Yang Haoran was not pleased. Mom was thinking of him in way too dark a light. He said discontentedly, “It’s not as exaggerated as you’re making it out to be, Mom. You are my mother, after all. Is it wrong for a son to want to have an intimate chat with his mom?”
“No chance… You can play with Mom however you want.”
Liu Ruoxi stated bluntly, “But don’t expect Mom to spoil you like your Aunt Shen does.”
“Tch… Mom, you’re just all talk.”
Yang Haoran felt relieved inside and said with a beaming smile, “Mom, you’re just too proud to admit it.”
“Are you asking for a spanking?”
Liu Ruoxi narrowed her cold eyes. Seeing her son immediately become timid, she scolded, “What are you laughing about like an idiot? You just have to say things that shouldn’t be said. Do you not want to leave Mom any face at all?”
Hearing his mother’s scolding, Yang Haoran felt an intimate warmth. With a cheeky grin, he said, “Hehe… Mom, why do we mother and son need to worry about such things? I was born from you. Even if you were a bitch on a leash for me, in my heart, you would still be my mom.”
Liu Ruoxi’s cheeks felt somewhat feverish. Angry and embarrassed, she snapped, “Shut up. If you say any more of that, get out of the car.”
“Okay, okay… I won’t say it anymore.”
Yang Haoran settled down contentedly. Noticing the route didn’t seem to be heading home, he asked, “Mom, where are we going now?”
“Have you not seen what time it is now?”
Liu Ruoxi asked in return, “Aren’t you hungry?”
Yang Haoran suddenly felt the emptiness in his stomach. Rubbing his belly exaggeratedly, he said, “Starving… Mother, your servant is starving to death… Please take your servant out to beg for food.”
“Pfft…”
Liu Ruoxi couldn’t hold back her laughter. She was amused by her son’s antics and took a moment to contain her mirth. “What do you want to eat?”
“Let’s go to that Western restaurant we went to before.”
“Haven’t I taken you there twice already? Let’s try something different this time.”
“No need… I just like that Western restaurant.”
Yang Haoran was unwavering. It was where the change in their relationship began, and he held deep nostalgia for it. The taste wasn’t important; the memories made it more flavorful.
Besides, the steak at that Western restaurant was actually really good!
It was already past twelve o’clock. After the mother and son had their meal at the Western restaurant, it was already past one in the afternoon when they returned home.
Yaoyao wasn’t home, probably out shopping with Xiao Shaowan as she said.
Yang Haoran saw that his mother was tired after returning home. He escorted her to the master bedroom to sleep, poured a glass of warm water for her to drink, and then tucked her in.
Watching his mother quickly fall asleep, Yang Haoran couldn’t resist kissing her forehead gently and whispering, “I love you, Mom!”
After Yang Haoran left, Liu Ruoxi slowly opened her eyes, touched the blanket her son had tucked around her, and a faint smile graced her lips. She slowly closed her eyes and gradually drifted into slumber.
In her dream, she saw a mischievous boy… the shadow behind him gradually lengthened…
…
Yang Haoran returned to his room and looked up various materials on his computer. The search bar had a clear line of text: What should pregnant women pay attention to in their daily lives?
Looking at the tips left by various doctors with their profile pictures displayed, Yang Haoran patiently read through each line: Avoid sexual activity, refrain from heavy physical labor and intense exercise, undergo regular prenatal check-ups, maintain a diverse diet, prefer light meals…
Yang Haoran scratched his head as he read. It seemed like Mom could handle most of these, but the sexual activity part was something he would have to restrain himself about. Even though Aunt Shen said it was fine, doctors were more convincing.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t live without that kind of thing anyway. If he had physical needs, there was Aunt Shen, Yaoyao, his teacher, Aunt He… and so on, covering categories like mature women, older sisters, young women, and lolis. His little brother was living a happy life.
After noting down these precautions, Yang Haoran took out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He had just pulled one out and was about to light it when he reconsidered and put it back.
Originally, this pack was for having a post-sex cigarette after finishing, then having Mom learn to pee like a bitch to put out the cigarette butt, and recording a video of it.
But after unexpectedly learning about Mom’s pregnancy, his mind was no longer occupied with such thoughts.
Now, Yang Haoran didn’t want to secretly smoke at home anymore. Quitting outright was something he couldn’t do immediatelyβquitting smoking wasn’t that easy. For now, he could only manage not to smoke at home.
In the afternoon, Yang Haoran went out and bought some practice exams from a bookstore to work on.
With less than a month left before the final exams, he wanted to deliver a report card that would satisfy his mother.
His goals had also quietly changed. Before, he just wanted to idle away, and if he couldn’t get into university, he’d casually spend money to attend some diploma mill. Later, after receiving the miraculous potion from his mother, he still took things as they came, thinking that getting into a second-tier or first-tier university was enough. Now, he was aiming for at least a prestigious school.
Even though senior year of high school was still far off, Yang Haoran’s mindset had already shifted. From the moment he learned his mother was pregnant, something inside him seemed to urge him on… making it impossible for him to continue muddling through with a take-it-as-it-comes attitude.
A little after six in the afternoon, after Liu Ruoxi woke up and knocked before entering, she saw her son’s computer desk covered with stacks of test papers.
Liu Ruoxi picked them up and looked through each one. Although the handwriting was somewhat scribbled, he had basically answered every question. This was clearly not justζ·θ‘ (perfunctory) or for show.
“Mother, take a look at these few…”
Yang Haoran, feeling quite proud, handed his mother the few tests he had specifically set aside. “These are from our school’s midterm exams. Let me be clear, I didn’t check the answers. After I finished, I checked them myself. Each subject scored over 120, with math being the highest at over 140. I’m not sure how to score the Chinese essay and analysis parts, but I think my answers should be fine too.”
Seeing her son’s expression practically begging for praise, Liu Ruoxi found it somewhat amusing. “Didn’t your teachers already go over these tests?”
“Uh…”
Yang Haoran said awkwardly, “Not really, I was in the hospital then. By the time I returned to school, the teachers had long finished going over them. I never heard the explanations.”
Liu Ruoxi thought about it and realized that was true; the school wouldn’t wait specially for one student. “I’ll take these tests to look over. I’ll help grade the Chinese paper in a bit.”
“Mom, are you up for it?”
Yang Haoran looked at his mother doubtfully. Even though he knew she graduated from a prestigious university,