Am I your good eldest son

Shen Nian wasn't a heartless person. As a filial son, he simply couldn't bear to see his old man standing.

All the other parents got to sit; why should his dad be the one on his feet?

"Dad, stop standing. Just sit on the grass."

"..."

Shen Shi didn't say a word. He whipped out his phone, opened his WeChat favorites, and unleashed a barrage of forwarded videos onto Shen Nian.

[Shen Shi]: "Three Signs of an Unfilial Son—The Last One is Key!"

[Shen Shi]: "Children with These Four Traits Will Never Succeed!"

[Shen Shi]: "If You Don't Suffer the Pain of Studying, You'll Suffer the Pain of Life!"

Shen Nian: ...

Unbelievable.

"Here, sit." Shen Nian patted the dust off his butt, stood up, and gave up his spot to his dad.

A dad is a dad, after all. A father's love is silent, and so is a son's devotion. That single "sit" said it all.

Shen Shi finally sat down, immediately crossing his legs like he owned the place.

Where exactly did his parenting go wrong? Did he not beat the kid enough back in the day?

The eighty-yuan leather belt lacked power; the ten-yuan clothes hanger lacked instructional value; the rough palm lacked profundity. If he'd known, he would have upgraded his equipment before beating Shen Nian.

Now the kid was grown up, harder to hit, and getting more rebellious by the day.

Just because I deduct a fifty-yuan "transfer fee" every time I send your allowance, does that give you the right to treat your own father like this?

"You sure you don't want some?" Shen Nian fished out two small bread rolls.

"I ate before coming. Had pig trotter noodles, added bean curd rolls and char siu."

"Eating so lavishly? And you said you didn't have money for gas."

"Your Uncle Xia treated me."

Shen Shi barely managed to sense a shred of filial piety from Shen Nian. He decided to increase Shen Nian's inheritance to thirty yuan. That's enough for two extra duck legs at the Shaxian snacks shop—he should be secretly thrilled.

Shen Nian didn't know what his dad was thinking; he just went back to looking at his phone.

He didn't care much about the Coming of Age Ceremony. It was just a formality. Becoming an adult wasn't something the school could dictate anyway.

Did they really expect that walking down a red carpet and passing through an archway would instantly transform an immature high schooler into a responsible adult?

Everyone had been chatting and laughing, but once the ceremony started, the school leader began reading from a prepared script.

Childhood fun, growth, protection, filial piety, silent love...

It was the kind of tear-jerking speech designed to manipulate the emotions of students and parents. Halfway through, Shen Nian noticed some parents secretly wiping away tears.

Caught up in the moment, even a few students were holding their breath, trying not to cry as they hugged their parents.

It was mostly the female students. Li Shiyan was leaning against her mother, whispering something. Even Xia Yanchun and Xia Herui wore solemn expressions.

Shen Nian glanced at Shen Shi and saw him head-down, scrolling through TikTok. He felt relieved.

Truly my father.

"If you can, when you go home, give your parents a hug. Do more chores, give your mom and dad a massage to soothe their tired bodies. Study hard, find a successful job in the future to reward yourself, and to reward your parents..."

The leader droned on passionately from the stage.

In other classes, some students were already kneeling before their parents, sobbing intermittently.

Shen Shi scanned the surroundings, immediately straightened his back, and shot Shen Nian a look.

Excuse me, why aren't you crying?

Why aren't you hugging?

Why aren't you kneeling yet?

"Thinking of how your parents raised you through bitter hardships, aren't you moved? At this Coming of Age Ceremony, you can freely say to your parents: Mom, Dad, you've worked hard..."

The leader continued his output, and the noise level in the area rose instantly.

Shen Shi felt like he couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why are you just standing there? No reaction at all?"

Shen Nian: ...

Sorry, I can't cry. In fact, I kind of want to laugh.

Shen Nian reached into his inner pocket and pulled out several red banknotes. Eight of them in total.

There was no one in the classroom, and leaving cash in his bag wasn't safe, so he had kept it on him.

Chen Dong had given it to him yesterday, and it was coming in handy today.

Under Shen Shi's astonished gaze, Shen Nian grabbed his father's hand and stuffed two red bills into his palm.

"Dad, am I a good son?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Too good, honestly."

What a good son. He actually knows what his dad likes.

Although Shen Nian was mischievous every day, in his father's heart, Shen Nian had always been a good boy with a sincere heart. Truly.

"Then do you think I'm filial?"

"Filial, but a little lacking in 'piety'."

Shen Nian stuffed another hundred-yuan bill into his hand. "How about now?"

"Holy cow, Shen Nian, you are so filial. Can you be even more filial and fill up Dad's gas tank?"

Shen Nian's mouth twitched, and he stuffed another two hundred.

"Shen Nian, Dad knows you're filial, but look, Dad's leather shoes are a bit worn out."

"Are you done yet?"

"Haha, alright, alright. Shen Nian, really, Dad is moved to tears." Shen Shi knew when to quit. He'd made five hundred just by coming out here—who knew such good things could happen?

In the past, he wouldn't have taken Shen Nian's money; after all, it was just the allowance he'd given the kid, and he should be grateful Shen Nian didn't ask for more.

But now, hearing from the kid's mom that Shen Nian could make money fishing—several hundred a pop—he accepted it with a clear conscience.

"If your allowance isn't enough, just ask Dad."

"Can I really?"

"You're actually asking? The money's just been invested into the factory. Go ask your mom."

"..."

Dammit. Gave the money too early.

Xia Yanchun witnessed the entire "Cash for Piety" spectacle.

In a sense, Shen Nian wasn't playing games. While others were sniffling and crying, Shen Nian was already demonstrating his filial piety with cold, hard cash.

There really weren't many ordinary high schoolers who could cough up a few hundred bucks to give back to their family...

Shen Nian, the legend. His brain circuitry was beyond the realm of humanity, incomprehensible to normal people.

But using cash to prove filial piety was certainly simple and crude. Just looking at Uncle Shen's expression, grinning from ear to ear, proved it worked.

After the speech, they had to walk the red carpet together. Mothers and daughters liked to hold hands, while fathers and sons mostly just walked side by side. Shen Nian and Shen Shi were no exception.

There were people in suits and evening gowns, so Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun in their regular clothes were actually in the minority.

The Coming of Age Ceremony ended.

Xia Herui and Shen Shi wanted to stroll around the campus to check out the children's learning environment, so Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun had no choice but to follow behind.

"Our dads have known each other for thirty or forty years, right?" Shen Nian remarked casually.

"They grew up together. Known each other since they were little."

"Just like us. Childhood sweethearts, you could say."

The term "childhood sweethearts" carried an inherent romantic connotation. Hearing it, Xia Yanchun subconsciously clasped her small hands together.

"Although I really don't want to admit it, you're technically right..."

Shen Nian glanced at her, didn't speak, but leaned in to squeeze out the air between them until his arm brushed against hers.

Xia Yanchun grunted, pushing back against him, eventually shoving him off the path and into the withered yellow grass.

"You like me that much?"

"...Hmph."