Chapter 67

“Okay,” replied XingXing docilely. Then he told Cheng Huan about the pretty uncle that he met today and seriously complained about how the uncle said his drawing wasn’t pretty.

Hrm. He could tell even though the uncle didn’t say it out loud.

XingXing grumbled in Cheng Huan’s arms about how the uncle has a bad sense of what is pretty. As he went on, he even wanted Cheng Huan to take his side.

“Mom, do you think green hair is pretty?”

Unlike Jiang MingYuan, Cheng Huan had already accepted her son’s peculiar taste in his standard of beauty. XingXing was very passionate about drawing and would ask Cheng Huan to critique his work every time he finished one. Over time, Cheng Huan had adopted the skill to praise his drawings no matter what.

“Fairly pretty.” Cheng Huan hadn’t seen the drawing but she could imagine what it looked like. She praised him some with her eyes closed then immediately said, “It’s getting late. Let’s go to bed.”

***

Being ascertained by his mother, XingXing felt even more righteous. When he saw Jiang MingYuan the next day, he placed his most recently completed masterpiece in front of him, his hands on his waist, and said, “My mom said that green hair is pretty!”

Jiang MingYuan, who was still baffled by why he came over again today, “……”

So, his peculiar sense of beauty came from his mother?

Holiday in November was only for the commoners. For someone like Jiang MingYuan, everyday was a workday. He was in a video conference all afternoon and was quite tired.

Normally, he’d head home, work out for a little bit, and be soaked in his jetted tub right about now and letting the warm water relax his tensed muscles.

After pausing for a little bit, he convinced himself in the least time possible.

He has only recently learned that he has a son, naturally he should spend more time visiting him.

This being the second time that they met, XingXing was more familiar with him than he was yesterday. He wasn’t drawing today but was playing with the Rubik’s cube. After he had succeeded last time, his Rubik’s cube went from the 2×2 one to a 3×3 one. It was much more difficult and he has yet to figure out how to do it.

Failures over time could hurt one’s confidence. Just like before, XingXing would get irritated after a while.

Now that there was someone with him, XingXing did not let his frustration show. He merely put the Rubik’s cube to one side and turned his head away from it.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jiang MingYuan.

XingXing ignored him and pretended that he didn’t hear him. He started humming a little tune.

It was a song he had learned in the kindergarten. Kids’ songs tend to be very catchy. After hearing it once, Jiang MingYuan couldn’t help but started humming it in his head.

He hummed for a little before he realized what he was doing and stopped himself. He purposefully thought about some work stuff before he was able to force that out of his head.

XingXing sang for a bit and, when he was no longer frustrated, picked the Rubik’s cube back up again. Before long, he tossed it aside and turned away again.

Jiang MingYuan started to get an idea from his behavior. By the third time that XingXing tossed the Rubik’s cube away, he reached out and picked it up.

The little kiddo pouted and looked at him with his cheeks puffed up. “Uncle, that’s mine.”

And a possessive one at that…

“I know it’s yours, but do you know how to do it?” Jiang MingYuan hold the cube with both hands and tempted him. “I know how to do it. Would you like me to show you?”

XingXing thought about it long and hard and finally nodded.

Much better if he was okay with it. Jiang MingYuan let out a sigh of relief inside of himself. He finally felt that he could be somewhat useful. Rubik’s cube in hand, he explained the principles to XingXing as he worked it.

He didn’t have a lot of experiences with children so the little kiddo didn’t really understand most of what he was saying. But XingXing didn’t care much about that. If he didn’t understand what Jiang MingYuan was saying, he’d just watch what he was doing. Watching as more and more sides of the cube getting turned into the same color, XingXing’s mouth dropped open wider and wider.

With one last twist, all six sides of the cube turned the same color. XingXing took the Rubik’s cube back and lamented, “Uncle, you are so awesome!”

Jiang MingYuan’s lips curved upward and, for some odd reasons, decided to ask, “Who’s more awesome, me or your dad?”

“My dad,” replied the little kiddo with no hesitation.