smart and take this watch off as an apology!"

Hearing this, Song Ce sneered inwardly, but on the surface he feigned reluctance: "Brother Ping, this watch is a new one that my uncle gave me, could you..."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Li Xingping interrupted Song Ce impatiently. "If you don't give me the watch, you're not leaving this alley today! The brothers might not hold back and cripple an arm or a leg!"

Song Ce sighed helplessly and slowly took off his watch. Just as Li Xingping reached out to take it, Song Ce suddenly twisted his wrist and put the watch back into his pocket.

"Damn it, you dare to mess with me?" Li Xingping said angrily.

Song Ce smiled slightly and said calmly, "Brother Ping, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that I wouldn't be able to explain it to you if I did. How about this? Let's just consider this watch yours. I'll go home and raise some money, and then I'll buy the watch back. Is that okay with you guys? After all, there's only one watch, but money is different. You can all share it."

Upon hearing this, before Li Xingping could even speak, the thugs behind him started chattering amongst themselves: "Brother Ping, I think this kid is quite sensible."

“Yeah, Brother Ping, we brothers can get a share of the profits after we exchange the money.” The tattooed thug who first stopped Song Ce chimed in.

"Yeah, Brother Ping, this watch must be worth a lot of money, right?" a thug asked expectantly.

“I think it’s definitely worth a lot. Brother Ping knows his stuff better than we do,” another thug quickly flattered.

Li Xingping had originally planned to keep the watch for himself, but since his men had all said so, he couldn't very well take it. Li Xingping squinted, carefully examining the watch. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the latest Green Harp model, worth at least ten thousand!

"This watch isn't cheap. How can you come up with that much money?"

-----------------------

Author's note: The wind is so strong! [crying emoji]