“In a while, Shuang’er will have to go back to her room to sleep too, how will you stay alone?”
“…” Yin Huaiyu pressed his lips together for a moment, then stood up and said, “I’ll go to the study for a while.”
Yin Shixiu put his hand on Yin Huaiyu’s shoulder, pressing him down onto the chair. Yin Shixiu sat in the same chair that Su Xiaomeng had just occupied, leaning back against the seat, looking at Yin Huaiyu who seemed as if he wanted to bury his head into the ground, and said,
“Be a man, hold your head up.”
Yin Huaiyu stubbornly lifted his head, Yin Shixiu could see tears streaming down Huaiyu’s face, his eyes were terribly red.
For a moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of reluctance and heartache.
He really hadn’t seen Yin Huaiyu cry for a long time, he thought Su Xiaomeng, as a mother, indeed had some skills.
“You are a man, right? Dad is too, conversations between men shouldn’t beat around the bush. Say whatever’s on your mind, isn’t it?”
Yin Huaiyu sniffed, grabbed the tissue on the table, and wiped his tears.
“Why are you crying?”
“Mom… hit me…”
Yin Huaiyu didn’t initially plan to say anything, but in front of his father, he seemed to have this desire to be vulnerable.
Yin Shixiu came over into the room unaware that Su Xiaomeng had hit Yin Huaiyu…
“Hit me on the face… She has never hit me growing up, but she did it for Xiao Ang.” As Yin Huaiyu spoke, there was a deeper sense of resentment and hatred towards Xiao Ang in his words.
Listening to Yin Shixiu also made him feel a headache…
“What did you say that made Mom hit you?”
“I said…” At the time, Yin Huaiyu was momentarily panicked and spoke without thinking, not really treating Xiao Ang as a Little Demon. He usually maintained an indifferent attitude towards outsiders, if not for coming home and hearing Shuangshuang talk about Xiao Yan and Xiao Ang coming to their house for Christmas, he wouldn’t have said such things.
Recently, on Saturdays, he attended classes, while Xiao Meng took Shuangshuang out to play. Shuangshuang acted mysteriously and didn’t tell him, he thought it was nothing unusual, little did he know Shuangshuang had already gone out with Xiao Ang several times!
“I said… Xiao Ang is a Little Demon…”
“…”
Yin Shixiu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
In earlier days, Yin Shixiu did not possess such moral sense, kindness, empathy, or a strong sense of justice…
Only later, after being with Su Xiaomeng, her standards gradually influenced his own…
Upon hearing Yin Huaiyu say this, he could guess Su Xiaomeng’s mood when she struck out, she apparently couldn’t accept such insulting words coming from her child’s mouth.
“Do you think… you were wrong saying that?”
Yin Shixiu asked calmly.
Yin Huaiyu struggled internally, but upon meeting Yin Shixiu’s gaze, he dared not lie and nodded…
“Mom hitting you was certainly wrong, but you spoke such words first, as your mother, she definitely needed to take some actions to correct you, don’t you think?”
“…”
“She hit you now so that in the future, you won’t be hit harder by someone else for saying such unkind and insulting words.”
Yin Shixiu looked intently at Yin Huaiyu, he believed his son could understand what he was saying, even if not now, he would gradually comprehend it later.
“Dad, aren’t you afraid?”
Yin Huaiyu wiped his tears, looking at Yin Shixiu with great confusion.
Yin Shixiu was also puzzled by Yin Huaiyu’s confused expression, and followed up, “Afraid of what?”
“Xiao Ang might steal Mom away!”
Yin Huaiyu spoke while looking at Yin Shixiu, tears spilling out of his eyes, this cold, aloof little guy had been feeling a sense of unease ever since meeting Xiao Ang, which grew as Su Xiaomeng got familiar with Xiao Ang, and now with Shuangshuang also liking Xiao Ang… it sprouted.
“Xiao Ang might steal your mom away?”
Yin Shixiu thought he misheard, and repeated in question.
Yin Huaiyu nodded repeatedly.
“Huang Huang, why are you worrying about such nonsense?”
“I’m not worrying about nonsense!”
“Huang Huang, do you think your mom will abandon you, Shuangshuang, and dad, then go for another family’s child?”
To be honest, Yin Shixiu spoke with a completely jesting tone, yet it made Yin Huaiyu truly anxious.
“That little kid has such charm?”
“He has his dad too!”
Yin Huaiyu got so passionate, he inadvertently blurted out a phrase in the local dialect!
“His dad? His dad has a fiancée, he will soon marry his fiancée, it’s completely unrelated to your mom!”