Zhai Hua had heard about Xiao Bao’s attitude toward Mother Tian.

  Although Zhai Hua was not jealous like Mother Tian, she still felt uncomfortable knowing that her own son preferred someone else rather than her.

  Today, Zhai Hua was even willing to try things that irked her in the past for the sake of her son. Seeing how her son liked Qiao Nan, she tried learning from Qiao Nan too. She wanted him to know that she was the one who gave birth to him. No matter what, she did not want to behave like her mother-in-law who could not do anything even after seeing that Xiao Bao preferred someone else.

  Zhai Hua had thought it through. It was rare that she had the time to return home, so acceding to her son’s request from time to time was very necessary.

  But something unexpected happened. They had been fine the previous day, but today, Xiao Bao’s words dealt a strong blow to Zhai Hua. Even though it had been harmonious between the mother and son the previous day, in Xiao Bao’s eyes, he did not think that she was gentle, only weird.

  How could this be possible?

  “Auntie?” Xiao Bao did not even need to think. “No, auntie doesn’t speak like that. Her voice doesn’t sound like that. When auntie speaks, her tone is always jovial, not like that. You’re not auntie. You’re my mom.” How could his mom be like his auntie? His mom could never become his auntie.

  \r \r \r

  With Xiao Bao repeatedly chanting this like a monk, Zhai Hua not only had a headache but also grew rather annoyed at her son. “It’s my fault as a mom. You’re only three years old, not yet four. How could you possibly understand what I meant? Fine, go find your grandma for breakfast. Mom and Dad will join you soon. Then, we’ll go to your maternal grandma’s house and Xiao Bao can play with your cousins. How’s that?”

  “Okay!” This was Xiao Bao’s ultimate goal. Upon hearing that his mom was going to wake up and was even going to bring him to his maternal grandma’s house, Xiao Bao obediently climbed down from his father’s body, put on his slippers, and ran downstairs to find his grandma for breakfast.

  “Okay, Xiao Bao’s gone. Hurry and come in.” Zhai Hua had woken up early but pretended to sleep in front of her son. Her hands secretly moved to her chest naughtily to tempt Tian Dong. “If your son comes back and makes a fuss, I won’t be able to help you. You’ll have to explain to him why we’re sleeping without any clothes.”

  Because the two of them had been entirely naked, it was inconvenient for them to get up with Xiao Bao around. They were afraid that Xiao Bao would see something. It would be especially embarrassing for Tian Dong.

  Zhai Hua was not an ordinary woman. She was a cheetah with claws.

  It was in no way easy for Tian Dong to take advantage of Zhai Hua. While Tian Dong satisfied himself physically and mentally, he also sustained many injuries all over his body. There were scratches by Zhai Hua, even bites by Zhai Hua. Those injuries looked rather pitiful.

  Tian Dong was worried that if his son were to see him in this state, he would ask if the couple had a good relationship and whether they had been fighting. Tian Dong did not know if he should give his son the correct answer and expose his son to sex education at such a young age.

  The reason why he was so ‘pathetic’ was not that he had fought with someone but, rather, because he was too ‘close’ to his wife.

  In this aspect, Tian Dong’s mindset was more westernized. He felt that there was nothing wrong with telling Xiao Bao about it. Unfortunately, Zhai Hua did not agree. She was unwilling for Tian Dong to tell her son that. With Zhai Hua stopping him, Tian Dong was not hesitant and in a dilemma about how to explain it to his son. Since there was no good way of doing it, they might as well hide under the blanket to prevent their son from finding out and asking questions.

  “What’s there that we can’t explain? Just follow what I say. We might as well tell him at a younger age. There’s nothing bad about it. If Xiao Bao learns about it earlier, he’ll be good like his father and find a good wife.” After Xiao Bao left, Tian Dong got up quickly and walked to his closet to get his clothes.

  “No way. Xiao Bao is only three years old. Even if you teach him now, he might not understand. If Xiao Bao leaks it and tells someone else about it, I’ll lose all dignity.” In terms of her dignity, Zhai Hua’s personality was rather masculine, but it did not mean that she would be flippant and negligent in everything that she did. When it came to the topic of sex, the Chinese people were rather shy, and so was Zhai Hua.

  “Dignity? You’re talking about dignity?” Tian Dong did not know whether to laugh or cry. “I think Qiao Nan has done a good job in this respect. She’s younger than you, but she is really a better mother than you are. I remember that when the three children were Xiao Bao’s age, Qiao Nan already instilled some gender awareness in them. Now that they’ve grown up, Da Bao and Er Bao know that San Bao is a lady and they take better care of her when playing. When boys play with San Bao, Da Bao and Er Bao will always stand in the way. Once, a nursery classmate wanted to kiss San Bao and the two of them started throwing tantrums. Da Bao and Er Bao immediately taught that kid a lesson.”

  Tian Dong remembered this incident especially clearly.

  At that time, Xiao Bao was still babbling and unable to speak clearly, and his teeth were still growing out. Once he heard that Da Bao and Er Bao had punched the person who had bullied San Bao, Xiao Bao immediately waved his little fist around without hesitation, expressing his wish to beat the person too.

  Only when Xiao Bao returned and mumbled it in confusion did Tian Dong learn about this incident. “Thinking about it, Xiao Bao should be a few months older than the three children were when that incident happened. Xiao Bao is in the intermediate class now. When he’s in the older class and in primary school, he’ll definitely have to learn about this, right?”

  The children were going to use separate restrooms in the future.

  Zhai Hua rolled her eyes. “I spend so little time at home. You spend much more time at home than me. How’s this? If you really think that it’ll be better to teach Xiao Bao, you do it. I only have one request. Do it when I’m not at home.”

  Nan Nan had taught it too. It could not go wrong.

  But Zhai Hua felt that Xiao Bao was her son. If Xiao Bao were to gradually recognize the difference between genders and ask an awkward question, how would she as a mother answer? Anyway, Tian Dong was a man. Educating their son on matters like that should be Tian Dong’s job.

  So there was nothing wrong with passing this task on to Tian Dong.

  “Deal.” Tian Dong agreed with a smile. He had always felt that it was always better to learn about such things earlier rather than later.

  When Tian Dong brought his whole family of five in his car to the Zhai family, his face was beaming with joy.