Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Her son had long gotten used to her leaving for work early and only returning home late at night, though he still could not help feeling very bored staying at home all by himself.

  Because of her lack of identity and registered permanent residence, the boy could not even receive a birth certificate when he was born, let alone attend kindergarten like the other children of his age.

  Even though the village’s kindergarten was somewhat rundown, they still had a system in place; they could not allow a child without any background like Baby Chu to enroll in their school. As such, the boy could only spend his time watching TV programs at home or playing with the other village children while his mother was at work.

  The village children, however, disliked the fair-skinned boy because, despite growing up in a village, the little guy was quite the squeamish cleanfreak, much like the children from big cities. He refused to play in the mud with the rest of them and would scoff at the idea.

  The policewoman, therefore, bought comics and picture books for him to read. On days when the sun was bright, he would take a stool outside, lay out sheets of white A4 paper, and focus on drawing the images from the picture books accordingly. In just a few months, his skills had improved by leaps and bounds and his drawings started to look quite decent.

  Now that Meng Qingxue was living with them and no longer working, she would take him outdoors to play.

  As she walked along the countryroad, she would often have the thought that it would not be a bad idea to develop this scenic city into a tourist spot. Everything, from its terraces, floral fields, azure sky with white, and fluffy clouds to its lack of industrial smog and pollution, was indescribably beautiful here. Turquoise lakes and clear, unpolluted streams could be found everywhere, too.

  The woman also loved to draw when she was a child, so she would occasionally take the boy to the countryside to draw; most of their time was spent lying on the fields and gazing up at the sky, though.

  “Aunt Qingxue, what do you think of the name mommy gave me? Do you find it nice? A lot of people tell me that my name, Baby Chu, is really tacky.”


  A chuckle escaped her throat. “It’s a cute name. It means that you’re a precious baby to your mother.”


  “Then……”—the little guy flipped over, lay beside her with his chin propped in his small, chubby hands, and tilted his head curiously—”what will you name your baby once it’s born?”


  “I haven’t made up my mind Besides, I don’t know the baby’s gender yet.”


  The boy started giggling out of nowhere. “If only it’s a girl!”


  “Hm?” She asked in surprise, “Why do you say that?”


  “Mommy said that, if you give birth to a girl, she’ll become my wife.”


  The woman was tickled by his reply.

  “Do you know what ‘a wife’ is?”


  “Of course!” he proudly answered. “According to mommy, a wife is a girl who will be with me for life!”


  “Pfft!” She broke into peals of laughter. “Was that how your mother explained it to you?”


  “Yes! Was she wrong about that?”


  “Well…… she’s not wrong about it.” She could not resist stroking the boy’s little head. “I have a question for you, too: Do you know what a husband is?”


  “No……” Baby Chu shook his head. “What is it?”