After entering the house, Jiang Yao collapsed onto the sofa.
To be honest, Ye Qing had truly stimulated her today. Rather than saying Ye Qing herself had irritated her, it was more accurate to say that Ye Qing’s constant talk about her son had provoked her.
Once two children were placed side by side, comparisons naturally followed.
One was an outstanding five-good youth excelling in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor. The other was a delinquent teenager who failed at everything except fighting—and even then, he still lost fights.
Back in the day, every disciple under her sect had been exceptional, shaking entire regions with their fame.
No. She was going to turn her precious cub into the best cub in the world too.
“Madam, how was the gathering today?” Auntie Li took Jiang Yao’s handbag and eagerly asked.
Jiang Yao let out a long breath and sighed. “It was honestly rather boring. I’d rather stay home and watch short dramas.”
“Those rich ladies’ gatherings are never very interesting anyway. Then you can keep watching while I cook dinner. Madam, what would you like to eat?”
“Anything is fine.” She was not a picky eater to begin with, and today she genuinely did not crave anything in particular.
“Then I’ll cook according to Sir and Young Master’s tastes.”
“Mhm.”
The food had just been prepared when familiar sounds came from outside. Was that little rascal following the scent of food home?
The boy entered through the door, tossed his schoolbag onto the sofa, and headed straight for the bathroom. The sound of running water from handwashing echoed through the house, and in the blink of an eye, he was already seated at the dining table.
As the final bowl of soup was placed on the table, Su Muzhe called out without even turning around, “Mom, dinner.”
Perhaps because he was currently going through puberty, his voice sounded slightly hoarse, almost like a duck quacking.
Jiang Yao could not help laughing aloud. No wonder this kid always tried to act deep and mysterious.
At least this time he had not selfishly buried his head in food by himself. The brat still had a little conscience left.
Although not much, it was enough for Jiang Yao to emotionally move herself for a while.
“Your school’s parent-teacher meeting is on Wednesday?” Jiang Yao asked while adjusting the bowls and chopsticks on the table.
Hearing that, the boy’s eating motion suddenly paused. He raised his head and stared at the woman across from him in disbelief.
“What kind of look is that?” Careful, or she might hit him.
Su Muzhe ignored her and merely grunted in acknowledgment. After taking two bites of rice, he asked, “Why are you asking?”
“Ahem. I’ve decided to become a good mother, and it’ll start with attending your parent-teacher meeting!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Muzhe sneered.
“Only now are you thinking about becoming a good mother?”
“Isn’t there a saying that it’s never too late to mend the fold after the sheep are lost?”
“Fine. Do whatever you want.”
For some reason, a faint trace of anticipation unexpectedly surfaced in Su Muzhe’s heart. But the moment he remembered her previous behavior, that tiny spark of expectation dimmed again like a weak candle flame.
Neither spoke again afterward.
Just as they were about to finish eating, the door opened once more.
Both mother and son turned their heads at the same time. Someone who should not have appeared at this hour walked toward them carrying a briefcase.
“Sir’s back. Have you eaten yet?”
“No.” He handed the briefcase to Auntie Li and loosened his tie.
“Then I’ll go stir-fry two more dishes for you.”
“There’s no need. I’ll just eat with them.” Then he looked toward the two at the dining table. “You two keep eating. I’ll go change clothes first.”
Changing clothes?
That meant he probably would not be going out again tonight.
Not long later, the man descended from the second floor dressed in gray loungewear. The slightly fitted fabric clung to his body, outlining the firm contours of his abdomen.
“Mom.”
Su Muzhe suddenly spoke from across the table.
Jiang Yao snapped out of her daze. “What?”
“Your chopsticks are about to poke into your nostrils.”
Jiang Yao immediately set down her chopsticks and loudly barked to hide her embarrassment, “Eat your food!”
“Tch.”
It was impossible to tell whether the man understood the hidden meaning or not. Without any pause, he smoothly pulled out the chair beside Jiang Yao and sat down.
While Su Jingyang had gone to change clothes earlier, Auntie Li had already filled his rice bowl.
Seeing that Su Muzhe’s rice was almost gone, Jiang Yao asked Auntie Li to refill his bowl.
“Did something happen at the company recently?” Jiang Yao poked at the rice in her bowl while asking.
Hearing that, Su Jingyang looked at her in surprise.
“Why do you ask?”
“You’ve been coming home rather frequently lately.” According to the original owner’s memories, Su Jingyang returning once every one or two months already counted as frequent. But over the past few months, they practically saw him every day. Sometimes they even ate together!
The man paused briefly. A trace of guilt unexpectedly appeared on his usually unreadable face.
“I was expanding overseas business before. Sorry for neglecting you two.”
“That’s not really the case.” Please continue neglecting them as much as possible—as long as the money arrived on time.
“I’m done eating. I’m going upstairs to do homework.”
“Wait. Yanyan, take your homework to the Study Room.”
Su Muzhe speechlessly looked at Jiang Yao.
As if he would actually do homework! Did she not understand that saying he was going upstairs to do homework was just an excuse?
“Hurry up!”
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Su Muzhe sneered and walked toward the Study Room. He pulled out a workbook that he did not even know when it had been distributed.
The second floor of the Su Family house contained a massive Study Room filled with countless books, almost like a miniature library.
When Jiang Yao entered, Su Muzhe was staring blankly at the book in front of him. As for the workbook, he had not even opened it.
“What’s wrong? Why haven’t you started yet?”
Helplessly, Su Muzhe opened the workbook and casually sent Jin Jiaxin a message.
Not long later, Jin Jiaxin replied.
【The Most Handsome Guy at B University Affiliated School: Yanyan! You’re actually asking me what the homework is? Did you send the wrong message? Perfect timing though—you finally have an excuse to message Lin Muxue. Why don’t you ask her?】
“Lin Muxue?” Jiang Yao raised an eyebrow. Her cub seemed to have a situation going on.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense.” After speaking, Su Muzhe quickly typed another message to Jin Jiaxin.
【Stop barking nonsense and hurry up.】
Soon afterward, Jin Jiaxin sent over screenshots of the homework.
Su Muzhe looked at the assignments in the picture, then rummaged through his schoolbag with furrowed brows.
Wonderful. He had not brought the correct books home at all.
He could only pretend to flip open the workbook in front of him and randomly scribble nonsense with his pen.
Watching her son seriously “doing homework,” Jiang Yao thought that he was not nearly as difficult to discipline as the internet claimed teenagers were.
When her son became serious, he really was handsome.
Serious men were handsome.
“Mom, don’t you have anything else to do?”
“I do.” Alright then, perhaps her gaze had been a little too passionate.
Jiang Yao casually picked up a medical text on traditional Chinese medicine and began reading.
After thousands of years, many new difficult illnesses had appeared. Furthermore, this world lacked spiritual energy, so most treatments relied on medicine. She needed to keep pace with the times as well.
The original owner had studied traditional Chinese medicine too. Unfortunately, during the period when she should have continued her studies, she had instead chosen the life of a wealthy housewife.
Now that Jiang Yao had transmigrated here and possessed extra energy, it was time to pick up this craft again and create brilliance within her own field once more.
An hour later, an unexpected visitor entered the Study Room.
Su Jingyang carried his briefcase inside and occupied the final remaining empty space in the room. His tall figure cast a shadow over Jiang Yao as he passed by, naturally drawing attention.
The entire family sat neatly inside the Study Room, each busy with their own matters.
Another half hour later, Jiang Yao lifted her head from her book and stretched her neck and shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced toward the father and son across from her.
The man’s large, well-defined hands rapidly typed across the laptop keyboard, while the boy held a pen in his mouth without writing a single word.
As if noticing Jiang Yao’s gaze, the boy raised his head with a provocative expression and pushed the workbook toward her.
“How do you solve this?”
Jiang Yao slightly leaned forward to glance at it before immediately sitting back down again. The book in her hands subtly lifted higher, covering half her face.
It was a physics problem.
Although the original owner had been a top student and Jiang Yao possessed her memories, she herself had not yet fully integrated modern scientific knowledge. Explaining a subject she was completely unfamiliar with would expose her shortcomings too easily.
Glancing at the man working beside them, Jiang Yao tilted her head slightly upward.
“Don’t ask Mom everything. Ask your Dad.”
After saying that, she hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to be extremely busy reading.
The man beside them stopped working without any sign of refusal. Calmly, he pulled the workbook toward himself and glanced at the blank page.
“Which question?”
Su Muzhe pointed at the entirely empty workbook.
“I don’t know how to do any of this page.”
His attitude was so natural, as though not knowing was perfectly justified.
Hearing that, the man rubbed his forehead, grabbed a sheet of scratch paper, and patiently began explaining.
For an entire hour, one person taught while two people listened.
These physics problems were unexpectedly difficult. Thankfully, she had not exposed herself earlier. She was still the perfect mother.
Taking advantage of the moment when Su Muzhe went to the restroom, Jiang Yao asked, “Do you have time Wednesday afternoon?”
Su Jingyang looked puzzled. He set down his fountain pen and lifted his eyes toward Jiang Yao. His deep gaze seemed capable of pulling people into it.
Perhaps because he had spoken for so long earlier, his voice sounded slightly hoarse, but that only made it even more attractive than usual.
“What’s wrong?”
“Our son’s parent-teacher meeting.”
Su Jingyang leaned back against his chair and thought for a moment. One minute later, he answered decisively.
“No.”
Good. At this critical moment, he absolutely could not compete with her for the chance to perform a touching mother-son bonding scene.
“Then I’ll go.”
“Alright. Thank you for your hard work.”
His tone was filled with politeness, making them sound less like husband and wife and more like business clients.