Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: She Has a New Son, So She No Longer Wants Him

Downstairs.

As soon as Huo Linwinter stepped out of the hotel carrying Huo Xiaobei, the cold wind roused the boy. He reached up and felt his head.
“Hey, where did this hat come from?”
He looked at Huo Linwinter. “Daddy, you’re wearing one too.”
Huo Linwinter replied, “Ye Sheng gave them to us.”
“So warm. Did she knit it herself?”
“Yes.”
“Shengsheng is so skillful, isn’t she?”
“Mm.”
Huo Xiaobei’s eyes, round and bright, darted mischievously. “Then you should date her. I like Shengsheng.”
Huo Linwinter glanced at him. “Don’t be silly.”
Huo Xiaobei thought: I’m not being silly at all.

Huo Cong was sulking in the car when he spotted Huo Xiaobei coming his way. The hat on the boy’s head looked so much like… her handiwork.
He lowered the window. “Hey—”
As Huo Linwinter was about to help Huo Xiaobei into the car, the boy heard someone call him. He turned his head. “Oh, it’s you, troublemaker.”
“You’re the troublemaker!” Huo Cong retorted, pouting. “Where did you get your hat?”
“Shengsheng knitted it for me,” Huo Xiaobei said happily. “Nice, isn’t it?”
Huo Cong snorted. “What’s there to show off? I have tons at home!”

He had never worn any of them, though. He wanted to, but his grandmother and aunt always said they looked ugly, old-fashioned, and he was scared other kids would laugh at him.
Everyone else wore branded hats, but she never bought him one. She was so stingy, not nearly as generous as Aunt Minshu.
But the hat looked good on Huo Xiaobei.
Not old-fashioned at all.

“You still haven’t told me your name,” Huo Xiaobei said, settling into his car seat and continuing the conversation with the troublemaker.
Huo Cong hesitated, but answered, “Huo Cong.”
“Which Cong, as in clever?”
“Yes.”
Huo Xiaobei tilted his head, solemn. “But you don’t really look that clever.”
“…hmph!” Huo Cong huffed, raising the window. He couldn’t talk anymore!

Huo Xiaobei stared in confusion. “Why won’t he talk to me?”
Huo Linwinter started the car. “You can be a bit provoking.”
“Am I provoking?” Huo Xiaobei looked innocent.

Huo Linwinter knew the boy was likely Ye Sheng’s son with her ex-husband. He resembled his mother, but had a temper.
“Huo Cong—” Huo Xiaobei shouted toward the other car’s window.
Huo Cong, still displeased, lowered his window again. “What?”
“I’ll give you some candy.” Huo Xiaobei tossed a lollipop inside. “Apple flavor, it’s really good!”
Huo Cong replied haughtily, “I don’t like apple flavor.”

“What flavor do you like? Next time I’ll bring it for you!”
“My dad doesn’t let me eat candy.”
“My dad doesn’t let me, either. We can sneak a little—no big deal.”

Huo Linwinter started the car but didn’t hurry to leave, letting the two boys chat a bit longer.
His son had always moved between different research bases with him, rarely interacting with other children his age.
Now, at six, it was time for him to attend school like any normal child.

Huo Cong watched Huo Xiaobei drive away, his gaze melancholy.
He seldom chatted with other kids like this; sometimes children visited his home, but he never played well with them. They always mocked him for not having a mother, saying he would soon have a stepmom!
Why didn’t she want him anymore? Was it because she had a new son now, found him less lovable, too disobedient?
She always made him take medicine, controlled everything, forbade him from eating this or that—unlike Aunt Minshu, who always gave him whatever he wanted.

Hmph, grandma and aunt were right. She was a selfish woman!
Absolutely!

Huo Cong threw the lollipop to the floor, stomping it to pieces, eyes reddening.
She wouldn’t let him eat candy, but gave it to her new son.
How could she treat him like this?