“Daddy, can we talk to you for a second?” Dabao asked Nan Chen.
Nan Chen was briefly surprised that Dabao actually had something to discuss.
“Of course you can.” Nan Chen agreed immediately.
“Let’s talk in the study then.”
Dabao signaled Erbao with his eyes before both of them headed to Nan Chen’s study.
At that moment, Ning Ran was stumped. Does this mean it has nothing to do with me?
Whatever. Talk all you want. I’m going to take a bath.
Inside the study, Dabao motioned Nan Chen to sit.
Puzzled, Nan Chen sat down obediently.
Dabao then got Erbao to sit. Side by side, both siblings drew their courage from each other.
“Dabao, what’s going on? Why are you being so serious?” Nan Chen asked.
“Daddy, do you not like Mommy anymore?” Dabao asked.
The question caught Nan Chen off guard, causing him to be stupefied.
“What?”
Erbao immediately repeated the question on behalf of her brother. “Do you not like Mommy anymore?”
In truth, Nan Chen heard them the first time. It was just that he didn’t know how to answer; hence, he had to pretend he didn’t hear it clearly.
Even after Erbao repeated the question, Nan Chen was still at a loss.
The reason was he didn’t know what was the children’s objective in asking the question.
“Daddy, you don’t have to feel bad. You can answer the question directly,” Dabao reassured his Dad steadily.
“There’s no such thing.” Nan Chen replied unconvincingly.
“Daddy, children aren’t allowed to lie, let alone adults,” Erbao reminded him sternly.
“I wasn’t lying. I don’t dislike your Mommy.”
Suddenly, Nan Chen felt an immense pressure weigh on him. He had experienced many stressful events such as being questioned by demanding board members and speaking at international level economic conferences. But none of them caused him to feel the same amount of pressure.
Now, facing two children inside his small study, he had never felt so stressed in his entire life.
“In that case, why won’t you marry Mommy?” Dabao continued his interrogation.
“That’s right, why won’t you marry Mommy?” Erbao copied her brother’s expression as she continued to interrogate.
“Erm… marriage is something complicated. It’s not as easy as you think,” Nan Chen deflected the question unconvincingly.
“Daddy, we know you don’t like Mommy. Therefore, I suggest that both of you should forget about it,” Dabao suggested.
“Huh?” Nan Chen was ever more shocked. What is he talking about? What does “forget it” even mean?
“If you don’t like Mommy, staying together will only mean more pain and won’t bring you happiness,” Dabao said in earnest.
“Why are you kids bringing this up for?”
Nan Chen was utterly shocked. Why did the two children pull me aside at this hour to talk about such a serious and sensitive topic?
What are they trying to pull here?
“Your relationship with Mommy affects me and Erbao. That’s why we have the right to ask,” Dabao explained sternly.
Nan Chen had no comeback as Dabao’s words made sense.
“Since you don’t like her, why don’t you break up? What’s the point in carrying on?” Dabao added.
Nan Chen was shocked at how mature Dabao’s words were. This doesn’t sound like something a child would say. Instead, it sounded as if it came out of the mouth of an adult who had been through a lot in life.
“Dabao, what’s going on? Why are you even thinking about all these?” Nan Chen was still recovering from his shock.
“Daddy, I’m being serious here.” Dabao maintained his deadpan expression.
“It’s not as how you described. You’re just kids and don’t know…”
“What don’t we know? The way adults love is no different than that of children. If one is in love, then one is. If not, then not,” Dabao rebutted.
“Fine, I know you understand,” Nan Chen relented in his reply.
Is this some kind of trick? How did I end up with two devilish children who seem to know everything?
“That’s why I suggest that you break up with Mommy. Each of you should find your own journey to happiness,” Dabao continued.
Erbao nodded vehemently. “Mmm, Dabao is right.”
Nan Chen suddenly became alert. “Did your Mommy put you up to this?”
“No, no, no. This is entirely our idea. As you can see, after speaking to you, we will then speak to Mommy,” Dabao answered quickly.
“You’re sure it’s not her idea?” Nan Chen was unconvinced.
“No, it isn’t.”
“Then why are you discussing this with me?”
“That’s because we don’t want to see you and Mommy force yourself to stay together because of us. You are both suffering and hurting each other at the same time,” Dabao clarified.
Nan Chen was speechless.
He felt that he wasn’t in control, and he couldn’t see through what their objective was.
However, he was sure that both of them definitely didn’t want him to break up with Ning Ran.
No child would ever want their Daddy and Mommy to be separated. It was just impossible for something like that to occur.
In that case, why are they talking about this? What exactly are they up to?
“What do you really want to tell me?” Nan Chen asked as he was at a loss.
“We meant what we said,” Dabao insisted with a straight face.
“We will talk about this again. Anyway, it’s late, and both of you should go to bed. I don’t dislike your Mommy. It’s just that things are complicated between adults.”
Feeling that he was losing control of the situation, Nan Chen wanted to end the topic quickly.
The all-knowing, almighty Sir Chen finally had encountered a situation where he was way over his head. And, it wasn’t easy to put him in one.
“We want to meet that pretty lady and have her give us a treat,” Dabao requested.
“Which pretty lady?” Nan Chen asked.
“The lady whom you watched the concert with.” Erbao pouted in reply. She was visibly expressing her disapproval.
“How did you know? Did Mommy tell you about it?”
“Of course not. It’s all over the internet. We saw it there,” Erbao answered.
Dabao nodded in agreement.
“That’s just a misunderstanding. Nothing is going on between us,” Nan Chen explained immediately.
“She is really pretty, and I think she’s worth considering. It’s only that we don’t know how she is, so we wanna meet her and find out,” Dabao suggested.
Nan Chen hesitated, as deep down, he could feel that the two children had ulterior motives. However, he couldn’t say for sure.
He just found it ridiculous that two five-year-old kids would have so many ideas. Furthermore, what they suggested hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“I don’t understand. Shouldn’t you be resenting her?” Nan Chen asked with his eyebrows furrowed.
“We can only decide if we like her or not after we meet her. That’s why we want her to give us a treat.”
“No, we shouldn’t easily owe anyone.” Nan Chen disagreed.
“In that case, we will treat her,” Dabao counteroffered.
“Both of you? You’re still children. How are you going to give an adult a treat? Do you even have the money?” Nan Chen asked.
“You do.” Erbao pointed out.
Fine, that’s a very good answer. Nan Chen was at a loss for words.
“Why are you doing this?” Nan Chen was still puzzled.
“No reason in particular. We just want to meet her and get to know her better. If it’s possible, we will allow her to replace Mommy to take care of us,” Dabao explained.
When Dabao said that, Nan Chen was even more sure they were up to something.
“What are you plotting?” Nan Chen looked at both of them suspiciously.
“Nothing. We’re just kids, so there’s no plot,” Erbao replied in earnest.
Nan Chen thought to himself, what kind of schemes can two five-year-old even dream up?
However, why do I have the feeling that something isn’t right?
“Let me think about it. There’s no hurry to make a decision.”
“Daddy, you don’t have to run from it. Some matters are better resolved early,” Dabao remarked just like the “experienced old man” that he was.
At that point, Nan Chen no longer knew what to do with them. Thus, he uttered, “It’s late, time for bed.”
