“Xiao Chen, this beautiful aunt is your mother.” Pei Xiuyuan introduced her to his son.
Pei Zichen was shocked. Unexpected things did happen in this world!
“Manman, this is my son, Pei Zichen.” Pei Xiuyuan continued to introduce his son.
Lun Man was speechless.
She did not know what to say. She wanted to force a smile. But, he had a son and it meant that she would become a stepmother. It was too sudden and thus, she could not accept it. She did not know how else to face that fact.
The two of them remained quiet after Pei Xiuyuan’s introduction. He could understand them. It was too sudden for them. She had a stepson while his son had a stepmother.
“Let’s go out and eat together.” He believed that Lu Man had no mood to cook now.
Lu Man wanted to say something more.
“I don’t want to eat with her. I don’t like her! I don’t want her to be my stepmother!” His aunt had told him that his stepmother was a wicked woman. She had even made his father dislike his aunt. She would surely make his father hate him one day. If they had their own kids, he would be forgotten.
He did not want that! Surely!
He was angry at himself for admiring her. He even thought that she could be his stepmother one day! He had treated her as his own kind. Now, she had become his enemy all of a sudden. It was frustrating!
He felt that he was betrayed!
Pei Zichen heard that his father was recently married even before he came back. He overheard the conversation between his great grandmother and someone else. He became nervous. He did not want his father to find a stepmother for him even if he could not locate where his real mother was. Even if there was a stepmother, they needed his approval too!
Since then, he was considering the possibility that the stepmother his father had chosen was not favorable to him. So, he had started to choose the right stepmother for himself. He found that Lu Man was quite adorable and appealing among all the women he had met. He had even asked his steward to investigate Lu Man when he heard from his aunt that his stepmother was not a nice woman. He was even excited to meet her there just now. He could even introduce her to his father and he wished that they could fall in love with each other.
But…
He was indeed sad and angry at the same time!
The hostility he showed her saddened Lu Man.
She could understand him. No child could accept the sudden appearance of a stepmother. Every kid naturally had an assumption that every stepmother was wicked.
They should never suddenly force so much pressure and anxiety onto a child. That was his father’s fault.
Lu Man stared at Pei Xiuyuan. How did he act as his father?
Pei Xiuyuan laughed bitterly. Could he explain that all of it was beyond his control?
But, it was still his fault. He had to admit that.
Pei Zichen became much furious when Lu Man and Pei Xiuyuan ignored him. He hugged his father’s neck. “Dad, I don’t want her! I just don’t want to!”
“Pei Zichen.” Pei Xiuyuan turned to look at his son.
“Dad…” Pei Zichen sounded so sad and pitiful.
“I know that it’s difficult for you to accept the truth all of a sudden. But, the fact is such. You have to accept it no matter whether you’re willing or not.”
Lu Man’s lips twitched. His son would hate him more if he continued to act so harshly toward his son. Was he unaware of the fact that one would become more rebellious if they were harshly oppressed?
“Dad, don’t you love me anymore?” Pei Zichen’s eyes became watery. He appeared quite pitiful and sad. He seemed quite adorable that way.
Lu Man’s heart softened at that. She wanted so badly to use the whole wide world in exchange for his smile.
“We love you dearly. Didn’t you always want a mother?” Pei Xiuyuan went on numerous arranged marriage proposals for his son before. His son yearned for a mother. He reasoned that his son did need a mother growing up. That was why he wanted to get married.
Although marrying Lu Man was an accident, marriage was what he had planned at first. He mentioned that before his grandmother and Zichen left. So, it was not so big a surprise to them even if he was married now.
“But, I don’t want this mother!” Pei Zichen’s voice became shaky.
“Why don’t you want her?”
“She’s not good. She’s a bad woman!” Pei Zichen replied angrily.
Pei Xiuyuan frowned. “Who told you that she’s a bad woman? How did you know that she’s bad when you only met her for the first time?”
“It’s because…” Pei Zichen nearly blurted out the truth. But, he stopped himself in time.
“What is it?”
“She approached me purposely before when we were at the restaurant. She even showed her affection for me. She has done it on purpose!” Suddenly, Pei Zichen remembered what happened and he felt that she must have done that on purpose.
Pei Xiuyuan was amused. “She doesn’t even know that I have a son. How could she approach you intentionally?”
“Dad, you don’t know that women love to pretend very much. She might even know about that even before she married you. She just pretends to be ignorant about all of it.” Pei Zichen stared at Lu Man. He felt that what he said was indeed possible. He felt that Lu Man was really that kind of woman.
Both Pei Xiuyuan and Lu Man were speechless.
They learned that kids nowadays were quite mature. Their thinking was different. Now, they had seen a concrete example in front of them. They wondered what other mischievous thoughts he had in store in his little head.
“Dad, there are a lot of good women in this world. Let’s forget about her.” Pei Zichen continued to plead with him.
Pei Xiuyuan’s lips twitched. “She’s your mother now.”
“I don’t want her!” Pei Zichen was a spoiled child. He was indeed reckless too.
“Son, you will soon learn that your new mother is a good mother.” Pei Xiuyuan did not force him to accept Lu Man all of a sudden. His son would surely adore Manman in the future,
“I just don’t want to…” Pei Zichen wanted to say something more. But, he swallowed it when his father stared at him like that.
Pei Xiuyuan was rarely by his son’s side.
However, Pei Zichen adored his father. He yearned for his love and companion. But, his father was always busy. He was rarely with him. Hence, he was scared of infuriating his father. He was afraid that he might not be with him anymore if his father was angry at him.
“There, there. Try to spend some time with your new mother. You’ll soon find out that she’s a good mother. Didn’t you always yearn for a mother?” Pei Xiuyuan softened his voice to coax him.
“I want a real mother. My biological mother…” Pei Zichen’s voice became shaky. It was a pitiful sight.
He had always claimed that he wanted a mother. He wanted his father to go and look for his real mother. He did not want a stepmother.
Pei Xiuyuan’s eyes darkened.
Lu Man looked at Pei Xiuyuan. Who was Pei Zichen’s biological mother? Why were they separated? Was she the woman whom Pei Xiuyuan deeply loved before?
Seven years ago…
It matched the age of his son.
Pei Xiuyuan recovered himself. “Are you hungry? Let’s go and eat together.”
Pei Zichen was a smart kid. He knew that his father would never leave Lu Man if he were the only one against her. His father would hate him surely if he continued to throw a tantrum in front of him.
But, he seemed quite reluctant to do so even if he knew the truth.