My wife is a witch princess.

Mom... I just can't soothe her!

She keeps saying I'm disobedient, but once she meets Xia Li, she'll know what true "disobedience" really means.

...Xia Li, that idiot.

The thought had just flashed through Song Che's mind.

"Splash—"

The continuous sound of water in the bathroom suddenly stopped.

Oh no! They "heard" me calling her an idiot again!

Oh no... I'm going to have to appease two women at the same time.

Chapter 75 Not Bad Eye for Good Things (4k)

Song Jianguo seemed to be used to this, and squatted down to tease Bruce.

Bruce was getting a little annoyed by the new man's rough handling. Compared to his master Song Che's perfectly timed stroking, this man's methods were practically torture—if this continued, all the cat's fur would be pulled out!

Woof... This stupid two-legged creature doesn't know how to pet a cat at all!

Song Che was focused on coaxing his mother, but no matter what he did, he couldn't soothe her.

This feeling was exactly like when he argued with Xia Li, and she would always throw out that universal answer—"I don't know!!"

Ah, women are fiercer than tigers.

My mom now has her own catchphrase: "You! Don't! Listen!"

At this moment, Song Che felt as insignificant as dust.

Now, no matter what he says or does, his mother sees him as disobedient.

They say women are made of water, and today he witnessed it firsthand. His mother's tears were like a floodgate bursting open.

It had been a hundred years since they last met, and he, the person involved, hadn't cried at all, but his mother had cried her heart out first!

An even more critical problem has arisen—Xia Li has emerged.

She leaned out, her wet, waist-length silver hair trailing behind her, her voice tinged with a bewildered and pleading tone, as if she had just finished showering: "Song Che, I can't find the hairdryer."

"I'll get it for you." Song Che felt like he had been granted a pardon and quickly got up.

Xia Li rubbed her heavy, wet hair, only then noticing two strangers in the living room. Clumsy as she was, she didn't immediately recognize them, until Song Che's voice, like timely rain, reminded her.

...It's Mom and Dad! Relax, keep a natural expression, and speak in a relaxed tone, preferably with that slightly sleepy feeling you have just woken up. Just say hello, then go blow-dry your hair.

Xia Li received the instruction and nodded. This was far too rushed for her; it was practically a surprise meeting with the parents. She had never been intimidated by a large group of people, but now, facing Song Che's parents, she surprisingly stammered.

"Hello, Auntie, hello, Uncle... My name is Xia Li. I... I'll dry my hair first..." Before she could finish speaking, she scurried back into the bathroom like a startled rabbit.

After handing in the hairdryer, Song Che returned to Zhang Shushu's side, finding it somewhat amusing.

I should be the one being asked about my well-being, but now I'm the one busy comforting others.

However, even though Mom's tears come quickly, she's still easier to understand than Xia Li, who's emotionally clueless and impervious to reason.

At least, Mom listens to what he says.

The root of this situation actually lies in my mother's conflicted self-blame. She's the kind of person who's meticulous as a sieve, constantly sifting through everything, leaving only sand after all the stones are sifted out, and she can take all the blame upon herself.

She's said to be very responsible, but she's actually a bit naive, so naive that people can't do anything about her.

If you say things like "It's okay" or "I'm not cold" at this time, it will only make things worse.

She'll probably wonder: Is the child just putting on a brave face, or is she really suffering? Thinking about it, tears will inevitably well up in her eyes again.

After thinking for a while, Song Che decided to try a different approach.

Having lived two lifetimes, I should know more about the intricacies of life than my mother.

"Mom, can you listen to me for a moment?" He spoke softly, but his words were earnest.

Zhang Shushu nodded, her voice still nasal: "Tell me, Mom is listening. Tell Mom what you need."

“It’s not that I’m lacking anything.” Song Che paused, having held this in for quite some time, “It’s just that when you thought about that just now… it warmed my heart. It’s not that I’m happy to see you cry, it’s that I feel so good to be genuinely cared for.”

Once he starts talking, it's hard to stop. I don't know if it's just how people get older, but he's not exactly a pure teenager anymore; he's picked up some of the nagging habits of older people.

Fortunately, I still want to be a young person; youthful spirit is very important.

"But the more Mom blames herself, the worse I feel. Let me put it this way. If you get older in the future and I'm working and busy outside, I can only send money back, or if something happens and I can't send any money, and you're saving it and reluctant to spend it, should I blame you for being 'disobedient'? ... That doesn't sound quite right. Let me think about it and I'll put it another way."

Zhang Shushu raised her eyes, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, and stared blankly at her son, actually somewhat shocked.

Just a moment ago, Song Che's manner of speaking was somewhat like his father's; he spoke like an adult.

When did this child become so insightful?

Seeing that his mother didn't say anything, Song Che continued, "I thought of an example. For instance, if I have children in the future, and they are sensible and considerate of the family, will they think, 'My dad is useless, that's why I have to be so sensible'? No. A sensible child is full of love and care. Of course, I will definitely try my best to give my child the best, just like my mother. A child with love is different from a child without love. A child without love is so pitiful."

Zhang Shushu was completely stunned.

She initially thought her son's words were: "It's fine, nothing's wrong."

It was just a clumsy attempt at comfort from a young boy. But now, as these words fell to the ground, they revealed something that shouldn't be understood at his age. As parents, she had long been selfish, only later realizing how much she had wronged her child, causing Song Che to suffer in her home.

Was it because Song Che endured hardship that he came to this realization?

Then she'll be heartbroken again.

The room was quiet for a while. Song Jianguo didn't say anything, just watched for fun or played with the cat, while his mother was thinking.

She couldn't quite put her finger on how insightful the child's thoughts were, but she was certainly more open-minded than her own narrow-minded and prone to overthinking.

Zhang Shushu doesn't understand grand principles, just as she sometimes doesn't understand Song Jianguo's strange ideas.

She remembered that this way of thinking seemed to be related to philosophy, saying that people should fulfill themselves, put themselves in others' shoes, or something like that and a whole bunch of other things.

Putting yourself in someone else's shoes sounds simple, but it's difficult to do.

But Song Che... he seems to have done it, and he did it very naturally.

He no longer uses childish tricks or coquetry to gain his parents' affection and attention, as he used to.

He seems to have truly become independent now, with his own world and way of thinking.

"Da Bao," Zhang Shushu called out to him.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

“I feel like you… have really grown up.” Zhang Shushu wiped her eyes. “But it also feels a little strange… I haven’t seen you for only half a year, but it feels like you… have experienced so much in your life. And for a while, I kept feeling inexplicably anxious in my chest, and when it got serious, it hurt. I was wondering if my son was having some kind of trouble at home…”

Song Che's heart skipped a beat.

My mom's intuition is so accurate! How did she know?!

"Mom, maybe you're sick. Have you been to the hospital?"

But he forgot that a mother and child are connected at heart, and a mother is acutely aware of any changes in her child.

Song Che is so disobedient!

However, seeing how serious and mature her son was in talking to her, Zhang Shushu felt embarrassed to continue crying.

After all, she was the adult, and she came back to comfort her son, but ended up being comforted by him instead.

I should be happy to be home.

She didn't know how to respond for a moment, so she casually started a conversation: "I feel like... you and your dad would definitely get along. He always talks to me about putting yourself in others' shoes and understanding others... I don't really understand these things. Are these... 'philosophy,' something you learn in school?"

Song Che was amused by his mother's clumsy way of changing the subject: "It's not really philosophy, just some personal thoughts. Schools usually teach theoretical knowledge, these are just things I think about on my own to pass the time."

Song Che wasn't really interested in "philosophy." He only knew that thinking philosophically wouldn't turn him into Socrates, but rather into a foolish pig who lost his happiness.

You think: everyone dies eventually, so everything seems meaningless. Then you think: the universe will eventually perish, everything will restart, and individual existence will disappear and reappear. You have no money, but in the end, having money or not makes no difference; you have no house, no car, no job, but even with these things, you can't escape birth, aging, sickness, and death... You think about all sorts of things, and in the end, you might just want to shout, "Destroy human tyranny, the world belongs to the Trisolarans!" and become a qualified "Adventist."

...The destruction of the world sounds exciting, but it doesn't seem so good if it actually happens.

Xia Li will also perish.

He felt that he was overthinking things, and if he continued like this, he would soon become that "foolish pig who lost his happiness".

It's better to be like Xia Li.

Silly, but so cute.

The hairdryer in the bathroom had stopped sometime ago.

Song Che immediately tried to justify it in his mind: Your Highness is wise and mighty, with unparalleled wisdom! Your Highness the Witch is invincible!

Xia Li had already dried her hair in the bathroom, but she just didn't dare to come out. She didn't quite understand what "meeting the parents" specifically meant, but she truly felt that invisible pressure.

She is afraid.

I'm afraid I won't be accepted, afraid I'll mess everything up if I do something wrong.

After all, the facts are clear—her understanding of the world is pitifully shallow, and she hasn't learned many "useful" skills yet. Apart from being able to open her mouth to eat, and having a large appetite, knowing to wash the dishes after meals, knowing to run home when it rains, being able to do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, being able to understand most texts, and... in Song Che's words, "being fairly good-looking," she seems to be full of flaws.

"Looking good" obviously can't put food on the table.

She huddled in the bathroom, burying her head in the sand like an ostrich, refusing to come out.

The more Zhang Shushu talked to her son, the more she felt that the child had changed tremendously. She was 100% certain that this was her son, but his way of thinking was far beyond what was expected of someone his age.

What exactly has my son gone through in the past six months?

Zhang Shushu's worries hadn't completely dissipated, but she didn't voice them. She wasn't sure if it was just her oversensitivity or if there was something to it.

Meanwhile, Momoka was so hungry in the kitchen that she was about to faint, and her pitiful gaze once again locked onto Bruce's cat food.

But Bruce was extremely alert at that moment and instantly realized the "bad guy's" ulterior motives, so he tightly guarded his food supply.

Having no other opportunity, Tao Xiang could only pin her hopes on Song Che, wanting to go and act cute with him. But seeing him engrossed in a conversation with a strange aunt, she didn't dare to go up and disturb him.

Zhang Shushu noticed the little girl who was staring longingly towards the kitchen and asked gently, "Who is this little girl...?"

This time, Tao Xiang learned her lesson and didn't reveal her true identity. She answered crisply, "I'm the younger sister!"

She thought for a moment, then felt it should be more accurate, and added earnestly, "My younger sister!"

Song Che quickly explained from the side, afraid of any misunderstanding: "She said that she is Xia Li's younger sister, as close as sisters."

Tao Xiang nodded vigorously: "Closer than sisters."