CHAPTER 357: 357. FORTUNATELY...

No matter how much Lian En protested that he was fine with eating whatever and didn’t need any fuss, he couldn’t stop his father from eagerly making noodles for him with all love and affection.

By the time Shuzhen, having finished changing the youngest son’s diaper, cleaning him, feeding him, and putting him to sleep, emerged, she saw Lianshan busy making noodles while their eldest son, Lian En, kept watch over the stove, adding fire.

Father and son chatted while they busied themselves; well, mainly Lian En was expressing his gratitude and love for his father. When he got emotional, this big guy of over six feet even stood up to give his dad a warm hug.

The harmonious father-son scene brought a knowing smile to Shuzhen’s face. She quietly closed the half-open kitchen door, choosing not to disturb their warm interaction.

In fact, it wasn’t just Lian En; even she owed that silly man countless heartfelt thanks!

Fortunately, it was he who ’meddled’ and stopped her from going through with her plan to terminate the pregnancy.

It was also thanks to his broad-minded kindness. Even though he had plenty of children, he still treated Lian En, his stepson, as his own.

He even felt compassion for Lian En’s background, loving him along with everything related to him and feeling hurt that he wasn’t favored by his biological mother. Many times, he valued and cherished Lian En more than his own children.

If not, even if Lian En had the good fortune to come into this world, he would likely have grown up crooked under his biological mother’s biased treatment, right?

Luckily, he ’meddled in it,’ and thankfully, he was broad-minded and kind.

Thankfully, her remorse wasn’t too late.

Otherwise, even with children around and a blissful life, there would still be an undeniable regret deep in her heart, right?

Meeting a scumbag is bad, but there’s always a chance to decide to break it off decisively and move on to something better.

However, with children, a mother’s heart’s piece, no matter how painful or resentful, how many can truly harden their hearts to completely abandon or even erase them?

When newly reborn, she saw her son as a thankless wolf following the scumbag’s nature, wanting to abort him to permanently remove future trouble and incidentally cut off the scumbag’s lineage.

She harbored resentment about not being able to abort for a while. But looking back now, if that had succeeded, she might never have been able to let go of that resentment from the past, right!

Overindulging without knowing how to discipline.

Then turning around and blaming the child as ungrateful. Thinking back, she realized how extreme she was back then.

But after learning from this lesson, Shuzhen felt she had grown a lot in being a mother.

At least since Lianshan was always ready to be a strict father, there was never any worry about her spoiling the child due to late-life indulgence.

After the father and son completed the noodle-making together, Lian En started waking everyone up room by room.

After all, unlike other things, noodles would become soggy and unappetizing if left too long.

And Lianshan was a master at making noodles by hand, rarely taking the trouble to make them.

Whenever he did, the entire family was particularly enthusiastic.

Upon entering the room, Lian En saw his mother had already washed up, exchanged a few words, and hastened to call his siblings.

Woken up from a sweet dream, Lian Xi was initially reluctant.

But seeing the reason for the disturbance was his seldom-seen big brother and their dad’s handmade noodles, his bit of morning grumpiness vanished instantly.

He happily asked when big brother came back and how long he would be staying this time.

"This time, I’ll be home for the entire summer holiday!" Lian En replied while knocking on his two sisters’ room door.

"Really? That’s awesome!" Not only Lian Xi but even the newly awakened Xinyue and Xinqing cheered: "Big brother, you have no idea. Dad is researching new breeds and taking care of mom and little brother, which keeps him spinning like a top. With mom in postpartum confinement, second brother and big sister busy with extra classes, we’re the only three left feeling so lonely!"

"You three feel lonely?" Lian En widened his eyes, wondering how the future only children would cope!

"Indeed! Wu Liu boasts every day how great Beijing is, so much so that he lured Liu Wu, Liu Xuan, and Xiao Yu away. This left us without three playmates, then Kangkang and his brother went to the provincial city with uncle. Jianwen and Jianbin ran off to their grandma’s place, and Lian Rui is kept home by second aunt for study.

With everyone off to their own places, the remaining three of us are left so bored!" Xinyue spread her hands, full of helplessness.

They used to be a big group, but suddenly, only the three of them were left.

The stark contrast naturally brought out a sense of loneliness!

"But now that big brother’s back for the whole summer, we’re not worried about lacking entertainment. If nothing else, big brother can drive us around, right?" Xinqing blinked, looking at Lian En with full anticipation.

Finally understanding his worth, Lian En laughed, "Alright, once your exam results come out in a couple of days, as long as there’s improvement, big brother will take you for a drive. You pick the destination, big brother covers the costs!"

Lian Xi’s ecstatic expression froze: "Big brother, that’s not fair!"

Under Lian En’s meaningful gaze, Lian Xi changed his face immediately: "Ahem, I mean, there are so many ways to test a person. It doesn’t have to be all about grades, right? Like character, performance, and effort — big brother, let’s not focus solely on academic grades!"

A perpetual straight-A student in maths but constantly struggling at the passing line in all arts-related subjects, Lian Xi feared his siblings would collectively leave him behind. He hurriedly grabbed Lian En’s arm, trying all sorts of acts to coax him.

Sadly, the effect...

Should be said to be half joy, half sorrow?

For sure, big brother gave some leeway, but his solemn decision to tutor him was true as well!

Facing two months interacting with subjects he struggled with like languages, history, and geography, Lian Xi only saw gray, not even his dad’s handmade noodles tasted as sweet.

Meanwhile, his second sister and mischievous Xinqing kept making witty remarks, saying things like, "Effort always pays off; diligence can make up for lack; early birds catch the worm."

It’s like academic achievers don’t understand the struggles of underachievers!

He — he wasn’t just any ordinary underachieving bird.

Pft!

He wasn’t an underachieving bird at all!

Mom and dad both said that with maths scores that frequently hit full marks, he definitely wasn’t stupid.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; it just so happens that he wasn’t as inclined towards the arts.

But that’s alright, arts might not be his thing, but he’s strong in sciences!

When it comes time to choose between arts and sciences, he can focus on sciences, and maybe pursue an accounting or mathematics-related major, right?