Chapter 7 Giving Children a Colorful Childhood

Chapter 7: Giving the Child a Colorful Childhood. Putting away his phone, Chen Ang waited outside the crowd for Chen Zetian to come out.

In his mind, however, he was calculating the various interest classes he had just looked at.

Among them, Fencing was the most expensive, with an annual card costing thirty-eight thousand, and equipment was extra.

Robotics was next, at twenty-eight thousand a year, with competition equipment extra.

As for music, the Cello was niche, expensive, and difficult to learn; an annual card was twenty-two thousand, and the instrument was also extra.

He did a rough calculation in his head, and the corners of his mouth curled up—it was nearly a hundred thousand.

One hundred thousand, which was close to Wen Huilin's annual salary.

Spending this hundred thousand wasn't the end; it was the beginning. Future competitions, grading exams, buying equipment, upgrading instruments, and so on—every single one was a bottomless pit.

The moment the bill was slapped onto Wen Huilin's face, every single penny would have to be gouged out of her pocket.

The more ruthlessly he spent now, the more painful it would be for her to cough it up later.

Most importantly, these were the most expensive and talent-dependent subjects. With Chen Zetian's aptitude, learning them wouldn't do a damn bit of good.

Now that nearly a year of Wen Huilin's salary was being dumped into three expensive interest classes that were of no help to the child, Chen Ang could hardly wait to see her expression.

As his lips curved upward, Chen Zetian emerged from the school gate carrying his blue backpack.

His complexion was still not great, and he walked sluggishly; it seemed yesterday's cold hadn't fully recovered.

Chen Ang didn't go forward to pat his head or rub his face as he used to; he just stood in place and waved.

Chen Zetian got into the car in confusion, looking around curiously from the back seat. His small hand touched the wood-grain trim on the door, his eyes wide and round.

"Dad, did you buy a new car?"

"Yeah. Made some money." Chen Ang buckled his seatbelt and glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

"Then... will you still live at home?"

Chen Ang's hand paused on the seatbelt for a moment.

He observed Chen Zetian through the rearview mirror. The child had his head down, his fingers winding around the backpack strap, over and over again.

This question didn't seem like something a six-year-old would think of on his own; it was too logical.

"Who told you to ask that?"

"No one told me to ask.” Chen Zetian's voice grew quieter, and his fingers wound faster.

"Did Mom tell you to ask me if I'm happy today?"

Chen Zetian's fingers stopped. He looked up at the rearview mirror for a second, then lowered his head again.

Chen Ang laughed inwardly. He didn't answer the question, but shifted gears and released the handbrake.

"Dad made some money and decided to properly nurture you."

"Nurture me in what?"

"You want to be a Great Hero, don't you?"

Chen Zetian's eyes suddenly lit up. "The kind that rights wrongs and helps those in need?"

"So, I signed you up for a Fencing class." Chen Ang nodded, his voice very gentle. "You'll put on a white protective suit, wear a mask, and hold a sword in your hand. Do you want to learn?"

Happiness appeared on Chen Zetian's face. He let out a "Ha!" in the back seat, gesturing wildly at the air with his hands. The grogginess from his cold was completely forgotten.

Chen Ang felt as if he were witnessing the birth of a bratty kid, and he was secretly amused. Then he added, "There's also a Robotics class. It's like playing with building blocks. Once you finish, you can build a moving Transformer yourself."

"A Transformer? And it moves?" Chen Zetian bounced up from his seat, only to be yanked back by the seatbelt. "I want it, I want it, I want it..."

The corners of Chen Ang's mouth curled up again.

In the rearview mirror, Chen Zetian's small face was flushed red, and he was dancing with excitement.

To a six-year-old, hearing 'Fencing' made him think of a hero, and hearing 'Robotics' made him think of Transformers.

He had no idea that these two things combined meant that all his future weekends, winter breaks, and summer vacations would be filled with training.

"However, Xiaotian, your mom might not necessarily agree."

Chen Zetian stopped gesturing and asked in confusion, "Why?"

"These three classes are all quite expensive. Your mom has always been frugal, and I'm afraid she'll be distressed over the money."

Chen Zetian got anxious. "Then what should we do?"

"She's always wanted you to learn a musical instrument." Chen Ang turned the steering wheel, veering into the entrance of the residential complex. "If you're willing to add a Cello class on top of that, she'll likely agree. She'll feel that you're not just thinking about playing, but also want to learn something serious."

Chen Zetian thought about it and nodded seriously. "Then I'll learn it. You help me talk to Mom."

"Okay." Chen Ang parked the car steadily, turned off the engine, and turned around to look at his son in the back seat. "But we have to keep it a secret first."

"Why?"

"We want to give her a surprise. In a few days, I'll tell her I'm taking you out to play, and then I'll take you to class. Once you've learned a piece, you can play it for her at home. Don't you want to see her expression then?"

Chen Zetian nodded vigorously, his eyes shining. "Then it's a deal. Keep it a secret first."

"Yeah, we call this a white lie." Chen Ang smiled and pushed the door open to get out.

Chen Zetian followed behind, his backpack bouncing as he continued to gesture in Fencing poses.

Opening the door and returning home, Chen Zetian stood in the entryway changing his shoes, saying he still didn't feel very well and asking if he could do his homework later.

Chen Ang glanced at him and told him to go play on the tablet for a while.

Chen Zetian was stunned at first, then a smile exploded on his face. He hugged his backpack and ran toward his room impatiently.

Seeing him so happy, Chen Ang showed a face full of loving kindness.

'He's not my son anyway; what does his studying have to do with me?'

Taking off his coat, he saw several rings of oil stains on the dining table as he passed the dining room.

Yesterday, Wen Huilin had actually gone into the kitchen to wash the dishes for once, but she seemingly hadn't wiped the table.

Chen Ang just took a glance and didn't bother with it. He tossed his clothes onto the sofa, propped his feet up on the coffee table, and turned on his phone.

There were several messages on WeChat, all sent by Jiang Shan. There was no text, only four photos.

The first one showed a man getting out of an Audi Q7.

The second one showed the same man with his arm around a woman, walking out of a residential building's entrance.

The third and fourth were close-up shots of their faces, with a timestamp in the bottom right corner: 2:03 PM today.

He stared at the photos for about ten seconds, wondering if he should call the police on them when they were cornered.

With a slight chuckle, he saved the four photos into an encrypted album.

After doing this, he sent a message to Jiang Shan.

"Continue following them. Check Tu Yuandong's company's financial status, shareholder structure, and whether there are any external guarantees. An extra ten thousand if you get bed photos."

Then he transferred ten thousand yuan over.

Jiang Shan accepted it instantly and then sent back an OK emoji.

A little after six, the living room door opened.

Wen Huilin entered and changed her shoes, habitually looking toward the kitchen as she walked out of the entryway.

The light was off, the stove was empty, and the pot was still in its original place.

She frowned and was about to speak when her gaze swept over the shoe cabinet, where a brand-new car key had been added.

It was a bmw logo, the blue and white circle, particularly conspicuous.

She stood there for a few seconds, looking at the key and then at Chen Ang, who was scrolling through short videos on the sofa. Her mouth opened, but she swallowed her words back down.

She thought of Tu Yuandong telling her to bear with it, and even more, she wanted to know where Chen Ang got the money to buy a car.

She looked around and didn't see the Magotan's key, which made her even more suspicious. She wondered if Chen Ang had savings she didn't know about.

With a dark face, she put down her bag, quietly picked up the car key, and walked into the living room.

Hearing the sound, Chen Ang glanced sideways at her figure, a bit curious why this woman hadn't started acting up yet.

With a smile, he turned his gaze back to his phone screen and liked every beautiful woman he scrolled past.