Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Once she got into the dressing room, a few store clerks gathered around her excitedly and commented, “Your twins are so amusing; I’ve never seen such adorable kids! They look tender and naïve but speak like serious adults!”


  “They’re really cute! How I envy you with your twins! I’d feel so blessed if I could have a pair of angelic twins like them!”


  “Those two aren’t just adorable but also polite and obedient. What a pair of little gentry!”


  “How old is your younger boy?”


  “He’s seven years old.”


  “Seven?! He’s only seven?!”


  “He looks tall for his age!”


  The assistants look at one another with wide-eyed disbelief. One of them suddenly burst out laughing. “My boy is seven years old, too, but compared to yours”—she paused, sounding somewhat downcast and defeated—”he’s not even close.

  ”


  The actress was bemused. “Why do you say that? How can you put your son down in this way?”


  The store clerk explained with a perplexed look on her face, “It’s the truth, though! My boy is also seven years old, but he has yet to mouth a proper sentence. It’s an uphill task to make him recite a full poem or just count from one to a hundred! The last time when he finally managed to memorize the numbers up to a hundred, both my husband and I were so happy that we gave a celebratory feast! According to my mother, I couldn’t even count to ten when I was seven!”


  That really startled the young mother. She remembered how Youyou had been able to count from one to a hundred ever since he learned to talk. Compared to his peers, his IQ was admittedly outstanding. This clearly indicated the boy’s logical thinking when he was able to count to a hundred in an orderly fashion.

  At that time, even her father was floored by his grandson’s intelligence! He once told her jokingly that the boy was smarter than her when she was his age.

  The woman felt ashamed yet proud at the same time.

  The shop assistants instantly opened up at the mention of children and could not stop sharing about their kids.

  “My kid at home will clamor for doughnuts and milk tea every day! His aunt brought a cup of that drink to our place once, and he got so hooked with it after taking a sip! He used to have no problem with plain water, but now, he’ll throw tantrums unless we give him something sweet to eat! As you know, our children are looked after mainly by their grandparents nowadays, and they spoil him by buying doughnuts for him daily! Of course, I didn’t want him to touch that stuff every day and brought this up to my in-law. The old folks turned around and told me off for not taking good care of him, instead!

  I forbid him from taking that kinda sweet stuff every day because I care for him!”


  “Momo, you can’t leave a child at the hands of his grandparents! You have to spend time with your kid, or else they’re gonna spoil him rotten! If this carries on, you’ll have no authority with your kid and he’ll be too defiant for you to manage.”


  “That’s right, Momo. I was in the same plight as you. The grandparents will spoil the child eventually. Just look at my daughter! It is said that daughters are the closest to their mothers’ hearts, but my girl only listens to her grandparents. She’s in a kindergarten now and has no qualms rebutting me all the time! If she’s already so defiant at this age, what is she gonna become when she grows up?”