Her eyes suddenly sharpened as she never anticipated that she would be startled by the innocence of a child. She swept a side glance to Anthon, but she saw danger in the way he shifted his gaze from her and her son. She suddenly ridiculed herself for thinking that way. There was certainly no way he would know: only her, not even her family.
She pretended to be calm and composed. With an amused look, she chuckled and pulled her son close to her chest.
"What are you saying? Do you want to add him as one of your daddies? You already have plenty of them. Daddy Joseph, Daddy Paul, etc."
Those names never existed, and Jian got confused. There was only one daddy he knew, and it was daddy Jim. Were there many daddies he still has to meet? His mom did not sound convincing at all.
"But mom, his eyes are like mine. You said daddy's eyes are like mine, that his brows are as thick as mine." Jian shrugged his shoulders, then reached his right hand out and traced Anthon's eyes.
Would you mind if I call you daddy Anthon, please?" He folded his hands together as if he was expecting rejection.
Anthon looked so pleased, and his gaze softened right away.
"How can I say no to a child as cute as me?"
He then picked the boy up and hugged him tightly. Jia looked at Anthon. And she saw that there was a sense of longing in the way he held him. What happened to his child?
A lump suddenly formed in her throat, and she found herself having difficulty in holding back a tear. If only she were able to raise him with his birth father!
She subconsciously met Anthon's eyes. It held a dark and meaningful message. It could strip up her pretense in a moment if she did not harden her defenses.
"Go eat your cheesecake. You may as well borrow my phone and watch your videos."
The little creature quickly bounced his way to another table with a big grin on his face, grabbing her phone away. Little did he knew that he almost caused her mother a disaster. The shop attendant then came over to transfer the set of cake and drinks to his table.
"Are you hiding something?" His statement startled her, but she was also as quick as a bolt of lightning in regaining her composure. After all, it's something she mastered for a lifetime. Somehow, a sense of bitterness crept in, but she managed to conceal it with a smile.
"Stop being so serious. How are you?"
"Answer me."
"That has nothing to do with you. After all, we each have our own piece of darkness and poignant memories, and I'm sure you have your own slice to share."
He stared at her but did not say a single word. His eyes spoke no satisfaction in the answer he got. There was, instead, a sense of suspicion. She knew it was something he would do all the measures to find out soon. After all, she had doubts that she left him something to wonder when she left Blue Whale Mountain Resort.
Then, the child bounced his way back to the table.
"Daddy Anthon, is your son named Jian, too.?"
Anthon smiled. His name must be Jian.
"Yes, baby. His name is Jian," said Anthon as he stole a glance at Jia.
"Really, dad? Is he also five years old like me? " Jian's eyes widened in amazement. The child's mention of the word 'dad' pricked his heart a thousand times.
It was something so sweet, warming his heart.
"He is exactly five years old," replied Anthon, and his eyes blurred with unshed tears.
"How does he look like? " Jian persisted. He was at the age where a child makes endless questions.
Anthon took a deep breath, hoping that doing such would push his tears back to his lacrimal ducts. He stood up and picked Jian up. Then, he placed him in his lap. Glancing over at Jia, he pulled out his phone. He pressed the camera icon and shifted it into a front view. Soon, the camera reflected Jian's face.
"That's how my son looks."
Jia's heart stopped. He did not say, "looks like"...
Jian giggled. "Really, dad? Then, how does his mom look."
Jia was almost tempted to drag him by his collar and flee from his presence.
"Jian, stop it."
But, Anthon and Jian seemed to have not heard her. Anthon pressed an icon in the camera, held it before her, then pressed the button.
Anthon, then, showed his captured photo to Jian. "That's how his mom looks."
Jian giggled again. "That's mom. Is it possible?"
"It is the truth," he said, giving Jia a meaningful glance.
Jia was no longer amused.
"Jian, would you still like to borrow my phone?" Jia said, giving him a threatening look. He knew that his unlimited chance to play the phone would not extend to the comfort of their home.
"Okay! " he conceded, then grabbed Jia's phone back and returned to his table.