“Matt! I’m over here! Over here!”
Vivian dragged the last syllable of the last word as she waved her arms at Matteo.
The entire airport could hear her excited voice, and it annoyed Matteo to no end.
“Why did you come back? Also, you coming back is one thing, but why is there a kid here? Unless…”
Something suddenly crossed Matteo’s mind, causing his signature big eyes to widen even more. His gaze moved from the little girl on his legs to the faces of the two people moving toward him.
As usual, Vivian was slow in picking up clues. She did not figure out what was happening.
Kurt, on the other hand, instantly turned red at Matteo’s gaze. Soon enough, his expression turned grim, and there was a shadow on his beautiful features.
“Have you seen a nine-year-old child having a baby?” Kurt asked.
Matteo was at a loss for words.
After some quick calculations, Matteo remembered that the guy in front of him was only sixteen, while the little girl still hugging his legs was already about six to seven years old. It was impossible for the girl to be his child.
Matteo chuckled sheepishly to hide his awkwardness.
“Haha, I’m just messing with you. Then tell me, whose child is this? Why did you guys suddenly bring her here?”
“Matt, don’t you recognize her? She’s Ms. Fischer’s daughter. Her father is sick and no one can take care of her at the moment. We were on a trip and visited him, and he asked us to bring her along with us,” explained Vivian.
At that, Matteo lowered his gaze once again to look closely at the girl. Only then did he realize that the child’s features looked very much like Willow’s.
Matteo sighed, remembering the late woman who used to take care of them when they were younger. His heart sank as the grief of her death weighed it down.
After a few seconds, Matteo bent down and picked the girl up in his arms.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to see you. We’re here to see Momma,” said Natalie.
“Momma?” Matteo asked, puzzled.
“Yeah, Momma Ichika. But we were already on the plane when we found out Momma has gone to Jetroina and is taking care of the baby in her tummy, so she can’t take care of me. That’s why Vivi brought me here.”
“Yep! Convenient!” Vivian said in a straightforward manner.
It truly was convenient for her. To go to Avenport, they had to make a stop at Pollerton. When Sasha informed them that Ichika had not yet returned, they decided to just stay in Pollerton instead.
Besides, Vivian wanted to see Ian too.
To her pleasant surprise, Matteo was there as well.
Vivian was overjoyed. Despite the fact that she was already eighteen, she felt like a small child again when sandwiched between the two young men. The entire way, Vivian carried six-year-old Natalie while Kurt pushed them out of the airport on a suitcase.
Seeing the image, Matteo shook his head at Kurt disapprovingly. “At this rate, you’re going to spoil her.”
Kurt did not say a word.
After a moment of silence, the young man turned his emotionless face toward Vivian and asked, “Do you have a problem with that?”
Matteo’s mouth dropped to the ground.
This guy is really something!
The four of them made their way to where Ian was staying.
When the door of the apartment opened, Ian was dumbfounded by the sight of the four of them. He froze at the doorway and gaped at them in disbelief, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.
It was only after Susan heard the commotion did she walk over.
“My gosh! Matteo, Vivi, and Kurt? What are all of you doing here? Why didn’t you give us a heads-up? I didn’t prepare anything for you guys.” Upon seeing the four of them, Susan was taken aback as well.
“You don’t have to prepare anything for us, Aunt Susan. We’re all family. There’s no need to be so courteous.”
Vivian waved her hand dismissively before waltzing into the apartment as if it were her own.
Kurt followed from behind.
It didn’t take him long to notice a weight dragging him down. Lowering his gaze, he saw a child hugging his leg and staring at him with puppy eyes and a pout on her face.
“Kurt, why didn’t anyone welcome me? Do they not like me?”
Her pitiful voice melted everyone’s heart instantly.
Kurt stared at the girl quietly.
Just as he was about to explain, a huge silhouette appeared beside him. Seeing that Natalie had her arms wrapped around someone’s legs again, he bent down and picked her up.
“Aunt Susan, come here. Let me introduce you to the kid Vivian and Kurt picked up from the roadside along the way.” Matteo grinned.
“Huh?”
“Matt, what are you talking about? She’s—”
All of a sudden, Natalie burst into tears.
Giant teardrops escaped her pair of lovely eyes and rolled down her smooth cheeks, dropping onto the ground with a splat. She flailed her arms and looked aggrieved.
Susan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
She quickly went over to Matteo and carried Natalie into her arms, not forgetting to scold Matteo. “Matteo, you went too far. She’s just a child. You startled her.”
“Heh, I was just kidding…” Matteo chuckled awkwardly.
“You are as thoughtless as I am.” Timothy eyed Matteo.
Timothy’s words managed to shut Matteo up.
Ian stood at the side and eyed the situation in silence as well.
After a long while of comforting and coaxing, Natalie finally stopped crying. Once she had calmed down, she trotted over to Ian, who posed the least danger.
“Do you like me, Ian?”
The adorable little girl ran into Ian’s room. Seeing that he was working, she went over and rested her head on his desk. She then looked at him with her head tilted.
Ian glanced at the little girl.
She truly resembled her mother. Even though her facial features were still of a child, one could tell she was a real belle.
“Go play outside.” Ian did not answer her question but shooed her away casually instead.
Natalie did not budge.
She kept staring at Ian while maintaining her position, mesmerized by his clean features. Out of the blue, a drop of clear liquid dripped from her pink small mouth and onto Ian’s desk.
Splat!
Ian was dumbfounded.
