James Brooks didn’t feel pretty at all! On the contrary, he felt a bitterness in both his heart and stomach, as if he’d done something wrong. He shuffled his feet slowly, and when he got closer, he forced a silly smile and called out, “Mom, what brings you here?”

“How did the exam go?” Evelyn Brooks asked with a stern face.

“Just so-so!” James Brooks replied awkwardly.

“What do you mean, ‘so-so’?” Evelyn Brooks took one look at James Brooks’s expression and knew it probably hadn’t gone well.

“If I knew it, I answered it; if I didn’t, I left it blank. What else can I say?”

As James Brooks spoke, he couldn’t help but show his shameless side—he always got through exams like this!

“You’ve only had this one chance after graduating for a year, and look at your attitude. You messed it up again, didn’t you?”

As a mother, she poked James Brooks’s forehead with her orchid fingers, her face full of disappointment. As a teacher, it was a professional habit—whenever she saw a mischievous student who didn’t study hard, just seeing that drooping head made her angry.

The orchid finger poke was the lightest of punishments. Growing up, James Brooks’s butt and the back of his head had taken plenty of hits—if it wasn’t a thick book, it was a broom handle or a feather duster.

Mother and son looked quite alike—beautiful mother and handsome son. But while he inherited the looks, he didn’t get much of the smarts! To be honest, even James Brooks felt it was impossible not to be angry. The saying “A famous teacher can’t teach their own child” had come true for him. His mother had taught countless students, many of whom had gone abroad, but she just couldn’t teach her own son. She taught English, but couldn’t get her own son to pass English. Three years of tutoring, all the way to the college entrance exam, and still James Brooks couldn’t pass English. He barely scraped into a third-tier college, and after graduation, finding a job became a problem! Every job required an exam, which not only frustrated James Brooks, but made Evelyn Brooks even more anxious!

“Mom…” James Brooks dragged out the word, his face full of misery, trying to comfort his mother: “Don’t worry so much. I don’t think there’s any hope this time. The candidate was decided long ago; the exam is just for show. I’m just here to fill out the list!”

He wasn’t lying. Ever since he was a kid, James Brooks was always “filling out the list” in exams. What did that mean? He was always at the very bottom, holding up the list!

“…What are you thinking at your age? You don’t work hard and just make excuses. You can’t secure a job, and you don’t even seem worried!”

As Evelyn Brooks spoke, she poked him again with her orchid finger. Seeing her son’s gloomy face, and worried about running into acquaintances and being embarrassed, she scolded him while pushing her bicycle. After all, the child was grown now, and corporal punishment probably wouldn’t help anymore.

There was nothing to be done—when a sapling grows into a tree, no amount of pruning will help it grow faster!

“Mom, what’s the use of me being anxious!? …Besides, isn’t it fine for me to help Dad run the restaurant? Didn’t I already become a security assistant with my uncle? I can earn money too, so why do I have to take the civil service exam and try to become a township official? Are we the type to be officials? For seven or eight generations, we’ve either been farmers or cooks. Even if a miracle happened, it wouldn’t happen to me! Even my uncle only got his police cap after leaving the army… Mom, how about I cook for you? I’ve almost learned all of Dad’s skills. I’ll take care of you in the future!” James Brooks grinned ingratiatingly, as he always did to cheer up his mom. He even thoughtfully smoothed out her not-at-all-wrinkled clothes, looking completely eager to please.

“No ambition! Just like your dad, spending your whole life around the stove.” Evelyn Brooks laughed. Though her son, raised with broom-handle discipline, hadn’t mastered any skills, he knew how to care for people and show concern, which was some comfort. Looking back at her son, now almost a head taller than her, she shook her head with a bit of affection and said, “Xiaofan, why haven’t you made any progress? Do you think it’s easy for your dad to get up early and work late every day? Your uncle helped you get into the security team, but how long can a temporary assistant last? …If you had a permanent position and a stable job, you wouldn’t have to worry about the wind or rain for the rest of your life. Isn’t that better than what you have now? …I worry about you, but you have to work hard yourself too…”

Here came Mom’s lecture. James Brooks put on a look of rapt attention, and just as his mom was getting worked up, he suddenly put his arm around her shoulders, grinned shamelessly, and said, “Mom… can you not always move me like this? You’re your son’s pride; you don’t have to force your son to be your pride too, right? I’m proud of you, Dad, and my little sister—that’s enough! Our family already has plenty to be proud of!”

“Huh!? …You… haha!” Evelyn Brooks was stunned for a moment before realizing her son was teasing her. She pushed James Brooks away, shook her head, and said with a helpless smile, “You! Always so glib. If you were half as smart as your sister, I wouldn’t have to worry so much. Sigh…”

The atmosphere between mother and son eased. For the moment, they forgot about the unpleasantness of the exam. James Brooks seized the opportunity to quickly shift the topic to his little sister. She had been the top scorer in the county’s college entrance exam, something the whole family—especially their mother—was proud of. Even James Brooks felt he had some glory reflected on his face!