Mark Warren shook his head vigorously. “Brother-in-law, I heard that video games are good for developing intelligence. Playing them in moderation is actually beneficial.” As soon as he finished speaking, Julia Warren curled her lips and interjected, “From yesterday until now, he’s been sitting at the computer the whole time, hasn’t even moved from his spot. You call that moderation?”

Mark Warren nonchalantly patted Eric Bennett on the shoulder. “He’s just a kid, and it’s summer vacation. What else do you expect him to do? Haha, every generation has its own blessings. We can’t be too strict.” Among the relatives on both grandma’s and maternal grandma’s sides, Eric Bennett was closest to Mark Warren, simply because his uncle always spoiled him and took his side in everything.

Julia Warren shot him a playful glare. “Do you use this free-range parenting style with your own Minmin too?”

“Heh, Minmin is all managed by her mom. I can’t get involved.” Mark Warren laughed heartily, then turned his gaze to the computer. An English-Chinese dictionary, a WORD window, filled with dense tadpole-like text—just looking at it made uncle dizzy. “Sis, Xiaohao isn’t playing games. I’ve seen people at my company use this thing before. It seems to be for recording text. Hmm, what you’re typing here, is this English?”

Eric Bennett exaggeratedly leaned his head back on the chair. “Didn’t expect it, did you, uncle? You’re pretty knowledgeable! Hehe, I’m practicing English.”

Julia Warren turned her head to look, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. At their age, they might still remember a bit of Russian, but when it came to English, they were completely clueless.

“Young man, keep practicing. You’ve got a bright future!”

Of course, Mark Warren couldn’t understand any of the English, let alone the fact that most of it was vocabulary for the CET-4 and CET-6 exams. “How’s the computer? Are you getting the hang of it?”

“It’s all right.” Seeing the looks his mom and dad were giving him, Eric Bennett chuckled, “Anything from uncle is bound to be good. Hehe, thanks, uncle. When I make money in the future, I’ll buy a computer for my little sister too.”

“Still being polite with me?” Mark Warren laughed and gave Eric Bennett a light smack on the back of the head. “I’ve already got your sister’s computer ready. When you start making money, the first thing you should do is honor your parents. Hmm, you did well on the high school entrance exam this time. If you can get into a top university in three years, whatever you want then, uncle will buy it for you.”

A shadow instantly fell over Eric Bennett’s heart. He opened his mouth, thanked him, and then fell silent. With Mark Warren’s financial resources, even if Eric Bennett asked him to buy a car, it wouldn’t be impossible.

But that was only for now.

Eric Bennett couldn’t remember exactly when it happened—maybe today, maybe in the next day or two—but his uncle’s freight company was about to have an accident!

A truck delivering goods at night, due to a traffic violation, collided with an Audi belonging to a city official. Afterwards, the driver from Qianmin Freight panicked and made a decision he would regret for life—he fled the scene.

The next day, the traffic bureau identified the vehicle involved and detained it.

Although the city official was not in any life-threatening danger, perhaps due to her influence, or perhaps by her instruction, several of uncle’s key clients immediately cut off business ties. In the end, uncle was left with no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

This was the fundamental reason why, when Eric Bennett’s family bought a house, Mark Warren wasn’t able to help.

As for the details of the incident, there wasn’t much information in the newspapers, and uncle, being in a bad mood, didn’t share much, so Eric Bennett never found out.

“Mom, you all keep chatting. I’m going to cook.”

Eric Bennett secretly made up his mind—he was determined to help uncle through this crisis!

……

“Yu Xiang shredded pork! Kung Pao chicken!” Every time Eric Bennett brought out a dish from the small kitchen, Mark Warren’s eyes widened a bit more. Smacking his lips in amazement, he exclaimed, “Scallion lamb! Tofu with scallions!” He’d thought his nephew was just talking big, but who would have thought he’d actually make all these dishes!

Julia Warren watched her son’s performance and Mark Warren’s surprise from the side, unable to hold back a pleased chuckle.

“All the dishes are ready. Just some home-style food, uncle, hope you don’t mind.”

Mark Warren put away his underestimation, impatiently picked up a piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth. Tender and delicious, perfectly seasoned, he put down his chopsticks in amazement and stared at his nephew who had surprised him. “Unbelievable! In terms of taste, it’s even better than what my wife makes. Wow, you really can’t judge a book by its cover. You always seem so quiet and reserved, but who knew you could cook? Hmm, hmm, you’ve got a bright future, a bright future indeed.”

A smile appeared on Evan Bennett’s lips as he kept urging Mark Warren to eat, while Julia Warren beamed and started bragging about her son. “This is nothing. You should have seen the braised fish he made yesterday—tasted amazing, even better than Dad’s cooking! And he’s been doing all the chores these days—picking vegetables, doing laundry, washing dishes, everything…”

“All right, all right.” Evan Bennett interrupted her. “Stop praising him and let’s eat.” If no one stopped Julia Warren once she started talking, she’d probably never stop.

Julia Warren shot her husband an annoyed look before finally picking up her chopsticks.

After the meal, Mark Warren pinched Eric Bennett’s nose and shook it, praising him for being more and more capable and sensible, making Eric Bennett feel a bit giddy with pride.

“Big sister, are you home?” A gentle voice sounded from outside the house.