Chapter 164 Extra - Later
“Do you really think this is the right thing to do? I mean… Andy is still a bit too young… Maybe we should wait until he’s older before telling him…”
"Is Andy a smart enough kid? I think it's time. After all, he's part of our family, and sooner or later he'll have to face this..."
"But……"
...
During the conversation between the man and the woman, Andy woke up groggily in the bumpy back seat of the car.
He carefully moved his arm and realized that he was covered with a thick blanket, and that a plush rabbit had been stuffed into his arms at some point.
It must have been Aunt Elisa… no… now he should call her Mother Elisa, who put the rabbit in his arms while he was asleep.
The psychologist said that the plush rabbit could help children like Andy stabilize their emotions. It seems that from that time on, Alyssa's mother would always remember to put Andy's plush rabbit on him, no matter what the situation.
The car was very warm and smelled of egg and milk biscuits.
Golden sunlight streamed obliquely into the car through the windows.
Everything was so peaceful and serene, making one feel lazy.
Andy opened his eyes, but did not make a sound.
That's probably why the two people sitting in the front seat didn't notice Andy waking up.
They continued talking to themselves.
Andy quickly realized that their conversation was about him.
"But I still feel that doing this is somewhat...worrying."
The worried person was Elisa's mother.
"Hey, honey, don't worry too much. That's Lin Xi, you know how he is now... With him, there's nothing to worry about..."
The person who speaks in a rather carefree manner is Bryce's father.
“I’m not worried about Lin Xi, you know I would never worry about what he does. I’m worried about Andy. He’s smart and very special… I don’t know if… he might get into trouble…”
Alyssa lowered her voice, and with the sound of the car engine, Andy couldn't hear everything she said, but he keenly caught the word "trouble."
At that moment, Andy felt his heart suddenly tighten.
He couldn't help but let out a low gasp, which, though very faint, successfully drew the attention of Bryce and Alyssa in the front seat.
"Hey, baby, you're awake?"
Elisa immediately turned her head from the passenger seat and looked at Andy intently.
"Is the long journey tiring? How did you sleep?"
"Great, I had a wonderful dream..."
Andy bit his lip, then spoke quickly.
He hugged the plush rabbit in his arms tightly and forced a smile.
"Thank you for having Barney by my side."
He tried his best to hide his unease, but he didn't seem to be very successful—he immediately noticed the worry in Elisa's eyes.
"I will be very good..."
He said it instinctively.
Alyssa paused, seemingly guessing what Andy had overheard.
But she didn't say much, instead giving Andy a gentle smile.
"I know you are a very good child."
Elisa said.
While driving, Bryce gave Alyssa a reproachful look, as if to say, "See, I told you before, you don't need to worry about the child."
Elisa shrugged at Bryce, paused for a moment, and then spoke softly to Andy.
“…Darling, there’s something special about Uncle Linxi’s family. So, if you see anything there that makes you feel…not quite right,” Andy noticed that Alyssa seemed to be carefully choosing her words, “…you can ask me, and I’ll help you figure it out. But, no matter what happens in the end, I can assure you that whatever you see or feel, one thing is certain—Uncle Linxi is a very good person. He’s just like us, and he’ll do everything he can to keep you safe.”
"Will Uncle Lin Xi like me...?"
After hearing Elisa's assurance, Andy finally relaxed a little, but then, thinking about what he had experienced before, he couldn't help but timidly ask another question.
"Of course he'll like you, believe me, he'll be the best person you've ever met."
Bryce responded loudly from the driver's seat.
.
…But maybe he won’t like me.
Andy thought to himself.
After all... Andy was just an adopted child of Bryce and Elisa.
Moreover, he has an exceptionally troublesome and complicated past.
Before Bryce and Elisa, Andy had been a wanderer for a long time, passing through the hands of many people.
This experience made him more mature and less self-conscious than his peers.
Andy lowered his eyes, hiding all his worries deep inside.
He could feel Elisa's worried gaze lingering on him for a while, which made his heart grow heavier and heavier—perhaps his sensitivity, narrow-mindedness, and darkness had worried Elisa again.
Thinking about this, Andy couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.
While in the orphanage, he was always bullied by others because of this innate trait, especially by the orphanage's caregiver. That man disliked Andy very much because Andy was always overthinking things... and the caregiver's dislike usually meant corporal punishment or other forms of punishment.
It was because of those people that Andy knew from a very young age that people like him were not liked at all...
Indeed, his flaws caused Bryce and Elisa a great deal of trouble in the early days of adopting him.
He wasn't a perfect good kid...
Good people like Elisa and Bryce deserve a better child.
As Andy thought this, he unconsciously hugged the rabbit in his arms even tighter.
While he was lost in his anxious thoughts, Bryce had already driven to their destination—the home of the legendary Uncle Lin Xi.
This is a rather remote farm with vast fields in view. The air is filled with the aroma of dried hay, and the sky stretches as far as the eye can see, so blue it looks as if someone had painted it with paint.
The overly open space made Andy, who had never seen such a scene before, feel somewhat timid.
He hesitated for a while before biting his lip and carefully climbing down from the car.
Then he saw a rather beautiful white house, the kind of country cottage you only see in children's movies: a comfortable wooden hanging basket under the white porch, with hand-woven muslin cushions placed at an angle, an apple tree leaning against the side of the house, wildflowers covering the green grass, and a dog circling on the grass under the tree, trying to bite its own tail.
A handsome man was standing in front of the house watching them; he looked like he had been waiting for a long time.
"Hey, buddy..."
The moment Bryce saw the man, he jumped up, rushed over, and gave him a big hug.
"Lin Xi, this place looks really nice—"
Next up is Elisa.
Her face was full of relaxed smiles.
Andy observed the interaction between his parents and Lin Xi with great interest, finding it somewhat novel.
Uncle Lin Xi looked very young, more like someone's older brother than an "uncle." Both Elisa and Bryce seemed to have become several years younger in Lin Xi's presence, displaying unprecedented ease and joy.
Andy had never seen Bryce and Elisa like this before.
He couldn't help but open his eyes wide with curiosity.
Before he could even prepare himself, Bryce grabbed him, pinched his shoulder, and shoved him in front of the man.
“Look, Lin Xi, this is my son Andy—what a fine young man, isn’t he?”
Bryce shouted loudly.
Normally, Bryce's blatant praise would have made Andy feel extremely shy and nervous.
But at this moment, that feeling of shyness seemed irrelevant, because the instant Andy saw Lin Xi, he was completely stunned; he had never seen such a handsome man before…
Using the word "handsome" to describe a man seems somewhat inappropriate.
Andy was feeling dizzy as he thought about it, but all the advanced words his teacher had taught him seemed incredibly blurry at that moment.
Even just staring blankly at the man named Lin Xi made Andy's heart pound and her face turn red.
Especially when the man smiled at him, Andy felt his mind go completely blank.
"Hello, Andy. I'm Lin Xi..."
The man... no, I should say Uncle Lin Xi, kindly squatted down and greeted Andy with a smile.
Andy felt his face burning up, and he nodded shyly at the other person.
He desperately wanted to come out with a more polite greeting, but all his voice seemed stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
However, Lin Xi didn't seem to mind Andy's rudeness.
He turned around to look behind him and then waved.
“Arthur, Noah…look, you have a friend now, his name is Andy.”
Following Lin Xi's gaze, Andy noticed that there were two unfamiliar boys standing behind Lin Xi.
The older boy, who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, had long silver hair and exceptionally pale skin.
The smaller child is about the same size as Andy. He is more like Lin Xi, with soft black hair and eyes. Just like Lin Xi, he is incredibly cute and looks more like a finely crafted doll than a real human.
Andy felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
Fortunately, the impact of Arthur and Noah on him was not as strong as that on Lin Xi—at least Andy was finally able to speak at this moment.
"Hello, I'm Andy."
Andy gave a hesitant greeting.
Hello, I'm Arthur.
The boy named Arthur responded to Andy crisply, but the black-haired boy took a long time to speak.
“Arthur…”
He repeated the name somewhat unclearly, only to be slapped hard on the head by Arthur.
"You should say your own name."
Arthur said, looking somewhat impatient.
After he finished speaking, it took a long time before Noah slowly spoke.
"Noah, hello, I am Noah..."
He spoke somewhat unclearly, and his grammar was also seriously flawed.
Although the adults didn't explain much, Andy still realized what was going on.
Seeing Noah like this, Andy felt a rare pity.
He had seen similar boys when he was in the orphanage, though those boys were nowhere near as endearing as Noah. Those boys fared terribly in the orphanage; sometimes they were even severely bullied, or even…
The thought of life in the orphanage sent a shiver down Andy's spine, and he immediately snapped back to reality.
Don't think too much about it. At least at Uncle Linxi's house, even a slow-witted child like Noah wouldn't be treated so cruelly.
Noah's home was much better than the orphanage. At least when Noah awkwardly greeted her, Andy didn't see any impatience or disgust in Lin Xi.
The extremely handsome man stood to the side with a smile, waiting for Noah and Andy to finish their slow self-introductions.
"She's just like an angel," Andy couldn't help but think to himself.
"Dinner is almost ready... I have a suggestion, let's go inside first, and then sit in the dining room and have a good chat for a while, how about that?"
Lin Xi subtly took Andy's hand and gently led everyone into the fairytale-like white house.
Andy was extremely nervous before, but now he is incredibly relaxed.
Uncle Lin Xi seems to possess a special charm that makes people feel relaxed and at ease when they are near him.
Moreover, he is a good person...
Andy's intuition has always been very sharp.
He was quite certain of that.
...
As arranged by Lin Xi, once the Bryce family sat down in the restaurant, the fairytale-like warmth surrounding them intensified. The farmhouse was filled with the aroma of roast chicken and creamy potatoes, and even the air felt warm and cozy, as if it were exuding a sweet fragrance.
Everything was so wonderful, until Andy heard Bryce ask a somewhat rude question.
Where is that guy?
"That guy"? Andy had never heard such a rude term from Bryce before.
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