"Whoa! Honey! You said you wouldn't pressure the kid..." Robert quickly put down his chopsticks to comfort his wife, and winked at Ethan.
Ethan got the message, quickly put down his chopsticks, and smiled.
He walked lightly behind his mother.
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he rubbed Linda's shoulders and said, "Oh, my dear mother! I haven't even finished talking yet. Why are you in such a rush? Don't be angry! Let me explain."
"Don't try to butter me up. Just talk! I'm listening." Linda slapped Ethan's hand irritably.
Ethan cleared his throat and put on the posture of a storyteller. "Allow your son to explain in detail—"
He gestured with his hands. "I went to set up the stand with Jack this morning, then cooked lunch at home. I made that Southern-style feast and invited two classmates to eat—the two top students you know, Sarah and Ashley."
Seeing his mother's brow slightly relax, he struck while the iron was hot. "We went to the city library to study this afternoon. Didn't we just get back?"
"Right! I just knew my son was responsible!" Robert slapped his thigh and immediately chimed in.
"Shut up!" Linda glared at Robert, but the corners of her eyes were already touched with a hint of a smile.
She turned to Ethan and reached out to tap his forehead. "That's more like it. It's not that Mom wants to nag you, it's just your attitude earlier—you were really asking for it..."
"Got it, got it! My dear mother!" Ethan grinned.
Ethan suddenly remembered he needed to go buy a suit in a bit, so he smiled and sidled up to Linda, saying, "By the way, Mom, I'm taking graduation photos tomorrow. I'm planning to wear a suit."
He rubbed his hands together and made a flattering gesture. "So... could you sponsor me a little, hehe!"
Linda glanced at him with mock annoyance. "It's just a graduation photo. Wouldn't wearing your school uniform be fine?"
She said this, her eyes unconsciously drifting to the other side of the dining table. "Such a show-off, just like your father back then."
"???"
Robert, who'd been caught by a stray bullet, looked up innocently.
After saying that, she pulled out a hundred dollars from her purse and handed it to him. "Here. Is a hundred enough?"
"Enough, enough, hehe!"
"My dear mother, mwah!"
"I'm done eating. I'm gonna go find Jack."
Ethan took the money, kissed his mother on the cheek, and happily walked out of the house with the cash.
Linda looked at her son's retreating back and shook her head.
She turned her head and saw her husband still slowly picking at his fish bones, and suddenly reached out and poked his forehead. "Look at your son! Just like you when you were young—runs faster than a rabbit when he's got money!"
Robert was poked so hard his chopsticks shook, and the fish almost fell onto the table. He said helplessly, "How is this my fault?!"
Ethan hummed a little tune and pushed open the courtyard gate of Jack's house like he owned the place.
The aroma of food wafted from inside. He sniffed and walked into the dining room.
They were eating.
"Mr. and Mrs. Will, having dinner?" He leaned halfway in with a smile, his eyes already scanning the dining table.
Margaret looked up and saw it was Ethan, so she immediately greeted him warmly. "Oh, Ethan's here! Sit down and eat! Let me get you some dishes."
She quickly put down her chopsticks and got up to grab tableware.
Jack, who'd been absorbed in his food, suddenly looked up and said through a mouthful of food, "Mom, don't worry about him. He's already eaten. If this guy was really hungry, you wouldn't even need to say anything—he'd run to get the dishes himself."
"Dude!" Ethan laughed and cursed.
"I know you know me, but don't be so blunt about it!" Jack's words had no tact at all.
Ethan turned to Margaret and smiled. "Mrs. Will, Jack's right. I just ate at home. Otherwise I definitely would've sat down."
"Ethan, come on, have a couple drinks with your uncle?" David Miller said with a smile.
Margaret glared at her husband. "You want to drink with Robert's kid? The boy has school tomorrow. Cut it out."
David smiled sheepishly and muttered under his breath, "Just one glass..."
Ethan smiled slightly. "Mr. Miller, I'll drink with you another day."
Then he said to Margaret beside him, "Mrs. Will, I'm gonna go buy a suit with Jack in a bit."
Margaret picked up the conversation. "I know, he just got back and told me."
As she spoke, she put a piece of pork rib in her son's bowl. "Jack, eat quickly. Don't make Ethan wait."
Ethan raised his chin at Jack. "Yo Jack, eat slow. I'll wait for you in the living room."
After saying that, he hummed a little tune and walked to the living room.
.....
A few minutes later.
Jack wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth with a tissue, pushed open the glass door of the dining room, and walked out.
"Yo Ethan, how are we getting there?" Jack pulled out his phone and looked at the time. "I'm guessing we'd have to wait forever for an Uber at this hour. Why don't we just take the scooter?"
Ethan slapped his thigh and stood up. "Let's take the scooter! The roads are definitely packed at this time. The little electric bike's way more useful."
"Cool."
"Then I'll grab the keys and take my mom's electric scooter!"
He went to the drawer to get the key.
The two walked out the door, and the sweltering heat of the summer night immediately enveloped them.
Although it was almost 8 p.m., the heat absorbed by the ground during the day continued to radiate upward.
They found Margaret's electric scooter in the yard.
Jack straddled it and sat down. The leather seat wasn't hot anymore—if he'd sat on it after the midday sun, both his balls would've been fried.
The electric scooter carried the two into the night, and the streetlights on both sides of the street stretched their shadows very long.
Their destination was the famous Fashion District in town.
The two of them were heading to the Fashion District to buy their suits.
As the largest clothing wholesale center in the city, the Fashion District brought together hundreds of shops.
From seasonal trendy T-shirts to knockoff designer bags, from sneakers to custom suits—everything was available.
Of course.
The most attractive thing was that prices here were much cheaper than at the mall, and you could bargain.
Prices here tended to be about one-third of what they were at department stores.
Of course.
They also had custom clothing here, and they could tailor the fit for you.
Overall, it was way cheaper.
Linda and Margaret would often come to the Fashion District to buy clothes.
Ethan remembered that when he and Jack were young, their moms would often take the two of them to visit the Fashion District together.
Back then, the two little boys would follow behind, watching their mothers skillfully navigate through the various stores, bargaining back and forth with the shop owners.
The noisy environment of the Fashion District, the smell of new fabrics, and the candy some shop ladies would stuff in their hands—all of it had become vivid fragments of their childhood memories.
After starting middle school.
Jack and Ethan had begun developing their own sense of style.
So the two of them would take money from their families and come to the Fashion District to shop together.
Gradually, they'd naturally gotten used to going to the Fashion District to buy clothes.
The reason Linda and Margaret had become regular customers at the Fashion District was, in the final analysis, the budget-conscious considerations of ordinary families.
Ethan in his previous life.
After making it big, he'd changed his consumption habits.
When he'd been worth hundreds of millions, he'd only gone to high-end mall boutiques to buy clothes.
There are 30 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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