Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 50: A Loving Mother and Filial Son (Part 2)

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: A Loving Mother and Filial Son (Part 2)

Upon hearing the reason, Aunt Chen immediately came back to her senses, "It’s alright, Xiaoxiao, Sicheng is indeed a bit older, but he can endure hardship. Let him go! As for how well he learns, it all depends on him, no one else can be blamed!"

"But..." Cheng Xiaoxiao was about to politely decline.

Aunt Chen got up from the bench, about to kneel to Cheng Xiaoxiao. Cheng Xiaoxiao quickly went to support her, "Aunt Chen, this is unnecessary, aren’t you overwhelming me? No matter what, you are still an elder."

"I have no choice. Ever since my son was young, this is his only wish. How can I, as a mother, bear to see him unhappy because he can’t learn what he loves? This child goes to the training ground every day to watch secretly..."

"Mom!" Cheng Sicheng interrupted his mother, how could she reveal his secret!

"No worries, your Sister Xiao is a tolerant person; she won’t take it to heart," Aunt Chen said firmly.

Oh!

She’s flattering her, but forget it, these two are quite pitiful.

Cheng Xiaoxiao looked directly into Cheng Sicheng’s eyes and asked seriously, "Do you really want to learn martial arts? Are you sure you won’t quit after a few days when you can’t handle it and run back, wasting your mother’s money?"

"I won’t. I like learning martial arts. Once I learn it, I can protect my mother from being bullied." Cheng Sicheng said earnestly, openly stating his reason – to protect his mother.

Hearing her son say this, Aunt Chen’s eyes instantly reddened; her son does it all for her. Thinking of how she has been harassed over the years, if not for the village chief’s fairness, the help from neighbors, and her son staying close by, she might have lost her virtue long ago. For a woman who’s lost her virtue, there’s only the path of death, what else is there?

Cheng Xiaoxiao, standing by, roughly guessed the reason. A young, beautiful widow without a man’s protection, isn’t it natural for those men who think with their lower half to have impure thoughts?

Aunt Chen has been fine all these years, probably thanks to the assistance of this child, no wonder his gaze is so complex, maybe it’s all for his mother. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

This reason is really strong! Cheng Xiaoxiao couldn’t find a reason to refute; who can refuse a dutiful son!

Sigh! Maybe accept him?

After pondering for a while, Cheng Xiaoxiao spoke, "Then once you decide, there’s no turning back!"

Aunt Chen and Cheng Sicheng realized, is this an agreement?

Before the mother and son could react from their joy, Cheng Xiaoxiao spoke again, "However..."

It was evident that Cheng Sicheng is resilient and thoughtful, but he also has a dark side. Without proper guidance, he might grow astray.

Aunt Chen looked nervously at Cheng Xiaoxiao, "However, what?"

"However, I won’t take twenty taels." Saying this, she took five taels of silver from the table, "Just five taels! The remaining cost will be repaid by Cheng Sicheng himself. Once you learn well, serve me for three years, how about that?" Cheng Xiaoxiao’s probing eyes looked straight at Cheng Sicheng.

Cheng Sicheng felt a pang in his heart, feeling seen through, nervous and uneasy, and a bit guilty.

Aunt Chen didn’t feel anything wrong, immediately agreeing, "No problem, Xiaoxiao, he can work for you for 5 years as long as he gets fed."

Of course, Aunt Chen misunderstood; she thought serving meant helping Cheng Xiaoxiao with chores, as Cheng Xiaoxiao manages the herb business. Her son is excellent at chopping wood, making fire, harvesting grains, and even digging herbs, quick on his feet. Helping Cheng Xiaoxiao with chores would be no problem; he might even learn a lot.

However, smart young Cheng Sicheng caught the underlying meaning in Cheng Xiaoxiao’s words. Suppressing his unease, he hesitated, "Can I continue to take care of my mom after following you?"

"Silly child, I’m still young and can take care of myself, you don’t need to. Just follow Xiaoxiao well, did you hear me?" Aunt Chen didn’t understand why her son hesitated and quickly urged.

"Of course, we are in the same village, aren’t we? You must return home to sleep every day, after all, my house doesn’t have extra rooms for you," Cheng Xiaoxiao teased with a smile.

The young boy blushed with embarrassment, saying shyly, "That’s not what I meant."

Seeing his shy demeanor, innocent and pure, it’s really hard to see that he might have a dark side. Let’s see if he can be turned before reaching adulthood!

Sigh! Worrying about someone else’s child, why bother meddling, it’s the system’s fault for forcing this rescue mission on her, she’s getting used to it, it’s scary...

Blame the innocent system...

"Wait at home for the news! My cold-faced Coach at home isn’t easy to talk to, I’ll sort it out as soon as possible."

Cheng Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, turning to leave, Cheng Sicheng shouted confidently, "I believe in you!"

With a look that said I’m optimistic about you, a hopeful look that said you must succeed.

Cheng Xiaoxiao felt like smacking this brat; young but quite mindful, he knew how to put pressure on her already.

After such a delay, she returned home to prepare lunch. Looking at the table with carp soup, spicy fish, fried small fish, and two plates of vegetables, a big bowl of steamed buns!

"A full fish feast today, huh!" All three meat dishes were fish, in large bowls, Cheng Xiaoxiao frowned, they had just eaten fish yesterday.

Erya came over, "Sister, try the spicy fish I made later and see if I’ve improved!"

Xiaolan chimed in, "Sister Xiaoxiao, you don’t know, yesterday, I just said Big Sister’s spicy fish is better than Erya’s, and Erya wouldn’t accept it!"

"What I make isn’t as good as Erya’s, don’t listen to Xiaolan’s nonsense." Dalan glared at Xiaolan, her little mouth was becoming less and less guarded.

Xiaolan made a face, not afraid of her big sister, turned to the incoming Qi Fei, "Brother Qi Fei, you’re back," saying this, she ran out, trying to help unload the basket from his back.

"No need!"

Qi Fei didn’t want Xiaolan’s help, feeling the atmosphere clashing with the Qiao sisters, especially since Xiaolan had been cozying up to him for no reason.

Behind Qi Fei, Cheng Yong and Doctor Huang also stepped into the yard, "Xiaolan, didn’t you see your uncle also carrying something heavy? How come you only notice Brother Qi Fei?"

In the Cheng family, aside from Qi Fei himself acting normal, everyone else realized the little girl’s intentions. Even after several unsuccessful attempts by Dalan to intervene, now even Mr. Cheng started teasing Xiaolan.

Xiaolan blushed, "No such thing!"

Saying this, she quickly went to help her uncle unload his backpack.

Meanwhile, Doctor Huang shouted, "Dear little Xiaolan, why don’t you help Grandpa Huang? Can’t you see your Grandpa Huang can’t carry it anymore at his age?"

Xiaolan had to run over to help Doctor Huang, constantly saying nice things to please him.

The people watching the scene silently laughed!

Cheng Xiaoxiao turned to ask Erya, "Weren’t you at training? How did you get home before me?" She had been so engrossed in watching, she forgot this point.

"Oh! After you left, we just started training when a large eagle flew in, seemingly fed by Coach Leng."

Erya whispered approaching Cheng Xiaoxiao, "I peeked secretly; there was something tied to the eagle’s foot. After Coach Leng retrieved it, he dismissed us, then vanished; he probably went to check the message."

Cheng Xiaoxiao was surprised, Erya’s eyesight was so good, her mind seemed to have gotten sharper too, she even knew to gather intel secretly.

Erya was the only one in the family who knew Leng Qi’s identity, aware he was the tree-man whom her sister had sent meals to before. Erya guessed something, and Cheng Xiaoxiao, reluctantly and partially truthfully, explained Leng Qi’s background, leaving Erya with the extra job of supervising Leng Qi now.