Yangyang didn’t hesitate before answering, “Of course I really like it! I like Uncle Lu a lot. Having another dad is great. Other kids only have one dad, but I have two. How cool is that?”
At first, when Lu Dongming tentatively asked Yangyang if he wanted a new dad, the little guy said he already had a dad and didn’t need another one. He was content with just one dad.
But now, as he’s grown a bit older and developed a father-son bond with Lu Dongming, he’s come to accept the idea of having another dad.
In fact, he feels closer to Lu Dongming, who is about to become his stepdad, than he does to his biological father.
This is mainly because the Zhou family has been causing so much trouble that they’ve almost completely eroded the little affection Yangyang had for them.
Right now, Yangyang is still young. If the Zhou family had treated him well and stopped trying to use him for their own gain, they could have built a strong bond with him.
But as Yangyang grows older, it will become much harder for them to cultivate that kind of relationship. By then, Yangyang will have his own opinions and won’t be so easily swayed.
It’s fair to say that the Zhou family’s vision is rather short-sighted.
They always think Yangyang is still young and easy to manipulate.
For example, now that Yangyang is traveling far from home, he hasn’t asked to call Zhou Honglin.
Zhou Honglin drives a rideshare car from morning till night, barely having any time to call his son. As a result, their father-son bond is growing weaker.
Zhou’s parents also rarely call Yangyang, mainly because there’s not much for Yangyang to talk about with his grandparents.
His grandpa is okay—he just reminds Yangyang to eat well, drink well, and listen to his mom.
But his grandma always steers the conversation in strange directions. After just a few sentences, she starts talking about helping his cousin, Xiao Bao, saying that Xiao Bao wants something and that Yangyang should give it to him. She says things like, “You have so many toys, just give a few to Xiao Bao. It’s no big loss for you.”
Yangyang can’t repeat everything his grandma says to his aunt, and he doesn’t fully understand a lot of it. But he can summarize the main point: his grandma always favors Xiao Bao.
His toys are his to give or keep as he pleases. He doesn’t like his grandma making decisions for him.
As for his money, it’s his own money, given to him by his mom, aunt, and uncle. His mom said she’s saving it for him to use when he goes to college, and after graduation, it could even serve as startup capital for his own business.
Even his mom hasn’t touched his money, so why should Xiao Bao get to spend it?
That’s why Yangyang doesn’t like talking to his grandma on the phone.
Whenever Grandma Zhou calls, after just a couple of sentences, Yangyang hands the phone to his aunt.
Grandma is scared of his aunt.
As soon as the phone is in his aunt’s hands, Grandma hangs up.
Hai Tong gently patted Yangyang’s head.
Zhan Yin also breathed a sigh of relief. Although it had been clear for a while that Yangyang had accepted Lu Dongming, there was still some lingering worry.
Fortunately, Yangyang hadn’t changed his mind and genuinely accepted Lu Dongming as his stepdad.
Lu Dongming treats him better than his biological father ever did.
“That’s right, Yangyang. Having two dads who love you is wonderful. Most of us only have one dad,” Zhan Yin praised Yangyang a few more times before saying, “Yangyang, it’s very late. You should go back to your room and rest. It’s cold, so get under the covers early to stay warm.”
Yangyang replied, “I still want to video call my mom. I don’t know if she has time now.”
The little guy knew his mom was very busy and often didn’t have time to video call him until late at night.
“I need to video call my mom before I can fall asleep.”
Hai Tong said, “It’s already so late. Your mom might not have time to video call you. How about this: you go back to your room and sleep now, and tomorrow morning we’ll get up early and video call your mom while she’s having breakfast, okay?”
