Chapter 115: Currying Favor

"Jean, Jean."

Jean Vance was looking down at his book when he suddenly heard a young, familiar voice. He ignored it and kept reading.

Felix Ford ran over and plopped down beside him. "Jean, why are you ignoring me? Didn’t you hear me?"

Jean didn’t say anything, just shifted his body away a little.

’Alright, his attitude is pretty clear. He heard me, he just doesn’t want to talk to me.’

Felix pouted. He remembered that Jean never liked him anyway, so this was nothing new. Recalling his plan, he clenched his little fists. ’No, I have to make him like me. Otherwise, what if he doesn’t let me see Mom anymore?’

At this thought, a smile reappeared on his face. He rummaged through his backpack and finally pulled out a big, red apple. After wiping it with his small hand, he held it out with both hands. "Jean, this is for you. It’s really good, sweet and juicy."

Jean had only turned slightly, not completely away. He saw the movement from the corner of his eye, and also saw him wipe the apple a couple of times with his hand. ’It probably hasn’t been washed,’ he thought with a hint of disgust. His voice was faint as he said, "I don’t want it."

"Come on, eat it. It’s really good."

Jean ignored him.

Felix felt a little defeated but wasn’t ready to give up. He remembered something else and pulled another item from his backpack, hiding it behind his back. In a childish voice, he asked, "Guess what’s in my hand?"

’Childish.’

’Who wants to play this ’I hide, you guess’ game with him?’ Jean thought scornfully, turning away even more. This time, his back was completely to him.

Felix wasn’t discouraged. He circled around to face him and brought his hand out from behind his back. "Ta-da—"

He dangled the object in front of Jean’s eyes, his voice laced with temptation. "Jean, want a bite? It’s really sweet, you know. Super yummy."

Jean hadn’t wanted to pay him any mind, but his eyes unconsciously followed the lollipop in Felix’s hand. A moment later, realizing what he was doing, he forced himself to look away. He looked up at Felix, his brow furrowed. "What are you doing? Are you a baby or something?"

Felix didn’t mind. He was a kindergartener, after all. There was no shame in being a little childish.

He stopped teasing him and stuffed the candy into his hand. "I’m not doing anything. I just wanted to give you some candy."

With that, he pulled out another one from his backpack, skillfully unwrapped it, licked it, and let out a contented sigh. "Sooo yummy."

Jean’s throat bobbed.

Noticing this, Felix chuckled inwardly. He knew Jean was too proud to admit it, so he didn’t call him out. "Why aren’t you eating yours? Let me open it for you."

He then unwrapped the lollipop for him and held it to his lips. "Just try it. It’s really, really good."

Jean paused, then said, "You’re forcing me to eat this."

"Yup, yup, I’m forcing you. Just do me a favor and eat it."

Only after hearing this did Jean open his mouth. A sweet flavor instantly flooded his taste buds. His usually cool eyes couldn’t help but narrow slightly in pleasure before quickly opening again, his face betraying no emotion.

But Felix had already seen right through him.

He hadn’t expected that the aloof Jean actually liked candy. Not only did he like to eat it, he also collected the wrappers. Felix had accidentally found a small box in his room filled with all sorts of beautiful candy wrappers.

’Anyone who collects so many wrappers must love candy,’ he had guessed. So he decided to test his theory, and it turned out to be true.

This side of Jean made him seem more real and approachable. He wasn’t like before, when Felix was almost too scared to get close, feeling like he was looking at his own dad.

Dad definitely didn’t like candy.

Having found a difference between them, Felix secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His tone became a little lighter as he spoke to Jean. "It’s good, right?"

"It’s okay."

’So stubborn.’

Felix didn’t call him out on it. The two ate their candy in silence. When Jean was finished, Felix finally said, "Mom said that after she finds the Jade Pendant, she’ll stay in the country."

Jean froze. He whipped his head around to look at Felix, his gaze suddenly turning ice-cold. "What did you say?"

’Since he already knows Mom is looking for the Jade Pendant, he can’t be lying.’

’But why would Mom suddenly change her mind?’

"What did you do?" Jean stared at him, his eyes dark.

Felix froze for a second. He instinctively wanted to back away but forced himself to stand his ground and repeat what he’d said. Finally, he added, "Jean, you said it yourself—Mom likes me. If we could be together, wouldn’t she be happy?"

Jean didn’t speak, but anger surfaced on his small face.

Looking at the lollipop stick, all that was left of the candy, he sneered, "You didn’t actually think that just because I ate your candy, I’d agree to you being with us, did you?"

Felix was silent. He hadn’t thought it would be that simple, nor did he believe one piece of candy would be enough to make Jean share their mother. But his future methods would probably be quite similar.

Seeing this, Jean grew even angrier. He shot to his feet. "This candy—I’ll pay you back for it."

With that, he turned and walked away.

’I underestimated Felix’s influence on Mom.’

He didn’t dare ask who was more important in their mother’s heart, him or Felix. He couldn’t bear to force her to choose between them.

This was one of the reasons he had agreed to let Felix tag along with their mother.

At least she had spent some time with her other son.

Felix followed him. Seeing that he was almost at the classroom door, he suddenly sprinted forward and grabbed his sleeve, whispering, "Jean, I just want a mom."

His voice was filled with sorrow.

Jean turned his head slightly and saw the sadness and pleading on Felix’s face.

He paused, then forced himself to look away, pressing his lips together without a word.

Felix continued, "I know you don’t want to see Dad. I promise you, I swear." He held up three small fingers, his little face full of seriousness. "I swear, I will never tell Dad about Mom, and I won’t try to get them back together. I just want Mom. Is that okay?"

’How is that possible?’

’As long as we’re in the same country, they’ll find out about us eventually.’

’Besides, that man is getting more and more entangled with Mom.’

Thinking of the lawyer’s letter he had seen before, Jean felt conflicted. He was grateful for the man’s help, but he also resented that all of his mother’s pain stemmed from the hurt he had caused her.

"Jean." Felix gently tugged on the corner of his shirt, pleading. Wiping his eyes, he said sadly, "You’ve been in my shoes, so you must know. The other kids don’t want to play with me because I don’t have a mom. Now I have a mom. I don’t expect her to acknowledge me. Even if she just treats me like you, I’d be happy just to spend one more second with her."

The so-called "most popular kid at Sunshine Kindergarten" was just a lie he told himself.

He was different from them. He’d known that for a long time.

Jean looked at him. His lips twitched, and he said softly, "You don’t have to care what those people say."

Seeing Felix looking at him with teary eyes, Jean’s fingers twitched. He said, somewhat reluctantly, "Let’s wait until Mom finds the Jade Pendant first."

Felix secretly made a ’V’ sign in his mind. He blinked, suppressing a triumphant smile, and said with great emotion, "Jean, thank you. Don’t worry, you’re the one who’s been with Mom for five years. You’ll always be her favorite child."

Hearing this, Jean felt a little more at ease.

Secretly studying his expression, Felix was even happier. ’Sure enough,’ he thought, ’Jean is just a big softie with a tough exterior.’

Just as he was thinking this, a phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Samuel Ford.

He showed the screen to Jean, who nodded without a word.

Felix answered. "Hello..."

A moment later, his expression changed drastically. "What?! Okay, I get it."

After hanging up, he explained the situation to Jean. "Dad is taking me to the hospital to see Grandpa. Mom is there too. Jean, what do we do?"

Hearing this, Jean’s expression also changed, but he quickly calmed down. "Don’t panic. You go this time."