"The teacher gave them to us during the game," Xuande answered excitedly. "Because our group won first place!"
At this moment, Zhang Boxuan also squatted down, becoming the same height as Xuande. Before he could say anything, Xuande's eyes lit up with excitement upon seeing him.
"Who are you?"
Zhang Boxuan playfully adjusted Xuande's mask. "My surname is Zhang, you can call me Uncle Zhang. I'm a friend of your mother's..."
Shan'er waved her hand, interrupting his actions and self-introduction.
"Don't call him that! He's not Mom's friend."
She would not call Zhang Boxuan by his name "Xuande" to avoid causing unnecessary trouble because of the character "Xuan".
"Then what should I call him?" Xuande blinked, puzzled.
"Just call him Mr. Zhang," Shan'er replied irritably.
"Oh." Xuande nodded and greeted him politely, "Hello, Mr. Zhang."
"Good boy!" Bo Xuan patted the child's head kindly.
"Don't touch him!" Shan'er shouted emphatically. "Go wait over there for a moment, Mom has something to discuss with Mr. Zhang."
Xuande sensed that his mother was acting strangely today. Being good at reading people, he obediently went to wait on the other side of the bench.
Despite Kim Sun-ah's deliberate avoidance, Zhang Boxuan remained unperturbed and instead said to her, "You are truly the most beautiful and youngest mother in the world!"
A sneer appeared on her lips. "Yes! Next, are you going to ask where the child's father is? Did he come along?"
He smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying. "You're wrong. I won't make a fool of myself." He stared at her intently. "I know everything about you."
These words made Shan'er's heart skip a beat.
What does he... know?
"Really? Rumor has it that I'm a promiscuous woman, is that true?" To feign confidence, her tone became even sharper.
"I don't need to hearsay; you have an unearned reputation, everyone knows about you. Considering your age, you got pregnant at a very young age. Being a single mother must be very hard. That man who abandoned you is truly despicable!"
Shan'er almost burst out laughing when she heard this.
"I heard you also have a younger daughter, who has a different father than your son..." Zhang Boxuan's tone was full of concern. "I think you must really love children to have given birth to her despite the gossip. A woman raising two children alone—you're truly a great mother!"
"..." Shan'er was silent for a few seconds because of the sincerity in his tone, then she looked up. "Hmph, it's none of your business!" She waved to Xuande. "Let's go!"
Xuande kept staring at Zhang Boxuan, reluctantly saying goodbye. "Goodbye, Mr. Zhang."
"Goodbye, little guy." Zhang Boxuan smiled and waved to him.
The setting sun leaned against the clear horizon, casting a blanket of orange-hued light across the sky.
Xuande sat in the car, fiddling with the koala mask in his hand, while Shan'er remained lost in thought, her mind racing the entire way.
Heaven helped her; luckily, Xuande happened to be wearing a mask, which prevented Zhang Boxuan from seeing his son's face.
Yes, as long as she doesn't speak, Siwa doesn't speak, and Dr. Anli doesn't speak, no one will expose the truth, and this secret will accompany her to her grave.
Ever since meeting Zhang Boxuan at the art exhibition, Shan'er has been suffering from insomnia almost every night, fearing that he might suddenly appear in front of her son again.
Seven years have passed, so why am I still feeling so upset?
What's wrong with her? Is it a guilty conscience, or...?
The days flew by amidst a series of complex thoughts, and before I knew it, it was Sunday again.
Because it was the end of the month, Shan'er had been busy attending meetings and listening to performance reports from various departments for many days in a row, leaving early and returning late. She didn't even have time to rest on holidays. So, she also left for work very early that day.
All day long, Xuande kept peeking out the window. Siwa knew that the child wanted to go out and play, but the sun was too strong outside and it was not suitable to go out.
As the sun began to set and the sunlight became warmer, she said to Xuande, "Let's go! Let's go to the riverside park to fly kites, okay?"
"Great! Hooray!" Xuande rushed excitedly into the game room and found the kite.
The riverside park is lush and green, with short, green Korean-style lawns that would make anyone want to lie down and roll around on them.
Siwa stood to the side holding Xuanling, watching Xuande skip and hop to the center of the park and start flying a kite.
It was a very large Superman-shaped kite. Xuan De jogged around nearby, trying to make the kite rise slowly, patiently waiting for it to slowly fly into the wind and soar higher and higher.
Meanwhile, Zhang Boxuan had actually been wandering around the riverside park for the entire afternoon. Besides exercising to release his energy, he was also resting and recuperating under the trees, but more importantly, he wanted to avoid the blind date arranged by his parents.
At this moment, Xuande appeared in his field of vision. He did not notice Xuande at first, but when the kite fell on his head and Xuande waved and ran towards him, he was immediately stunned, because that little face looked seven or eight parts like his own!
"Mr. Zhang... what are you doing here?" Xuande stood in front of him, panting, but still greeted him with a smile.
"Who are you...?" Looking left and right, Zhang Boxuan just couldn't figure out who this child was.
"We met at the art museum that day! You and my mother talked for a long time!" Xuande quickly explained.
"Oh! You're Miss Jin's son!" Zhang Boxuan exclaimed in realization.
"Mm." Xuande nodded excitedly.
"What a coincidence, what are you doing here?" Zhang Boxuan walked closer to examine Xuande, and the more he looked, the more he felt that Xuande looked very much like himself. His clever and quick-witted appearance made him like Xuande at once.
"I was trying to fly a kite, but I couldn't get it going. It would fly for a bit and then fall down..." Xuande said, pouting.
Where is your mother?