CHAPTER 393: CHAPTER 393: WATCHING BIG BROTHER’S EXCITEMENT

Song Chengguang stayed in the bathroom in agony, his eyes in disbelief as he stared at the large incisor in his hand, then grimaced at the mirror reflecting the gaping hole where a tooth had fallen out, feeling so stuffed up he could hardly take it anymore.

Song Chengguang had previously entered the bathroom in silence and had been inside for quite a while, which made Xu Xiuxiu quite surprised, because Song Chengguang always had good manners when eating, and today was a rare exception, so she put down her chopsticks with concern and walked to the bathroom door, knocking gently, "Cheng Guang, what’s wrong with you? Why are you staying in the bathroom? Aren’t you going to have dinner?" Song Chengguang had stopped eating midway through his meal and should have still been hungry.

"It’s nothing; I’ll come out soon," Song Chengguang replied anxiously, and as he noticed how his voice not only whistled but also sounded a bit off, his entire face turned as dark as it could get. Moreover, the key issue was the stupid look of losing a front tooth in the mirror—it was simply too unbearable to watch, and Song Chengguang felt his glorious image was about to collapse because of this tooth loss.

"Then hurry up and come out to eat! The food will get cold soon, and your favorite sweet and sour spareribs will be gone," Xu Xiuxiu said in a gentle and reassuring tone after hearing Song Chengguang’s response, infusing a hint of teasing threat.

"Alright." Song Chengguang continued responding to Xu Xiuxiu, then took a deep breath, glanced at himself in the mirror one last time, pressed his lips tightly together, turned his head, and opened the door to leave the bathroom.

When he returned to the dinner table, Song Chengguang kept his head down silently, quietly eating his dinner. Yet, for his favorite dish, the sweet and sour spareribs that had caused his first tooth loss, he only glanced at it a few times and then silently reached for the hand-torn cabbage next to it. He loved sweet and sour spareribs, but he was afraid that if he ate another piece, the other front tooth would fall out too, and that would truly drive him to despair.

Xu Xiuxiu had been paying attention to Song Chengguang the whole time, and she was surprised by his behavior. She didn’t say anything, but she felt that Song Chengguang was trying his best to minimize his presence at the table and seemed to be in an especially bad mood. She was quite curious about it.

"Cheng Guang, aren’t you eating the sweet and sour spareribs?" Shi Yu, who had a terrific appetite, had started losing his teeth over the last two years and was still in the process of having them replaced, but his front teeth had mostly been changed out already, making him very eager to eat. He knew that Song Chengguang was particularly fond of sweet and sour spareribs, so he didn’t compete for them, but he noticed that a large plate of the spareribs was barely touched today.

"Um," Song Chengguang murmured with his head bowed.

"Really not eating?" Shi Yu asked with surprise, "Is it because Auntie’s cooking isn’t tasty today?" He was puzzled, picked up a piece of sweet and sour sparerib, and stuffed it into his mouth, finding it as delicious as ever, "It’s really good! Cheng Guang, is there something wrong with your taste?"

"You’re the one with a taste problem!" Song Chengguang retorted, looking up at Shi Yu with annoyance, then quickly lowered his head again when he remembered his missing tooth.

But Shi Yu had been watching Song Chengguang closely and caught a glimpse of the gaping tooth when Song Chengguang looked up to speak, "Ah... Auntie, Cheng Guang lost a front tooth." Shi Yu said, then after a moment of stunned silence, he burst into uncontrollable laughter, "Pffhaha... Song Chengguang, you also lost a front tooth just like me, haha, why are you so similar to me!" He laughed loudly, pounding his small fists on the table a couple of times.

"Getting a new tooth?" Xu Xiuxiu actually had always known that Song Chengguang was about to get to the age for tooth replacement, and she had been wondering when he would start changing his milk teeth. She hadn’t expected it to have begun already. Putting down her chopsticks, Xu Xiuxiu walked over to Song Chengguang with a smile, tilted up the little guy’s chin, "Open your mouth, and let Mommy have a look!"

"No," Song Chengguang stubbornly pressed his lips together.

"You child, open your mouth for Mommy to see. Are you going to stop talking and never open your mouth again because you’re getting new teeth? Really now." Xu Xiuxiu lightly jabbed Song Chengguang’s forehead, not amused.

"Ugly." This was the most unacceptable thing for Song Chengguang, being ugly, missing a tooth, he felt too uncomfortable and too ugly.

"Not ugly at all, children changing teeth are not ugly, they’re the cutest," Xu Xiuxiu shook her head with a serious tone.

"..." Song Chengguang and Xu Xiuxiu exchanged looks, both filled with skepticism.

"What’s the matter? You don’t even believe what Mommy says after losing a tooth, do you?" Xu Xiuxiu, both annoyed and amused by Song Chengguang’s questioning gaze, hadn’t seen the child this petulant in quite some time. Now that it was such a rare sight, she couldn’t help but find it amusing and interesting.

"Mommy," Song Chengguang protested with a scowl.

"Good boy, open your mouth," Xu Xiuxiu cooed, ignoring Song Chengguang’s protest.

Song Chengguang frowned and, ultimately unable to resist Xu Xiuxiu’s gentle coaxing, obediently opened his mouth, revealing the large gap where his front tooth was missing.

"Wow, big brother really is missing a tooth!" Little Baby exclaimed with amazement, finally getting a good look and immediately voicing her surprise, then her expression turned worried. "Big brother, does it hurt? If it hurts, Chen Xi will blow on it, and then it won’t hurt," puffed up her chubby cheeks, Song Chenxi squeezed in between Xu Xiuxiu and Song Chengguang, ready to blow on her brother’s mouth with utmost sincerity.

"Big brother doesn’t hurt," Song Chengguang reassured Little Baby.

"Don’t mess with me! Come on, you all keep eating. Don’t stare at your brother making a fuss," Xu Xiuxiu raised her hand and tapped Little Baby’s head while using a threatening tone.

Little Baby whimpered and covered her head with her tiny hands, then swiftly wriggled out of Xu Xiuxiu’s arms. "Mommy, don’t knock on Chen Xi’s head, it’ll make me dumb," Song Chenxi protested very seriously.

"Mommy, don’t always pick on sister, she’s afraid it will hurt," Song Chengguang, seeing Little Baby pout, immediately forgot his own discomfort with the lost tooth and spoke out to protect her.

Bullying Little Baby? Really...

"... Okay, I won’t bully her, I wouldn’t dare! You all defend her as if she’s something precious," Xu Xiuxiu conceded helplessly with a twitch in her mouth, then looked at Song Chengguang’s small mouth carefully, asking, "Did you bleed when your tooth fell out? Did you rinse your mouth out thoroughly?"

"Yes," Song Chengguang nodded obediently.

"That’s good," Xu Xiuxiu was relieved to hear that and then called the four kids to continue dinner. Since Song Chengguang developed a temporary aversion to sweet and sour ribs after losing his tooth, Shi Yu was not at all shy about taking advantage and happily gnawed on the ribs, making Song Chengguang terribly envious.