After the Divorce, I Unlocked a Perfect Life
Chapter 157 - 123: I Don’t Believe You Men Haven’t Thought of Something Like This
Xu Lin looked at Lin Jiang with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
"Now you see what a handful he is, don’t you?"
"You should get him to watch fewer short videos."
"I usually don’t let him use a phone, but my mom and dad spoil him. I’ll have to stress it to them again—he absolutely can’t watch videos on his phone anymore."
"Mom, Uncle Lin, this has nothing to do with watching videos. It ate so much sugar, of course it’s going to get diabetes," Zhao Wenxuan insisted, sticking to his guns.
"You’re still talking back."
Zhao Wenxuan flinched and ducked behind Lin Jiang.
"Mom, you’re so old-fashioned. We’re not even on the same wavelength."
Lin Jiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Kids these days are getting harder and harder to handle.’
"How are we not on the same wavelength? Explain it to me," Xu Lin said, her hands on her hips.
From the look on her face, if Zhao Wenxuan dared to talk back again, she was ready to slap him.
Zhao Wenxuan realized his mom’s anger had reached its peak, so he stayed behind Lin Jiang.
"There’s another question. My mom and I have been arguing about it for a long time. She always sees things from her own perspective. Uncle Lin, you be the judge and tell us who’s right."
"What question? Let me see."
Zhao Wenxuan brought over another workbook.
"Please find the odd one out."
A: Dad
B: Mom
C: Grandpa
D: Grandma
After a quick look at the question, Lin Jiang spotted the answer at once. It should be D. He couldn’t quite understand why the mother and son would disagree on this.
"What did you pick?" Lin Jiang asked Zhao Wenxuan.
"C, Grandpa," Zhao Wenxuan said confidently.
"Why C?"
"Look at the Chinese characters for the other three options. Each one has a fully enclosed part. Only the characters for ’Grandpa’ are open. It’s obviously C."
Holy shit!
’What kind of bureaucratic savant is this kid?’
"Is his dad from Dongshan Province?"
"No." Xu Lin shook her head.
"That’s strange, then."
"But I am," Xu Lin said. "My family is from there. I moved to Zhonghai with my maternal grandparents when I was three."
’So that’s the source.’
"His reasoning for choosing C has a certain logic to it. What was your answer?"
"I chose B. The other three are blood relatives of the child, but the mother comes from a different family, so she’s obviously the odd one out."
Hmm...
’Xu Lin’s choice seemed perfectly valid, too. And considering her own family situation, choosing B made even more sense.’
"So you be the judge. Should it be B or C?"
"Well, actually..."
Lin Jiang paused. "I think it should be D."
"D? Why?"
"The others are people. Only D is an organ..."
An organ...
Xu Lin was so exasperated she felt like she might faint.
But then again, from an adult’s perspective, his choice did have a certain logic to it.
"There’s no way an elementary school question would be written like that."
"But it’s also unlikely for an elementary school question to be about family relationships."
"The problem is, his reasoning about ’enclosed parts’ is even more ridiculous. This isn’t the civil service exam."
They each argued their point, but for a while, they couldn’t agree on the right answer.
"Doesn’t the workbook have an answer key?"
"I was afraid he’d peek at the answers, so I tore them out and left them at home."
"No problem. I’ll ask a professional."
Lin Jiang took a picture of the question and sent it to Jiang Xiaoqi.
Lin Jiang: "Take a look at this question and tell me the answer."
Jiang Xiaoqi: "Brother Jiang, you’re terrible, asking a girl a question like this in broad daylight."
Jiang Xiaoqi: "I choose A. Blushing.jpg"
Lin Jiang: ???
’I’m asking you a real question, and this is the crap you pull?’
Lin Jiang: "Why A?"
Jiang Xiaoqi: "Because Daddy’s the best."
’Just great.’
"It’s just an elementary school question, no need to go to all this trouble. It doesn’t matter."
Lin Jiang looked at the Ultraman figure in Zhao Wenxuan’s hand.
"Is that the Ultraman I bought for you last time?"
"Yeah."
"The paint is already chipping a bit."
Lin Jiang took out his phone, pulled up his payment QR code, and pointed toward the supermarket entrance.
"They sell toys over there. Go buy yourself another Ultraman. Their 4WD race cars are pretty fun too. Go assemble one and race it against the other kids to see whose is fastest."
"Thanks, Uncle Lin!"
Zhao Wenxuan’s face lit up as he took Lin Jiang’s phone, but in the next second, he handed it back.
Xu Lin was giving him a death glare that seemed to say, ’If you dare go, I’ll break your legs.’
"Give the phone back to your Uncle Lin! How dare you spend just anyone’s money? What have I taught you?!"
"I’m sorry, Mom. I was wrong."
Zhao Wenxuan might be a bit of a rascal, but at least he had some manners.
"Uncle Lin, here you go."
"A toy doesn’t cost much. Don’t be so strict with him."
Lin Jiang didn’t take the phone back, instead patting Zhao Wenxuan’s shoulder.
"Go on, buy your toy. It’s fine."
"Mom..." Zhao Wenxuan looked at Xu Lin.
Xu Lin took 50 yuan from the cash register. "Take this and go. And give the phone back to your Uncle Lin."
"Okay!"
Zhao Wenxuan shoved the phone back into Lin Jiang’s hands, took the 50 yuan, and bolted for the toy store like a wild horse set free.
"Sister Lin, it’s not too safe for Xuanxuan to go alone. I’ll go keep an eye on him."
The female employee, being very perceptive, excused herself and left the two of them alone in the store.
"You just keep spoiling him."
"He’s just a kid. It’s no big deal."
With the third wheel gone, the two of them sat side by side, chatting idly.
"It must be tough, raising a child all on your own, right?"
"It can’t be helped. But when I got divorced, I had already prepared myself for these challenges. It’s manageable for me."
Xu Lin’s attitude was very composed; she didn’t seem to let these things weigh on her.
"What about your future plans? Just going to keep running back and forth between the two stores?"
’Besides the NPC Development Fund, I also have a dedicated investment fund. Guess I’ll have to cultivate her in other ways, too.’