It was already 10.30 pm when Nan Chen returned to the villa in Red Maple City.
When he entered the house, he saw a lot of food on the table amid the house’s messiness.
A woman was lying on the sofa with a few slices of cucumber on her face. She was looking at the television, giving out suppressed giggles occasionally. As she was too engrossed in her television programs, she did not notice Nan Chen approaching her.
Nan Chen took a closer look. She isn’t Ning Ran. Ning Ran has a more slender build.
But as her face was covered with cucumber slices, he had to take a closer look, so he took another few steps towards her.
Finally, the mysterious person on the sofa detected his existence and shifted her gaze from the television to him. With a loud shriek, she covered her face with her hands and dashed into a room.
Amidst her panicked run into the room, she knocked into the coffee table and almost fell flat on the ground. The cucumber slices slipped down from her face.
Furrowing his brows as he watched her running away from him, he recognized the woman as Ning Ran’s manager, Cheng Xiangyun.
Hearing the commotion, Ning Ran came out of the bathroom. She had been bathing Erbao just now.
At the sight of Nan Chen, she understood the reason for Cheng Xiangyun’s shriek immediately.
“Why are you here?”
“Why can’t I be here?” Nan Chen was surprised at her question. Haven’t I been staying here for these few days?
“Why are you here when Xiangyun has returned? I thought you wouldn’t come here.”
So Ning Ran’s logic is, I have arranged for Cheng Xiangyun to go abroad for a business trip so I should be aware that she has returned. And I would definitely not return to the villa upon her return.
It was the reason why Ning Ran had not informed Cheng Xiangyun that Nan Chen had been staying in the villa these days.
Both women were used to an undisciplined lifestyle, and they hung around at home, similar to a lazy cat. However, this side of them was their secret and could not be revealed to an outsider.
Thus, Cheng Xiangyun had gotten a shock when Nan Chen suddenly appeared.
“Where are the kids?” Nan Chen asked Ning Ran.
“Erbao is bathing and Dabao is in the study room. I’m not sure what he is up to.”
“I’ll take a look.”
Nan Chen went to the study room and saw that Dabao was having difficulties moving the chair.
The chair was made of solid wood and was a tad too heavy for Dabao.
Nan Chen hurried over to help him, “What are you doing?”
“Daddy,” greeted Dabao happily.
“Are you planning to stand on the chair to look for a book?”
Dabao nodded in delight. Indeed, Daddy understands me best! He knows what I want immediately.
“What book are you looking for? Tell me, and Daddy will take it for you.”
“The second book on the seventh shelf. The one with the white cover.”
“This one?”
Nan Chen was tall enough to take the book from the shelf easily without even tip-toeing.
“Wow, Daddy is the best! When will I grow to reach your height? This way, I don’t need to move the chair around,” said Dabao enviously.
“You need some time to grow to be as tall as me. But don’t be in a hurry to grow up. Your current state is the best now,” said Nan Chen sternly.
“Daddy, do you mean that one is at his happiest being as a child? And one will have a lot of troubles when one grows up? Is that why Daddy doesn’t want me to grow up so fast?”
Nan Chen was stunned.
Is he still a kid? He knows everything. Can’t he allow an adult to feel a sense of superiority?
“Yes,” admitted Nan Chen truthfully.
“Always like this.” Suddenly, Dabao sprouted a sentence in English.
Again, Nan Chen was stunned and caught his meaning a second later, “You have actually seen this movie before?”
“Of course. Many people think the movie is not suitable for children, but I’m not a three or four-year-old kid. I’m already five years old.” Dabao mimicked his sister’s tagline.
Nan Chen’s mouth curved upwards into a smile.
This was the brightest smile Dabao had seen on his Daddy’s face. Before he met his father, he had thought that he was the ‘world’s most unsmiling person’. But after he met his father, Dabao realized that his father deserved this title instead of him. He should be ranked second instead.
The line Dabao had recited was from the movie ‘Leon’. It translated as ‘This murderer is not that cold’.
The little girl in the movie asked the protagonist if life was always so difficult or if it was just the childhood years.
The protagonist had replied, “Always like this.”
Dabao had sprouted that line from the movie spontaneously as he found the particular movie scene fitting towards the conversation between him and Nan Chen just now.
He was sure Nan Chen would understand him, and indeed, he was not disappointed.
Dabao was overjoyed. It was the best thing in his life to have a father who understood him so well.
Nan Chen was delighted too. The movie was not suitable for children, but it seemed that Dabao was not negatively affected by it. He had a keen judgement far surpassing that of other children his age.
He is indeed talented.
But Nan Chen was perplexed by the book he had taken for Dabao.
It was a book on marriage laws.
Why is a 5 years old kid concerned with marriage laws?
“This?” Nan Chen asked Dabao with a puzzled look on his face.
Dabao grinned, “Have I scared you?”
“No, but it is rather surprising.”
Grinning, Dabao flipped a few pages of the book.
“Why are you reading up on marriage laws?”
“I just want to understand more about it.”
“Why?”
“I want to know if it is considered a lawful marriage between you and Mommy since you are staying with us now, or if you need to register your marriage with Mommy.”
Nan Chen was stunned again.
“Why are you concerned about this?”
“Nothing. I only want to understand it more. There are always problems between you and Mommy, but I’m too young to understand them. I think we’ll be a complete family if you and Mommy are lawfully married.”
Nan Chen was shocked to the bones. He had not expected this from Dabao.
It is too shocking! I’ve thought that Dabao is like me when I’m young, but it seems that Dabao is much better than me. Though I have no recollection of myself when I’m five years old, I’m sure I was not as outstanding as Dabao.
“Is Daddy blaming me for being too nosy?” Dabao asked, worried.
“No, you aren’t a three or four-year-old kid. You are five years old already. You aren’t considered nosy.” Nan Chen mimicked Erbao’s tagline.
The pair of father and son exchanged glances as the corners of their mouths curved upwards. While it was typical of them to smile without flashing their teeth, the twinkle in their eyes was apparent. It was the world’s most beautiful and sincere yet suppressed smile.
“What are both of you talking about?” Ning Ran waded in.
“We’re discussing movies,” said Nan Chen.
“Ah, it is rare for a boring person like you to discuss about movies.”
Nan Chen knitted his brows at her words. Why am I boring? The number of movies I’ve watched is way more in number than the advertisements you’ve ever seen before!
