"Xiaotang," Gan Yuan steadied his arm, "tell me, what exactly did he say to you? Tell me everything."
The little guy thought for a moment and then recounted the encounter with Moses in detail.
"In the end, I gave him one US dollar, and then he disappeared."
Gan Yuan raised her eyebrows, "One US dollar?"
"Yeah," the little guy said with an embarrassed smile, "that’s all I had on me."
Gan Yuan gave him a comforting smile, "Handsome boy, Mommy didn’t mean that. I’m just a bit curious... he... he took it away?"
"Yeah!" the little guy nodded, "I put the money on the ground, and when I turned back around, the money was gone. I’m sure he took it. Mommy, was he lying?"
Gan Yuan lifted her hand to gently stroke the little guy’s soft, short hair, hesitating for a moment before gently shaking her head.
"No, he wasn’t lying."
She had kept Huangfu Jue’s matter from him for five whole years, and now that she thought about it, she was still unable to judge whether she had been right or wrong at the time.
Since Moses had already appeared, this time, she didn’t want to lie to her son anymore.
The little guy looked up in disbelief, "Is he really my uncle?"
"In fact..." Gan Yuan took the cup from Xiaotang’s hands and held his little palm in hers, "Moses isn’t Mommy’s biological brother, but he’s been very good to me, better than a real brother would have been."
Gan Tang nodded his head in confusion.
"Why hasn’t he appeared before?"
"That’s because Moses and I, we haven’t been in contact for a very long time, and only recently met again."
"Did he do something to make you angry?" Gan Tang asked.
Gan Yuan shook her head.
In fact, he never had.
That man had always doted on her like a real brother, protected her, and never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do—it was her who had betrayed him!
"Then why haven’t you been in touch?"
"It’s complicated," Gan Yuan said with a smile as she touched her son’s small face, "someday, Mommy will explain it to you..."
The little guy pouted, "Is it going to be when I’m grown up again? Sigh... I really want to grow up quickly."
Gan Yuan smiled as she stroked his small face, unaware that as people grow older, life becomes more complicated, and that his age was actually the most beautiful time.
When she was small, she was like him, eager to grow up, and it was only when she actually did that she realized there was no turning back in life.
"No rush!" As she helped the little guy adjust his blanket, Gan Yuan affectionately kissed his forehead, "Enjoy your time now, because when you grow up, you’ll understand how precious these days are."
"Then..." the little guy looked at her with questioning eyes, "if he asks me next time, should I tell him about Daddy?"
Gan Yuan shook her head, "No."
"So, I have to lie to him?"
"I’ve said that sometimes, it’s okay to lie."
"But Mommy said it’s okay to lie to bad people, and Uncle Moses doesn’t seem like a bad person."
Gan Yuan felt a little helpless, good and bad were never so clear-cut.
Moses must have been asking these questions because he wanted to know the truth; the time wasn’t right, and she couldn’t be sure what he would do if he found out this child was Huangfu Jue’s child.
That man was always unpredictable, and even she couldn’t fathom what he was thinking right now; she couldn’t risk the safety of Huangfu Jue and Gan Tang.
She placed her hands on the little guy’s shoulders, and Gan Yuan spoke with a serious and deep tone.