Chapter 163: Idiot, You’ve Been Exposed

「At school.」

The weather was nice today, sunny and bright. Their teacher took them outside to enjoy the sun during second period.

Felix Ford packed up his snacks, slung his backpack on, and went to find Jean Vance.

Unsurprisingly, Jean was sitting in a corner reading a book again, looking a little out of place among the other kids who were only interested in playing around.

"Jean!" Felix plopped down beside him and leaned over to glance at the book in his hands. ’Oh, I don’t get it.’

He tilted his head and asked, "Jean, want some fruit?"

Jean Vance shifted away slightly, his tone cold. "No."

Felix wasn’t bothered; he was already used to it. ’Besides,’ he thought, ’Dad is a million times colder than him. I’m not scared.’ His little hands fumbled with his backpack, his head nearly buried inside as he rummaged around for a long time before finally finding the oranges.

One of them was already squashed. ’What a shame.’

He took out the other one, which was perfectly intact, and started to peel it. ’Once I peel it for him, he won’t be able to say no.’

Jean didn’t pay any mind at first, but then he suddenly smelled something. His expression changed, and he leaped to the side, putting two meters between them.

Seeing such a strong reaction, Felix jumped in surprise. "What’s wrong?"

Jean stared intently at the orange in his hand and asked, "Have you eaten oranges in front of Mom before?"

"Yeah, I have." Felix was confused. "I even picked these oranges out myself. Mom said they were super sweet!"

He sounded a little proud as he said this.

’I’m an expert at picking oranges. I’m the best!’

Just as he was about to say more, he noticed Jean’s expression was awful. He walked over, puzzled. "What’s wrong with you?"

Seeing him approach, Jean took two steps back and held up a hand to stop him. He took a deep breath and said, "You idiot, you blew our cover!"

’It’s my fault,’ Jean thought. ’I figured since Mom never buys oranges, I didn’t need to tell him I’m allergic to them. I forgot that even if Mom doesn’t buy them, Felix would.’

"Huh?" Felix obviously hadn’t caught on yet. "Why?"

’I didn’t do anything.’

"I’m allergic to oranges, you idiot!"

Being called an idiot again, Felix pouted, a little unhappy. "Well, you blew your cover in front of Dad, didn’t you? Way before I did."

He muttered, ’And I haven’t even called you an idiot.’

After a moment of panic, he suddenly wasn’t scared anymore. In fact, he was a little happy. He couldn’t help but say, "Mom knows I’m not you, but she’s still really nice to me. No, that’s not right—she’s even nicer than before. She hugs me to sleep on her own and tells me stories."

He remembered now. It was the day they bought the oranges that Mom said she wanted to sleep with him.

She said she was scared of thunder, but there wasn’t any thunder at all that day.

He looked up and said, "Jean, Mom likes me."

Not the kind of like where she thinks he’s Jean. She likes him. She likes Felix Ford.

At that thought, the corners of his mouth turned up into a grin that reached his ears.

Watching him look so happy, Jean couldn’t quite share the feeling.

’Of course Mom would like him,’ Jean thought. ’Mom always remembered him. Every time she made clothes, she made two sets. She never said anything, but I knew the other set was for the little brother I’d never met.’

’After we came back to the country, even if Mom mistook Felix for me, she must have felt something. She would instinctively and subconsciously be good to him.’

’That’s the unbreakable bond of blood between a mother and son.’

"After Mom found out, how did she react?" he asked.

Felix nodded emphatically. "She did."

"What was it?"

"She’s super, super nice to me! Way, way nicer than before!"

’Who asked to hear that?’

Jean took a deep breath. "I was asking if Mom asked about that man."

"You mean Dad?" Felix thought for a moment. "Actually, no, she didn’t."

It was fine before Jean brought it up, but now that he asked, Felix realized something was off. "Why didn’t Mom ask about Dad?"

’I knew it would be like this.’

Jean let out a sarcastic laugh. "He’s just a stranger. Why would she care? They have no relationship. And that man has never asked about my mom either, has he? It’s all the same."

Hearing this, Felix opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

’Looks like it’s really impossible for Mom and Dad to get back together.’

He felt a little disappointed, but at least Mom didn’t hate him after finding out he wasn’t Jean. The heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart for so long was finally lifted.

He was about to speak when Jean’s phone pinged. Jean looked down at it, and his face changed drastically, turning even uglier than when he had learned that their mom was being nice to Felix.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, leaning in.

Jean’s little face was dark. "Mom’s being bullied."

"What?" Felix’s expression changed too. "Who dares to bully Mom? Come on, I’m going to teach them a lesson."

With that, he grabbed Jean and started pulling him toward the school gate.

Seeing how protective he was of their mom, Jean’s expression softened a little. He reached out and stopped him. "Idiot, how are we supposed to get out through the main gate right now?"

"Then what do we do? We can’t just let Mom get bullied by herself."

"What’s the rush? I never said we weren’t going. Follow me."

He led Felix, avoiding the security cameras, and they slipped out through a small side gate. The two brothers flagged down a taxi outside. "To Central Hospital."

The driver saw they were just two little kids and asked in surprise, "Hey, little guys, is it just the two of you? Where are your parents?"

Jean glanced at him and said coolly, "Our mom and dad are waiting for us at the hospital."

As he spoke, he sent a voice message. "Mom, we’re in the taxi. The license plate is XXX. We’ll be there in half an hour."

’He’s pretty cautious,’ the driver thought.

The driver wasn’t offended. He wasn’t a bad guy, so what was there to be afraid of? He even praised him, "Good job, kid. You have to be extra careful when you’re out and about."

Hearing that, the two boys breathed a sigh of relief.

Felix, the smoother talker of the two, took an orange from his backpack and offered it to the driver. "Mister, can you please drive a little faster? We’re in a hurry."

The two kids were so adorable and well-behaved. The driver chuckled. "Alright, you got it. Sit tight and buckle up. I’ll get you there as fast as I can."

"Okay, thank you, Mister," Felix said, giving him a sweet smile.

Jean pursed his lips and said nothing. He just thought about how, when Felix was pretending to be him, he must have acted all cute in front of Mom countless times. Back then, Mom didn’t even know their real identities. The thought gave him a headache.

’My reputation...’

’Oh, whatever. Mom is what’s most important.’

It wasn’t rush hour, so they reached the hospital in twenty minutes. After thanking the driver, the two of them ran inside, hand in hand.

The place was easy to find; it was right where the biggest crowd had gathered.

Although they couldn’t see the people in the middle of it all, they knew their mom had to be there.

"Mom!" Felix shouted, about to charge into the crowd, but Jean suddenly pulled him aside and clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Mmph...!" Confused, Felix’s eyes went wide as he stared at Jean.

"Shh." Jean ducked down a little and tilted his chin in a certain direction, signaling for him to look.

Felix looked in the direction he pointed, and his eyes grew even wider.

’Dad?!’