99: Chapter 99 The Male Supporting Character's Biological Mother (4)

Three years later.

The September sunset dyed the orange iron gates of Sunshine Kindergarten a bright red, but the parents outside were like they were stuck to magnets, each leaning their bodies forward.

A mother in a floral dress crumpled her canvas bag into folds, her palms soaked with sweat; the words she had repeatedly rehearsed—"Baby, Mommy's here"—were still hovering on the tip of her tongue.

A father wearing glasses pushed up his sliding frames, his Adam's apple bobbing silently—he was also nervous; when they left the house this morning, the little fellow's fingers had turned white from gripping his dinosaur toy.

Suddenly, the pitter-patter of little leather shoes echoed from behind the iron fence, and the crowd of parents instantly acted as if a start button had been pressed.

"Look at that one with the pigtails!"

"Is it the one in the yellow sweatshirt?"

A grandfather in a plaid shirt held his phone above his head. A familiar flash of blue suddenly flickered through the lens—that was his grandson's backpack strap! The little fellow was wearing an Ultraman backpack, his short legs moving fast. Far from having tears on his face, he was grinning and saying goodbye to the teacher, revealing two front teeth that had just started to sprout.

"He didn't cry! He actually didn't cry!" The grandfather was so excited he almost dropped his phone.

Beside him, a mother in a tracksuit let out a soft "Oh dear"—her daughter was clinging to the doorframe, her little face flushed red, and tears were falling like broken glass beads. The mother's heart wrenched; she quickly made a heart gesture toward her daughter and said silently through the fence, "Mommy is here."

The iron gate slowly opened, and the teachers walked out holding the children's hands.

Those crying were coaxed into smiles with candy wrappers, while those who had too much fun pulled on their little playmates, refusing to let go.

The parents surged forward; some took hold of sweaty little hands, while others quickly wiped away the tear stains on their children's faces.

Jiang Wan also watched her son at the back of the line intently, waving her hand frequently to get his attention.

"Mommy!"

Jiang Yuchen saw his mother coming to pick him up and happily threw himself into her arms.

Jiang Wan picked up her sweet-smelling, soft son. Seeing that he hadn't cried, she praised him without stint.

"Baby, you actually didn't cry! You're so good, really amazing."

Jiang Yuchen's eyes crinkled into slits as he lifted his head proudly.

"Of course, I'm a man. How could I possibly cry?"

At this point, Jiang Yuchen hugged his mother's neck tightly. Actually, he had missed her very much, but Mommy had said he was a man, and men shed blood and sweat but not tears.

So, he had held it in.

Fortunately, Mommy kept her word; she said she would come to pick him up after school, and she really did come.

"Yes, you were very good. Since Chenchen was so good, Mommy will reward you tonight. We'll eat out tonight. Baby, tell me, what do you want to eat?"

Jiang Wan was studying at a local media university. For the sake of her studies, she had bought another smaller house nearby just to make it convenient to go home and take care of the child.

Jiang Yuchen attended a kindergarten near this residential area. Today was the first day of school, and since Jiang Wan had no classes in the afternoon, she came early to pick up her son.

Since it was her son's first day of school, Jiang Wan wanted to take him out to eat in the evening. She had told Auntie Liu to take the afternoon off and that she wouldn't need to cook dinner.

"Yay, yay!" Jiang Yuchen clapped his little hands happily.

"Eat out, eat out! Let's go to that place where we can play and eat from last time."

As soon as Jiang Wan heard that, she knew which place Jiang Yuchen was talking about.

It was a parent-child restaurant she had taken him to once before, which had a play area inside. If the adults hadn't finished eating and the child couldn't sit still, the child could go play, and there were servers there to help watch them.

"Alright, let's go there then."

To make commuting easier, Jiang Wan had already bought a car for transportation. It wasn't very expensive, just an ordinary one that you could find by the dozen on the road.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Jiang Yuchen was only three; the little fellow was quite eloquent. As soon as they got to the restaurant and sat down, he directed Jiang Wan to quickly get the menu for him.

"Mommy, Mommy, hurry, I want to order. I'm going to order now. My tummy is so hungry; I feel like I can eat so, so much right now."

"Oh, really? Is the baby hungry? Then let's hurry and order."

Jiang Wan naturally knew her son's words weren't entirely true. She had seen the message the teacher sent in the afternoon; they had snacks then. It had only been two hours, yet this little fellow was 'hungry'.

However, Jiang Wan was willing to play along with her son. She quickly took the menu from the side and looked through it with Jiang Yuchen.

Soon, the two of them finished ordering. Once the food was ordered, Jiang Yuchen's eyes involuntarily drifted toward the play area not far away.

But he was very sensible and didn't make a fuss about going to play right then, sitting quietly next to his mother while waiting for the food to arrive.

Because he knew that if he went to play now, Mommy would be sitting here all alone.

He couldn't leave Mommy behind.

Jiang Wan looked at her precious son, so small sitting next to her, and her heart turned into a complete mush. She felt that the most correct decision she had ever made was giving birth to her son.

Today was her son's first day of school, and Jiang Wan wanted to get a good understanding of his situation at school. This was likely something every parent cared about, and Jiang Wan was certainly no exception.

While she was in class at the university, she had been completely distracted, worried that the child wouldn't be used to school for the first time.

Had he cried for his mother? Had he slept well? Had he eaten well? Would he call the teacher if he wanted to go to the bathroom? Did he play well with his classmates? Would he be bullied?

"Baby, did you have fun at kindergarten today? Did you make any new friends?"

Jiang Yuchen nodded cheerfully.

"Mm, kindergarten is so much fun! There are cars to ride, slides, and the teacher played hide-and-seek with us. I also met two good friends, but... it takes a long time before I can see Mommy..."

As Jiang Yuchen said this, he gave his mother a sheepish look.

Jiang Wan knew the child missed her, but there was no helping it; this sort of thing would only happen more often in the future.

If she went out to film in the future, it was very likely she wouldn't be able to make it back the same day.

The child had to go to school; it was impossible for him to follow her running around all day!

For now, she could only ensure that when the child wasn't on holiday, she would try to take jobs here.

There was a film studio here, and besides, she was still a student and wasn't famous like her other classmates, so it was unlikely any great roles would come looking for her.

When the child was on holiday, if there was work out of town, she could take the child with her.

Jiang Wan stroked Jiang Yuchen's soft hair.

"Baby, you're big now and need to go to school. Every child is the same; everyone has to go to school from Monday to Friday, and can only rest on Saturdays and Sundays. But Mommy promises you that you'll definitely see Mommy when you come home from school in the evening. If Mommy isn't busy, Mommy will go pick you up after school, how about that?"

Jiang Yuchen wasn't very old, but he knew their family was different from others. Mommy had to go to school and also earn money to raise him; with no one to help, it was very hard work.

Jiang Yuchen nodded sensibly:

"I know, Mommy. When you're done with your work, remember to come to school to pick me up."

"Mm, I will. Mommy promises you."

Jiang Wan stroked her son's little head dotingly, feeling incredibly moved. What kind of angelic little baby was this? How understanding!

The mother and son finished their meal happily. Since it was still early, Jiang Wan let Jiang Yuchen go play with the other children. He was a child, after all; if he didn't play now, was he supposed to wait until he grew up?

Although Jiang Wan wasn't very famous, she was beautiful, and whenever she was out, people often stared at her.

Therefore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Jiang Wan often wore a mask.

But perhaps because her temperament was different, no matter how low-profile she tried to be, people still frequently looked her way.

Not far from Jiang Wan, a couple was whispering in discussion.

"Zhang Ming, did you get the photo? Hurry, bring it over and let me see."

The woman took the phone and clicked her tongue incessantly as she looked at the child on the screen.

"Look, look! How similar he is!"