Sophia says with a completely straight face, "Isn't this exactly how these campus stories always go? Some campus heartthrob squad. You like me, I secretly love you. You frame him. She runs and he chases. There's no escape for her. That kind of thing."
Hearing this, I rub my forehead and laugh wryly, thinking to myself, Sophia has really been thoroughly brainwashed by Jordan. Since Jordan is an entertainment industry agent, he's constantly picking out scripts for his own artists, reading every genre imaginable, which has given him a pretty wild, expansive imagination. After reading so many novels, and now thinking about it, his own handsome brother-in-law is heading off to a prestigious university, which only makes him more worried. So this past week, he hasn't been sleeping well at all.
Tossing and turning, constantly mulling it over, wondering how anyone could possibly focus on studying at a school like that, worrying and worrying. Is Ethan really not going to get tangled up in all sorts of messy drama? So annoying. Honestly, I never wanted Ethan to transfer schools in the first place, and I said so more than once. But look how it turned out. The moment they heard the word scholarship, both these siblings got completely obsessed with the money. Their eyes went wide as saucers, and they even had the nerve to say, "Isn't this basically free money?" Honestly, I've completely given up trying to change their minds. Not a single person in this family gives me any peace of mind.
Thinking back to that scene now, I really want to laugh. I have to admit, Jordan's imagination really is on another level.
Then I say, "Sophia, you're overthinking this. Every day I just study and work out. Nothing else has happened. As for whatever ridiculous plotline you're imagining, none of that exists at all."
Hearing me say this, Sophia finally lets out a sigh of relief. "Really? That's a relief."
Then something seems to occur to her, and she looks at me with a playful glint, asking, "Ethan, if there's a girl you have your eye on, you're welcome to consider giving it a shot. You know, after all, you're in college now. You're allowed to date. Your sister here is pretty open-minded about this stuff."
Hearing her say this, I say, a bit flustered and defensive, "No way. I'm not dating anyone. That whole thing just sounds so tedious. What's even the point of being all mushy and clingy with a girl?"
Hearing what I say, Sophia doesn't respond. She just watches me with a knowing half smile. Her look makes me uncomfortable. So, a bit irritated, I grab a chicken foot and put it on her plate. She looks at it in her bowl with a resentful expression, and just as she's about to react, I chime in, putting on a serious tone. "No wasting food. Raising a child means leading by example. Emma is watching you, you know."
Sophia glances over at Emma sitting beside her, lets out a deep sigh, and reluctantly pops the chicken foot into her mouth.
This is something we've all agreed on. Not to use phones or tablets in front of Emma, not to raise our voices or argue in front of her. Since kids are incredibly quick to imitate what they see, she absorbs everything and quietly picks it all up too.
"Oh, right, Sophia. Tomorrow, I'm heading to the library with Nina to study."
Sophia looks a bit puzzled and asks, "Why not just study at home? Why go all the way out somewhere?"
I take a sip of congee and say, "There's a classmate who's trying to lose weight. I'm worried she'll go all out and overeat this weekend, so I figured I'd just have her come study with us. We can get some exercise in too, at the same time."
Sophia nods, thinking to herself, I've always known about Ethan's little weight loss coaching venture, and I fully support it. But this obsession Ethan has with money, I really wonder who he takes after with that.
Thinking this over, Sophia's gaze suddenly drifts off, distracted. Wait, it seems like Ethan actually takes after me on this. Although I don't think it's a bad thing. But I do send Ethan money every month anyway, and he's already earning quite a bit from his part-time work too. So why is Ethan still so stingy, so reluctant to spend money?
Snapping out of it, Sophia says, "Handle your own affairs however you see fit. With Nina around, I feel at ease anyway. And as always, just keep your priorities straight. The family isn't in any rush for you to earn money right now."
"Got it. Have a little faith in me, Sophia."
"All right."
Meanwhile, Amy gets back home after school, greeted warmly by her family with all the usual affectionate fuss. Even though she feels a bit awkward, she has to admit she's happy about it deep down.
Amy answers shyly, "It's good. It's all good. Nobody's bullying me. Don't worry."
"I can tell my baby's lost a bit of weight. When someone first recommended Ethan to me, I was a bit hesitant. But who would have thought, in just one week, my baby's already lost weight."
"Mom, I've only lost about a kilo. Honestly, it's basically no different from before."
Is this what they call a mom's rose-tinted glasses? Sure enough, no matter what I look like, my mom always just thinks I've gotten thinner.
"That person said Ethan has plenty of experience with this. He's helped several heavier students with their weight loss before, and it's actually worked out really well. I actually wanted to book him back during the summer break, but turns out he was already fully booked over the summer. Then out of nowhere, he ended up coming to the school as an exchange student. We must really be destined to cross paths. Our baby is really lucky."
After saying this, Helen looks at Amy with tender affection, thinking to herself, Amy has always been a gentle, shy child since she was little. When she was really young, she was quite thin. But after spending one summer back at our hometown, she came back a bit heavier. Around that time, my attention wasn't really on the kids, and by the time I realized what was happening, Amy's weight had already gotten out of hand. Ah, but thankfully now, with Ethan supervising her, in less than a week my baby's already slimmed down like this. Give it a bit more time and my baby is bound to turn into a real beauty.
Amy, worried that this weight loss attempt might fail again, doesn't want to give her mom too much hope, so she tries to temper the expectations. "This time might not work out either. Even if it doesn't, please don't blame him for it, Mom. It'd be my own fault."
"I won't blame him. It's kind of like getting a gym membership. Whether you actually go is entirely up to you."
"I know, Mom. Don't worry about it." Amy nods and says, "All right, I'm heading upstairs then."
Helen waves her hand and says, "Go ahead, get some good rest."
Amy takes a shower in her room, comfortably lies down on her bed, and after a while of scrolling on her phone, starts feeling a bit hungry. She gets up, intending to find a snack to hold her over, but her usual snack drawer turns out to be completely empty. Left with no options, Amy heads downstairs to the kitchen instead, hoping to grab a drink. She opens the fridge and is stunned. All that's left in there is milk and yogurt, along with some yogurt bars.
She trudges out of the kitchen, dejected, and heads back to the living room. Amy lets out a deep sigh and, still not quite giving up, asks, "Mom, all the chocolate and snacks in my room are gone. Did you put them away somewhere?"
Hearing her question, Helen nods and says, "Ethan already talked to me about it. At school, he's in charge of your weight loss, and at home, I'll be supervising you. The snacks are gone for now, but I bought you some yogurt bars instead. They're sweet and tangy, quite tasty too. If you're really craving a snack, just eat one of those. Though you still shouldn't eat too many of those either."
Amy feels a bit gloomy, thinking to herself, I've already stuck with this for a whole week now. Can I just cut loose just this once? This past week has really worn me out too.