If it weren't for Yuan Xiaoxu's utterly innocent expression and matter - of - fact tone, Xu Zixi would have thought he did it on purpose!
Was she really not going to get around the topic of "father" today?
Putting down the picture book in her hand, Xu Zixi said helplessly, "The grandpa in this story is not the grandpa who is your father's father." To her dismay, her explanation mentioned the word "father" twice. She put a hand to her forehead.
"Grandpa is a general term for elderly men over fifty used by little babies. Do you understand now?" Xu Zixi said to the two kids.
Yuan Xiaoxuan nodded. "Xuanxuan gets it."
Yuan Xiaoxu sucked on his finger and asked, "But Mommy, we really don't have a grandpa because we don't have a father."
"You... you..." Taking a deep breath, Xu Zixi said, "Of course you have a father and a grandpa. Everyone has a father and a grandpa."
Yuan Xiaoxu suddenly sat up, his eyes shining. "Mommy, is Xiaoxu's grandpa as poor as the one in the story, only able to eat one small piece of bread every day?"
Xu Zixi twitched the corner of her mouth. "Hehe."
How could Mommy know what kind of person your grandpa is? But Mommy knows for sure that your grandpa definitely eats more than one small piece of bread every day.
The head of the Yan family in Fengcheng, who controls such a business empire, can have whatever he wants. How could he lack food?
This was just a little story to teach kids to be kind - hearted and helpful. How did it turn into a discussion about fathers and grandpas? It seemed that she really had to clarify things with the two kids today. After all, as the kids grew older, they would acquire more knowledge. One day, they would surely know what members a family consists of. By then, they would definitely be curious about their own origins.
"Kids, Mommy has a question for you. You have to think hard with your little brains and then tell Mommy the answer, okay?"
Xu Zixi stroked the two kids' heads as she said.
Yuan Xiaoxuan seemed to sense something. He crawled over and nestled into Xu Zixi's arms, hugging her waist and saying softly, "Okay, Mommy."
"Teacher Chen should have taught you the definition of fathers and mothers, right?"
The two kids nodded in unison.
"Each of us, Yuan Xiaoxuan, Yuan Xiaoxu, and Mommy, came from the union of a man and a woman. So, we all have fathers and mothers. But a man and a woman don't have to get married to have a baby. So, not everyone lives with their fathers and mothers. Just like you two, you live with me, but that doesn't mean you don't have a father. Can you understand what Mommy is saying?"
She said it in a rather convoluted way, afraid the kids wouldn't understand, but Yuan Xiaoxuan nodded. He held Xu Zixi's hand and said, "Mommy, don't be afraid. Daddy is a really, really bad guy. Xuanxuan doesn't want a daddy."
Yuan Xiaoxu quickly added, "Mommy, Xiaoxu doesn't want a daddy either! Xiaoxu only wants Mommy!"
Xu Zixi was surprised. "How do you know he's a'really, really bad' guy? I don't remember telling you that."
Yuan Xiaoxuan said, "Last time when the baby was sick and Mommy took the baby to the hospital, the baby heard what Mommy said."
"Mommy said that Mommy was tricked into having me and my younger brother. So, Daddy is a really, really bad guy. He was mean to Mommy, so Xuanxuan doesn't have a daddy!"
As he was speaking, Yuan Xiaoxuan recalled the sad memory. Two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks, and he cried aggrievedly,
"Waaah, I'm the child of a bad guy... Will I become a bad guy when I grow up..."
As soon as he started crying, Yuan Xiaoxu followed suit. The two kids sandwiched Xu Zixi between them and wailed loudly, leaving Miss Xu at a loss.
"Don't cry! Don't cry! You won't be bad guys when you grow up! Xuanxuan, you want to be a doctor. You'll surely become a really great doctor and save a lot of people with Mommy. Xiaoxu, you'll be a really successful businessman in the future, earn a lot of money, and let Mommy live a really happy life. Mommy will protect you well and make you great heroes in many people's hearts."
She didn't realize that she was already in tears. The thought that they might become villains when they grew up had always been a thorn in Xu Zixi's heart, a thorn she tried hard to pull out.
"Your father is not a really bad guy. Although he did do a lot of bad things to Mommy, with a stinky temper, being domineering and picky, his character is actually not bad. On the contrary, he's a person who works hard to overcome difficulties, turns adversity into success, and becomes really awesome and outstanding."
As Yuan Xiaoxuan listened, he gradually stopped crying. "Really?"
Yuan Xiaoxu sniffled and asked, "Is he more awesome than Uncle Yin? Uncle Yin can't see, but he can play the guitar and put together jigsaw puzzles. He's so awesome."
Xu Zixi was speechless. She couldn't cry anymore!
"Well, he's not that awesome after all... " A waiter could even splash soup on him and throw herself into his arms. What's so awesome about him!
"Anyway!" She lovingly stroked the two kids and wiped their tears away. "Mommy is telling you all this just to ask you. If one day, someone comes and tells you that he's your father and wants to take you away to live a better life, and this person is not the heinous bad guy you think he is, but instead, you quite like him, would you want to go with him?"
The answer was quite obvious. As smart as Yuan Xiaoxuan, he had already guessed who that person was. But he didn't say it. Instead, he seriously said to Xu Zixi,
"The baby only wants to be with Mommy."
Yuan Xiaoxu quickly echoed, "The baby wants Mommy, not a daddy!"
Xu Zixi heaved a sigh of relief and showed a brilliant smile. She kissed the two kids on their foreheads and said, "Right, no daddy. Mommy is awesome enough. Mommy can give you the life you want all by herself!"
After lulling the two kids to sleep, Xu Zixi carefully sat up on the bed and walked bare - footed outside.
When she got to the door, a cool sensation rose from the soles of her feet. She shivered. Suddenly remembering Zhou Yaru's scolding, she laughed and went back into the room to put on her shoes. Then she went to the study to work overtime on the design drawings.
She didn't know that after she gently closed the door, the two kids opened their eyes abruptly. Yuan Xiaoxu covered his and his brother's heads with the quilt, leaned over mysteriously and said,
"Brother, I'll tell you a secret! Our daddy is Uncle Yin."