My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 75 Not Bad Eye

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 caresses, 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.

Mom now has her own signature phrase: "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 mixture of confusion and pleading from just having showered: "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 and then noticed two strangers in the living room. She was too slow to recognize them until Song Che's voice, like timely rain, reminded her.

...It's Mom and Dad! Relax, be natural, 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 subconsciously. 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.

Song Che found the hair dryer and handed it in, then immediately returned to Zhang Shushu's side, ready to continue this difficult process of appeasement.

To be fair, although Mom is hard to coax, she's at least simpler than Xia Li, who's emotionally clueless—because Mom can at least understand what he says and receive the emotions he conveys.

The current problem is that Mom is caught in self-blame.

My mother is the kind of woman who is meticulous and sensitive. To put it nicely, she is responsible; to put it bluntly, she always tends to take the blame for all sorts of problems upon herself. Sometimes, this personality trait makes her seem foolish in a way that is heartbreaking.

Ordinary comforting words and agreeing with her often fail to work, and may even backfire.

For example, he might say, "It's okay, I'm not cold," or "It's alright if it's a little cold." To his mother, the former sounds like the child is putting on a brave face and only reporting good news; the latter sounds like the child is actually freezing but is silently enduring it.

Either interpretation will only exacerbate her self-blame.

Song Che decided to change his strategy and try to guide his mother properly. After all, he had lived a lifetime longer, and he was confident that he could surpass his mother in terms of life experience and conversation skills.

"Mom, how about... I listen to you for a bit?" Song Che opened up, intending to have a good chat. This was both to comfort her and to express the pent-up longing he felt.

Zhang Shushu nodded, her voice slightly nasal: "Yes, son, tell me what you want, and Mom will buy it for you."

"Actually, there's nothing in particular I want." Song Che's voice was gentle and steady. "I just wanted to talk about that question from earlier. Mom, I'm actually happy that you think that way. Of course, it's not because I'm happy to see you cry, but because the feeling of being cared for and valued by you makes me feel especially warm."

Once he starts talking, he can't stop. Beneath this youthful exterior lies a soul full of experiences, and also some of the talkative habits of an old man. Fortunately, Song Che's mindset remains young, and his core is still that of a boy.

"But Mom, your self-blame only makes me more worried. I want to tell you, it's really unnecessary. Let's put ourselves in each other's shoes—if you get older in the future, and I'm busy with work and don't have time to be by your side often, I can only send you money. But you feel sorry for me working so hard to earn money, and you're reluctant to spend it or eat well. At that time, will I think it's your fault? Will I think it's because you're 'disobedient'?"

Zhang Shushu suddenly froze, then looked up with tearful eyes at her son.

For a fleeting moment, Song Che's demeanor and tone reminded her of her husband, Song Jianguo. When did her son become so insightful?

Seeing that his mother didn't respond, Song Che assumed she hadn't fully understood, so he patiently continued to explain: "To give another example, if I have children in the future, and my children are very sensible, know how to cherish the family, and are reluctant to spend money recklessly, will my children think that the reason they have to be so 'sensible' is because I, as their father, am incompetent or have made mistakes? I think that sensible children will only love their parents more and cherish them more, and will never push the responsibility onto their parents."

Zhang Shushu was truly stunned this time.

She had initially thought that her son's previous "it's okay" and "he's fine" were just comforting words to keep her from worrying. But what Song Che was showing now was not the "sensible" behavior that an ordinary high school senior should have; it was a kind of... open-mindedness that could only be cultivated after experiencing many things.

She couldn't quite articulate how insightful she was, but she was certainly more open-minded than someone as prone to getting stuck on trivial matters.

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

She remembered that this way of thinking seemed to be related to philosophy, something about how people should fulfill themselves and put themselves in others' shoes.

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 little tricks or tantrums to get 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 softly to him.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Mom?"

"I feel like you... have really grown up." Zhang Shushu wiped her eyes, her tone complicated. "But it also feels a bit strange... It's only been half a year since I last saw you, but it feels like you've... experienced a lifetime. For a while, my heart would inexplicably pound and ache, and I wondered if my son was facing some difficulties at home..."

Song Che's heart skipped a beat.

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

But he forgot that a mother and child are connected at heart, and a mother has an almost instinctive sensitivity to changes in her child.

However, seeing her son talking to her so earnestly and maturely, Zhang Shushu felt embarrassed to continue crying.

She should be happy to be home. But for a moment, she didn't know how to respond, so she casually started a conversation: "I feel...you and your dad would definitely get along. He always talks to me about putting yourself in someone else's shoes, about understanding...I don't really understand these things. Are these...philosophical concepts? Is that what you learn at school?"

Song Che was amused by his mother's slightly 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 about philosophy 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% sure 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 been 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 she should be more accurate, and added earnestly, "My younger sister!"

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

Tao Xiang nodded vigorously: "Closer than blood sisters."

"They..." Zhang Shushu hesitated for a moment, "Are all their elders gone?"

"Yes. Xia Li used to do odd jobs, but it's been cold lately, so there's less work," Song Che replied, his tone as usual.

"It's tough," Zhang Shushu sighed, her gaze softening. "These days, money is hard to earn, and the weather is freezing cold."

"So I cleaned out the storage room and let her stay there temporarily. She's stubborn and wouldn't stay for free, so she insisted on giving me several thousand yuan." Song Che said as he walked towards the kitchen. "We usually do housework together and eat together. It's just that she... doesn't talk much and doesn't smile much. Please forgive her, Mom."

"What's wrong with not smiling much?" Zhang Shushu waved her hand, believing him to be about 70-80%. He Lan had said the same thing on the phone, so the girl seemed to be of good character. But you can't judge a book by its cover, so she still needed to observe carefully.

Just then, I heard a small "gurgling" sound beside me.

She looked down and saw Tao Xiang covering her stomach with her two little hands, looking up at her with her big eyes blinking and her little mouth slightly pouting.

Zhang Shushu's heart softened instantly.

"Auntie, I'm hungry." Tao Xiang's voice was soft and sweet.

"Oh dear, look how hungry the child is." Zhang Shushu felt extremely distressed and immediately got up. "Auntie will go and get you something to eat."

"Mom, please sit down." Song Che had already tied on his apron and opened the kitchen sliding door. "It's a bit rushed today, so I'll just make something quick to tide you over. We'll have a proper meal tomorrow."

The sound of running water washing vegetables could be heard from the kitchen.

The bedroom door opened gently at that moment.

Xia Li came out.

She changed into a clean beige loungewear set, her silver hair loosely piled up behind her head, revealing her smooth forehead and neck. She had probably just showered, as her body still carried a refreshing dampness. Her face was expressionless, her blue eyes clear and bright, and her lips a natural pale pink.

She looked at Zhang Shushu, paused for a moment, and then spoke.

"Hello, Auntie." The voice was calm, with a hint of restraint.

Zhang Shushu turned around upon hearing the sound.

She was stunned at first glance.

The girl stood there quietly, her figure slender and graceful. Her blue eyes were like two clear springs, pure and without impurities. Her face was exceptionally beautiful, her skin pale and cool, seemingly bathed in a soft glow under the warm yellow light of the living room. Despite her expressionless face, she possessed a captivating beauty that drew the eye.

Song Che, that child… A thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Shushu’s mind.

They have a really good eye.

However, Zhang Shushu had a sharp eye. After observing the girl up and down, she quickly noticed that although the girl's hands looked pretty, upon closer inspection, she could see that Xia Li's hands were even more frostbitten than Song Che's. The girl's skin was delicate, and it was obvious that she didn't do housework often at home, but there were obvious frostbite marks on her hands, which meant that Song Che really didn't turn on the air conditioning... and made the girl do the work!

"Song Che, let me make some soup," Xia Li said, taking the initiative to speak.